Remember the moment...

[PatriciaH]

I was 7 and it was January 1978. My mother woke me up very early in the morning and said "wake up we are going to Disney World!" She did not want to tell me ahead of time because I was the type of kid that would have worked myself up with excitement My father did not come because he could not take time off from work but we did go with my cousins and aunt and uncle. It was snowing when we left NY and so sunny and warm in Orlando.

I do not remember a lot. We stayed at a Marriott off site and they said it was really nice. MK was the only park and I remember going on Space Mountain and my uncle yelling HERE WE GO at the top of his lungs as we took off. The seats were different then. You had to lean on the person in back of you. I also remember the Mickey Mouse Review and the 3 Caballeros scene. That was a neat show.

The next time I went to WDW was at 18 and I was with friends from college. We went to MK for a day while we were on spring break. Then I decided to take my little sister when I was 23 and she was 13-we had a blast. I went two more times with friends (1 day and 5 nights) and the rest of my trips have been with DH.

I think my trips have all been wonderful and keep getting better! I wish I could remember more from my first trip.

 

[Snow Shoe]

The month and year was July, 1986. Our boys were 8 and 5, and our DD hadn't even been thought of yet. The "magic" that we all experinced is unforgetable till this day. We stayed off site not knowing much at all about WDW then. What we knew was from my BIL who had been there the summer before. We drove there and that was a trip to remember!!! We were only there 3 days, and MK, EPCOT (all caps back then), and WSC were the only parks open. You could see the mouse ears water tower for MGM being made then. After the three days of magic we all agreed that we had to come back some day. We still look at the pictures of the boys in front of the American Showcase standing with Patriotic Mickey, or when we came back finally in 95' and Pluto, Chip and Dale playing again with all of us, with DD this time, at LTT dinner.

Now, I'm a first time grandfather of 4 months, and I can't wait till Whitt is old enough to know what's happening and remember things, so all of us can go and expericence the magic through a childs eyes again!! I'll be watching both child and his dad, and I'll know all of those wonderful times and memories we had as a family at WDW, will now begin all over again with my son and his child. Makes me want to cry right now just thinking about it.

However on July 7th, I'm taking my wife on a surprise 30th anniv. trip to WDW. Just the two of us this time.

 

[msmouse]

It was very nice to hear of everyone's experiences. I had been to Disneyworld four or five times before my son was born. When he was 4, we took him for the first time. My parents went with us.
It was not until I saw Disneyworld thru his eyes that I truly began to feel the magic. He is 24 today and we have been eight times since then. We took him out of school, and I can say that I do not regret that one bit. He did fine and graduated from LSU in 2001. He loves WDW as much today as he did when he was 4. We invested in the Disney Vacation Club so that he can enjoy the magic with his children one day.

 

[Jay Since 72]

It was 1972, and I was 4. We stayed at the Polynesian, and Captain Hook and Mister Smee came to the pool one afternoon. Somewhere, there are 8mm movies of my dad and I going down the original waterfall slide. Mom, of course, was the photographer.

I've lost track of the number of times I've been back, but every time, I get that same excitement I got when I was 4.

 

[grinningghost]

I was 7 and a first grader way back in 1972. We went to WDW and I am positive I didn't know what it was or why we were going there. I have small fragments of memories from that trip. I remember IASW and JC. I remember my parents oohing and aahing over how clean it was and how real the JC animals looked. I remember the snake scared me. I also remember crying hysterically in both the HM and on Snow White. Now I can't imagine why I was so frightened in them, but I guess I was little and had certainly never seen anything like these things before.

It was my 1976 trip that really hooked me in. I remember it like yesterday. Riding Space over and over - and then running out of E tickets and having to beg for more. Thank goodness those days are over.

 

[ZZUB]

We went a lot as children. I know we went the year WDW opened which would have made me a very young tike. We then went every year until 1979, so I honestly don't know if I remember the first time as distinguished from say the second, third or forth time.

Nevertheless, I remember being freaked out by those huge, what do you call them? waterfalls at the entrance of Tomorrowland. I can remember getting wet as you walked between them on the bridge into Tomorrowland. Something about how big and forceful those water deals were scared me.

I really liked "If You Had Wings," b/c it had that cool effect at the end with the fan and b/c it was a free attraction. Does anyone else remember those? COP was one, were there more?

I remember a lot of people had those dogless leashes you could buy at the magic shop on Main Street. I wanted one of those, but it seems to me my parents wouldn't buy me one.

In any event, it was a really cool place. Despite their unwillingness to spoil us with useless dog leashes, my parents were a lot of fun there. And everytime we go back, (Warning: Cheese Alert!) I swear I get the same feeling I did when I was a little kid.

 

[tn4mickey]

My first trip was in July 1987. My fiance' (now DH) and I drove from NE Tennessee to Daytona and went to the race. His all time favorite driver Bobby Allison won the race! Then we went to WDW for 5 days. We stayed in Kissimmee. He had been as a child with his parents but we became fanatics together that trip. It was a perfect vacation. Our next visit was our honeymoon in 1989. MGM had opened earlier in the year and we stayed at CB. As you can see from my signature line we've been a few times since. Now we're DVC members and spend alot of time counting down to the next trip!

 

[Pig Pen]

My first visit was on a steamy hot Saturday in June 1975 (I was just finishing my junior year of high school) with my boyfriend, now DH. We lived in Clearwater and drove over with another couple the weekend after school let out for the summer. I had just moved to Florida and never been to WDW, but had been to Busch Gardens several times. I figured it was similar.....

It was just MK then...but nothing could have prepared me for how it touched me that day. Everything was so clean, the landscaping so colorful, it almost seemed like I had stepped into another dimension.

The tough part was I had to contain my awe because it wouldn't seem "cool" to show my emotions. We rode EVERYTHING....we had the A,B,C tickets, and yes, COP and Wings were freebies. They were my faves and we rode them several times. I remember waiting an hour and a half each for SM and HM and probably another hour for POC. I remember that for some reason POC was free in the evening and we rode it again later.

We rode the monorail to the Contemporary and ate a late lunch at the steak house during a torrential downpour.

Then we saw the parade and the fireworks. The fireworks seemed bigger and better than the present day show, but that may just be a trick of my memory.

I remember that we spent $50 on tickets and food that day for both of us and it seemed like a fortune. But I wanted to stay forever!

We have been many many times since then and every time I find something that ignites the magic feelings again. Luckily we are still married and DH loves Disney as much as I do. He's not quite as obsessive about it, but he loves going there.

 

[phyllis1966]

Wow, disneyluvers, I was also 31 when I first went and the castle was decorated as a birthday cake (1997)! What a coincidence! I had hoped to see the castle as a castle on my first trip to WDW, but my excitement at being on Main Street for the first time made up for that. I just couldn't believe I was finally there! It really was enchanting to me - and still is. This November, DH, DD and I will be going again, and my parents will be there for the first time. My Mom will finally understand why I was raving about the magic of WDW after that first trip.

 

[Dana49]

Thanks for all of the great memories. I hope that the future, first-time visitors plan well and enjoy the moment to the fullest.