The moment you were "hooked"??

[TIMLEO007]

Was sitting here thinking about what it is that keeps me coming back to Disney World. Having grown up about an hour away from WDW, I can say there are many memories as a child that over time got me "hooked".
The first time riding the haunted mansion with my dad, seeing the mouse ear balloons all over the place. Sharing my first chocolate covered frozen banana. Going to EPCOT for the first time.The way things have changed, but still feel "at home" when going to the parks.
Now I am a parent and wanting to give my kids the same magical memories that I had. Not living in FL any longer and of course inflation over the years makes it a little more difficult, but to me it is totally worth it. How do you put a price on memories that will last for many years to come? (sounding like a Disney commercial lol)

What are some memories that have you hooked to keep coming back for more?

 

[eisforpants]

Our first day at MK got me hooked. I was miffed at my DH because MK had EMH and I wanted to go at RD but he was dragging his feet. But we got there in time to see them open MK and it made me tear up....then walking down Main Street towards the Castle I was in full blown tears. We finally did it! We finally made it to Disney World.

I'm sure I held up some people trying to get around me, but I couldn't help it...I was dumbstruck. Then I look down to see my son's face and the pure wonder in his eyes made me cry all over again. Even DH was looking as happy as I'd seen him in a long time.

Best. Vacation. Ever!!!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I didn't get to go to WDW until I was an adult. All during the planning I was wondering whether I would enjoy it or if it really was just for kids. I had these big books by Disney when I was little-there were four of them and one was about the Disney parks. WDW had only been open for a few years when I got these books and the one about DL and WDW was worn out from me reading them and dreaming about what a trip to these places would be like-impossible for my family because we just didn't have any money.

Finally, in 1992 I got to go for the first time at age 24. I worried all during the planning that after building it up in my mind all those years ago I'd be disappointed in the reality. It'd be for children, it'd be dirty and worn, it just wouldn't live up to my imagination, etc. Well-I can honestly say that the first time I saw the Castle I was hooked. I stood and looked up Main Street, past the brightly colored balloons and excited people, at the Castle glistening in the sunlight, and I cried.

I was so relieved and happy. I've made so many wonderful memories there now that I can't list them all. I've laughed until I cried, I've cried until I had to laugh, and I've felt special. Maybe that last is a bit ridiculous, but it's honestly what I think. When I'm in WDW, I feel special.

And I still cry when I first see the Castle.

 

[BuzzBelleMom]

I think it was when DH looked at me and admitted that all my planning had paid off; he told me that we had already done more in that morning in MK then what he had done in a whole day with his father.

Oh, and seeing my kids' faces light up with all the new experiences.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I never went as a kid. I got hooked on my first trip in May 2000. DW and I took DD (who was then 3yo) for a 2-day trip to MK and AK. I remember standing on the monorail from the TTC, holding DD as we headed toward MK. The castle came into view, and I got a lump in my throat. DD started bouncing and hollering, "There it is, Daddy! There it is!" and I just about lost it right there on the monorail -a 35yo man nearly reduced to a puddle of tears.

We entered MK, stopped on Town Square to visit Tweedle Dum, walked down Main Street, and fell in love with WDW. Hook, line, and sinker.

 

[lovelybellanotte]

I had taken many trips to WDW as a kid, growing up about 3 hours away from the parks. When I met my now DH in High School, he had only been once when he was very little and didn't remember anything about it.

I would talk to him about the memories that I had of the parks from when I was little, and how the family memories meant so much to me. But I knew he never really understood the magic I remembered.

But the time when I really got hooked is the first time DH and I went to the World together. The first time we saw the castle together, our first meal in the parks (BBQ at Cosmic Ray's), and the first ride we rode together (Space Mountain). Just the thought that now I get to make all new WDW memories with my husband, and getting to share all of the magic of WDW with him. It's so special to me!

Sorry for blabbing...just reminiscing and can't wait until our next trip!!

 

[wiigirl]

When my parents took me to EPCOT as a kid.....

 

[lsbgvadvcer]

I think getting hooked kinda snuck up on me. I had visited when I was really young with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. But my first 'real' visit was with my partner several years ago and we stayed off site at a Best Western because we were doing the trip as cheaply as possible. Later that year my mom had gastric bypass and ended up losing a little over 150 pounds, so we asked if she'd like to go with us the next time we went and she enthusiastically said YES! So we went again with my mom and took a friend of hers who had literally never gone anywhere. Watching the look on my moms face when she realized that she could now actually DO things was amazing, and the tears in her friends eyes were a sight to see. I'd never seen two grown women so happy! If I had to single out one specific event that got me 'hooked' that was probably it. We ended up going once a year from then on, taking my mom with us every other trip or so.

In January of 2012 our financial situation had finally improved enough that we decided to go ahead and do the DVC tour and bought right then and there. So WDW kind of became the 'our place' for my partner and I. We now own two DVC contracts, one at Saratoga Springs and one at Beach Club. Sharing 'our place' with our loved ones has become one of the great joys in our life. We've taken my mom, her friend, and two of our best friends. In two weeks we're taking his brother and sister as a graduation gift, then next summer we've got tentative plans with two other best friends and their three kids.

 

[disneybliss2]

My first trip, as well as my husband's, wasn't until we were both adults and took our then 3 year old daughter. The joy in her face meeting the characters, seeing the castle, etc. was truly magical. I must admit that I felt like a kid myself wrapped in Disney's "magical bubble" as we stayed on property and didn't see any of the outside world for a week. Total bliss! What clinched it for me was the outstanding customer service and attention to detail. Mainly, the remarkable customer service. Something that really touched us was when we struck up a conversation asking a CM at DHS where we should watch the parade (at the time MGM). After visiting with him for about 10 minutes, he directed us to a good location and asked my daughter who her favorite princess was, to which she replied Snow White. He said, "We'll see what we can do about you seeing her." I thought he was just making small talk and she'd just happen to be in the parade. To our surprise, during the parade Snow White's car paused near where we were sitting, she looked at my daughter and said, "I love the bow in your hair princess. I'm so glad you could come today" Then she blew her a kiss. My daughter was in awe and total joy. We were shocked! I wouldn't have believed it had I not been there. While it was a little thing, to us, it was HUGE!!! Now maybe it was just coincidence, but we didn't think so. We felt that somehow the CM had something to do with what occurred. We ran into him later that evening and thanked him profusely. He acknowledged that he had played a role and we thought how nice it was of him to go to such measures. Such a simple thing, but wow, what an impression it left on us. The true magic of Disney was sold on us! From little things to big things like this (it was big to her), we got hooked on Disney.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I went once as a kid, I remember some of it. Mostly loving CoP and trying to figure out if the dog was real, but I remember it being hot and the long lines. Not the best memories I guess.


My first trip as an adult with my family was in July 2001. DS was 5 at the time. DSIL was getting married on Cocoa Beach and we thought why not make the most of it and get the whole Disney trip out of the way. You know once in a lifetime, get it checked off the list, etc. It was for our son, not for us we reasoned.

From check in at ASMo to entering MK for the first time everything made me cry, it was all just larger than life. It was hot and crowded and it didn't matter, so much was new to us. Everything was so clean, everyone was so nice, there was something magical everywhere you looked. DH kept talking about how he had remembered seeing this or that on tv as a kid-from when Walt hosted the shows and they would show rides from Disneyland-he never thought he would really get to do this he said. And seeing our son so happy, wow, that was icing on the cake. It was suppose to have been all about him, but we had such a good time too. That was it-we were hooked.

We haven't missed a year since. We have so many traditions there and heck I'm not sure we'd have a family picture each year if we didn't go

Love these types of threads

 

[BlingX4]

I remember my first trip when I was 4. We stayed in the campgrounds in my parent's pop up camper. It was AWESOME. The things I remember MOST are the Hoop Dee Doo review and Cinderella's Castle.

DH was harder to get on board. His family never vacationed. He'd never been to WDW. I believe I was officially hooked for life when I watched HIM get hooked. I'll try to keep it brief, but here's the story:

DH is "frugal". We were asked if we wanted to stay in his cousin's time share in Orlando over Christmas. I realized we were going at a crazy time of year so I planned everything out in detail. Cinderella's castle first breakfast so we'd get in before rope drop, what to do in what order to avoid lines... DH thought I was nuts for 1. the $$ to take a just turned 2 and 4 year old and 2. my obsessive planning.
I think around 10 am DH realized that we'd gotten through Fantasyland w/o a single line... and that as the park filled up around us and we headed to meet Minnie Mouse, that I'd done pretty darn well TYVM. We stood in that one line for 45 minutes. DH started whining about it and I just reminded him that his 2 yo DD was dressed in a Minnie outfit and that Minnie was her favorite person in the universe and we weren't going to just "skip" it. We're here. Suck it up, it's one line and it IS Saturday Dec. 26th. So we endured...
Finally it was OUR turn. I don't think DD understood what we had been waiting FOR exactly, but when she came through the door and saw Minnie she clasped her hands over her mouth (like Minnie does) and exclaimed "OH MY!... OH MY GOODNESS! OH MY!" and RAN into Minnie's outstretched arms.
She wouldn't let her go and Minnie was SO attentive and doted on her. She made sure DD knew how awesome it was that they were in matching outfits, and how cute her ears were... I was a little teary eyed and I looked at DH and he was absolutely holding back the tears. He leaned over to me and said "oh hell. throw another grand on it... worth every cent."
He was hooked.

The NEXT trip we took was was 2 years later and it was fantastically well planned. Except, DD left her brand new Stride Rite tennis shoes at the pool. I let the front desk know, we were leaving in the morning... I held NO hope for ever finding them again.
On the drive home we got a phone call that they had been found and would be shipped to our home address on file that day. We got them 2 days later. DH was absolutely sold that this was beyond fantastic customer service. I mean, really? Do you know what it took for me to recover a teddy bear from a hotel in Tampa 10 years prior? They practically held the thing for ransom and my father had to drive 3 hours to the hotel to get it back for me.
Disney just shipped it off, no questions asked and with a smile.

So yeah... we believe!

 

[stinkpickle]

The first time I visited WDW as a kid, I was already a teenager. I had fun with the family, but the summer temps, crowds, and lack of thrill rides didn't produce any standout memories for me. Many years later, after I got married, my wife and I thought it might be fun to visit before we had children. She grew up in California and had only visited Disneyland, so she really wanted to go. It turned out to be one of the fun trips we've ever taken in 16 years of marriage. Perhaps I'm still chasing that moment...

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I would say I was hooked before I even got to go for the first time. I remember being around 3, and my parents went to WDW with my brother and I had to stay home with my grandparents. Oh, I so badly wanted to be big enough to go to WDW too. When I was 5 I got to go for the first time and it was like a right of passage for me. I remember skipping through the parking lot hoping that I looked like Punky Brewster in the opening credits of the show as she skips towards a baseball stadium. It's a ridiculous thing to remember, but I so badly wanted to look just as happy as Punky Brewster because I was feeling just as happy to actually be there.

My all time favorite memory is riding with my mom on the Tomorrow Land Speedway. I couldn't drive the car to save my life, and we bounced off the rails the entire way. My mom could not stop laughing. Up until I started taking driving lessons I was terrified of driving because I thought real cars were as hard to drive as the Tomorrow land Speedway cars. Every trip I always have to ride the speedway to relive that moment.

WDW always marked transitions in my life growing up. We lived overseas, and between each country we would always make a trip to WDW, so about every 2-3 years we visited. I've been to a ridiculous number of countries, but WDW is my favorite place to visit.

Since bringing my husband for the first time, and then my son, my hookedness has only gotten worse.

 

[SaraMc]

I was hooked before my first trip when I was 9. I was given a copy of the birnbaum guide to read before our first trip and I read it, studied it and after that there was no turning back.

 

[MomofIndigo]

My first time at Disney was as on the CP. Never away from home to an apt. with 5 other girls. My program was in the Fall so I was able to see the parks literally transform into this stage for people during the holidays. Loved it ever since.

Married a Disney freak and taking our DD for her first time made us fall in love with it even more. Our first time we watched the MK fireworks together I cried through the whole thing. DH is looking at me like I am crazy but that was the happiest moment ever.

 

[jkramer]

My DH's moment was when we went on ToT like 7 times during EMH during our honeymoon in April. On our 6th time, they let us have our own elevator.

After that, we are going back in December!


46673760419 by JKramer2013, on Flickr

 

[xipetotec]

Was sitting here thinking about what it is that keeps me coming back to Disney World. Having grown up about an hour away from WDW, I can say there are many memories as a child that over time got me "hooked".
The first time riding the haunted mansion with my dad, seeing the mouse ear balloons all over the place. Sharing my first chocolate covered frozen banana. Going to EPCOT for the first time.The way things have changed, but still feel "at home" when going to the parks.
Now I am a parent and wanting to give my kids the same magical memories that I had. Not living in FL any longer and of course inflation over the years makes it a little more difficult, but to me it is totally worth it. How do you put a price on memories that will last for many years to come? (sounding like a Disney commercial lol)

What are some memories that have you hooked to keep coming back for more?

For me it was going with my kids. I had been to WDW a few times as a kid. I always liked it, but memories were always of "those fun amusement parks".

Then Gramma took her kids and grandkids on a trip when my kids were respectively 3, 6, 7... and wow. That feeling of being somewhere with my kids, everything "paid for" up front, no worries about transportation and just a place where you can goof off and be a kid with your own kids. It's kept us coming back. This upcoming trip my kids will be 15, 18 and 21. They are all coming and excited to be there.

 

[h&D3]

my parents brought me and my 3 brothers to Disneyland in 1975. I was 5 years old and it was the first "real" vacation we had been on as a family. 7 entire days. Sure, we had taken long weekend trips in the car, but nothing like this. I guess I owe part of it to my oldest brother as he was an avid disney fan for the longest time and I think he was the one who eventually wore my parents down to take us.

I remember how magical it was. First time on an airplane and all.
The thing I remember from that was when we were leaving Disneyland on our last day there, my mom told my dad, "honey, I don't care what we need to do, but we're coming back"..... My dad agreed. And we did. Each year we would scrimp and save.... and each year we would go.

Back in 1980 was the first year we decided to go to WDW. With a few hick-ups with the first hotel we stayed at, the first trip was not so wonderful, but still memorable. But I do remember being very impressed with the Magic Kingdom and just the sheer size of it vs the size of Disneyland.

We decided to try once again in 1981 and stayed at the Pickett Suites (it is now the DoubleTree) in the DTD area. That trip was a much better experience than the first one, and my family was hooked on WDW. Once again, we saved year after year so we could come back for 10-14 nights at a time.

As the years went by and my parents got older, it was harder and harder for them to make the trip. My dad developed Parkinson's and was wheelchair bound for a few of the trips. But he still wanted to go. I remember times pushing him and we would go get an ice cream while my mom and brother went shopping. I think those were some of the greatest memories I have with my dad. In fact, one of the photos I have of him was a great shot with Pluto. It was in the Oddessy restaurant.... Pluto standing behind him with his ears held out wide, and my dad with the biggest grin on his face.

My father passed away 6 years ago, shortly after my daughter was born.
So my husband and I decided to take our kids, my mom, and my brother (the disney fan) along on our trip. Now my husband's experience was totally different than mine growing up. The first time he went, he was 16 years old. And they went only to EPCOT for one day.... (still can't figure that one out, but that could be an entirely different post)

So this trip was going to be extremely magical for me.... seeing the parks through my eyes, my husbands eyes, our 6 year old son, our 17 month old daughters eyes, but not to forget seeing my mom experiencing all of this through her grandkids eyes. (WHEW!) And what a trip it was. We had so much fun....
That was probably one of the most magical trips that I had been on since that first trip back in 1975.

We lost my mom the past April...but I know that she would have agreed. And the thing I take from her that I will always remember is "honey, I don't care what we need to do, but we're coming back"..... Thanks Mom, I totally agree and I will remember your words always.

So with all the long winded-ness of my post, I think the thing that I can wrap this up with is, each time I go to Disney, I'm hooked. We share so many memories, and do different things each time we go, that it keeps hooking me every time and that's why we keep coming back. Some of the happiest moments and memories I have were because of something Disney. And that ain't to bad in my book....

~D
PS: and we'll be making more memories in 38 days.....:

 

[Mel8778]

I grew up 2 hrs away from WDW so I went several times as a kid but what "hooked" me was the first time we brought our two little DDs. They were about 1 1/2 and 3 and seeing their little faces so happy did it for me. We've been APers ever since. . Going on our first DC next spring!

 

[GagesMama]

I ,too, live just 2 hours away. We made several family trips to WDW growing up, and I always loved it. I just wasn't obsessed. That's is... until I became an adult and ended up sharing an office with a former CM. He shared so many behind the scenes stories and talked about how great the company is as a whole. I then found the DIS and silently stalked for 5 years before recently joining. My obsession snuck up on me. Now I'm ready to share it with my son.