Has anyone been with people who have been "rejected" by the Parks?

[winniedapooh]

Oh my goodness, having a hard time typing, can't see.....tears! Thanks for some truly inspiring stories and for reminding us all to stop and smell the cotton candy and enjoy the magic!


Faith, trust, and pixie dust to you all!

 

[philaround]

I have been to WDW many times over the years but have been away for about 10 years now. My DW and I will be going there on our own this May for the first time since our Honeymoon in May of 1974. I have seen the magic but I don't beleive I ever truely felt it until I found the DIS. I can't beleive that was only seven weeks ago.
I was looking forward to this trip for our 29th anniversary but now I am looking forward to really feeling the MAGIC for the first time and hopefully to leave some MAGIC of my own there for others to take home with them.
May God Bless and help us all to share the MAGIC both in Walt's World and the rest of the world.

 

[Morticia]

Philaround,

have a wonderful time & happry 29th to both you & your wife. What a fantastic accomplishment!!!
I had my honeymoon @ WDW 5 yrs. ago & will always remember walking around Epcot w/my DH.
I love sitting on the steps in Itlay (being of Italian desent) & calling my mom. "I'm in Italy"! She always laughs. I do it every trip.

 

[JoNo]

What really upsets me is when my lovely GF go and see parents telling (sometimes yelling!) at their children to hurry up and do this and do that b/c the parents don't want to stand in line for something... Like one day, we were going through MGM and we passed a line for a character and a parent was yelling at their child to shut up and get ready to leave because the line was too long to meet the character! (there was a line of about 10 people, which at WDW, is definately NOT a line at all).

I remember the first time I went to WDW, I was relatively the same way... Couldn't stand the lines, hated the "over-pricing" of everything... Then the next day my GF & I had breakfast at Boma... I realized then & there... maybe things wern't so bad after all... I even shared in the magic by finding hidden mickies & pointing them out to people not knowing they were there... needless to say, 2 years after my first experience, I now have a florida residents seasonal pass & try to go as often as possible!

 

[goofyernmost]

It's just a matter of personal choice. I loved WDW from the exact first moment I entered the property the first time. My X on the other hand couldn't see what was so great. I have a picture of her sitting on a bench looking like she was awaiting an IRS audit. Some people just can't be saved!!

 

[franw]

Several years ago I went to WDW pretty sick and weak from 7 long months of chemotherapy. I was suppposed to be finished with chemo at the end of 6 mos. but it wasn't doing the trick and my oncologist said I had to continue on with with the chemo for a while longer. I was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and given no hope of a cure. I decided to go ahead with the trip as the whole family was joining us. While at Epcot, Wonders of Life Pavilion, I walked up to a set of headphones and put them on. They were talking about a man who had taken an experimental antibody drug for exactly the same type of cancer (lymphoma) that I was going through chemo for. I called everyone over and we all listened to it. I honestly felt the first moment of hope since I was diagnosed. I knew that this antibody treatment would help me someday. Well, the next few years were rough. More chemo, chemo again, surgery and radiation. The cancer kept coming back. Then my doctor told me that Rituxan, the antibody treatment I had heard about years before at Epcot had been approved and they would like me to try it rather than another bout of chemo. While I was getting the first infusion we could see the tumor by my jawline getting smaller. That was three years ago and I haven't needed treatment since. Do I believe in the magic - well, it was more like a miracle for me. It gave me hope and that is what all life springs from. I go back each year at the same time and celebrate. It truly is a magical place for my family.

 

[jaysue]

Stunning franw just stunning and I am sitting here speechless

Hooray for you and your spirit!!!

Thanks
Jason

 

[mom_rules]

Awesome-I hope the magic continues for a very very long time!!

 

[franw]

Thanks mom-rules, I'll be at WDW with a good friend the same time you and your family will be there for a five day "fix". They pixie dust will be flying. Have a great time.

 

[S. C.]

KickTheSky

Thank you for sharing your story. I got teary eyed reading it.

 

[susy]

I have a theory that those who aren't happy at WDW, aren't happy when not at WDW. I just read a review of the WL (on another site) that was so bad I couldn't possibly imagine anything making the person happy. It wasn't a story about a particular incident (sometimes thing do happen), but it was just an overall displeasure with everything- room so small that two parents with a 2 and 4 year old couldn't "fit", horrible food, and other picky complaints. If you can' be happy at WL, I don't anything is going to do it! When I am at WDW, it is VERY hard to get me upset. Mold in the bathroom and peeling wall paper certainly aren't going to do it.

On the other hand, I do believe that the magic you experience at WDW can come home with you (if you let it) and can flow over into other areas of your life. Helping people here on the DIS is a great way to keep it alive!

 

[Wilma Flintstone]

Dear Franw, Your story was told in a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense manner. Thank God for places like DisneyWorld, for doctors who care and for people like you who inspire us.

You made my Easter holidays truly mean something and I must thank you. Love and best wishes, Wilma

 

[Disney Dude]

We've been to disney many times and each time the magic just seems to get better! My husband and I become kids again, and all our cares disapear! we laugh and do silly things that "grown" adults arn't supposed to do and we never want to leave! Our 14 yr old just can't seem to understand how two "Old" (we're40) people like disney so much! We keep telling him when he stops being a moody teen, the magic will find him, and he'll thank us for "dragging him there"!

 

[mom_rules]

Our two teens (15 and 18) love when we (also 40ish) become kids again at WDW. They will cherish and remember these times later in their lives. BTW-we really do become quite silly in WDW almost to our teens' embarassment (I'm the worst of course-and guess who does all the planning!)

 

[Morticia]

I've been away for a few days & now I am back to catch up on all this reading.

Franw, that is the magic of Walt Disney. He created his parks to educate & entertain; Epcot especially was to be his crown jewel.
The information contained in that place was amazing! (Was b/c they are changing FW into something else).

The magic that Walt knew & saw is imbedded w/in DL & WDW. I believe he created them the way he did to show us what life is really like & to educate us on how to make it better.

Congrats on the cancer-free zone. MY DH has been cancer-free for 20 yrs. Wahoo!

 

[zakatak]

Our first two trips to WDW (Feb and Oct 2002) were commando, intinerary driven, must do this... show them that, etc... trips. October was the worse... off site! Ugh. Always in a hurry...

Then, I decided to finally take my long awaited sebatical trip... to WDW in December. WOW! Relaxed, no rushing, etc... I learned how to DO Disney by myself.

Then we took an impromtu trip at the beginning of March... me and the kids (7, 4 & 2) and DH to meet up with us after 3 days. Well... it was the best trip of all! SO relaxed! At one point, I did MK EMH by myself with the kids and were finished with Fantasyland by 9am. We hung around, went to the restrooms, and decided NOT to wait for Ariel and head back to swim. So we sauntered up Main Street, stopped in at the Bakery for 3 chocolate chip cookies and a double chocolate chip muffin, sat down on the curb outside of the Bakery and watched the people come in! The looks on their faces as they saw the castle! The excitement of the kids! We watched the horse drawn carriage pass back and forth probably 5 times. While we were sitting there, the barber shop quartet came up and started chatting with us! Asking the kids questions... They were very excited! Then, we cleaned up our crumbs, bought two balloons and exited the park by 10:30am, looking at the masses of people heading in! It was bliss knowing we were heading back to swim (it was a high of 87 that day!).

So relaxed. Can't wait for JULY!

Karen

 

[MKFan-PR]

Franw, I am sitting here stunned by your story. Thank you for sharing! You have truly made my day!

I was hooked on the magic from the first time I went, back when I was just 5! I love seeing kids and adults 'getting it': when they go in the MK for the first time, when they see the characters, and in many other ways (I get goosebumps just from passing through the 'Walt Disney World Resort' sign).

A few years back, me and my DW were on a bus from CBR to MK. I was returning after more than 10 years: it was my first time as an adult. As soon as we emerge from under the 'bridge' near the CR, when the Castle is visible, a little girl gets very excited, and she starts telling her mom: 'MOMMY! LOOK! THERE IT IS! I CAN SEE IT!'. The little girl's mom was bursting with joy! It took me by surprise and I realized that I was as excited as that child! I looked at my DW, she looked at me, and we both realized how special it is for us. Well, last August we took our 3 1/2 YO DD. She went when she was 9 months, but this was the first trip she could probably remember. And she became that little girl: 'MOMMY! LOOK! THERE IT IS!'. We'll always remember that was the time my DD was 'touched' by the Magic.

 

[pmurphy713]

I really enjoyed everyone's stories. I'd like to share mine with you.

The first time I went to Disney I was a young teenager and my grandparents took me. We had a ball. I remember riding over from the TTC on the ferry and seeing the MK for the very first time. It was truly magical! I will always have very fond memories in my heart of my grandparents sharing this very special first with me.

Some 25 odd years later, I made my way back to the World for the third time with my own family (DH & 2DD's 7 & 8). This was however, the first time we rode over to the MK from the TTC. We had always taken the monorail. We were arriving for MVMCP. As we came in the fireworks for the people leaving the park were beginning. I cannot tell you the joy I felt as we approached the park with fireworks going off overhead. I truly felt that my Nannie and Pawpaw were there with me. What great memories! My 7 year old looked at me and asked me why I was crying. Couldn't I see Disney World?? I explained to her that they were really tears of joy as Disney brought back so many good memories.

I truly believe that this is what Walt intended for it to be. A wonderful place to share for generations to come.

Thanks to all who make Disney a continuing adventure for us.

 

[Morticia]

 

[mommie2angels]

FranW, congratulations on being cancer free! Thanks for sharing your magic! Our dd#2 who is 5 years old has been cancer free for almost 4 years.

KickTheSky, as the mom of one Make A Wish child whose Disney World wish was granted and another one whose wish will be granted soon, hopefully, I want to say THANK YOU!!! Thank you for being patient and understanding that little girls excitement and joy on that ride. Thank you for taking the time to see her face and feel her joy! We were told our dd#1 would not live past the age of 3. When she was 8 years old and I pushed her in her wheelchair up main street at the MK I cannot tell you the joy I felt. I will never lose that magic! Since then we have been blessed to make many more return trips. Last December after returning from our first MVMCP she was hospitalized and almost died. We brought the magic home with us and knew that she had just had another wonderful time at Disney World. I truly love DW but my greatest joy comes from seeing our two special needs daughters smile like that never have before.

I would like to thank not only KickTheSky, but all the other families that are patient and understand when there is a sick, special needs or other child that for whatever reason is not able to wait in the lines. Thanks for sharing the magic and sending us pixie dust. Now I must go wipe these tears and count my blessings.