queenofpainting
Poor Unfortunate Soul
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2012
Ah, it fills me with glee to reflect on my very first trip with my mom to Disney World in April of 2000, when I was in 4th grade.
In this picture from the Dinosaur ride (a favorite of mine), I'm the young girl in the middle row. My mom's next to me. My favorite thing about this picture is that one guy's stunned expression. I can picture him saying, "Oh my GOD. It's a freakin' DINOSAUR!"
Although I had only been to some other places in the Midwest and Paris at the time, Disney World had quickly become my favorite place in the whole world. Naturally, my mom and I returned for three more trips after that, one in 2002, and two at AKL in 2005 and 2006 after I had become a vegan in high school. We were both in awe the first time we spotted a giraffe at midnight on the way to our room.
Here's me at Epcot right before my 16th birthday!
Perhaps I should explain something about myself, which I'm honestly not sure is common or not in this forum: I'm obsessed with Disney. Not just Disney Parks, but films from the Disney animation canon. I'm a huge geek when it comes to those movies, along with others from studios like Pixar and Studio Ghibli. I have a background in writing and drawing, and in addition I study and obsessively watch films as well, so it seems natural that I would just love animation! Below is a picture of a small portion of my collection I temporarily set up. Who needs a car or a fancy cell phone when you can spend that money on Disney figurines and DVDs, anyway? Pfffft...
I didn't take many pictures of my two trips in high school, as I did not yet own a digital camera or a phone with a camera, sadly. However, I do have fond memories of my specially prepared meals at AKL and throughout WDW, including Boma, Jiko, Mama Melrose's, and even Mara! I was extremely pleased with the vegan options in a place I assumed would be otherwise not-terribly-vegan-friendly. One chef at Cinderella's Royal Table even surprised me with a chocolate cake and non-dairy ice cream during my birthday dinner.
This is me now: a college senior, slowly blooming out my shy awkward stage—though I will always be a natural introvert, of course—and passionate about pursuing a career in art education. I'm still in school, so traveling has become a rare opportunity for me. I visited NYC for a weekend to see an Asian Film Festival and Tokyo for three weeks last summer. No other trips since 2006, though. No, not even Disney, despite many (failed) plans to return back to the place that gives me some of my absolute happiest memories.
In 2010, I began dating my wonderful boyfriend, who is also now my best friend. We have yet to outgrow the puppy love phase!
Something sort of unique about him is that he's from a very rural area and had never left the state of Michigan (where we attend school and met) before I took him back home to Chicago! He hadn't even been to the major cities of Michigan. He's never stepped foot on a plane and still hasn't seen anything outside of farm country and Chicago, so I'm excited for him to see Disney World. In a way, perhaps he can get a taste of other countries by going to AK and World Showcase. I'm also excited for myself, as I've always told my BF that he and WDW make me happier than practically anything in the universe, and I could only imagine the elevated joy I would have from experiencing my first WDW trip with the fella I adore. Oh yeah, and another thing about my boyfriend: he's vegan, too!
My trip came as a surprise. My mom's completing her master's degree and forwarded a promotional email about AoA to me, saying that she wants to go to WDW as a graduation gift to herself. She told me in a very stern tone, "I'm going whether or not you do. I am going to Disney World!" And let me tell you, there is no way someone would have to persuade me to go to WDW.
While I like the color palettes of the Finding Nemo suites at AoA, my mom and boyfriend both prefer the Lion King suites, which I am also okay with considering it's my favorite Disney film. We are aiming for August 19-24th because it's a value week and right before school starts up again. The 19th also happens to be the exact midpoint between my birthday and my boyfriend's.
More details such as ADR and other plans to come soon! Hopefully I didn't mess up my very first pre-report.
In this picture from the Dinosaur ride (a favorite of mine), I'm the young girl in the middle row. My mom's next to me. My favorite thing about this picture is that one guy's stunned expression. I can picture him saying, "Oh my GOD. It's a freakin' DINOSAUR!"
Although I had only been to some other places in the Midwest and Paris at the time, Disney World had quickly become my favorite place in the whole world. Naturally, my mom and I returned for three more trips after that, one in 2002, and two at AKL in 2005 and 2006 after I had become a vegan in high school. We were both in awe the first time we spotted a giraffe at midnight on the way to our room.
Here's me at Epcot right before my 16th birthday!
Perhaps I should explain something about myself, which I'm honestly not sure is common or not in this forum: I'm obsessed with Disney. Not just Disney Parks, but films from the Disney animation canon. I'm a huge geek when it comes to those movies, along with others from studios like Pixar and Studio Ghibli. I have a background in writing and drawing, and in addition I study and obsessively watch films as well, so it seems natural that I would just love animation! Below is a picture of a small portion of my collection I temporarily set up. Who needs a car or a fancy cell phone when you can spend that money on Disney figurines and DVDs, anyway? Pfffft...
I didn't take many pictures of my two trips in high school, as I did not yet own a digital camera or a phone with a camera, sadly. However, I do have fond memories of my specially prepared meals at AKL and throughout WDW, including Boma, Jiko, Mama Melrose's, and even Mara! I was extremely pleased with the vegan options in a place I assumed would be otherwise not-terribly-vegan-friendly. One chef at Cinderella's Royal Table even surprised me with a chocolate cake and non-dairy ice cream during my birthday dinner.
This is me now: a college senior, slowly blooming out my shy awkward stage—though I will always be a natural introvert, of course—and passionate about pursuing a career in art education. I'm still in school, so traveling has become a rare opportunity for me. I visited NYC for a weekend to see an Asian Film Festival and Tokyo for three weeks last summer. No other trips since 2006, though. No, not even Disney, despite many (failed) plans to return back to the place that gives me some of my absolute happiest memories.
In 2010, I began dating my wonderful boyfriend, who is also now my best friend. We have yet to outgrow the puppy love phase!
Something sort of unique about him is that he's from a very rural area and had never left the state of Michigan (where we attend school and met) before I took him back home to Chicago! He hadn't even been to the major cities of Michigan. He's never stepped foot on a plane and still hasn't seen anything outside of farm country and Chicago, so I'm excited for him to see Disney World. In a way, perhaps he can get a taste of other countries by going to AK and World Showcase. I'm also excited for myself, as I've always told my BF that he and WDW make me happier than practically anything in the universe, and I could only imagine the elevated joy I would have from experiencing my first WDW trip with the fella I adore. Oh yeah, and another thing about my boyfriend: he's vegan, too!
My trip came as a surprise. My mom's completing her master's degree and forwarded a promotional email about AoA to me, saying that she wants to go to WDW as a graduation gift to herself. She told me in a very stern tone, "I'm going whether or not you do. I am going to Disney World!" And let me tell you, there is no way someone would have to persuade me to go to WDW.
While I like the color palettes of the Finding Nemo suites at AoA, my mom and boyfriend both prefer the Lion King suites, which I am also okay with considering it's my favorite Disney film. We are aiming for August 19-24th because it's a value week and right before school starts up again. The 19th also happens to be the exact midpoint between my birthday and my boyfriend's.
More details such as ADR and other plans to come soon! Hopefully I didn't mess up my very first pre-report.
I've tried a cupcake from the original NYC location and disliked it the point of not finishing it, but it may have been the spelt flour that threw me off, which I don't believe the Orlando location uses.
