What Event Made You a WDW Fan?

[caliope]

I loved it as a kid but thought I'd outgrown it. Then we brought DS at age 16months, and seeing it again through his eyes changed everything. My love was renewed...

 

[carlymcqueen]

When I was 6, I went to MK for the first time. I was afraid to go on haunted mansion because I thought it was an actual scary haunted house. a CM pulled me aside and gave me a small blue stone, saying it was a bravery stone from the dwarves' mine. I believed her and went on the ride. from then on I've just believed that disney world was absolutely magical.

 

[bryanb]

Strolling around World Showcase during the Food & Wine Festival for the first time, and seeing Illuminations made me think two things:

(1) Man... how awesome it would be to live in Florida and have access to this all the time?
(2) I think I want to get an annual pass and come back again and again!

 

[Amy&Dan]

The first time we went to Disneyland as a family was in 2003. We walked into the park and suddenly there was Minnie Mouse. She literally walked up and hugged my kids, I was able to snap a quick picture and that was the moment I knew we were onto something special!

For Disneyworld it was our first evening of our first trip in 2004. We walked into Magic Kingdom at dusk, when the lights of Main Street were so beautiful. And the castle was huge! I remember we did a little group hug the four of us we were so excited. And now each trip, 13 years later we do a group hug the first time into MK just like that night.

 

[Gophers]

Our first drip in 2008. Always wanted to go but never seemed to find the time. Then when we walked through the entrance of MK and walking down Main Street and seeing the castle. Magical at first site!

 

[WDWLODGE]

We honeymooned at WDW in 1999. We both thoroughly enjoyed our trip but I don't know if we were hooked just yet. Right before our honeymoon my great aunt & uncle had given us some old 5-day park passes from 1982. Towards the end of our trip we figured we would take them to guest service to see if we could get something for them. Well to our surprise we were given 2 brand new 5-day hopper passes. So of course we decide to book a trip the following year. It was then during the Millennium Celebration that I truly became hooked. The Tapestry of Nations Parade is probably still my favorite parade of all time. Illuminations is still my favorite night time show. It was our first stay at the Wilderness Lodge, which is my favorite resort. That trip sealed the deal.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I'm in my 30s and have been going since I was a year and a half. I was born to WDW loving parents. Loved it all my life.

I didn't think I could love WDW any more than I already did until I went on our first trip with DD when she turned one. Her reactions were more than I ever imagined. DS first trip is in Sept. after he turns 1 and I can't wait to share WDW with him too.

In each season of life I've gone through (kid, single adult, married adult, married adult with kids) WDW still holds true as my favorite place.

 

[seelyt2]

Wishes. Shopping in the UK is a close second (a dream trip I want to take).

 

[Disneyfor8]

DH and I wanted to wait to bring our four kids to WDW until they were more manageable (no diapers, naps, etc), but before the magic would be lost to them. We chose to go last October when they were DS10, DD8, DD6 and DS6. Being a SAHM for 10 years is a blessing, but it's the hardest job I've ever had. It's sometimes hard to remember to just have fun with them in between the busyness (and fighting!). We had SO much fun together as a family on that trip and had so many special moments. My girls, who normally bicker the most, were holding hands skipping down Main Street (yes, I captured it on film!). My boys loved seeing the Storm Troopers and my older son gently encouraged my younger one to try new things. We discovered DD6 is a dare devil, riding every ride she could and crying when she wasn't tall enough for RNR, and we discovered her twin DS6 is the exact opposite, heart racing as we stood in line for Soarin then refusing to get on! He and I spent may special moments together eating mickey bars and people watching as the rest of the fam rode the bigger rides. Even my husband, who was skeptical about a Disney trip, to say the least, was very surprised at how much fun it was, so much so that we are going back this October!

Just as surprising was how I fell in love with the whole process of planning that vacation. From choosing the right resort for us (BLT!), to choosing our park days, to researching dining options and finding the ones that best fit us, to nerve-rackingly making FPs at 6am, to putting together detailed touring plans... I LOVED every minute of it! For the first time in a long time, I fell in love with something new and discovered something that I'm really good at! (Too bad I can't make a living planning our own Disney trips!)

Thanks for letting me share! Loved to read everyone's stories!

 

[Jfine]

Ohana. Lo really took to LILO and the characters were really great. Stitch licked his head, LILO kissed him on the head or cheek. It was so magical. We have a video where he ran his hands through his hair and did a heavy sigh after meeting lilo. I guess he was smitten. Lol. It was our first trip. We thought we'd spend one day at MK and that would be it for us and Disney. We spent every remaining day of that vacation at a Disney park and years later are AP. For me it was Wishes. For DH it was Star Wars Weekends.

 

[Babsy]

In 1971, my parents took my brother, sister and me to WDW. They had books of tickets that you purchased for rides at that time. I remember that you had more "A" rides than "E" rides in your booklet. The good thing for me was that the Carousel was an "A" ride and I LOVED the carousel. I was so excited to get to ride it more often. I fell in love with Disney on that ride. I still love that carousel.

Every trip another little piece of magic happens and the love affair continues. It truly is a happy place with magical possibilities all around you.

 

[Oneanne]

I guess for me it would be EPCOT. Before my first trip I had read one of the "everything you need to know about WDW" books (way back when travel books where the only option for info), and it said to start each trip at EPCOT because it was large and spread out and not overwhelming, so that's what I did. I still recall a sense of openness and expansiveness coming around SSE in FS, then a flurry of color and activity back around WS. I still love EPCOT even in it's currently worn and tattered ways, and usually end up spending each evening there.

 

[Amy&Dan]

In 1971, my parents took my brother, sister and me to WDW. They had books of tickets that you purchased for rides at that time. I remember that you had more "A" rides than "E" rides in your booklet. The good thing for me was that the Carousel was an "A" ride and I LOVED the carousel. I was so excited to get to ride it more often. I fell in love with Disney on that ride. I still love that carousel.

Every trip another little piece of magic happens and the love affair continues. It truly is a happy place with magical possibilities all around you.

I remember going to Disneyland in 1977 and they had the ticket books. I remember riding the carousel many times using the A tickets!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone else noticed that sadly, many of the things that got people WDW fans have been eliminated by Disney? Most importantly, I wish Disney would notice.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I had visited Disneyland many times, so I was pretty much a WDW fan "right out of the box". But what really did it for me was our first night at WDW (in 2007), when we did evening magic hours at AK. We rode Everest three times in a row, when the Yeti was still in full force. It was the most amazing AA I had ever seen (perhaps still the champ). Then we rode Dinosaur, and I was stunned again, this time by the lifelike prehistoric AAs. I was sold!

 

[morrison2951]

Has anyone else noticed that sadly, many of the things that got people WDW fans have been eliminated by Disney? Most importantly, I wish Disney would notice.

Yep. I attended the very first Star Wars Weekends in 2000, the very last one in 2015 and a few in between. Sad to see them go away....

 

[cigar95]

Fall of 1971. Sunday night, NBC (?), Wonderful World of Disney.
"Dad, the monorail goes right through the building!"
Mind you, I didn't actually get to WDW for another 20 years. But I was hooked as a teen from that first view of the CR. And even now, I find the resorts, the infrastructure, and the restaurants the most interesting part of WDW, moreso than the rides.

 

[Zambezi Zelda]

The #1 event that made me a WDW fan was probably my parents subscribing to the Disney Channel in the late 80s. Sure, I loved Mickey and Donald, but I was especially drawn to anything filmed in/about the Disney parks.

In 1993, my Mom planned the textbook Perfect Disney Trip: a stay at the Polynesian, character meals, all three parks, a full autograph book.
That trip felt like a big event when it happened, but feels even bigger in retrospect; it was my first and last trip with both my parents.

After 10+ years without my Mom, my Dad and I finally learned to "get" each other.
In 2010, we hit three parks on one sweltering June day, ending in the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade (a family favorite since 1993).
We'd made other trips as a father-daughter duo, but never before as real friends, so that day stands out as a huge "I'm going to be a WDW fan for life" moment.

 

[bladiator]

The #1 event that made me a WDW fan was probably my parents subscribing to the Disney Channel in the late 80s. Sure, I loved Mickey and Donald, but I was especially drawn to anything filmed in/about the Disney parks.

Wow, I feel like you're the first person to have this same humble beginning. My dad bought one of those humongous satellite dishes for the backyard just so we could watch Disney Channel when I was like 4 years old (early 80s). I mean, we could get more channels than that, but as a kid all I knew was that channel 4 was Disney Channel and 24 was the Disney Channel 4 hours ago. And I watched "A Day at Disneyland" and all the Disney park trips over and over.

I didn't get to go until I was 14, and it was like I already knew every ride.

 

[GatorChris]

The #1 event that made me a WDW fan was probably my parents subscribing to the Disney Channel in the late 80s. Sure, I loved Mickey and Donald, but I was especially drawn to anything filmed in/about the Disney parks.

I remember watching all of those shorts they would play between an episode of Mr. Ed and a Haley Mills film. I also remember when they first built Pleasure Island - they talked about it a lot on the Disney Channel. I just remember thinking "Man, there's no way you're getting me to go to Pleasure Island. Kids turn into donkeys there."