What made Disney so important for you?

[sandynd]

So, we all love Disney more than the average bear, or we wouldn't be here I would love to hear what makes it so special for you! I'll start.

If you had asked me before my first adult trip to the World why I was so bent on going, I would have said it's because I didn't get to go as a kid. But there are lots of places I didn't go and none of them imprinted on me like Disney. But I realized a little while ago that my first real brush with Disney magic was a "Little Golden Book" of Cinderella. I didn't have a happy childhood, and the idea of a magic grandma who could change your life in an instant caught my spirit and even though I didn't "believe" it was a true story, I truly do still have a spark of belief in me. Magic kingdom is the physical embodiment of the magic place where that life-changing moment maybe really could happen! DW still is my "happy thought" when things go off the rails and into the rhubarb. I can't wait to go back someday, and realizing why it's so special to me will make it even more magical!

 

[Meetmeinmontauk]

I visited WDW for the first time in 2011 when I was 23. I think there are a lot of reasons that I am Disney obsessed!

- I never got to visit as a child. I'm the oldest of 4 and my parents divorced when I was 7. I have a great relationship with both parents, but financially it was just out of the cards for us.

- I spent my 1 year anniversary with my current DBF at Disney... so I feel like it's "our place"

- It had been YEARS since I had taken a vacation when we decided to visit Disney in 2011

I just completely fell in love on my first trip & I'm currently planning our 3rd trip. I look forward to settling down & having kids to share in the magic with

 

[MomRN]

I grew up poor. One pair of pants and not always enough to eat poor. My mom and step-dad collected disability (and spent most of that on drugs) and my dad worked at K-Mart. However, my grandparents (my dads parents) were upper middle class and lived in Florida. Every other year they would fly us there and we would go to Disney, Seaworld, and or Busch Gardens. This is honestly the only time I remember feeling like a kid and not a young person wondering if the power would be shut off, if I could wear clean clothes the next day, or if I would be hungry.

I was pretty determined to never be poor again. While by no means rich, I hope my son never has to experience those things I went through. So, starting when he was 3 we have went back to Disney every year so I can be a kid with him.

 

[CurlyJo224]

It's my happy place.

We went there on the only vacation my family ever went on when I was seven years old. It was one of the last times I can remember my family being happy. The next year we moved, and my parents divorced a couple of years later. I had a lot of problems from the divorce and the years leading up to it. When I go to WDW, I remember and can become in some way that happy seven year old again.

 

[java]

Not the happiest childhood, but we went to Disney often. It was the one place with no fighting. (although a recent Facebook photo proves othrwise) but that's how I remember it. The Happy Place.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I love all of your stories, very touching.

Well, I have two stories.

I grew up living 15 minutes away from Disneyland. My parents divorced when I was three. Unfortunately my father wasn't very consistent with visitation. But I do remember once when I was about 6 that he took me to Disneyland and it was a very special day. I remember him saying how much he loved Disney but that was the only time we went together.

Fast forward, I got married and my husband and I had three boys who we would take to Disneyland. Each time we would take one for their first time, my husband would get teary-eyed. One day around '01, I was watching one of the WDW holiday parades. At that time we had never taken the boys on a major vacation and it was then that I decided that we just had to go. So a few months later I did the math and decided we could make it happen if I scrimped and saved and so made a reservation. In '04 the five of us took our first trip to WDW - by this time our boys were 10, 12 and 15 and yet my husband still got teary-eyed at being able to share this experience with them. We had a wonderful, memorable trip! Sadly, it was to be our last with all 5 of us.

It gets complicated from there and not enough time to tell the whole story. My husband passed away on 1/5/12. However, my sons and I were fortunate enough to be able to take 4 additional trips to WDW since that first time, the most recent being in July. We stayed at the Beach Club just like we did the first time with their dad. It was bittersweet but we were able to relive so many wonderful memories. My sons are now 19, 21 and 23. Disney World is our happy place where for a brief period of time we can all be kids together and recall a time where we didn't have a care in the world.

 

[eltonsha]

For me I can say it just makes me smile but really I know that deep down it's much more. I grew up with a mom that gave a lot more hits than hugs and I never really saw anything Disney till The Little Mermaid. The idea that no matter how much you didn't like where you were or what your life was you could change it gave me the hope to believe that there was more out there than what I knew.
Ariel will always be my favorite and I still get teared up every time I hear A Part of your World.

 

[Aliceacc]

We planned to take the kids to WDW for their first time in August 2008. I had been home with the kids for 5 years, but was back at work, and we were starting to get our finances caught up. My husband and I had each been there before, though the last time was in 1990.

One night in the spring, I woke up to find a LARGE lump in my right breast. Long story short, it was a Phyllodes Tumor, and I was looking at a mastectomy, radiation, and reconstruction for the next year.

When someone says "biopsy" or "radiation" to you, it's the end of life as you know it. Sleep is a thing of the past. I learned that it's entirely possible to teach high school all day on 2 hours of sleep a night.

During those sleepless nights, I tried watching TV. But you can only watch The Nanny so many times before you run from the room screaming.

So I frequently found myself down here in the basement, at the computer. I was smart enough not to google "Cancer" or anything similar. I was terrified enough; I knew that there was lots of info out there that couldn't help me and would only leave me more frightened. Anyone who says that knowledge is power is referring to knowledge that applies to YOU, not terrifying knowledge that applies to someone ELSE.

So Disney became my escape. I was on this site, and others like it, constantly. I learned everything I could. Disney became my happy place, a plan where I could plan for AFTER. There would be an AFTER, you see, because we had the reservations to prove it. (That explains the trips 2 consecutive years.)

(And, as an aside, the absolute MOST helpful place I found for information on Breast Cancer was a thread right here on the DIS: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2833381 . It's frequented mostly by people who have walked in those same shoes. Whenever I hear of anyone facing Breast Cancer, it's where I direct them.)

Funny story: when I returned to work after the mastectomy, I found that the nickname adopted by my freshman homeroom was the 9H Heffalumps. The kids, of course, had no idea why I was out, merely that I was recovering from surgery. So two weeks after returning, I wore a black T with "9H HEFFALUMPS" in hot pink over my two very uneven breasts. I am now the proud owner of a stuffed Heffalump and an ornament; it became our joking codeword for my ever changing shape.

Disney World and the DIS made it possible to get through those endlessly long nights when sleep was impossible. I learned so very much. That first year we had personalized menus and a diver with a welcome sign at The Coral Reef, I knew about Fastpass and Photopass. I got a room in the building I wanted at the Polynesian. We had a plan for attacking each park. For a newbie, I really did know quite a lot. But, more than that, I had something to occupy my thoughts and keep the monster at bay. And I had a concrete plan for AFTER the nightmare ended. That's another thing I always emphasize with friends who get a scary diagnosis-- what kept me sane was having plans for AFTER-- plans that I was really looking forward to.

I'll always be thankful that the information was there at a time when I so desperately needed something to occupy my thoughts.

 

[Christine]

I guess my love of Disney doesn't really have to do with any sort of traumatic thing, it's just memories.

The first time I went to WDW, it was the late 1970s and I was 12 years old. *I know most of you probably weren't alive then but keep up with me here.*

If you think back to that time, there was just really nothing like it. Oh, there were amusement parks with great rides, but there was nothing at all so contained, so ahead of its time, so magical, as WDW. I mean imagine in 1977 and amusement park with a freakin' MONORAIL?????.....

I was just floored. We spent 5 days there, just at the Magic Kingdom because that's all there was, exploring every nook and cranny of the place. Staying at the Contemporary was unbelievable.

So, I guess that sort of stuck with me. My next trip there wouldn't be until 1991 and it still had that power over me.

Once the family got bigger, we found that it was a place that all of us could really enjoy. I mean, we did like other places but either someone didn't really like the beach, or someone wasn't crazy about mountains. But WDW seems to please everyone.

 

[lizabu]

I grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. It was family time. We would all watch together. When I was 7 my Dad took us to the Magic Kingdom. It really was magical. It was our first time on a plane and our first time in Florida. The palm trees and little lizards seemed so exotic. The castle and everything was so amazing to my 7 year old self. I spent my whole life dreaming of coming back. I finally got to do it in January with my own kids. Now I'm hooked. We have a trip to DLR planned in march and WDW in 2014.

 

[married2mm]

wow,some of these stories really moved me.
I was not lucky enough to travel abroad with my parents as a child (I'm in the UK) we had vacations when I was younger,in the UK,but none as a teenager.

I had my first overseas trip with dh and dds.it was lovely,wdw was never an option though as too expensive.

fastforward several times years and the birth of our ds,! we decided to have a "once in a lifetime trip"'.
August 2005- it quite simply was ..magical.the atmosphere,the heat,the attention to detail,the cms,the amazing accommodation,everyone was just so helpful and we loved it.
we have since returned 9 times,and the "Florida feeling" is growing stronger every year.

 

[dbarker]

I had to do a research paper on a company for a college management class. I chose Disney. Needless to say, I fell in love. I finally visited for the first time 8 years later. As they say, the rest is history.

 

[Micca]

Grew up with the Mickey Mouse Club, Disney toys, songs, etc. First trip to DLR as a child was even better than I'd thought it would be. Subsequent trips to DLR and WDW with DW & DDs even better than I'd imagined.

 

[meggiebeth]

I begged my parents to take me... And we tried really hard to afford it. I had been having a really difficult year with health problems and depression. It was an enlightening experience going to Disney and we all loved it. My parents were determined to dislike it but ended up desperate to go back.

They still don't want to go back quite as much as me. They think I'm odd to be so obsessed with Disney.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Stitchfans]

I also grew up with the Mickey Mouse Club. Watched each movie as it came out. Listened to Disney songs on my record player Didn't get to actually go to Disney World until my late teens. Loved it so much I begged my ex husband to take me there for our honeymoon.

Once I had my daughter we went back when she was 5. Never got to go back again until I divorced, remarried had my second daughter. Then we went several more times as a family both daughters and my now 2nd ex husband. (long story, which some of you may remember)

So many wonderful memories, so many wonderful pictures of carefree, magical moments. Not sure how I'll be able to do so, but would love to share those memories, magical moments with my grandson and grand daughter and any other future grandchildren down the road. It is a place where you can forget all your worries, responsibilities for just a little while. Be a kid again and see the magic in the eyes of the children around you.

I hope to some day see my grandchildren's smiles as they hug Mickey. As they get their first glimpse of the castle. Dance with the characters. Just have so much fun!

 

[fly girl]

WOW! Such touching stories. What some of you have endured is truly inspiring.


My love of Disney is not nearly as profound as others. I just like it for the family time that we get. It has become an annual (and a few times semi annual) event that we share after DH comes home from a deployment. Spending time apart from each other due to careers is part of our life, and Disney has always been there for group time when we relax and have fun together. We all get to be kids and escape from the stresses of normal life.

 

[njmom47]

SInce I have been only a few times, I'm not sure when my small obsession began. I suppose going the first time (as a teen in the mid 70s also, Christine ) didn't even start it. Probably when my dad took all of us (in total, there was 10 of us!) and my kids were young, and I saw things through their eyes. Then, of course, the one year dd#2 decides to cheer for Pop Warner and her team makes it to WDW.....then a baseball tournament in WDW...well, we are now planning a trip for 2014 since my dgd will be a great age to experience it all.
If I would've realized that we could possibly have traded dmom's timeshare for somewhere in Orlando, we would have gone more times, I'm sure!

 

[Caseheidi]

We had already been to both WDW & DLR before we were really hit with the Disney bug. We Honeymooned at WDW in 2001, and decided on a return trip in 2003. This trip was at the beginning of our journey with Infertility. As we started to hit some big bumps in the road to building our family, Disney became our escape. We planed quick trips ( with 6 weeks planning or less) when after months of trying to get pregnant ended in disappointment once again. It was a great way to deal with our sorrow and de-stress from months of anxiety.

As we moved from Fertility treatments to Adoption, we have had more special moments. We were in MK in front of the castle when we received a call from our case worker that we had been approved for adoption. A year later we were once again at WDW and were nightly communicating with DD Birth mother. And now we have DD and have taken her twice ( once WDW and once DLR). Disney has truly been part of building our family, so how could it not be special.

 

[wannabee]

My dad took us on a spur of the moment trip in 1972- we stayed offsite. I dont remember much of that first trip( I was six). A couple of years later- maybe 9 or 10 years old- we went back and stayed at the contemporary. We had so much fun. We took a total of 4 trips as a family- the last around 1985. We always had so much fun. I just always think about Disney as family time.

I didnt return to Disney until 2005- with my six year old son and husband. I couldnt believe I had stayed away 20 years. Next month I will take my son on his 4th trip( he asked to go). My husband doesnt feel the magic so he stays home now. My friends and family joke about me going again but i figure I may not have much more time .... my son is soon to be 14 and not likely to be asking me to take him much longer. Gotta enjoy it while I can and pray for grandkids to take someday.

 

[violetrose]

My love for Disney started when I was a little kid and the whole family would sit around on Sunday night and watch The Wonderful World of Disney. Went to WDW for the first time at 12 years old, the year that it opened, when it was only MK and our parents took us back about 3 more times. It seemed like a logical place to vacation when our kids were born and the thing we most liked about it as a vacation spot is we always felt we could let our kids ride the buses and go around the property by themselves once they got to be tweens. I feel safe there!