What's YOUR magic?

[Mrs~Incredible]

Every now and again, there’s a great thread here on TPAS with people writing in some of their most favorite memories that I end up bookmarking and reading over and over. I know sometimes the frustration of planning (and constant WDW changes) as well as the plethora of price increases etc can sour our mood, so I thought I’d start a new thread here so we can read about others’ amazing moments as we get excited and plan for our trips. Sometimes I like to escape to my Disney mindset – it’s nice to think about all the good and happiness there is when faced with a daily barrage of negative things going on in the world.

I’ll start:
1. The moment I catch the first glimpse of the castle from the ferry – I actually have dreams about that!
2. Walking up Main Street. Gets me every time.
3. The music everywhere - sometimes I close my eyes and think of the sounds and experience of Future World, AK, HS, and the different MK lands. Just being there, walking around.
4. My first trip with my DH in 2004. It was the week Hurricane Jeanne hit so the parks were literally empty. We ran around like a couple of kids and I realized I lucked out in marrying a Disney guy who enjoys being a kid at heart.
5. Cinderella’s wishing fountain – wished for the love of my life and wished for my darling daughter there – both wishes came true!
6. First trip there with 10 month old DD – too many moments to count, but some favorites are being in Epcot on Mother’s Day - nursing her on a quiet bench in the UK gardens and watching her laugh as she played peekaboo with Mulan. It wasn’t an easy road to become a mommy, and it was the most specialist of days.
7. The sprinkles of “pixie dust” made possible by amazing CMs – most recently, on our last trip we were at MVMCP and in line for a photo in front of the castle – the photographer was going at lightning speed (we presumed because the park was closing), when suddenly the castle went dark when we were the very next in line. My now 6yo DD completely lost it, sobbing like crazy. Greg (the photographer) comforted her and assured her we could still get our photo, that there was a show and the lights would come back on. She was not too sure about this, and during the castle show Greg was singing and dancing, getting my DD to smile. Then finally he told her that he had a big job for her, and he had her stand in front of the castle with her arms outstretched, and he timed a photo of her so it looked like the fireworks were shooting out of her hands. He was so incredible we wrote a long thank you to Guest Relations.

Share YOUR moments!!

 

[Micca]

The music everywhere - sometimes I close my eyes and think of the sounds and experience of Future World, AK, HS, and the different MK lands. Just being there, walking around.

Cinderella’s wishing fountain – wished for the love of my life and wished for my darling daughter there – both wishes came true!

I'm going to borrow a couple of yours to start with. The music at WDW is a "secret weapon." Like a movie soundtrack, a lot of times it's there enhancing the experience but you're not always aware of it. I too have had considerable luck at Cinderella's fountain, so count me as a believer.

There have been a lot of great moments over the years, but here's a favorite: Our DDs were very small-maybe 3 yrs. old, we're over near the castle and one of the girls is having a complete meltdown. I don't remember why, most likely fatigue. DW and I are trying to get her calmed down when out of nowhere, Cinderella appears! Taken aback by this, DD immediately stops crying while Cinderella engages her in a brief conversation. The best thing one can do when a kid is having a snit is to distract them and this was the all-time best distraction ever!

As a side note, let me take a second to underscore the importance of the CMs to the WDW experience.. We've had dozens of WDW trips over a 40 year span of time, this little gem of an anecdote dates back more than 30 years. Many of our trips are all a great big beautiful blur, but it's occasions such as these that stand out.

 

[Indio]

One of my favorite moments was during our trip last year. We were in Hollywood Studios about to take a picture in front of the Great Movie Ride. There was a photopass photographer there and he asked if we were taking a family photo. When I said yes, he started calling people from all around the area to get in the "family photo"! We ended up with 100 people in the picture! It was SOOOO much fun and everyone around was running up to join in. It was a blast and a memory we all still talk about.

 

[krysenchips]

Okay that last one with your daughter and the photographer brought tears to my eyes. It's things like that that keep bringing me back to Disney.

I 100% agree with you on the music. I have the parks soundtracks in my car just so I can go to my happy place while I'm sitting in traffic during my commute to my office.

The Cast Members at Disney make all the difference. I travel solo a lot, and I went to Garden Grill for dinner one evening. The family at the other table in our booth section was super nice and would take pictures of me with the characters as they went through the restaurant, but they had gotten there before me and left before I had dessert. Well, as I'm sitting there with my strawberry shortcake, Chip comes and sits down next to me and grabs a spoon. He had decided that he was going to join me for dessert since it was big enough to share! We had fun just playing around for a couple of minutes and then I took a selfie with him. It was the second time he had been to the table, so it was just pure fun.

Another time, I had been at WDW for 10 days with my extended family and we were on the dining plan and had a TON of credits left over at the end of the trip. Well, they all had to leave early on our last day since they were driving and my flight wasn't until later that evening, so I'm was in Magic Kingdom trying to find people who I could gift lunch to. I found a family at Pinocchio Village Haus and bought their lunch and sat with them to eat and we talked planning and the parks and everything. It was a fun time, and not something that I would have the courage to do anywhere but Disney.

 

[DisneyFive]

Our first visit was when our kids were 3-8 yrs old back in 2010. My wife and I were not fortunate enough to go as kids, and really, only MK and later EP would have existed at the time and WDW wasn't quite the draw it is today.

So, we had the free dining promotion (paid the extra to up it to the regular dinging plan) and stayed at a value resort, Pop Century. We had friends that helped us plan, and that helped a TON by letting us figure out our best 3 options at each park each day. If we accomplished that, we were happy. We also knew the ins and outs of paper FP's before we arrived so we were pretty well prepared. The rest was up to us.

To summarize, our first trip totally caught us up in the fun and magic of WDW. It was a week long trip, and the feeling of wonder and amazement just built more and more each day of the trip. I remember thinking over and over "So this is that magic that people keep talking about".

Some highlights, and why we keep returning:

1. Every direction you turn in WDW points you to something fun. You are in the sphere of fun. All is set to make magical memories. If you can't have fun at WDW, there really is something wrong with you.
2. The most memorable experience for me that first trip was the MK opening show. I didn't know it existed, despite our planning. The welcome, the dancers and music, and then seeing all the characters coming steaming in on the train! It blew me away, and got me choked up feeling so blessed to be able to have this experience with my family.
3. With free dining, we were so spoiled with all of the amazing TS locations. Not only was the food excellent, but the theming of the restaurants was SOOO cool. Not having to worry about the cost of meals was awesome. The dining experiences were as much a part of our magic as the parks and attractions.
4. We were running on Disney adrenaline. We went park open to close each day and still swam in the resort pools at night to unwind, typically with an adult beverage.
5. There were just too many little unexpected magical moments, like the lights in the sidewalk at Epcot, my younger daughter being chosen to go up and get the red rose at Beauty and the Beast, the WOW of some of the incredibly rides (RnRC, ToT, EE)

So yeah, we were hooked after that. For us, it's all about the fun, and especially the memories. We have a digital picture frame on our kitchen counter that scrolls through hand picked photos from all of our vacations, and each time you see a photo it brings you right back to the time that you experienced it.

Dan

 

[disneyvoice]

@Mrs~Incredible My first trip with my husband was also during Hurricane Jeanne! The parks were literally deserted, it was great. We actually had fun having to hang out in our resort room watching Disney movies and the weather all night. We bought champagne and snacks and had a great time!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Okay that last one with your daughter and the photographer brought tears to my eyes. It's things like that that keep bringing me back to Disney.

I 100% agree with you on the music. I have the parks soundtracks in my car just so I can go to my happy place while I'm sitting in traffic during my commute to my office.

The Cast Members at Disney make all the difference. I travel solo a lot, and I went to Garden Grill for dinner one evening. The family at the other table in our booth section was super nice and would take pictures of me with the characters as they went through the restaurant, but they had gotten there before me and left before I had dessert. Well, as I'm sitting there with my strawberry shortcake, Chip comes and sits down next to me and grabs a spoon. He had decided that he was going to join me for dessert since it was big enough to share! We had fun just playing around for a couple of minutes and then I took a selfie with him. It was the second time he had been to the table, so it was just pure fun.

Another time, I had been at WDW for 10 days with my extended family and we were on the dining plan and had a TON of credits left over at the end of the trip. Well, they all had to leave early on our last day since they were driving and my flight wasn't until later that evening, so I'm was in Magic Kingdom trying to find people who I could gift lunch to. I found a family at Pinocchio Village Haus and bought their lunch and sat with them to eat and we talked planning and the parks and everything. It was a fun time, and not something that I would have the courage to do anywhere but Disney.

Love this! Talk about spreading the love

And I’ve always loved those crazy chipmunks

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Our first visit was when our kids were 3-8 yrs old back in 2010. My wife and I were not fortunate enough to go as kids, and really, only MK and later EP would have existed at the time and WDW wasn't quite the draw it is today.

So, we had the free dining promotion (paid the extra to up it to the regular dinging plan) and stayed at a value resort, Pop Century. We had friends that helped us plan, and that helped a TON by letting us figure out our best 3 options at each park each day. If we accomplished that, we were happy. We also knew the ins and outs of paper FP's before we arrived so we were pretty well prepared. The rest was up to us.

To summarize, our first trip totally caught us up in the fun and magic of WDW. It was a week long trip, and the feeling of wonder and amazement just built more and more each day of the trip. I remember thinking over and over "So this is that magic that people keep talking about".

Some highlights, and why we keep returning:

1. Every direction you turn in WDW points you to something fun. You are in the sphere of fun. All is set to make magical memories. If you can't have fun at WDW, there really is something wrong with you.
2. The most memorable experience for me that first trip was the MK opening show. I didn't know it existed, despite our planning. The welcome, the dancers and music, and then seeing all the characters coming steaming in on the train! It blew me away, and got me choked up feeling so blessed to be able to have this experience with my family.
3. With free dining, we were so spoiled with all of the amazing TS locations. Not only was the food excellent, but the theming of the restaurants was SOOO cool. Not having to worry about the cost of meals was awesome. The dining experiences were as much a part of our magic as the parks and attractions.
4. We were running on Disney adrenaline. We went park open to close each day and still swam in the resort pools at night to unwind, typically with an adult beverage.
5. There were just too many little unexpected magical moments, like the lights in the sidewalk at Epcot, my younger daughter being chosen to go up and get the red rose at Beauty and the Beast, the WOW of some of the incredibly rides (RnRC, ToT, EE)

So yeah, we were hooked after that. For us, it's all about the fun, and especially the memories. We have a digital picture frame on our kitchen counter that scrolls through hand picked photos from all of our vacations, and each time you see a photo it brings you right back to the time that you experienced it.

Dan

Yes!! I love this. I always forget about those lights in the Epcot sidewalk.

I loved the surprise of the welcome show for you- for us, the absolute best moments of all are the ones not planned

And you’re right about turning in every direction- it’s like a giant playground! (An expensive one ha ha but still...)

I also agree about the restaurants- the theming food and service are always something to look froward to, and there are so many we haven’t even tried yet!!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

@Mrs~Incredible My first trip with my husband was also during Hurricane Jeanne! The parks were literally deserted, it was great. We actually had fun having to hang out in our resort room watching Disney movies and the weather all night. We bought champagne and snacks and had a great time!

Yes we had the whole place to ourselves huh? Totally got my DH hooked on that trip

 

[GirlDreamer]

The most a amazing disney magic I've experienced was as a CM at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. There was a family that consisted of a mom, grandmother, daughter and son that was eating at the restaurant. They were placed by the very first table the princesses would come to when they came out. When the last princess (Jasmin I think) came out, she had a short chat with the kids before she asked them to close their eyes and make a wish. Their dad was a military man that had been deployed abroad for a year and hadn't seen his family for the entire time. When the kids closed their eyes to make their wish, their dad was brought out and stood next to Jasmin as the kids opened their eyes and their mouths dropped open in surprice. I think the entire restaurant was in tears at this point, it was such a sweet moment to witness.

Like others have mentioned, I love the music in the parks as well, it gives it such a great atmosphere. One of my favourites is the music that plays in epcot after the fireworks is finished (Tapestry of Dreams), I love to stay behind and listen to it as everyone else is rushing for the exit. I have the soundtrack, but it's not the same as it's got people talking on it.

When me and My DH got engaged and was wearing our just engaged pins, we were spoiled with attention from CM's and characters, it was almost embarrassing when the characters in the parades gave us so much attention. We also had a message waiting for us on the answering machine at the hotel during our honeymoon trip, which was a congratulations message from Minnie and Mickey.

Me and my friends got to spread a little magic as CM's once, even though it was our day off and we were guests in MK. We saw a small child drop their nearly untouched Mickey ice cream on the ground, so we went up the to the CM selling the ice cream, showed them our CM id's and showed him the child that had dropped the ice cream, so he gave us a new ice cream that we gave to the child.

Me and my friends were picked out for a magic moment once during the year of a million dreams. It was in AK and the CM took to the front of the queue of Primeval Whirl.

 

[Bostonbeans99]

When my kids were 3-6 yrs old we planned a 16 day vacation to Universal/WDW ( 2 of my relatives lived in Orlando so in the middle of our vacation we took a few days off & visited them for conversation, rest & pool time.)

It was going to be a long vacation but certainly not rushed.............

My 3 yr old broke his leg at Universal Studios the second day of vacation. Thigh to toe cast.....couldn't swim until cast was switched to water proof.

We had over 13 days left of our vacation and we were headed to our WDW resort. All I could see was misery ahead.

I was totally wrong. It was the best vacation ever! Disney folks, the CM's , bus drivers, servers, the characters .....they ALL treated my son like a little Prince.

Buzz Lightyear who always stamps his autograph, got a black sharpie from his "site assistant" and autographed my sons brand new cast!

The photo of my son beaming with Buzz is my favorite photo (My son is now 18 and graduates in 2 weeks)
The CM/bus drivers gave him a Bus Magical card whenever we boarded (one put him in the drivers seat and asked us to take a picture!!!!).............and the best part is my son never complained once the whole vacation!!! He wasn't miserable at all.

I still have his cast up on his closet shelf......autographed by all of the Disney characters.

His preschool friends were pretty excited when he showed up to school the first day back with such famous autographs and drawings on his leg. lol

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

The most a amazing disney magic I've experienced was as a CM at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. There was a family that consisted of a mom, grandmother, daughter and son that was eating at the restaurant. They were placed by the very first table the princesses would come to when they came out. When the last princess (Jasmin I think) came out, she had a short chat with the kids before she asked them to close their eyes and make a wish. Their dad was a military man that had been deployed abroad for a year and hadn't seen his family for the entire time. When the kids closed their eyes to make their wish, their dad was brought out and stood next to Jasmin as the kids opened their eyes and their mouths dropped open in surprice. I think the entire restaurant was in tears at this point, it was such a sweet moment to witness.

Like others have mentioned, I love the music in the parks as well, it gives it such a great atmosphere. One of my favourites is the music that plays in epcot after the fireworks is finished (Tapestry of Dreams), I love to stay behind and listen to it as everyone else is rushing for the exit. I have the soundtrack, but it's not the same as it's got people talking on it.

When me and My DH got engaged and was wearing our just engaged pins, we were spoiled with attention from CM's and characters, it was almost embarrassing when the characters in the parades gave us so much attention. We also had a message waiting for us on the answering machine at the hotel during our honeymoon trip, which was a congratulations message from Minnie and Mickey.

Me and my friends got to spread a little magic as CM's once, even though it was our day off and we were guests in MK. We saw a small child drop their nearly untouched Mickey ice cream on the ground, so we went up the to the CM selling the ice cream, showed them our CM id's and showed him the child that had dropped the ice cream, so he gave us a new ice cream that we gave to the child.

Me and my friends were picked out for a magic moment once during the year of a million dreams. It was in AK and the CM took to the front of the queue of Primeval Whirl.

Omg, that story about the military dad and Jasmine- just wow. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

When my kids were 3-6 yrs old we planned a 16 day vacation to Universal/WDW ( 2 of my relatives lived in Orlando so in the middle of our vacation we took a few days off & visited them for conversation, rest & pool time.)

It was going to be a long vacation but certainly not rushed.............

My 3 yr old broke his leg at Universal Studios the second day of vacation. Thigh to toe cast.....couldn't swim until cast was switched to water proof.

We had over 13 days left of our vacation and we were headed to our WDW resort. All I could see was misery ahead.

I was totally wrong. It was the best vacation ever! Disney folks, the CM's , bus drivers, servers, the characters .....they ALL treated my son like a little Prince.

Buzz Lightyear who always stamps his autograph, got a black sharpie from his "site assistant" and autographed my sons brand new cast!

The photo of my son beaming with Buzz is my favorite photo (My son is now 18 and graduates in 2 weeks)
The CM/bus drivers gave him a Bus Magical card whenever we boarded (one put him in the drivers seat and asked us to take a picture!!!!).............and the best part is my son never complained once the whole vacation!!! He wasn't miserable at all.

I still have his cast up on his closet shelf......autographed by all of the Disney characters.

His preschool friends were pretty excited when he showed up to school the first day back with such famous autographs and drawings on his leg. lol

That is a GREAT story!!

 

[Bostonbeans99]

While my other family/ kids swam at our resort, the Disney CM gave my son and his grandma an endless cup of tokens to play in the Arcade! It was a vacation of compassionate people I will never forget.

 

[SaintsManiac]

In November we rode the ferry to MK from the TTC for the first time. It was simply incredible. It had been 2 years since our last visit and we had brand new APs in our hands.

In January we had our first PPO at Garden Grill. Walking through an empty Epcot and an empty Land was so surreal and awesome.

The first character meet for my daughter was Sorcerer Mickey. I cried. It was so special.

There are far too many others for me to even name

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

In November we rode the ferry to MK from the TTC for the first time. It was simply incredible. It had been 2 years since our last visit and we had brand new APs in our hands.

In January we had our first PPO at Garden Grill. Walking through an empty Epcot and an empty Land was so surreal and awesome.

The first character meet for my daughter was Sorcerer Mickey. I cried. It was so special.

There are far too many others for me to even name

I always cry when Mickey hugs us!

 

[LadyntheTramp]

I love reading these and being pregnant they make me tear up! Lol

Honestly...I think my best Disney moments are yet to come. I can’t wait to see my DD (2 years old) and the one on the way experience Disney!

Right now some of my moments are the music and the waffle sandwich at Sleep Hallow...lol It just taste better at MK.

Also one time a photopass photographer as my husband and I kiss for a photo and walked away to see how long we would hold the kiss. When we finally looked around there was a crowd and multiple photographers taking pictures. It is one of my favorite moments and the pictures are amazing!

 

[lookame]

My favorites are
-getting to see the kids faces when they actually realize they are there at Disney (on the monorail and then right when they walk into the park and see the castle ect)
-the first time my son rode on space mountain and he screamed in the area with the flashing lights right before you actually take off
-my parents hate spinning rides but I convinced them to go on a space ride in Tomorrowland (please forgive me I’m tired and can’t remember it’s name...it’s above an ice cream shop though) my parents were laughing so hard they were screaming
-riding on Aladdin’s carpet ride with my nephew, Dad and son. I was convinced the camel didn’t spit water...nephew and I argued...he was right.
-first time with my son his favorite ride was the Pooh ride...ride that several times one right after the other a few timed
-riding splash mounting and thunder mountain over and over (it rained and the lines were short so we’d get fast passes for SM and ride TM then before going on SM grabbing fastpasses for TM did that for several times)-right after doing this for 4 or 5 times we stepped off to Woody and Jessie with maybe 3 ppl in line so we got in line and the photographer told my son to play a trick on them. That day was the best!
-I threw a fit my husband got the more expensive dole whip and not the dole whip he asked for. I was so mad but it’s now one of those things were laugh about
-we went to animal kingdom and parked in the flamingo lot. My husband argued with me about it and I said something like “flamingos....those y’all pink birds...” and he told me “no! They are blue and have long feathers...” I stared at him before he realized he was wrong.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

My favorites are
-getting to see the kids faces when they actually realize they are there at Disney (on the monorail and then right when they walk into the park and see the castle ect)
-the first time my son rode on space mountain and he screamed in the area with the flashing lights right before you actually take off
-my parents hate spinning rides but I convinced them to go on a space ride in Tomorrowland (please forgive me I’m tired and can’t remember it’s name...it’s above an ice cream shop though) my parents were laughing so hard they were screaming
-riding on Aladdin’s carpet ride with my nephew, Dad and son. I was convinced the camel didn’t spit water...nephew and I argued...he was right.
-first time with my son his favorite ride was the Pooh ride...ride that several times one right after the other a few timed
-riding splash mounting and thunder mountain over and over (it rained and the lines were short so we’d get fast passes for SM and ride TM then before going on SM grabbing fastpasses for TM did that for several times)-right after doing this for 4 or 5 times we stepped off to Woody and Jessie with maybe 3 ppl in line so we got in line and the photographer told my son to play a trick on them. That day was the best!
-I threw a fit my husband got the more expensive dole whip and not the dole whip he asked for. I was so mad but it’s now one of those things were laugh about
-we went to animal kingdom and parked in the flamingo lot. My husband argued with me about it and I said something like “flamingos....those y’all pink birds...” and he told me “no! They are blue and have long feathers...” I stared at him before he realized he was wrong.

I love it! Your parents on Astro-orbiter laughing that hard is awesome

 

[ELLH]

When the kids closed their eyes to make their wish, their dad was brought out and stood next to Jasmin as the kids opened their eyes and their mouths dropped open in surprice. I think the entire restaurant was in tears at this point, it was such a sweet moment to witness.

Buzz Lightyear who always stamps his autograph, got a black sharpie from his "site assistant" and autographed my sons brand new cast!