Which was YOUR best trip and why?

[kkayluvsdis]

What a great thread! I have enjoyed reading all your replies. I have been away from the DIS for a bit because it bums me out that I am not at Disney or at least planning to be there! This morning I woke up with such a serious Disney "itch" though and I needed a dose of DISboards. This thread was perfect for me!

Anyway, like most have you have said, I have been fortunate enough to have MANY wonderful Disney memories. A lot of my best childhood memories are from times in Disney because growing up we weren't able to do a lot as a family. My dad was ALWAYS working, but trips to Florida were always that special time away from reality!

The trip that stands out in my mind, however, whenever I find myself Disney daydreaming is our "girls only" trip in November of 2008. It was my mom, my sister, my dd(2 at the time) and me. We stayed at the POLY for the first time and also had free dining for the first time. It was a PERFECT trip. We went to our first ever MVMCP which was absolutely magical, watched WISHES from the beach at the POLY, took our time to soak up all the magic, I could go on and on. Also, as an early Birthday present, my sister treated me to the Keys to the Kingdom tour. It was fantastic!! Although we feared being "behind the scenes" might take away some of the magic for us, it did the complete opposite! It really made us appreciate all the thought and planning that went in to designing and maintaining this amazing place! I often dream of being able to do that trip over and over again-except for the HORRENDOUSLY scary plane ride home, that is!

I can't wait to start planning our next vacation! Although, this time it will be for a family of 5 as we are expected our third child in September!!

-Kelly

 

[Vivianne]

Our best trip was our honeymoon in 1986.

Back then, there were only 2 parks MK and Epcot. Seeing the castle just
blew me away. What a great feeling seeing everything for the first time.
I always try to relive a little bit of what I felt back then and will never forget
it.

Since then, we've stayed at alot of the onsite Disney hotels. Back in '86 we stayed
offsite at Court of Flags which is no longer there.

 

[mill4023]

Definitely our first trip, in spring 2005.
As a kid, I probably went to Disneyland 10 times and it was my favorite place in the world. I had always wanted to go to Disney World, but my parents could never afford that kind of vacation, coming from the west coast.

When I had kids of my own, I loved taking them to Disneyland, but Disney World was always way out of our vacation budget.

In 2005, we could finally afford it, so we took our 4 kids(1 to 10) to Disney World and Universal for 12 nights. It was our first real family vacation that didn't involve visiting family or going somewhere cheap within driving distance. We were all just blown away by the experience. I was afraid my expectations would be too high, but they were far surpassed by how much fun we had on that trip. Even after 12 days, we were having such a great time that nobody wanted to leave.

We've thoroughly enjoyed all 4 of our Disney World trips, but nothing can ever compare to that first time.

 

[seelyt2]

It was our second trip as a family. We stayed at Coronado Springs, so nothing fancy and we all shared a room (this isn't why I loved the trip though! NO!) On the flight down my DD5 lost her front tooth, so that created excitement (and creativity for the tooth fairy), and the other front tooth fell out a couple days later while eating pizza. It just popped out and bounced on the table at the Pepper Market Restaurant. I'll never forget it. While DS9 was studying his social studies (October trip), we saw our first wild alligator while we were eating breakfast outside at the resort. A bunch of firsts. The grounds were just beautiful and I really enjoyed taking in the view while walking 10 mins to get my morning coffee. But I think what really made the trip so wonderful is that we didn't go commando. I was extremely busy at work and home and didn't have the time to plan with gusto. We had been two years before so we weren't clueless, but yet it felt so fresh because I didn't have time to think about the trip beforehand. We just went with the flow and we were all so relaxed and let Disney come to us instead of us go looking for Disney. It was a wonderful trip. Since then we purchased DVC and have been 3 times (we parents get our own room now ), and still nothing quite lives up to that trip for some reason. It was really magical in its own way. Family Magic made possible by Disney Magic.

 

[dizzneebabe]

Since I always think each trip is more fabulous than the last, I'll stick with that and say this past March (Spring Break) was the best! Why? We started out at Vero Beach for 3 days, then headed to Boardwalk. We always try to do some "firsts" and they didn't disappoint! This round was made up of Vero, Flower & Garden Fest, Rose & Crown & American Adventure (believe it or not). We also took a 2 day detour to US/IOA to see Potter--and it was awesome!

DH and I leave next week for our first weekend without the kids! I'm sure that's going to remain high on my list as 'best trips' for a long time!!!

 

[Vowelmommy]

I have enjoyed every trip to WDW, but my very first trip (when I was 10) had the best magical moment for me. I was there Easter week 1991 with my parents and my brother (who was 8). We were the next in line to meet Mickey Mouse and have our picture taken with him. The family currently with Mickey had a blind daughter. Mickey knelt down took the girl’s hand, and proceeded to guide her hand letting her touch all over his head and face. The girl was laughing and it was such a delight for the rest of her family too. To this day thinking of that moment brings tears to my eyes.

I wasn't even there and this made me cry.

 

[Donalyn]

I can't pick a favorite Disney Parks trip - but each one has a number of magical moments that keep me coming back:

DL 1979 - I was 7, it was Christmas time and I remember walking in awe all day, trying to figure out which stuffed animal I would buy (I picked Donald). And then getting pictures with him.

WDW 1990 - First time entering MK. Walking around the lake at Epcot.

WDW 2003 - First trip with DH and watching him developing the Disney-bug.

WDW 2005 - DD's first trip. Having her favorite character (JoJo from JoJo Circus) to herself for 15 minutes. 5 years later, we still have a picture of this encounter in her room and I smile each time I see it. (All in all, this was my least favorite trip, but that is a different thread.)

WDW 2009 - Other DD's first trip. Having to hold her back to wait her turn to meet Mickey. Oldest DD meeting Alladin (and blushing up a storm).

DL 2010 - Watching my DNieces and DNephew experience the parks. This was a good trip - kids old enough to ride Mountains, other adults with us to leave the little kids with so I could ride Mountains, some time alone with DH.

WDW 2011 - Looking forward to having it just be the 4 of us, with limited nap breaks and kids old enough to ride almost everything.

 

[PeterPan&Wendy1970]

Love these stories! I certainly have gotten teary reading some of them. So many wonderful memories at Disney
Keep them coming!
And yes, I really, really miss the Year of a Million Dreams too! I loved seeing people with dreampasses, or getting swooped on by a team handing out lanyards and pins...it was so exciting! Bring it back Disney!

Me Dh ds 11 ds 9 dd 7

 

[delaneyc52]

I could say my best trip was when Magic Kingdom opened in '71.

Or...I could say our best trip was when we introduced our 5 yr old twins to Disney World in 1992.

Or ... I could say the best trip was their high school spring break trip.

Or...I could say our best trip was when we had our first vacation alone without children in 2006 when they left for college.

Or...I could say the best trip was when my daughter and I went on a girls trip only to celebrate her college graduation (dad worked and twin brother didn't want to go!)

Or...I could say the best trip was celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary.

Or...I could say the next trip will probably be the best.

 

[21hearts]

All of them & because I was at Disney! How can I pick just one? Our August/September trip was our first time to all four parks at one time & our February trip was Lilly's first time to the parks. So many wonderful firsts! This trip will become a favorite as well because it will be our first Christmas trip.

 

[Tinkerbell Teen]

I think our most recent trip (April 2011) was our favourite. We had amazing character interactions, I got to wander the park solo for the first time (I had about an hour to myself and it was so cool to experience everything on my own!), and we loved our resort. It was the only time I ever cried on the ME bus going home, and I think that says something.

A close second is our 2009 trip, 9 full days in the World was absolutely incredible!

 

[lovebug33]

I was just reminded by somebody of a trip I took to DL in college. It was one of those drive through the middle of the night to get there for opening and leave at closing trips. The cool thing was that there were 40 of us who went. 16 of us stuck together the whole trip and 7 had never been to Disney, including our priest's first trip. We were crazy, we had no plan, we were with this guy who kept taking pictures with the maintenance (SP???) people who would give all of us front of the line passes and it truly was a magical experience! Seeing Disney through the eyes of somebody who'd never been is the best!

 

[Belle83]

Very tough choice, but I would say my first trip to Disneyland, circa 1991. I was 7 and in 1st grade (I think). It was right before my parents got divorced. I have such great memories of going on rides with my cousins and sisters, even though it was pouring down rain the entire time. I was in complete awe of all of it, and obviously still am.

 

[ems_mom]

My very first trip was when I was the ripe old age of 23! 1986 I believe. My DH's parents took the three of us (myself, DH, DD) on a trip to Daytona, FL followed by 3 or 4 nights at Arnold Palmers' Bay Hill Club. I thought I'd died and went to heaven!

WDW was the most magical place I had ever been. We were there in Jan. or Feb, can't remember exactly but it was cool! Not knowing any better I packed us all shorts and skirts, and fortunately some sweaters and a jacket for my DD. Still, we were all in skirts and shorts with our jackets but it was still the best experience in my life. The parks were empty and my DD got to meet all the Disney characters, including Mickey, by just running into them! No lines or meet and greets. Everyone was so nice and happy and the parks were so clean! I couldn't get over it.

So my DH clearly understands its his fault we are now DVC owners...

 

[kathy884]

I've done 23 trips -- First was 1971 when I was ten // Latest was last March at age 50 (enjoyed them all), but two stand out as my favorites:

My first favorite was in 1998 when my son was three. DH had a convention at the Contemporary. The guy at check in upgraded us to Tower room Magic Kingdom view and put my parents who came too using the Convention rate right next to us. We didn't go to any parks except for Sea World, but seemed to go everywhere else in the world exploring. It was just so magical, fun, and relaxing with a toddler. To cap it off, we're out on our balcony just enjoying some family time and get to see the water parade that I remeber back from the 70s (nostalgic and new family memory all at the same time). I didn't evern realize that this was still around / made my day.

My other favorite was a little last minute trip just three nights / two days that I did (just me and my son Oct. 2008 -- he was 13 at the time). One on one time with a child/teen is just so special and fun, and this was the first one on one trip we ever did together. We stayed offsite and did the two parks he wanted to do Sea World and AK. We usually go to the world with a large extended group (great fun and something we will continue to do) but, it was really special to just have some one on one time with him / whimsical / just did what we wanted / so little planning with just two instead of 10. At AK we got our fastpass for Expedition Everest first and then did the Maharaja Jungle trail. We were the only ones on the trail and a wonderful CM gave us a personal tour with all sort of inside facts etc. My son is a little naturalist and asked all kinds of great questions, was so interested in everything and you could tell that the CM just loved that and was in his glory sharing interesting fact about a park he loved. // Not Disney, but something else we just loved was putting on our rain ponchos and sitting way up front for Believe at SeaWorld so we could see the Orcas both underwater and above. DS's idea and his idea to get in line for the show 60 minutes before it started so we could get these prime seats // an absolute blast. // On this trip we stayed offsite at the Hilton Garden Inn which is walking distance to Sea World.

Interesting too that in 23 trips these are my only two off season trips (the 1998 one being in May // the other being in October -- a novelty for me). Most trips for me are Christmas or Spring Break (summer once too) // We're tied to the school schedule.

 

[2Tiggies]

Each one is so special in its own way.

If I had to choose I would probably go with our first visit. I 'knew' what I was doing in so far as having spent countless hours researching and planning, yet it was nowhere near as organized as the others.

You only ever have one first time and the look on my DD's face as she tried to take everything in at each of the parks and the surroundings in general is something I will never forget. Even looking back at the photographs and seeing the expression of awe on her face when she met the characters is something that still makes me smile. She is older now and doesn't have 'that look' when she does the meet and greets anymore, as I realized last trip although it is still special in a different way now.

Most of all, what that first trip gave us was a new dimension to the mother-daugher relationship. It is a part of the magic that has stayed in our lives ever since and for that alone, if it had been our only trip, it would have been worth it. That was when my little girl also became my friend.

 

[MickeyNicki]

DH and I go often and our best trip was January 09 when we took our nieces and my little 6 year old entered MK and said to me "This is the bestest day of my entire life"

That did it for me

 

[spacemountainmom]

I have a few favorites; each one for different reasons.

1998 - DD16's first trip, she was 3. I really enjoyed experiencing the world through her eyes. She loved the rides, the characters....the whole deal. It was DH's first trip too and he liked it more than he thought he would. We also brought home a very special souvenir from that trip.

2008 - DS11's first trip. He was 8 and really had no interest in going to WDW. He thought it would be "boring". He had an okay time the first day. We went back to the resort to eat and decided to head back to the MK for EMH. I took my dd and ds on their first ride on SM and they both loved it. We closed the park at 2am and both of the kids said it was the greatest night of their lives. This was the trip that caused DH to really "get it" too. It was just so cool to be able to take the kids and see and do everything together. No strollers, no taking turns on rides......just go, go, go!

2011 - We took a trip with just the four of us. Every other time we had gone with my parents and sister's family. It is fun to go with a big group, but we just really had a great time doing what we wanted, when we wanted. I was a little sad that I went on IASW without my mom - I always ride it with her so I called her and shared the ride over the phone. A highlight was going to night emh at AK. We'd never done that before and had such a great time. I am sorry that they have discontinued it.