I grew up in Central Florida, and we took a day trip to WDW for my birthday every year starting with my first. So my earliest memories are all jumbled together.
But what I do remember clearly is the first trip when they offered all day admission (ticket books were still an option). My dad decided to spring for it, and we got cards on strings to wear around our necks. I was still VERY young and I felt like a princess all day, because whenever the attendants were trying to quickly finish loading a ride, they'd ask for the next people with all day passes to step up, because it took less time than taking tickets. So we ended up skipping a few people in line at almost every ride!
Epcot opening day: We had heard that they would be giving out free lifetimes passes to the first family through the gates. We got the special commemorative tickets that came with a glossy color guidebook and made plans to camp out in the parking lot overnight. Unfortunately, my dad was in engineering school at the time, and his professor set an exam for that morning that was worth half his grade! The professor would NOT allow him to take it early or late, so we didn't get to compete to be first in line. But we did make it in time for the ceremony where they poured water from all the different countries into the Fountain of Nations. I was just absolutely awestruck all day long. Epcot was so unlike anything I had ever experienced.
As soon as they became a thing, we got Three Season Salute passes (valid Jan, May, and Sept). I was used to going for my July birthday, so it was incredible to spend time in the almost-empty parks (not to mention the cooler weather). Both my parents came to pick me up from school that first Jan 31, which I thought was odd, but they played it off. I just happened to have brought home a dictionary from school, so they kept me busy in the car looking up random words. Finally my dad said, "Look up Magic." Then Look up Kingdom." I cottoned on and looked out the window just as we passed by the sign. It was such a random and unexpected visit.
Less than a week later, my dad was in a very serious car accident on his way to work. They gave him less than a 10% chance of coming off the operating table alive. I still remember my mom saying, "I'm so glad we went to Disney that day. If he doesn't make it, we can always hold onto that memory." Thankfully he did make it, but I kept holding on tight to that memory through the more than a year it took for him to recover.
One other one from one of the really early trips: I was terrified of the Haunted Mansion. But I was also very intellectual and verbal. My parents told me to keep telling myself, "It's only mechanical." I repeated that mantra through the entire ride, and by the time it ended I wasn't scared anymore. By the next trip I was a fan, and we started the tradition that we still practice today: Waiting for the very last ride on the Haunted Mansion before it closes at night.
Thanks for starting this thread! I hadn't thought about some of these memories in years.
Anyway, things I remember from that trip:
