Favorite Disneyland Memory?

[austizzle]

I was thinking the other day - what's my favorite Disneyland memory?

It's actually a fairly new one. My boyfriend and I were at the park and were walking past the DD entrance to the Grand Californian. He mentioned having stayed there for his brother's birthday one year and asked me if I ever had. I said no, it seemed cool but it just didn't make sense due to living in Los Angeles. I went in to World of Disney to trade a vinyl, and when I came out he was on the phone booking a room for us for that night.

He had mentioned that he was there with his girlfriend and that we'd decided on a whim to stay there. We went and checked into our room, dropped off a couple things, and headed back out into the parks. We had dinner at Ralph Brennan's and then he surprised me by booking the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour for us the next day (another thing on my to-do list I hadn't done). By the time we got back to our room late that night we found this:

The hotel had decorated our room for us simply because of what he'd said on the phone. We woke up the next day, took the tour, and then rode the Lilly Belle. It was by far my best experience in the park yet.

What's yours?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

awwwwwwwwwww!! That's so sweet of both your boyfriend and the Grand Californian! Gotta love Disney and their special touches.

We won the Dream Suite when they were doing it in 2008. There were crazy amounts of special touches that only Disney can dream up. (Like our amazing restocking fridge..every time we turned around that fridge had more soda in it LOL) The TV remote had our name on it..etc. I think out of the whole experience (which is obviously an amazing memory in and of itself) one of my favorite things is when my kids stared in awe at the 'magic kiss' in their bedroom. Gosh..I could go on forever. It was just a one in a million experience. :

 

[austizzle]

awwwwwwwwwww!! That's so sweet of both your boyfriend and the Grand Californian! Gotta love Disney and their special touches.

We won the Dream Suite when they were doing it in 2008. There were crazy amounts of special touches that only Disney can dream up. (Like our amazing restocking fridge..every time we turned around that fridge had more soda in it LOL) The TV remote had our name on it..etc. I think out of the whole experience (which is obviously an amazing memory in and of itself) one of my favorite things is when my kids stared in awe at the 'magic kiss' in their bedroom. Gosh..I could go on forever. It was just a one in a million experience. :

Oh my that's amazing!!!! I'm envious! We saw some people going up into the Dream Suite about a month ago - all CMs that appeared to be from the Studio but I just wanted to politely ask them to take us with them. Do you have photos from your stay? That's so awesome though, retroactively totally stoked for you!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I do! I have a ton...not as many as I wanted tho.

My DD in the dressing room

DD as the Grand Marshall in the parade that night

The yummy chocolate they put in the master bedroom for us after the parade

Magical restocking fridge

The kids room with the cute little robes

But yeah they just have so many magical touches. It made us really appreciate all the work that Disney puts into their things.

 

[juliamollymama]

Oh so jealous of the Dream Suite!!

Earlier this month we were there for DD9 birthday. She had her birthday button on, of course, and that evening while we waited in line for Storybook boats, the CM told her Happy Birthday and that she'd be right back. She came back a minute later with two little "glass" slippers for each of my girls. Their faces just lit up and now the keep them with all of their other special treasures. Such a little thing but so sweet!

 

[krispin41]

I love these threads! I always get teary-eyed when I read about the magic, because I am such a softie. Love it.

I have only been to Disneyland 4 times (Magic Kingdom once, but that was such a quick trip...), my earliest memories are just vague impressions, 1977, I was three years old. I totally remember the stretching room in Haunted Mansion. I also remember our trip in 1987, with my best friend's family, we stayed at the KOA Campground, and we just loved hanging out at the pool.

But my favorite memory is from 2005, my friend and her sister and I flew down in early October. It was my friend's 50th Birthday, so extra special for her and Disneyland. Somehow we got separated during the amazing fireworks show...and as I was wandering around looking for them, I was walking behind a little girl maybe 6 or 7, and her Mom. It was just after the very start of the fireworks, and Tinkerbell had just flown around the Matterhorn. This little girl, pulled on her Mom's hand, pointed up, and said excitedly, almost like she couldn't believe it and said, "Mom, mom!!! Tinkerbell really is REAL!!!!"

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Juliamollymama that is SO sweet!

Krispin41 I get teary too! The 2005 memory made me tear up.

 

[goofycathy]

We were chosen as the Family of the Day this last April when we were there, it was awesome and something my family will always remember!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Ooh cathy, explain!! what is Family of the day??

 

[austizzle]

EmmersIsTheMommy - Soooo cool! Thank you for sharing!


juliamollymama - It's the small gestures and details like that which make it such a special place!


krispin41 - I teared up at that! (I'm a sap, I cried watching Cars yesterday so....)

Yes Cathy, please tell what family of the day is!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

My favorite Disneyland moment occurred before we even entered the park! And I swear I've seen something like this on TV before...

I should preface this, too, by saying I had never been to Disneyland before, so everything was new to me as well as our two boys, DS6 and DS2.

We had just checked into the Disneyland Hotel, and we were starving. After getting all our stuff to our room, we left again to get a bite and then off to the grocery store.

We headed back out into the courtyard and toward the lobby. As we rounded the bend at the pool area, DS2 began to kick and squirm in Daddy’s arms. We looked up and were stunned to see Goofy walking toward us! I told DH, “Put him down, let him go!” And when Goofy got down on one knee and held his arms out wide, DS2 ran into them.

Oh, wow, we’re really here! My son is hugging Goofy! What a Kodak moment it was, so heartbreakingly beautiful that my eyes welled up, and as I fumbled around for my camera I realized that I’d left it in the hotel room. I mean, who takes a camera to the grocery store, right? (Sigh.)

 

[superme80]

Spending my 29th birthday at Disney. My parents were going to take my family and my sister's, but it would have been too expensive to fly my sister and her family out from New Hampshire. My dad asked if it would be ok if just my family went with them. It was a trip to remember. I finally got an expensive Disneyland sweatshirt and I got to show my son Disney for the the first time. He was only 5 months old at the time, but he had so much fun.