First Disney Memory

[lindsnlogansmom]

Sorry if this has already been done. I used to love Disneyland as a child and I think I forgot that as time went by. I went through my teenage years, got wrapped up with friends, school, etc. and put Disneyland on the back burner. Then I had my first child and was too poor to think about Disney. We did finally take her when she was 10. She still gives me a hard time about that. Then I got married (sorry if unwed mother offends), got a fantastic job and had my second child. Now we have been 3 times in the last year and a half. I love seeing it through the kids eyes. BUT I still remember my first memory of Disneyland. I honestly cannot tell you what year it was but it was definately Mickey's Birthday. I think it must have been the 25th Celebration. We were able to participate in the parade. I will never forget it. Mickey and several other characters came up to greet us. We were able to spend a lot more time with them than we are now. I will never wonderful. When my life gets hectic Disneyland lets me forget. Thanks for that. Anyone else?

 

[fairycat]

Besides memories of a picture of me at about 6 with a melting orange popsicle in front of the Snow White fountain by the wishing well (don't remember the picture being taken but I saw it on the wall so much in the house it was easy to remember it).

I think my youngest memory was eating Mickey Shaped Pancakes at the River Belle Terrace. Or maybe going to see the Golden Horseshoe revue!

 

[DisneyLover4Ever!]

My first Disney memory is: the weeks leading to my first trip to Disneyland I psyched myself up by thinking what it would be like when I'd first get to the park, but when the day finally came I found myself thinking "is this it?" whilie I stood in front of the tunnels leading to Main Street. I was dissapointed thinking Main Street was the only part to Disneyland (even though I do like the historical feel) As I walked down the street I found my self feeling more and more overcome with joy as I reached the large castle and all of the exciting "lands" that surround it. Now, whenever I go back to Disneyland and I stand in front of the tunnels I realize that when I walk through I am entering "the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy".

 

[rentayenta]

I don't have one single memory that stands out. I grew up about 15 minutes from Disneyland and my father and I would visit weekly. My most vivid memories are:

having my dad carry me out of the park, tiny fist clutched to a Mickey balloon (before they had the clear covers around them)

riding POTC, waaaay pre Captain Jack and wishing the dog was free and fed

riding the subs and just knowing the sea monster would get me and that the mermaids were real

IASW is still my favorite attraction

riding the Matterhorn and being silly scared

the smell of Main St

getting my silhouette done

 

[disneyfaninaz]

My first memory is a sad one. My parents took to me to Disneyland for the first time when I was 4 years old. I remember wanting to say "hi" to Winnie the Pooh and having him walk away. (Back in 1969, for those who might remember, Pooh wore a honey pot on his head with bees flying around it.) Of course, I cried.

I have been back to DL many times since and I still joke about being scarred for life because Winnie the Pooh walked away from me.

By the way, me and Pooh are fine now after many years of counseling!

But one of my favorite memories is eating Mickey Mouse Pancakes at the River Belle Terrace and listening to the Swiss Family Treehouse music play in the background.

 

[lindsnlogansmom]

I will never wonderful

. Oh I hate it when I change a sentence and don't read it thoroughly..sorry I am a mimor grammar junkie too. ANYWAY..I meant to say that I will never forget the wonderful memories of Disney.

 

[lindsnlogansmom]

You know after reading this I realized that this thread might be a what not to do to our kids!!!! LOL

 

[bonofreak]

I have so many childhood memories of Disneyland. The earliest one was of being picked (against my will!!!!) at age 3 and brought up onstage at the Golden Horsehoe. A man made me a balloon animal and I was NOT happy to be brought up onstage! I was scared of Santa Claus and clowns and very shy! However, I was not afraid of the characters at Disneyland. I don't remember a lot about that event other than being really scared up there on that stage and the people were appaluding.

My sister and I used to sing "My Boy Looy-Pop" on the way to Disneyland, we thought it was soooo far away (it was like 15 minutes!) but when you're a kid it takes forever! We would always get a big dill pickle and listen to the gossip on the phones in that corner store on Main Street. And no trip would be complete without a frozen banana.

I remember the first time I went on the Pirates, my dear sweet sister told me that the Pirates were real and were going to grab people off the boats! I started to scream, she put her hand over my mouth and I bit her! We still laugh about that to this day! Well, she asked for it!

I remember my Dad always had to push the pedal on the Autopia, I was too small to reach it. I could not wait for the day when I could go by myself.

I live so far away now, but always make it a point to go to Disneyland when we go "home" for visits. My last trip was in March 2008, hopefully the next trip will be next April!

 

[sweetpea2008]

The first time I went to Disneyland I was about 11 years old. I remember back then they had books of tickets to use if you wanted to ride the rides, A, B, C, D and E I believe. Well, my parents bought my sister and I each a book of E tickets, the most expensive tickets for the best rides. I promptly lost my book, and was devastated. I started to cry, and I remember my Dad telling me that I wasn't allowed to cry at Disneyland, because if someone saw me they would put my parents in jail! That scared me, but then he laughed and told me it was ok, and then bought me another book of tickets. That is my first memory of the park. I'm taking my girls there in just over a week!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Mine is very fuzzy, but I remember Snow White leaning down and smiling at me. I was in a stroller. I was two.

 

[nullo]

​

Every few years my parents would pack all of us (me and my five older siblings) into the back of our Volkswagen bus and haul us off to Disneyland with the money they got from their tax return. Life in our family was usually insane and always dysfunctional, and, though it might sound silly, Disneyland was the one place where, for all of us, the world seemed to make a little bit of sense. It was the one proof we had that somewhere, something on this planet worked the way we imagined it could.

​

One year, Mom was too sick to come with us. She’d been in the hospital for an operation and needed time to recover, and Dad decided he'd take us to the park by his little ol' self--he was kind of suicidal that way. But we survived the trip, set up camp, and the next morning, headed down the San Gabriel Freeway to the park (for financial reasons we always camped at Bicentenniel Campground off the 605--I don't recommend it). All the older kids parceled off at the gates, and Dad led me around the park by the hand. I think I was about six years old. We rode the Casey Junior Circus Train, and sat in the caboose together. I remember Dad telling me, "We can ride everything you want to ride, but I'd really like to ride the monorail just once." And I remember that afterward I kept squealing with excitement at everything I saw, and we kept putting off the monorail, and he never actually got to ride it that trip. It makes me a little sad to think about it, but it also gives me all kinds of warm fuzzies because it was the first time I ever got some "alone time" with my dad, and we spent it doing everything I ever wanted to do. Um... P.S. I'd love to break up this paragraph and, you know, indent, and all, but I'm a newbie and don't know how to do any of that fanciness yet.

 

[TripHHH]

Don't remember my first...but the ones I remember most:

Riding Jungle Cruise and feeling like the boat driver was telling the jokes just for me...and then riding it a second time because it was so great!

Riding It's a Small World as many times in a row as I could and trying so hard to look at all the dolls...head whipping side to side.

Driving an Autopia car and feeling very proud of myself!

 

[disneynoob08]

the memory that i remember the most is when disney was doing one of their many celebrations (25th?) and when you stick your ticket into the machine to enter the park, it randomly picked a winner to go up to the big wheel to spin for a prize. i didn't get picked but one of my parents did and they let me spin the wheel. i still have the collection of VHS's of disney movies i won.

 

[Master Mason]

cannot tell you what year it was but it was definately Mickey's Birthday. I think it must have been the 25th Celebration. We were able to participate in the parade. I will never forget it. Mickey and several other characters came up to greet us. We were able to spend a lot more time with them than we are now. I will never wonderful. When my life gets hectic Disneyland lets me forget. Thanks for that. Anyone else?

28 + 25 is 53 DL didn't open till 55, so it must have been a later one.

 

[Master Mason]

We went every year from the time I was born untill the late 70's. It is hard for me to place specific events to years but some of the things I remember well.

Wondering how they made people so small in the journey to inner space.
Playing on the pirate ship in fantasy land
The fort on TSI
Waiting for 3 hours in line for Space the year it opened.
Riding the ponies or mules whatever they were
Bear country Jamboree

Big name musical talent at the parks in the place where hunny I shrunk the audience is now.

 

[Diznygrl]

I have so many childhood memories of Disneyland. The earliest one was of being picked (against my will!!!!) at age 3 and brought up onstage at the Golden Horsehoe. A man made me a balloon animal and I was NOT happy to be brought up onstage! I was scared of Santa Claus and clowns and very shy! However, I was not afraid of the characters at Disneyland. I don't remember a lot about that event other than being really scared up there on that stage and the people were appaluding.

Was it this guy?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z-YfnKA476o

If so, I'm jealous! Wally is a true Disney Legend!

 

[bonofreak]

Yes, Dzyngrl, I'd have to say that was him, I did not know he was such an icon. I really enjoyed that clip, thanks for posting it. He was very funny! My experience was in like 1963 or 4, I wish I had more of a memory of it! My Mom said that I was not answering his questions and that he was really having fun using me as his "straight man" because I was seriously NOT amused by being brought up on that stage!

My brother and sister and I also had sketches done for us by Roy Williams at Disneyland; my brother's is of Donald Duck, my sister and I have Mickey Mouse. We all still have them, I have framed mine. They are in great conditon and I feel so lucky to have one of those. I wish my Mom had taken pictures of these things! But she did take one of Walt Disney there in an open car in a parade.

 

[kelmac284]

My first visit was in 1976 when I was 8. I remember we lived up in northern CA and my dad worked in LA and so my mom and I drove our old 65 Ford pickup with NO AC and no radio down to see him. I brought my plastic Bugs Bunny AM radio down in the truck to listen to LOL. We met him and stayed in Downy at Dad's hotel and then we went to the park. I remember when they still had the big sign on Katella and being able to see the Matterhorn from I-5. That was always the exciting part of approaching Disneyland was being able to see the Matterhorn from the freeway. Then as you drove down Katella and seeing the sign. Then parking in the lot and trying to remember which character you parked near. Then the lovely parking lot trams which drove you to the front entrance which seemed SO far away. I remember walking in and seeing the floral Mickey and thinking WOW and the train and then of course walking through the tunnels and seeing Main Street and the castle and to this day I STILL love it! I don't remember a LOT of that trip but some things that stand out was my parents telling me all these crazy scary stories about the haunted mansion and about how when they first built it it was supposed to be a walk thru and how people had heart attacks and on and on. NOT the best thing to tell a kid who had never rode it. I was panicked and they had to DRAG me on it. I remember sitting in between them and being SO scared but then of course I loved it once I was done. I remember LOVING pirates and thinking it was SO cool. Thinking the jungle cruise was so neat and also loving journey thru inner space. I thought it was so neat to watch them actually shrink everyone! I also remember all the different phases of the people mover seeing the different vehicle scenes over the years and then Tron and thinking how BORING it was and hating that my mom drug me on it and now I want it back LOL. I remember riding the matterhorn and seeing all the scaffolding on the insides! I remember the phantom boats before the left! I also vaguley remember the bicentennial parade.

That's pretty much all I remember from that trip although I also vaguley remember the mine train ride that was there before big thunder mountain.

We didn't have a lot of money and probably only went a handful of times when I was a child. Then as a teen and adult I again only went a few times but now that I have children we try to go as much as possible and we have even bought annual passes and the past two years have gone as much as 4 times in the past two years each. I have made up my mind that I will go at LEAST once a year from now on because it holds such wonderful memories and it truly is my FAVORITE place on earth!

 

[Diznygrl]

Yes, Dzyngrl, I'd have to say that was him, I did not know he was such an icon. I really enjoyed that clip, thanks for posting it. He was very funny! My experience was in like 1963 or 4, I wish I had more of a memory of it! My Mom said that I was not answering his questions and that he was really having fun using me as his "straight man" because I was seriously NOT amused by being brought up on that stage!

My brother and sister and I also had sketches done for us by Roy Williams at Disneyland; my brother's is of Donald Duck, my sister and I have Mickey Mouse. We all still have them, I have framed mine. They are in great conditon and I feel so lucky to have one of those. I wish my Mom had taken pictures of these things! But she did take one of Walt Disney there in an open car in a parade.

Hehe, can't say I blame you about hating being brought up on stage. I hated that stuff too, and still do!

How cool that you have sketches done by Roy and a picture of Walt Disney! I'm a bit of a youngin' (born in '81) so I didn't get the chance to experience Disneyland during those good ol' days when Walt was still alive, but I love hearing other people's stories about it. Thanks for sharing!

 

[bonofreak]

Oh my, Dznygrl! My youngest child is as old (young!) as you! Of course I WAS very young when I had my children I must say! But still!

I am very glad to have those memories and keepsakes, too. I can't wait until I can post my pictures.