How immersed in WDW are you? And How did you get here?

[wdw&sonny]

I'd like to hear about the journey others have made getting sucked into the World, how long it took, and how far you've gone.

What I mean is, we took that "once in a lifetime" family trip in 2005 with our little boys. Then again in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013. Then a trip without the kids in 2014. The my son joined the college program in 2016 and we made 3 trips. We have been once in 2017 and will go again in September 2017.
We are now planning on buying AP, for the first time.

I have considered DVC, buying a second home, moving to Orlando, retiring in Orlando, working in the parks...

What has been your path, and how far have you gone, to be immersed in the World?

 

[Klayfish]

Started when I was a kid. Went to WDW in 1978 (or '77, I can't recall), and again in roughly '82 and '87. Seeing it through the eyes of a child and then a teen, I was fascinated with it. Didn't go back from '87 until '03, just was in my early adult years, single, whatever... Went back with DW in '03 because she had never been, and from there it rekindled my love for it. We've gone as often as possible since then.

When we moved from PA, being closer to WDW honestly wasn't at the top of the list, because relatively speaking, it's not all that important. But I'm certainly not complaining that we now only live 7 or 8 hours away by car. It's enabled us to do an AP.

We've considered buying a rental home down there, and still are loosely considering it, but not in the next few years.

 

[Mousemommy1]

My dad took us annually from the time I was 7 years old until I was 12. My love for Disney started there and with all of the Disney movies.

When I was in college, all of our friends were going to Cancun, etc... for their spring breaks and DH (then my boyfriend) and I chose to do Disney instead.

DH and I had a few annual trips together in college and then up through our honeymoon.

Then we took some years off to start a family. When our girls were 3 and 5, we started going annually again and have been doing so ever since. They are now 13 and 10 and we also have a 2 year old son. They all love Disney as much as we do, so we keep going.

 

[Shanti]

I'd like to hear about the journey others have made getting sucked into the World, how long it took, and how far you've gone.

What I mean is, we took that "once in a lifetime" family trip in 2005 with our little boys. Then again in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013. Then a trip without the kids in 2014. The my son joined the college program in 2016 and we made 3 trips. We have been once in 2017 and will go again in September 2017.
We are now planning on buying AP, for the first time.

I have considered DVC, buying a second home, moving to Orlando, retiring in Orlando, working in the parks...

What has been your path, and how far have you gone, to be immersed in the World?

I went once with my family on spring break during junior high school. We stayed offsite, but I remember seeing the Grand Floridian and wishing that we had stayed there...

Fast forward to the next time I visited, which was when my son was about 5. Only a 3-night trip, but absolutely magical. My son had just finished a round of medical tests that required a 24 hour hospital stay & being attached to wires the whole time, so it was great to be done with that and take a trip. The fact that Disney had Magical Express & RAC made this single mom feel safe about traveling cross country with her autistic child. Disney took care of us every step of the way. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge, and I was swept away by the beauty & grandeur of it.

My son is high functioning autistic, but he didn't use to be high functioning. It's been a long road of work, endless therapies, so much money spent that for several years we couldn't travel anywhere, let alone WDW. Finally, with my son's improvement, therapy bills have ceased, and after moving in with my significant other, our living expenses became much more manageable. So now I can afford regular trips. And with my son's great improvement, the trips are a celebration of his success.

 

[loves to dive]

Never went as a child but I'm told I went to Disneyland (I was born in Cucamonga and we lived in Pasedena until I was 3). We started going when my mama moved to Clearwater, FL and she and my brother got APs. My son and I would drive down to visit her and the first time we went was on a trip when my son and I were visiting her. We fell in love right then, stayed on site in what is now Shades of Green, my son was just shy of 3. After that, I'd save like crazy for two years and my son and I would go every other year, always staying on site and going for about 6 days/seven nights. Back then the only on site resorts were MK ones, no moderates, no values, no Epcot resorts so we have stayed at Poly a few times, GF and CR a few times. We moved over to the Epcot resorts when they opened up. My son is now 36 and we still go together, was once every other year until he got married then divorced. Now I got at least twice a year, one time solo and one time with my son and he goes at least once a year. I've had an AP for about 4 years, my son got one last year. It's part tradition for us, it's our happy place and part just because it's one of the few places we can go and not worry about anything, we stay inside the bubble and just relax.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I never liked Disney World. Went in the mid-80's when I was a middle schooler; I thought it was...meh. My best friend from college loved WDW and I ridiculed her often.

Fast forward to 2009...I now have a family (2 kids) and get an offer in the mail for a Disney trip at a too good to pass up price. My husband and I decide to take the kids and go. We have low expectations...

WOW!!! We fell in love with everything from the CM service to the details to the overall atmosphere and experience. We had a blast! We have now added our third child and have been 3 times since and about to go back in 23 days. WDW is home to my family's best memories and an opportunity for us to forget the outside world for awhile and be together without regular stresses and worries.

I am now obsessed with planning and my best friend now calls me for tips and advice. Of course, I have apologized to her for the years of taunting and friendly abuse.

 

[PSUGuy]

My Mom received a small inheritance in the late 90s and she treated us to a trip to WDW. We stayed off site, I was less than enthused to go but went ‘for the sake of the kids’. On the ferry ride to MK it hit me that this was no mere amusement park, it was it's own World. We all had a great time and I thought 'That's that', been there, done that. A year later wifey won an all expenses paid trip to Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego, Green Bay vs Denver. At that time Denver had been to SB several times and the games were blow-outs so we decided to enjoy the trip and scalp the tickets which were end zone nose bleeders at any rate. Unbelievably, we got $2000 EACH for the tix so we watched the game from a Mexican pub in La Jolla called Jose’s, added $1000 of my own money to the windfall and took the family to WDW in March 1999 staying at All Star Music. Since then we've averaged a trip per year, originally in March when my school breaks switching to Food&Wine a few years back.


This Nov. we're staying at Board Walk on rented DVC points for about the 8th time and 2 adult children and 5 grand kids will join us for the last 7 days. We're hooked but a little saddened by the loss of Off Kilter, WS Players and the Adventurer's Club.


Bill From PA

 

[Bunnylicious]

I have always loved Disney since I was a little girl. My grandfather took me to the movies every Saturday night and my first movie memory is Sleeping Beauty. My heart and imagination was captured when her beautiful gown turned from pink to blue again and again. My family did not have the resources for vacations, especially to Disney after it opened in the 70's. By that time, I was in college with no money, raising children and no money, etc, etc.... In 2012, my youngest son was finishing his second year of med school and stressed to the max. I spontaneously booked a week at Universal/Disney for him, his older brother and myself the day after he took his Step 1 exam. We visited Harry Potter for a day then over to WDW for the remainder of the week. Pixie dust was everywhere that trip. I had booked O'hana our first night. When we arrived around 8:30 I asked for a window seat facing the castle, knowing full well, it was highly unlikely. We were seated shortly after at a window seat... as we were sitting down, a server asked us how we got the best seat in the house... the lights went down and our Wishes came true. We enjoyed a delicious meal while watching the fireworks directly in front of us across the lagoon. I literally cried I was so happy to be with my guys at the Happiest place on Earth. It was fun to spend time with my adult sons as best friends and not as their parental unit. Since that trip, my youngest got married in Epcot (2015-also a magical trip)... My oldest and I did a Disney in December 2015 trip and just last year I managed to convince my DH to celebrate Halloween 2016 at the Magic Kingdom. For me, WDW will always be associated with wonderfully happy family memories.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It started decades ago and grew as my experiences with my family evolved. I have bounced around my entire life, including as an adult. No one place has ever been "home" for me. Home is where my family is, and where we have shared life's experiences.

The parks are full of memories for me and mine. More than anyplace else in the world, WDW feels like home.

 

[prprincess]

My love for WDW started during my first trip back in 1979. I was six year old, my father passed suddenly, and so my grandmother took the entire family on a road trip down to the World. As a kid I didn't go as much as I wanted to, but since adulthood/paying my own way, we average about once a year. As far as becoming immersed, I'm on here and I have an Instagram account, so it's great to have online friends to discuss it with--no one else but my kids appreciates it as much as I do in my "real" life. After I graduated college, I'd planned on moving down, but settled here in NJ. I have a ton of family that lives in Orlando, another reason for visiting so often, but I don't think I could ever live down there for numerous reasons. I'd of course love to win the lottery and buy a vacation home by WDW, but that's probably as deep as I'd go. I fear that if I become too immersed, I'll kill the magic, and I really don't want to do that!

 

[PolyRob]

I had always been obsessed with all things Disney, but never made it to WDW as a child. I took a "once in a lifetime" trip with my family later in life not knowing how long it would be until the next time we returned (if ever). Day one I absolutely fell in love. There was so much to do and see! Coming home from that week long trip felt horrible. Within a week, I had another trip planned. Fast forward and now I have an AP and have to explain to people why I am going back "only" 3 months after my last trip.

 

[FastPasser.]

buying a second home, moving to Orlando

Done

retiring in Orlando

Done

working in the parks.

Done, but also at the resorts and in transportation as well.

 

[jsrj21]

My first trip was when I was 30 with my wife and then 5 year old son [it was the first time for all of us]. Well, we were there initially for 4 days but extended it for an additional 3. We fell in love with the amount of things to do and see....and it was so beautiful. I guess for me personally, I fell in love with the way being in Disney made me forget the outside world. I knew it was temporary but for the amount of time that I'm there, I "escape" and it's truly re-energizing. I find it hard to articulate sometimes but the thought of going to Disney, planning a trip, and then arriving [there's even a certain smell] makes me so happy. In addition, spending the quality time with my family is priceless. My son is now 21 and he still goes with us and looks forward to it. We are very lucky that this is the case and my wife and I love it because any time we can spend vacationing with our son is welcome by us! So we've basically gone every year [I think with the exception of 1] for the past 16 - and we'll be back in August!

Fast forward and my thought is now of purchasing a condo/town-home near WDW so when I retire, I can come and go from CT as I wish. I cannot wait for the day that I buy an AP! All this after visiting for the first time back in 2000.

 

[DisneyFive]

Let me start by saying that we’re not as deep into it as some folks, but WDW holds a very, very special place for my entire family. We're not looking to move to Orlando, and enjoy the movies, but for us it's mostly about the resort and parks. Sorry this is so long…


Growing up, my Dad was a high school teacher and my Mom stayed at home with my 3 sisters and I. Both parents were from other states, so every vacation we had was spent travelling to see their parents and family. They were fun trips, but we only had one proper vacation as a kid, a 3 week camping vacation to Yellowstone and the surrounding area. (It was incredible.)


Fast forward to 2010, married, and our kids were 8, 6 and 3 at the time. We had never taken a family vacation up to that point and I’m not really sure what sparked the thought, but I remember sitting in my office thinking that the kids were old enough to actually have an enjoyable vacation somewhere (for everyone ). WDW came to mind, probably after searching the internet for “Top family vacation destinations” We really knew nothing about it... didn’t know that there were four parks, didn’t know about FP’s, ADR’s… but had friends and colleagues who had vacationed there, so we leveraged them and lurked on this site a LOT before we left.


At first, we thought we would only need a few days, but our friends quickly talked us out of that, and pretty soon we were headed to Orlando for 7 nights at POP Century with two connecting rooms (we also brought and paid for my in-laws). WDW had the Free Dining offer and GREAT prices at the time (we paid to upgrade to the regular dining plan from the QS plan). Under $5000 total for the 7 of us, all in. That included direct flights, meals and tips, resort room, tickets and souvenirs. Ah, to be able to go back to those prices!


Well, the rest is history. It was the trip of a lifetime. With the help of the Dis and our friends, I still can’t believe all that we all accomplished. Our weather was incredible, hot and sunny and it only rained one evening. We maxed out FP’s (I was the runner). Just being in that Disney bubble was magical. Everything, around every corner, was new to us and there was just one magical experience after the next. I loved the fact that I didn’t need to drive ANYWHERE. We were able to enjoy amazing meals at restaurants that had such cool themes and interactions. We would head back to POP each evening after closing the parks and take a swim. We were living on adrenaline that trip.


We’ve been back almost every year since, and we keep going back because we KNOW we will have a great trip. Many a day I’ll be sitting in my office thinking back to our past trips and all of the wonderful memories that we’ve made. It’s just a release from the everyday. Something to look forward to. I’m so happy that we made that first trip. It opened our family up to vacations. Since then, we’ve also taken the kids on Caribbean cruises (RCCL) that have been incredible as well, but WDW is always in the mix and I don’t see that changing.

Dan

 

[caliope]

My first visit to WDW was in January 1973 (the picture in my profile). We stayed with family friends on that trip and subsequent other trips throughout the '70s and early '80s. We NEVER stayed on-site. In 1989, when I was in high school, I went to WDW on spring break with a friend, then returned in 1993 with my then boyfriend/now husband for college spring break. We also honeymooned at the GF in 1995. Then....nothing for 18 years. During that time, we traveled extensively abroad and across the country and thoroughly enjoyed our non-Disney vacations.

Fast forward to 2013, my parents had a timeshare in Orlando and wanted the entire family (DH, DS, me plus my sister, her DH, and 2 kids) to join them for Thanksgiving. We were not sure it was a good idea with a 16 month old, but we went along for family unity. And our new love for WDW was born. We've now been back 4 times and have a 5th trip (since the momentous one in 2013) scheduled for this August. We bought APs in March and have plans to book a few more trips before they expire. Our DS is 4, almost 5, and he's at a perfect age. We hope to keep going as long as it's fun for us.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

I never went to WDW or DL as a child, and for the first 19 years of marriage, we spent the majority of our vacations visiting family, state and national parks, beaches, etc. WDW was always on my bucket list, but it seemed we were in no hurry to go. Then about two years out, DH and I started talking about what we wanted to do for our 20th anniversary. We talked about Paris, London, Prague, etc., but then I said what about WDW and hopefully a stay at AKL. Crazy, right? Give up a European adventure for WDW? But, he was willing. He had been once to MK for one day as a child - not even a full day, just a few hours. So we saved and planned for two years. A friend told me about these boards, so I popped over and signed up. I didn't post much, but I read a LOT. It was here that I learned about DVC rental points which resulted in us booking a 1 bedroom at AKL. Before hearing about DVC, we thought we were going to end up staying at AoA or the cabins at the Fort even though AKL was tops on our wish list. As the trip drew closer, I began to worry: that it wouldn't live up to expectations, that it would be okay but perhaps we should have used the money for a different sort of trip, would we really enjoy this place as adults and a preteen or were we all too old for it now, etc. Turns out I worried for nothing. It was a truly wonderful trip. AKL was every bit as fabulous as we had hoped. The parks were so much fun. The dining was great. The CMs were kind and friendly. We were able to just relax and have fun together. I - probably more so than DH since I love rides - felt like a kid again. I noticed none of us got upset about anything that week. We truly enjoyed being together. We had had a rough previous almost 10 years thanks to one major crisis after another, and we did not realize how very much we needed something like this. I noticed it in the middle of the trip and it felt like an awakening. We had stopped having fun together, but we didn't know we had until WDW made us see what we had lost by limiting ourselves to coping, worrying, and stressing - in short, surviving. We had forgotten how to live and really, really enjoy life. I hate that it took so long to figure that out, but I am grateful we took the "once in a lifetime trip" that made us see what we were missing out on. It will come as no surprise to many that our one and done trip turned into another trip exactly one year later. And now we're planning our third trip for, yet again, one year later. We are talking about buying DVC, but I think even if that doesn't happen, we have more trips to WDW ahead of us. Maybe one year we'll vote to do something else, but I do know that we will take with us the lessons we've learned by embracing the Disney magic. I don't consider these trips frivolous. They are an investment in my family and in my marriage, and I don't regret a single dollar or moment spent there. All three of us are huge Disney fans now.

 

[TiffanyA]

My love for Disney started young! My parents, on a whim, decided to take their three children to WDW in 1990. Miami is a 4 hour drive to Orlando, but that's doable. They fell in love. We were seasonal passholders by the next year. Some of my fondest memories as a child were being pulled out of school to go spend a long weekend in the happiest place on Earth. And it is definitely my happiest place on Earth. It was actually the first place I took my then-boyfriend, now DH when he came to visit me at my childhood home. When he told me, he'd really enjoyed himself and couldn't wait to go back with me, that's when I knew I'd found the one

Fast forward to today. Even though I live on the west coast, married with a son, it's important to me that my family make an annual trip. My sister and parents still live in Miami and are platinum passholders who go several times a year. Can't say I'm not jealous! I've often thought about retiring to work at the theme park though my DH still thinks it wouldn't be the same. There's time to convert him though

 

[Oneanne]

First trip to WDW was as an adult in the early 90's with my then 11 year old Niece. We drove from the Washington DC area and stayed at a Best Western out in Kissimee and ate our dinners at Denny's... I didn't know any different and for her Best Western and Denny's was as much of a thrill as the parks were. From there I started doing annual trips, as I usually ended up vacationing by myself and it was so safe and comfortable. I switched to staying on hotel boulevard over by (then) Downtown Disney for probably the next five years, until the first time I stayed on property and have done so since then. In mid-2015 I got an annual pass because I knew I would have two trips, but ended up doing four trips on it, because why not, it was almost like the trip was free. My next trip will be in November, and at that point there will have been a year between trips, so things will be fresh for me again.

I think being "in the bubble" is the greatest draw for me, and the ability to let go and shut everything else out. I've found it a bit disturbing to have to rely so heavily on technology now while in the parks, as it punctures the bubble a little bit... during my last trip I had the front desk print out my plans for me and loved working off of paper, just like in the good old days. I also love the variety and the ability to make each trip different by exploring and trying out new things.

 

[HopperFan]

First visit was 1970 .............

Yup, that is right.
Dad wanted to get a head start.
We went to the Walt Disney World Preview Center,
on Hotel Plaza Blvd (building still there).
We saw renderings, a movie and bought postcards.
My postcards (I still have, see above) were drawings.

Next trip was Thanksgiving 1971,
a huge cluster disaster for Disney as they were unprepared.
First ride Haunted Mansion after several hour wait.
Addicted.

PS My folks went to Disneyland right after it opened,
and I have awesome home video of it.
So technically I think I got it from my Dad.
I have passed it on to all three kids.
DH tolerates the passion.
He is outnumbered.

 

[ramee]

I haven't been yet(first trip is in august!)

I've seen the movies growing up. And saw a couple Disney on ice shows in the early 90's.

Had my daughter 4 years ago and have since introduced her to the movies of my childhood. I didn't consider the parks until 2 years ago and thought we've never been and I should take her at this stage in her life to experience the magic.

I have been learning new things almost everyday since before booking in February. Things are constantly changing and I feel I need to be on top of it to make the best of our first trip for the amount of money it costs.

Honestly, I hope the obsessive research on Disney will calm down after the trip and I'll feel satisfied to move on to other interests. Though as of right now, I wouldn't mind going back in 8 years or so. And one more time with just my husband after the kids are grown. And maybe once with them grown. And maybe with grandkids

The advanced planning required really does immerse you into the World before you even get there. I think Disney knew what they were doing with that