How, When and Why did you fall in love with Disney?

[dragonflydreaming]

O.K. I know that everyone as a kid probably liked Disney movies or characters but when did you fall in love with Disney?

For me it wasn't until I walked into Disney World before my 1st cruise on DCL, ran ahead to capture the moment on video when my kiddos saw Cinderella's castle, and became a puddle of tears as I recorded their MAGICAL reaction when they say it. I can't put that moment into words. It was the real deal for them.

Then we boarded the Magic....and I was hooked....literally. Captain Hook took a solo ride in the elevator with my kids (when they jumped on without us and he got on at the next stop). We raced down from deck 8 to 2 (I think) and got there huffing and puffing just as they arrived. The doors opened and these 2 kids with grins as wide as the Cheshire Cat emerged with Hook, who is quite huge patting them on the head. Even though they have figured out that perhaps these may just be characters they still talk about it like regularly.

My personal favorite moment was when my daughter, wanting so badly to meet Cinderella and realizing that she had missed the opportunity to do so at a descent hour, begged Daddy to take her to a 10pm meeting (She was 5 and her bedtime was 7:30 then). We told her we'd have to discuss it but we did her hair and let her fall asleep in her Cinderella gown to make her happy, and then just before 10 Daddy whispered in her ear..."Wake up princess, it's time to meet Cinderella." She wrapped herself around his neck and waist, put her head on his shoulder and off went Daddy and princess to meet Cinderella. The photo we got from this meeting is something I'll treasure forever.

I didn't grow up with the opportunity to go to Disneyworld or Disneyland as a child and only ever watched "The Magical World of Disney" on TV.

I feel so blessed to have been able to give my kiddos and me too, these amazing experiences and memories.

I've done some thinking lately about how our many of our imaginatory games and heroes of childhood are based on Disney characters, especially princesses in our house, and it made me feel so thankful for Walt Disney and his dream.

Thanks Walt!

When did you fall in love with Disney? What are you magical moments?

 

[mmouse37]

I never remember a time that I didn't love Disney. I remember my first Disney movie I saw in a theatre was Jungle Book. We did have an opportunity to visit WDW as a kid. My parents did not have a lot of money but did manage to take my 4 sisters and I to WDW a few times. We would drive down from New York in the family station wagon and I treasure those times!!

When hubby and I got married in 1979 we honeymooned at the Polynesian Resort at WDW and the Lagoon View rooms were only $65.00 a night!!! I still have the receipt!!!!

Been to WDW dozen and dozens of times with our 3 kids and then when I heard that Disney was starting its own cruise line I was in.....had our reservation made as soon as they started taking bookings. Sailed on the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Magic on July 30, 1998. Just got off the MAGIC saturday from our 17th DCL cruise.

I remember the first movie my eldest DD saw as a child and that was Little Mermaid....I got teary eyed watching it and love all the Disney movies.

Love Disney so much I work for them!!! Been a Disney Store CM for 17 years!!

 

[lbgraves]

My first memory of Disney is the same as our kids. All except DH set foot in the Magic Kingdom for the first time on 11/13/03 two days before our first DCL cruise. You see, my family was of the non-believer type and I stupidly believed my birthmother who told me at some point in my youth that Cinderella's castle was just a movie set prop on just a bunch of plywood and painted to look like it. Here I was walking down mainstreet with tears in my eyes at 35 years old because I realized for the first time that the castle was an actual building, a castle! Since we decided at the last minute to add one day at MK to our precruise plans I hadn't researched very much about WDW at all and never saw anything about the castle. Seeing the kids light up with the characters warmed my heart and I will never forget her first meeting with Cinderella or any of the daily meetings we had with her that week where she would call the kids by name and follow up on what they had done since the last time she had seen them. That special attention made a huge difference in my DD3 at the time and after the cruise her preschool teacher had to call me at home to tell me that they had been looking to see what kid had snuck into their classroom before realizing that DD was actually talking in the class...for the first time in 1 1/2 years at the school. They just sat and listened to her talk about the cruise and what she had seen and done as her personality came out to everyone. I still feel the same way when we walk down Main Street. Though I didn't feel the goosebumps when we were in DL this August before the EB PC Repo, I still felt the magic in other ways in DL.

 

[mr.b]

For me, it started when I was very young, watching 'The Wonderful World of Disney' on tv. Anytime that they showed Disneyland, I was in total awe. I knew that my parents would never have the means to take us there, but oh did I dream. Whenever they showed Zorro, Davey Crockett, , the 'Swamp Fox', or any of the great nature or park shows, I was entirely entertained. What great shows.

Years later, we planned a trip to WDW with friends. I guess being older, I wasn't really looking forward to spending 8 days in a place rampant with kids...boy was I wrong. Once I saw my first palm tree, heard the grackle birds yakking, and finally entered the Magic Kingdom, that was it. I was totally a prisoner of my childhood, and couldn't wait to return. That first trip was in 1984. We now live in Florida, have resident passes to WDW, been on 7 cruises on the DCL, and have stayed on Disney property 118 times. I am now 57 and a half years old, and so far this year have been to WDW 18 days. My dear wife is also a Disney fan, and we always enjoy our visits to all of the parks.

I've been asked: 'How come you go to Disney so often. Don't you see the same stuff over and over?'... answer yes and no. Disney is a great place to people watch, and we seem to always find new experiences, and new nooks and crannies in the parks. We love going to Disney. We are also currently booked on the April 2010 transatlantic DCL cruise.

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

What a great thread! I've tried twice to write out what Disney means to me and why, and I can't articulate it.

Suffice to say, Disney is my 'Happy Place'. It's where I want to be when I'm not at home. It's where I choose to be when I have the choice! It's where our family loves to be and where so many of our wonderful memories began!

We bought DVC in 2005 during our first trip to the world! Just gives me another excuse to plan more Disney trips!

I can't wait to read more!

 

[Tinkerbell.RN]

I've been a Disney fan as long as I can remember. I loved all the Disney movies and tv shows as a child.

As for falling in love with Disney... it began with falling in love! My husband and I first got to know each other at Disneyland on GradNite in 1984. But the true magic of Disney touched me when we pulled up to the Grand Floridian on our honeymoon 5 years later! It was the most romantic place I had ever been to. Disney World was a wonderful fairytale dream come true. For a young couple in love...there is no better place.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Awesome thread!

I only went to WDW once as a child - I was 8 years old and we were only there for a day. I don't really remember much about it. I also went to DL once when I was 12 - traveled with another family to a conference and again we only went for a few hours. For some reason the magic just didn't hit me as a child.

I went to WDW again as an adult. In the blazing heat and horrible crowds of summer! We stood in line for 1.5 hours to ride It's A Small World when step-dd (who was only about 5 at the time and lived in Orlando) wanted to get out of line. So, we never rode the ride or any other ones that day...and I told DH that if we ever had kids we were not coming to WDW - it was too hot and too crowded and too miserable!!! (Stay with me here, it gets better I promise

Fast forward about 6 years... DD was born...fast forward another 3.5 years... DH had the opportunity to stay at the Marriott Grande Vista for dirt-cheap through work. So, we decided to go down to WDW in mid-December when DD was 3.5. Oh my gosh...the perfect weather, the low crowds, and most especially the awe of my DD - that did it for me. I still cry when I enter the MK, especially at the fireworks show, or any show at the castle for that matter.

We have been to WDW 4 times in the past 3 years. That is a major thing for us since we are a one income family and really have to pinch pennies to go.

Some people think I am nuts for wanting to go to WDW all the time...after all, they say, it's not the real world...EXACTLY!!! In this world of stress and bad things happening everywhere you turn, WDW is my escape. For just a short time, I can reclaim the innocence of a child and forget that a real world exists just beyond those gates. That feeling of complete happiness is hard to put a price tag on.

I hope that my DD will continue to love Disney as much as me...something tells me she will! We are blessed to be able to take her as much as we have, and as long as we can and as long as she loves it, it will still be our #1 vacation spot, as it is the Happiest Place on Earth for us!

 

[mlt1128]

I had been to Disney 4 times when I was younger, and always loved it. But my true love for Disney began in 2001. I had planned a trip with some family, and friends of theirs. My now dh was one of those friends. We had started dating about 6 weeks before the trip.

I have always been a homebody, and after 5 days or so i am ready to get back to my home and my family. This trip was different for me. The night before we were scheduled to leave, I was a mess. For the first time in my life I did not want to leave. It was when I knew with complete certainty that this was the man I was going to marry, and he was my home and my family now. Disney truly is a magical place for both of us. It only got better the first time we brought dd along...and the first time she saw Minnie in person. I cried instantly, because I knew it was Magic for her too!

 

[Disney Fool]

For me, it started when I was very young, watching 'The Wonderful World of Disney' on tv. Anytime that they showed Disneyland, I was in total awe. I knew that my parents would never have the means to take us there, but oh did I dream. Whenever they showed Zorro, Davey Crockett, , the 'Swamp Fox', or any of the great nature or park shows, I was entirely entertained. What great shows.

Years later, we planned a trip to WDW with friends. I guess being older, I wasn't really looking forward to spending 8 days in a place rampant with kids...boy was I wrong. Once I saw my first palm tree, heard the grackle birds yakking, and finally entered the Magic Kingdom, that was it. I was totally a prisoner of my childhood, and couldn't wait to return. That first trip was in 1984. We now live in Florida, have resident passes to WDW, been on 7 cruises on the DCL, and have stayed on Disney property 118 times. I am now 57 and a half years old, and so far this year have been to WDW 18 days. My dear wife is also a Disney fan, and we always enjoy our visits to all of the parks.

I've been asked: 'How come you go to Disney so often. Don't you see the same stuff over and over?'... answer yes and no. Disney is a great place to people watch, and we seem to always find new experiences, and new nooks and crannies in the parks. We love going to Disney. We are also currently booked on the April 2010 transatlantic DCL cruise.

Oh, boy...that sounds so familiar. I started watching Mickey Mouse Club as a little kid. My alter ego was "Darlene";then Wonderful World on Sunday nights. I identified also with Hayley Mills!!! I didn't get to go to Disneyworld until 1980 and I was an adult. But, the magic was only beginning. 50+ trips later, I've just taken my first Disney cruise, and I'm booked on the Mediterranean in 2010. I took my first trip to Disneyland two years ago and relived a childhood fantasy, ears and all. I'm looking forward to many, many more memories to make with Disney.

 

[jnadelman]

I was always a fan as it is the happiest place on earth, but I think it all really sunk if for me when I went the first time as an adult without any kids. My wife (not at the time though) and I went down for a week. We took a behind the scenes tour of Epcot, and WOW. You get such a different point of view. You just can't turn back at that point. You learn about their attention to detail and the smallest little things that go so unnoticed but in the whole scheme of things make a huge difference.

We have since been several times with the kids and it just gets better and better. Our last trip in Feb was by far the best. We did 2 things differently and both made a world of difference. First was using Tour Guide Mike. Unreal, we did everything we wanted, multiple times, no lines, and we relaxed. Who would think it was possible. I also took a completely different attitude with my camera. I felt like I didn't need any more pictures of the rides, shows and parades. I needed my kids. So now, I have a set of pictures of them staring at a parade with their mouths opened in pure wonder. They are memories that you just can't describe.

Now we have been saving for our cruise for a good number of years and can't wait until we go next year.

 

[KatieG73]

Great thread!

I fell in love with Disney in 2004 - my first visit to WDW.

My daughter was 3 at the time and my mum suggested a girls trip to WDW - my mum and daughter have a really close bond despite us living 500 miles apart ( I'm in Scotland and my Mum lives in London). I was quite surprised that my mum suggested WDW as I couldn't quite see her liking the whole theme park thing, although I knew she'd been in Florida before to golf and had experienced the parks then.

I remember flying to Florida thinking that I was not going to enjoy the holiday at all -I imagined the parks being 'tacky'. How wrong could I be???

I actaually had a lump in my throat the minute we walked through the magic kingdom gates and was almost in tears seeing my 3 year old ( who would normally run away from any type of 'character' or dressed up person) walk up to winnie the pooh with her arms open for a hug and close her eyes whilst cuddling in. It hit me like a bolt of lightning -this wasn't a 'character' to her -it WAS Winnie the Pooh.

We had an amazing time that first holiday and have visited WDW every year since (my DH is now hooked too!) -we always stay on Disney property and I am now officially a Disney nut.

We are just back from our first Disney cruise (1th -18th October Eastern) and it was overwhelmingly good - I didn't think anything could top the parks...I was wrong.

I have tired to describe many times to other people what it is I love about Disney and find it hard to put into words but I think it's got a lot to do with the 'magic' -I've been all over the world and have never been anywhere else where people come together like in Disney, on our recent cruise we were blown away by the warmth and kindness of the other guests - for example we met a couple from New York in the security queue at Port Canaveral and they made of point of stopping to talk to us every time our paths crossed throughout the cruise.

We will be going back to WDW next year and hopefully adding a cruise on to the end too -I can't see us going anywhere else for a long time.

 

[luvalldisney]

My father was in the service and was sent to San Diego for a couple of months the year that Disney Land openend. Living in Florida, made California seem like a million miles away. When Daddy came home he brought me a booklet about Disney Land. Of course it went to show and tell and I became the girl whose Daddy went to Disney Land!!! 45 years later I made my first trip to Disney Land and you could not stop the tears. DW and DL don't compare, but the original still took my breath away!
I am not sure about dates, but I became an unofficial mouseketeer when ever the show started. Years later, my daughter got to be in the audience at a taping of the new Mouseketeer show!
I don't ever remember not have Walt and his parks and shows in my life. It is my truely happy place and whenever things get tough I either go there, go on a DCL cruise or pretend I am with the mouse and friends at one of the parks. We go several times a year now and I hope to move to the Orlando area within a few years. Disney all the time!!

 

[TiszBear]

That's easy for me, my older brother taught me my first word as a baby, it was... Donald Duck. And the rest as they say is history. I am now 35 and I love Disney, hence owning DVC. I am trying to go to all the Disney parks and now that I am going on a Disney cruise in April 2009 I can cross that off my list as well.

I love that at Disney (regardless if it is a cruise or one of hte parks) there is one place that I know of to go and be a kid again. A place where you can tune the rest of the world out and relax, have fun, eat what you want, do what you want and yes stand in line for a picture with your favorite character. Each time I go I have a different experience and it is also nice to go someplace where there are others that love Disney as much as I do.

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

More, please!

 

[PigletsPal2]

I used to watch all the Disney TV shows (and was an at-home Mouseketeer!) and go to all the Disney movies when I was little. My parents moved to Orlando in 1970 and watched MK being built. We were among the many visitors that first year. Then I moved there w/2 kids in 1973 (aged 6 and newborn) while DH was in Vietnam. DD#1 and I had season passes (I think I remember that they cost about $100 for BOTH of us!) and every school holiday we'd dump the baby with Grandmommie and go to MK. We've since lived all over the world (every continent except Antarctica!) but came "home" to retire to Kissimmee. We've never lost the love and will die Disney lovers!

Queen Colleen

 

[DLW8]

What a great thread!

I can recall my first visit to WDW from photos as I was 18 months old and we were there a few months after it first opened. My love for all things Disney grew as I did and we would make an annual trip to Florida to my grandparents house, and spend one day at the Magic Kingdom. My childhood toys included many Disney toys, including the wonderful record/book combos where you "turn the page" when Tink makes her sound. My children love to listen to these at my parents' house now, and I think they are the only 7 year olds that know what a record player is!

I think I fell in love when I was in high school and trekked down to see my grandma with my best friend. She had never been out of Connecticut and to see Disney (and Florida in general) through a new pair of eyes was great. I was even kidnapped by Tigger during that trip as he was running to the parade.

I continued to take trips with friends to Disney throughout high school and college, and loved all things Walt and Disney....books, movies, you name it, I was there.

My husbad and I went to Disney a few times before we had our children, and loved every minute of it. This January, we took our twins there for the first time and I fell in love all over again. Watching their faces as we watched a parade, or rode on Peter Pan, or did the Family Magic Tour....priceless and worth the wait until we felt they were old enough to have a great time. DD is all about the princesses, so breakfast at the castle was amazing for her, then add in the BBB makeover that she received, and she was one happy Princess. DS decided that Stitch was his favorite on this trip and we made sure to meet Stitch at every chance we got. His most talked about memory is when he got a photo with Stitch while wearing a Stitch tshirt, and Stitch pointed to his shirt and gave him a big thumbs up, then turned DS's baseball hat sideways for the trip.

While DD and DS will always comment on "that's just a costume" when they saw other characters, that was not the case in Disney. These were the real deal....it was a wonderful family trip that we all talk about often, and now we are planning our first DCL trip (with a stay at the Poly) for next year.

I love that my Disney-mania has passed on to my children, and I can help nurture another generation of DISfans. Thank you Walt for having your dream and all the imaginears for making it happen.

Disney is a place where I can be a kid with my kids, and just enjoy good family fun.

 

[trimix]

Boy, what a question. And what great responses so far.

When I was a young boy I apparently loved Mickey Mouse and "Winnie poo poo", but I don't have any memories that correspond with my mother's stories.

We moved to southern California when I was 8 - that time when kids really like to pick on differences. It took two or three years before I started making friends but, one year later in 1977, I fell in love with the Mickey Mouse Club's new show. "MIC, See you real soon, KEY, Why? Because we like you!" The song still has an influence on me today.

A year or two after moving to California we finally made a trip to Disneyland or, as I thought of it, Heaven. Ever since then, I have always wanted to visit Disney and have never passed an opportunity. When I got married, we honeymooned at Disneyland. When I needed more in my life (before marriage) I enlisted in the Marine Corps. The USMC's official mascot is the bulldog, but Mickey is the unofficial mascot. I don't have words to describe my feelings when marching in formation, using the Mickey Mouse March as our cadence.

Both of my children have been to Disneyland when visiting relatives in SoCal, and last August they had their first trip to WDW. Even though our trip coincided with Tropical Storm Fay, they both enjoyed it and want to return. So we'll spend a week in Orlando before our Aug 09 Western Caribbean Disney Cruise!

Like most guys, I hate shopping. I've had the experience of being miserable in a foreign city I quickly decided I didn't like, and I've had plenty of experiences being miserable in shopping malls. But, walking down the street in a strange city that misery seems to go away when I come across a US Consulate, and in a mall that misery goes away for a little while when I come across a Disney Store.

I know about when I fell in love with Disney, and I have ideas as to why. Hopefully they were communicated sufficiently in this post.

 

[acourtwdw]

When I was younger, they played Disney movies on Sunday nights. That was family night as my dad worked the afternoon shift on the weekdays and never turned down overtime on Saturdays. We would get ice cream on that night or some other special treat that we usually didn't get during the week. My family couldn't afford to go to WDW when I was a kid and the sunday night movie was as close as we would get to seeing the castle. Those nights we still talk about today.

When I was 21, the present I from my sister for Christmas was a trip to WDW for a week that following Feb. We stayed off site in Kissimmee and we had a very small budget for the trip. We did everything since we thought we would never get back to do it all again.

Fast forward 16 years and over 50 trips!! We have taken our entire family (all 12 of us) to our favorite place on the Earth.

 

[dragonflydreaming]

Wow! What great replies.

Anyone else????