That one moment **TISSUE ALERT**

[FunkyFunBuckets]

Just a warning my story is kind of a sad one...

When me and my sister were younger my parents always felt that rather than buy big expensive presenst at christmas and birthdays, it would be better to take us to orlando every year and allow us to make memories that would last much longer than any toy.

So every year we travelled from Northern Ireland to orlando and had a great time.

However in 2000 my mum was diagnosed with cancer at just 9 I didn't really understand what this was and how sick mum would truly get.

Despite this mum decided that we would go on one final trip to orlando and celebrate our normal lives before they were turned upside down.

Our trip was planned to start on sat 14th september 2001, I was in school at the time when we learnt of the attacks and we truly believed that we would have to cancel our trip but through some miracle we got to take our trip.

Our final night at Disney my whole family were watching the fireworks show, which I believe was fantasy in the sky, when all of a sudden my mum leans over to me and my sister and tells us that no matter what happens after this we should always remember this moment and know that she would be with us forever.



When we came home from our trip and things got bad with surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy my mum wrote my dad a letter for their anniverrsary saying that she would always keep that moment in her heart and that she knew if anything happened to her we would be fine with dad.



My mum passed away 4 years ago this april.


After it happened we were all so depressed and down. But my dad discovered that in a savings account with his name on it my mum had been putting away money with the intent that it be used to take ourselves back to orlando.



That is exactly what we did and on the last night of our trip we were watching the fireworks show and i looked over at my dad and saw he had tears rolling down his cheeks and he was holding the letter my mum wrote for him. He was trying to hide it but even though I saw him I have never told him because I knew he was having a private moment.

We have continued the tradition every year and we never feel more joy or connection to our mum than when we are in Disney world.

 

[JoShan1719]

Just a warning my story is kind of a sad one...

When me and my sister were younger my parents always felt that rather than buy big expensive presenst at christmas and birthdays, it would be better to take us to orlando every year and allow us to make memories that would last much longer than any toy.

So every year we travelled from Northern Ireland to orlando and had a great time.

However in 2000 my mum was diagnosed with cancer at just 9 I didn't really understand what this was and how sick mum would truly get.

Despite this mum decided that we would go on one final trip to orlando and celebrate our normal lives before they were turned upside down.

Our trip was planned to start on sat 14th september 2001, I was in school at the time when we learnt of the attacks and we truly believed that we would have to cancel our trip but through some miracle we got to take our trip.

Our final night at Disney my whole family were watching the fireworks show, which I believe was fantasy in the sky, when all of a sudden my mum leans over to me and my sister and tells us that no matter what happens after this we should always remember this moment and know that she would be with us forever.



When we came home from our trip and things got bad with surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy my mum wrote my dad a letter for their anniverrsary saying that she would always keep that moment in her heart and that she knew if anything happened to her we would be fine with dad.



My mum passed away 4 years ago this april.


After it happened we were all so depressed and down. But my dad discovered that in a savings account with his name on it my mum had been putting away money with the intent that it be used to take ourselves back to orlando.



That is exactly what we did and on the last night of our trip we were watching the fireworks show and i looked over at my dad and saw he had tears rolling down his cheeks and he was holding the letter my mum wrote for him. He was trying to hide it but even though I saw him I have never told him because I knew he was having a private moment.

We have continued the tradition every year and we never feel more joy or connection to our mum than when we are in Disney world.

I love this story. So sweet

 

[APB513]

Just a warning my story is kind of a sad one...

When me and my sister were younger my parents always felt that rather than buy big expensive presenst at christmas and birthdays, it would be better to take us to orlando every year and allow us to make memories that would last much longer than any toy.

So every year we travelled from Northern Ireland to orlando and had a great time.

However in 2000 my mum was diagnosed with cancer at just 9 I didn't really understand what this was and how sick mum would truly get.

Despite this mum decided that we would go on one final trip to orlando and celebrate our normal lives before they were turned upside down.

Our trip was planned to start on sat 14th september 2001, I was in school at the time when we learnt of the attacks and we truly believed that we would have to cancel our trip but through some miracle we got to take our trip.

Our final night at Disney my whole family were watching the fireworks show, which I believe was fantasy in the sky, when all of a sudden my mum leans over to me and my sister and tells us that no matter what happens after this we should always remember this moment and know that she would be with us forever.



When we came home from our trip and things got bad with surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy my mum wrote my dad a letter for their anniverrsary saying that she would always keep that moment in her heart and that she knew if anything happened to her we would be fine with dad.



My mum passed away 4 years ago this april.


After it happened we were all so depressed and down. But my dad discovered that in a savings account with his name on it my mum had been putting away money with the intent that it be used to take ourselves back to orlando.



That is exactly what we did and on the last night of our trip we were watching the fireworks show and i looked over at my dad and saw he had tears rolling down his cheeks and he was holding the letter my mum wrote for him. He was trying to hide it but even though I saw him I have never told him because I knew he was having a private moment.

We have continued the tradition every year and we never feel more joy or connection to our mum than when we are in Disney world.

You warned me. I have go to stop reading this thread at work

This is a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing your memories.

 

[deedeew80]

Just a warning my story is kind of a sad one...

When me and my sister were younger my parents always felt that rather than buy big expensive presenst at christmas and birthdays, it would be better to take us to orlando every year and allow us to make memories that would last much longer than any toy.

So every year we travelled from Northern Ireland to orlando and had a great time.

However in 2000 my mum was diagnosed with cancer at just 9 I didn't really understand what this was and how sick mum would truly get.

Despite this mum decided that we would go on one final trip to orlando and celebrate our normal lives before they were turned upside down.

Our trip was planned to start on sat 14th september 2001, I was in school at the time when we learnt of the attacks and we truly believed that we would have to cancel our trip but through some miracle we got to take our trip.

Our final night at Disney my whole family were watching the fireworks show, which I believe was fantasy in the sky, when all of a sudden my mum leans over to me and my sister and tells us that no matter what happens after this we should always remember this moment and know that she would be with us forever.



When we came home from our trip and things got bad with surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy my mum wrote my dad a letter for their anniverrsary saying that she would always keep that moment in her heart and that she knew if anything happened to her we would be fine with dad.



My mum passed away 4 years ago this april.


After it happened we were all so depressed and down. But my dad discovered that in a savings account with his name on it my mum had been putting away money with the intent that it be used to take ourselves back to orlando.



That is exactly what we did and on the last night of our trip we were watching the fireworks show and i looked over at my dad and saw he had tears rolling down his cheeks and he was holding the letter my mum wrote for him. He was trying to hide it but even though I saw him I have never told him because I knew he was having a private moment.

We have continued the tradition every year and we never feel more joy or connection to our mum than when we are in Disney world.

Thanks for sharing your story! It's good to know you can always go to Disney and feel so close to you mom! I'm sure she loves that you all go back every year!

 

[m-tinkerbelle]

I got to read the 29 pages and ... what can I say? I cried and smiled so many times while reading all the posts! Thank you all for sharing such special moments with all of us!
Even the 9/11 post about the DISer helping the guy in the wheelchair to stand up to the national anthem hit me hard, and I'm not even american!

I don't have a specific disney moment to point out, while at disney parks I always get teary eyed. The moment I remember the most (I was bawling back then) was seeing Minnie interacting with a little girl who had special needs (I think she had cerebral palsy). She was so sweet and so nice to her, but what hit me the most was seeing the little girl's face change and light up when she saw Minnie. Her face turned to complete awe and gave her her biggest smile possible. She couldn't speak or express her emotions as any of us would but anyone could easily see how thrilled she was for meeting Minnie and how happy she felt. We were standing in line behind her and her family to meet Minnie and we were enjoying the moment as much as they were! the look on her mother's face was just PRICELESS

I can't thank disney CMs enough (and the characters' "friends") for the wonderful job they do there every day.
and thank you disers for sharing all of these stories!

i ran out of tissue paper!

 

[Disneylover7901]

I have been waiting since I was a small child for this moment to come. My dh promised me the day we got married that he would take me to WDW one day. This year is our 10th anniversary and we are finally going. I cry just talking about, so I can only imagine how I will be when I finally get there.

 

[Vowelmommy]

This is a wonderful thread. It makes all the planning, saving, and waiting worth it. I can not wait for my kids to taste that magic.

 

[BerrysGirl]

My moment may not bring tears but it certainly warmed my heart...

I've been going to Disney all my life. I even said my first word at the Garden Grill in Epcot.
My best friend, however, was not so fortunate. She's had many unimaginable obstacles in her life and she always manages to overcome them and remain such a positive, loving person.
When we were seniors in college, we managed to take a short two-day trip to Disney over spring break. She had never been before, and to see Disney through her eyes was an experience I will never forget. My DBF even bought her a pair of Sorcerer Mickey Ears she wore not only at the parks, but occasionally in our apartment back at school.
This past March my parent's were going down to Disney for two weeks to stay at Bay Lake Towers for the first time as DVC members and they invited me and my BFF to come along. So using my spring break and all her earned vacation hours from her new job, we were able to come down for a week to stay with my parents. We were both excited to take a week off from grad school and a first grown-up job to just be kids again. My BFF had lost her father earlier that year so my parents (especially my father who looks at her like his long-lost second daughter) were excited to spoil her with the nice hotel room and tasty dinners all week long.
Sometimes I find myself a little jaded by Disney... I think I do it to myself because I love it so much and it always hurts so much to leave, but when we boarded the Magical Express to head to BLT, I looked over and saw my BFF looking like this:

She had brought the ears from our first trip my DBF bought her! I knew then that this would be a magical trip and for that week I truly got to experience Disney like it was brand new.

Oh, and btw, she didn't take those ears off the entire trip!

 

[stitchlet]

Such a nice story, BerrysGirl! So glad that all of you got to experience some magic!

 

[cerilene]

My moment may not bring tears but it certainly warmed my heart...

I've been going to Disney all my life. I even said my first word at the Garden Grill in Epcot.
My best friend, however, was not so fortunate. She's had many unimaginable obstacles in her life and she always manages to overcome them and remain such a positive, loving person.
When we were seniors in college, we managed to take a short two-day trip to Disney over spring break. She had never been before, and to see Disney through her eyes was an experience I will never forget. My DBF even bought her a pair of Sorcerer Mickey Ears she wore not only at the parks, but occasionally in our apartment back at school.
This past March my parent's were going down to Disney for two weeks to stay at Bay Lake Towers for the first time as DVC members and they invited me and my BFF to come along. So using my spring break and all her earned vacation hours from her new job, we were able to come down for a week to stay with my parents. We were both excited to take a week off from grad school and a first grown-up job to just be kids again. My BFF had lost her father earlier that year so my parents (especially my father who looks at her like his long-lost second daughter) were excited to spoil her with the nice hotel room and tasty dinners all week long.
Sometimes I find myself a little jaded by Disney... I think I do it to myself because I love it so much and it always hurts so much to leave, but when we boarded the Magical Express to head to BLT, I looked over and saw my BFF looking like this:

She had brought the ears from our first trip my DBF bought her! I knew then that this would be a magical trip and for that week I truly got to experience Disney like it was brand new.

Oh, and btw, she didn't take those ears off the entire trip!

TOO sweet and definitely heartwarming.

 

[Missytara]

Three years ago, I took three girlfriends from work.

One of my friends is very dear to me, but she can sometimes cop an attitude. She can complain a lot about things, but I have come to realize it is her way of getting attention and I have been able to curtail some of her complaining as I got to know her better. She has had a difficult family life.

Anyway, when we got to Disney, it was as if her entire attitude changed. Not one complaint, instead she had nothing but praise for my choice of resort, dining, the order we did the parks, etc. She even commented on how much she loved the interaction between the adults and their kids. At one point, she looked at me and said, "I have never seen more men do some of the goofiest things and wear some of the goofiest stuff to amuse their kids."

The second to the last day we were there, we sat outside the Emporium on the curb for an hour before the parade started to get the best seat in the house. Now she loves Goofy. We had been chasing him around all week, but kept managing to miss him everywhere we went.

Well, here comes Goofy on the float. She yells out to him and waves, and he waves back and throws her a huge kiss.

Well, the look on her face was priceless. She turns to me and says, "Did you see that, he saw me? You know what, it REALLY is real." She put her head on my shoulder and cried like a child and thanked me so much for an entire week where she didn't have to deal with issues and was really able to enjoy herself....

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Well, here comes Goofy on the float. She yells out to him and waves, and he waves back and throws her a huge kiss.

Well, the look on her face was priceless. She turns to me and says, "Did you see that, he saw me? You know what, it REALLY is real." She put her head on my shoulder and cried like a child and thanked me so much for an entire week where she didn't have to deal with issues and was really able to enjoy herself....

Awesome story...I got choked up! I love when people are able to let go of their regular cynicism and buy in wholeheartedly.

 

[schwaja3]

My story happened a few years ago, but it really started way back in 1991. My girlfriend, and future wife, applied for, and was accepted, into the Disney College program. She has epilepsy, and never thought she would get the job. She went down for the summer and working in River Country.

A couple of years later, she has successful surgery and the epilepsy is in remission. The main side effect of this surgery, is she now has some memory issues. One of the issues is that she doesn't really remember working at Disney.

Fast forward to April 2008. We are at the World for a trip, and go to the Monorail station at the Magic Kingdom. While waiting for a monorail, my wife start to tear up and get upset that she can't remember working there, or anything about the summer. The monorail operator sees this and starts talking to her about why she is crying in the Happiest Place on Earth. My wife tells the story, and then we are asked where we are staying, and for our phone #.

Later that night, we get a call from the head of Disney transportation. He wants to know if we have time to go for a boat ride with them to take a look at the River Country area. YES.

The next day, we meet them at the boat docks by MK, and we get on our own personal boat with the head of transportation and head over to the Campgrounds area. We then meet with the head of the entire hotel operations who has the key to to the locked up areas of the old River Country.

My wife gets to see where she used to work, we get to go "backstage" in the run down River Country (very sad) and we get to walk all over the place. My wife start to remember some things about that summer, and breaks down. The girl who started this all back at the monorail is crying with her and pretty soon there isn't a dry eye around.

When I asked the boss who made this possible, he said it was the year of 1 Million Dreams, and this was just a dream they could make come true.

That was the day that I went from someone who appreciated the Mouse, to a true believer.

Jack

 

[TheDisneyBunch]

These are all so great! I just sat here for the longest time reading through them all. So many moments that make you smile, laugh and even cry!

Mine, I will have to show you but a little info. My youngest son is autistic and when we took him to Disney the year before it was really hard! He was scared of everything, was easily upset and just did not seem to enjoy it at all. By the last day of the trip he did seem to be happy and getting used to what all was going on. When we came home and I made the trip video with our pictures and video clips he started to watch it almost every day. He loved it. He then started asking about going back to Disney. He seemed really excited about it. We planned a trip for last November and he was really excited about the whole thing. On our first night there we were at the Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. We were HOPING he would really enjoy it this time around as he was not a fan the year before.


Imagine my joy when this was the reaction we saw from him...


http://youtu.be/XHlBHWMeRQ0


There are SO MANY other moments but this one just really stood out to me and made me tear up just watching him. At the end I happen to look down at my older son who also looked SO HAPPY (even with his fingers in his ears).

 

[CurlyJo224]

My first trip was when I was seven years old. It was the only big family vacation my family ever took.

I was waiting my turn to meet Mickey. I think this was in the time before the more organized character greetings, I don't know for sure. All I remember was that it was out on Main Street. So there I am with my mouse ears on, waiting to meet the big star. Just as it was my turn, this grown man shoves right in front of me with his camera. The way my parents had taught me, kids don't argue with adults, so to my young way of thinking, now that this guy had shoved in front of me, I wouldn't get to meet Mickey. I burst into tears.

Next thing I know, this white glove reaches around the man, grasps my shoulder, and Mickey pulled me over to him. I had a new Hero.

My favorite picture from that whole Disney trip is a picture of Mickey and a pigtailed, tear-stained, but grinning seven year old me. THAT is magic.

 

[JoShan1719]

My first trip was when I was seven years old. It was the only big family vacation my family ever took.

I was waiting my turn to meet Mickey. I think this was in the time before the more organized character greetings, I don't know for sure. All I remember was that it was out on Main Street. So there I am with my mouse ears on, waiting to meet the big star. Just as it was my turn, this grown man shoves right in front of me with his camera. The way my parents had taught me, kids don't argue with adults, so to my young way of thinking, now that this guy had shoved in front of me, I wouldn't get to meet Mickey. I burst into tears.

Next thing I know, this white glove reaches around the man, grasps my shoulder, and Mickey pulled me over to him. I had a new Hero.

My favorite picture from that whole Disney trip is a picture of Mickey and a pigtailed, tear-stained, but grinning seven year old me. THAT is magic.

great story

 

[Normangirls]

These are all so great! I just sat here for the longest time reading through them all. So many moments that make you smile, laugh and even cry!

Mine, I will have to show you but a little info. My youngest son is autistic and when we took him to Disney the year before it was really hard! He was scared of everything, was easily upset and just did not seem to enjoy it at all. By the last day of the trip he did seem to be happy and getting used to what all was going on. When we came home and I made the trip video with our pictures and video clips he started to watch it almost every day. He loved it. He then started asking about going back to Disney. He seemed really excited about it. We planned a trip for last November and he was really excited about the whole thing. On our first night there we were at the Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. We were HOPING he would really enjoy it this time around as he was not a fan the year before.


Imagine my joy when this was the reaction we saw from him...


http://youtu.be/XHlBHWMeRQ0


There are SO MANY other moments but this one just really stood out to me and made me tear up just watching him. At the end I happen to look down at my older son who also looked SO HAPPY (even with his fingers in his ears).

That was incredibly sweet -- thank you for sharing!!!!

 

[jeff p]

bump

 

[arwood82]

I have spent my entire weekend off reading this thread. It is wonderful and I have my own story to add to revive it. My DS(2) had his first Disney trip in September 2011. He had actually just turned 2 and he is a very shy little boy. He does not like people he doesnt know talking to him. He usually hinds behind our legs or wants to be held. When we went I was not expecting him to like the characters at all. We really just went for a relaxing week at the Happiest Place because we had such a rough year with some medical issues that i had. Our first day there we went to Epcot and walked by Character Spot and let him look in the window. He got excited and wanted to go in. To my surprise he actually went to all the characters as long as I was holding his hand. On our 3rd or 4th day we ate at Garden Grill for dinner. He was exhausted and curled up in my lap almost asleep. He saw Chip come around the corner and he jumped up off my lap and ran to him and gave him the biggest hug. I was shocked. He was so exhausted he preety much fell asleep right there on Chips lap and Chip would not let me move him. It was the sweeetest thing ever. I will remember that forever.

 

[Mamato3Princes]

I'm really enjoying these stories ! I wanted to post this before going back and reading the rest of them.
My sons' 1st trip to Disney was just a few weeks ago. We went to Wilderness Lodge to eat breakfast at Whispering Canyon. My 2 oldest had their pirate Mickey ears on. Our waitress started calling them "pirate ninjas" bc of those ears. Well, this guy (who might have been the manager or another waiter... not sure) and our waitress came over to our boys and gave them these little pirate chests that had ring pops, a mini compass and a mini telescope inside. They were so excited. My oldest son looked at me and said, "Mommy, now we're real pirates because we found our treasure". The looks on their faces made my whole trip. Our waitress would also sing, "Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!" when she would pass our table. She also had placed a tray with ketchup bottles on our table and everytime she said, "Hey! Pirate Ninjas, we need ketchup over here!" my boys would jump up and carry the ketchup over to the patrons that needed it. They loved it. Here are a few pictures of the experience, the last picture is of my boys running back from delivering ketchup: