As promised- Disney History! Most of it will be brief...
The first time I went to the World, I was 6. It was 1990, and MGM had just opened. This was my mom's first trip as well, my dad had been once before when he was a child. I don't remember a lot, but we went in the late spring/early summer, and it rained ALOT. Also I rode Space Mountain and was terrified. My dad had one of those backpacks to carry babies around in, so my sister slept on his head most of the time, (she wasn't even 1 yet). After that we went back when I was 8 and again when I was 10. The first two trips we stayed at CBR, and the third we stayed at Shades of Green.
In 1996 we lived in California, and when I was 12 we took our first trip to
Disneyland. I think we only spent 2 days there, it was before DCA was open.
When I was 14 we went back to the World around Christmas time and stayed at ASMo, and then when I was 17 we went to Florida but DIDN"T go to the WDW, we went to Universal! In the spring of 2002 we went back to WDW and got a great deal because we were active duty military and they were running great deals for military personnel. Again we stayed at Shades.
Fast forward to 2006, it's my senior year of college and my BFF Patrick and I decided to go to WDW for our spring break. We stayed at POP and had the Basic (at that time- only) dining plan. This opened my eyes to the joys of Disney dining. I swore I would NEVER return to the world without the
DDP (of course back then it was a far better deal- 1 QS, 1TS with app, entree and dessert, 1 snack, and it included tip!). Also while we were there I interviewed for a job... they told me I was welcome to wait tables for them... in the end I passed, I had way too much debt and would not have been able to support myself.
In the spring of 2007 (a year after graduation) I moved home. It had been a rough year on me and my family, lots of drama and issues, and we decided early on that we were going to take a family trip to WDW aorund Christmas, rather than do presents. I was so excited, it was time to introduce my parents to the joys of Disney Dining!! (At this point I had not found the DIS or any other forums, and had no idea that Disney ever offered discounts or anything. I was still an avid planner though) Then came the news that I was pregnant... my parents questioned whether it would be worth going for me since I wouldn't be able to ride many rides, and they weren't sure I'd be up to the walking (I was going to be 6 1/2 months along). I said that I thought it would be fun to go, after all it would be nice to enjoy the small details and the shopping, and I could go get other people fastpasses while I was waiting. We stayed in 2 rooms at POP and had a great time. We went to
MVMCP and CP and the weather was pretty cooperative for us. It was probably one of the best trips we have ever taken. Afterwards, we decided that this should be a tradition for every 3 years or so.
In August we went for 5 days without my mom (she couldn't take the time off work). When we were there I assumed it would be the last time for a while, but when we got home we were talking to my mom and it seemed like she was open to going again for the holidays, and it will have been 3 years... so I started presenting different scenarios and here we are! This time is going to be so much better because I have found the DIS and all of the knowledge that comes with it... not to mention I've been planing for over a year! I am so excited to share WDW at Christmas time
with DS (Jack) and I am excited for all of our new experiences. The reason we are staying at CBR is because it's the first resort we stayed at on our first family trip, and now that this is our first full family trip with DS, we are going back! So there's out loooong history, 20 years of Disney!
loving all of us that are going in December... even though our dates don't overlap, I LOVE reading what you are thinking about and planning! I love the theme nights! I MIGHT have to do that with the other family that we are going with to DisneyWorld! 
These theme parties are turning out to be way more fun than I had even anticipated! It's a great way to create some Disney magic at home (for cheap). There's a whole thread devoted to various theme nights.
but stay tuned!
But from what I saw it was really cute.
