Ellester
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2003
- Messages
- 1,671
Do you ever have the feeling that the anticipation of something is better than the event? Thats how I feel about this trip-report. Ive been thinking of how to start it for some time now, but the report in my head is bound to be so much better than the actual report. But, Ive found DISers to be particular forgiving, so I will plunge ahead!
Disney has been apart of my life as long as I can remember. My first movie at age 2 was The Lady and the Tramp. Thirty-five years later my mother still tells how I was inconsolable when it was over, screaming for the dogs to come back. I remember waiting in an enormous line to see The Fox and the Hound when it came out, similar lines for the rerelease of Pinnochio. This is so foreign to my kids, its laughable. I know many of you are contemporaries of mine and have probably had a similar conversation with your kids:
ME: When I was your age, we only got to see Disney stuff on TV on Sunday nights when Wide World of Disney came on after Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom.
DD8 or DD5:What about Disney Channel or Toon Disney?
ME: Well, we didnt have cable (insert look of disbelief on faces here) if we missed the show, we missed it.
DDs: Why didnt you tape it?
ME: We didnt have VCRs then (insert mouths gaping and eyes bugging)
DDs: Couldnt you rent the DVD?
I think you get the point, my kids have no conception of only being able watch a show when the networks dictated you would watch it. This is when I usually segue into the story of going to the video store when I was in high school to pick a movie to watch at my friend, Susans house, and having to make sure you were in the BetaMax sections. My how times have changed!
But, I digress .My first trip to Walt Disney World was in 1973 at the tender age of 4. It was a PR trip for my dad to convince my mom to move from Chicago to Florida. I remember snippets of that trip, eating at King Stephans (now CRT), seeing Space Mountain being built, riding in the skybuckets, being less than impressed with the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, not being sure whether the animals on the Jungle Cruise were real or not, loving the Country Bears, buying extra tickets when we used up all the D and E tickets in our pack, etc. We did move to South Florida in 1974.
Being only 3 house from the Mouse, trips became at least a once or twice a year event. My parents divorced in 1976, so I had trips with both of them. Weve stayed at everything from the Save Inn to the Royal Plaza at DTD and everywhere in between. Sometime in the late 70s we stayed at the Treehouse Villas. I remember lots of stairs and a very deep bathtub. My grandmother saved a bag from that trip, I found it with our silhouettes in it after she passed away.
There were lots of day/school trips too. Here is my friend, Christy, on the AstroOrbiters. Notice the skybuckets in the background. I miss those!
Once camping in Ft. Wilderness with the gifted program while in Middle School, our leader on that trip was good friends with one of Disneys early executives and we were treated to a trip underground.
Here's what Prince Charming was up to in 1983. I'm on the right.
We took one of the Institute classes/tours. I did the photography option. They loaned us Polaroids and then showed us different ways to photograph the world. Here's the monorail reflected in the Universe of Energy building.
Day trips once a year sponsored by the high school, get on the bus at 6am, return at 1am. Then the much anticipated Grad Nite, senior year, leaving the school at 4pm and returning at 8am. Kids had to be appropriately dressed, collared shirts and ties for the boys, dresses or pantsuits for the girls. The headline band for my year was Wang Chung. Everybody have fun tonight! After a last precollege trip over the summer, I moved to Atlanta for college. Fell in love and discovered that my now-DH had NEVER been to Disney.
This one is from the summer of 1987, by the TTC. I'm wearing my GradNite shirt. I think that one actually disinigrated, I wore it so much.
It was such a foreign concept to me. Growing up in Florida, I assumed everyone knew how to swim and everyone had been to Disney at least once! This disturbing discovery about my DHs past was remedied over spring break in 1989. This is us in the parking lot applying sunscreen!
After college, we made a few more short trips but we had moved Iowa by then and driving was no longer an option, ruling out those quick weekend trips I had grown up with. But kids and a return to the South were in our future....
Disney has been apart of my life as long as I can remember. My first movie at age 2 was The Lady and the Tramp. Thirty-five years later my mother still tells how I was inconsolable when it was over, screaming for the dogs to come back. I remember waiting in an enormous line to see The Fox and the Hound when it came out, similar lines for the rerelease of Pinnochio. This is so foreign to my kids, its laughable. I know many of you are contemporaries of mine and have probably had a similar conversation with your kids:
ME: When I was your age, we only got to see Disney stuff on TV on Sunday nights when Wide World of Disney came on after Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom.
DD8 or DD5:What about Disney Channel or Toon Disney?
ME: Well, we didnt have cable (insert look of disbelief on faces here) if we missed the show, we missed it.
DDs: Why didnt you tape it?
ME: We didnt have VCRs then (insert mouths gaping and eyes bugging)
DDs: Couldnt you rent the DVD?
I think you get the point, my kids have no conception of only being able watch a show when the networks dictated you would watch it. This is when I usually segue into the story of going to the video store when I was in high school to pick a movie to watch at my friend, Susans house, and having to make sure you were in the BetaMax sections. My how times have changed!
But, I digress .My first trip to Walt Disney World was in 1973 at the tender age of 4. It was a PR trip for my dad to convince my mom to move from Chicago to Florida. I remember snippets of that trip, eating at King Stephans (now CRT), seeing Space Mountain being built, riding in the skybuckets, being less than impressed with the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, not being sure whether the animals on the Jungle Cruise were real or not, loving the Country Bears, buying extra tickets when we used up all the D and E tickets in our pack, etc. We did move to South Florida in 1974.
Being only 3 house from the Mouse, trips became at least a once or twice a year event. My parents divorced in 1976, so I had trips with both of them. Weve stayed at everything from the Save Inn to the Royal Plaza at DTD and everywhere in between. Sometime in the late 70s we stayed at the Treehouse Villas. I remember lots of stairs and a very deep bathtub. My grandmother saved a bag from that trip, I found it with our silhouettes in it after she passed away.
There were lots of day/school trips too. Here is my friend, Christy, on the AstroOrbiters. Notice the skybuckets in the background. I miss those!
Once camping in Ft. Wilderness with the gifted program while in Middle School, our leader on that trip was good friends with one of Disneys early executives and we were treated to a trip underground.
Here's what Prince Charming was up to in 1983. I'm on the right.
We took one of the Institute classes/tours. I did the photography option. They loaned us Polaroids and then showed us different ways to photograph the world. Here's the monorail reflected in the Universe of Energy building.
Day trips once a year sponsored by the high school, get on the bus at 6am, return at 1am. Then the much anticipated Grad Nite, senior year, leaving the school at 4pm and returning at 8am. Kids had to be appropriately dressed, collared shirts and ties for the boys, dresses or pantsuits for the girls. The headline band for my year was Wang Chung. Everybody have fun tonight! After a last precollege trip over the summer, I moved to Atlanta for college. Fell in love and discovered that my now-DH had NEVER been to Disney.
This one is from the summer of 1987, by the TTC. I'm wearing my GradNite shirt. I think that one actually disinigrated, I wore it so much.
It was such a foreign concept to me. Growing up in Florida, I assumed everyone knew how to swim and everyone had been to Disney at least once! This disturbing discovery about my DHs past was remedied over spring break in 1989. This is us in the parking lot applying sunscreen!
After college, we made a few more short trips but we had moved Iowa by then and driving was no longer an option, ruling out those quick weekend trips I had grown up with. But kids and a return to the South were in our future....
, the tickets purchase, the dining plan reserved. All this has been done without the kids knowledge. We decided to make the trip the kids Christmas surprise. They think the big box is a TV or game system, it actually holds four more wrapped boxes. The first one says Guess on the top, the next box says Where, the next Youre, the final box says Going and contains the personalized autograph books I made and a Disney brochure I picked up at the 
We are at the inlaws for Christmas, the reveal went pretty well, better than MomofCKJ's at least. LOL! I'll have to wait until we get home to upload the pix and continue with the story. Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!
