What's YOUR magic?

[Shellyb84]

Some of my favorite things:
When you arrive at your resort and the security guard says "welcome home"

The smell of the lobby when I walk in BC, also love the smell in Pop's lobby

The first bus ride of the trip

Walking around WS

Riding Kali River rapids at night in February and getting soaked and freezing but we were so miserably wet it was hilarious for some reason

When we first arrived at our room when we stayed at AKL and saw we had the most amazing view (even though we booked standard) - it was my dream resort since it opened

The look on my daughter's face when we rented a surrey bike at BWI and she rode in the front and looked back at us with the most amazing smile on her face

After the 4th of July show in Epcot, when everyone is singing along with "God Bless the USA"

Eeyore hugs

Chewie hugs

 

[Spencer Wright]

Very good idea! I am quite glad to see some positive thinking returning to the boards! (rough Spring Breaks this year huh?)

By big four are as follows:

1. Walking into the AKL lobby
2. On Spaceship Earth when the vehicle turns and you see the earth
3. Riding FOP with my mother and sister
3. Riding Splash Mountain at night and seeing MK and the resorts nearby all lit up

Those four things are giving me goosebumps just thinking about them!

 

[Spencer Wright]

...

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

...

I love those moments when it feels like you were left behind in the rapture! At AK last year we had that walking from Pandora to Africa and it was deserted. Its a great opportunity to observe additional detail.

 

[ELLH]

This is one of those questions that makes me wish I had a better memory because I know there are a lot of great moments but my mind is struggling to access them at this moment. However, here are a few I do remember…

• Our DD (not quite age 3 at the time) met Aurora and Prince Phillip for the first time and somehow my DD wound up telling them about her poots. The CM playing Phillip was laughing so hard he was crying. Good times.
  
• Riding the SeaRaycer with my DD on the Seven Seas Lagoon last October.
• My first Disney at Christmastime trip with my (now) wife back in 2005 and walking under the Lights of Winter at Epcot. Wish they would bring that back.
• Being the first family at HS in 2008. DW and I got to ride ToT by ourselves and were given the ride photo as well as a certificate regarding us being the first family. That was really cool.
• There’s a photo I took of my DW while on the above trip where she is on a bench along the pathway near the lake at Pop just sitting there, looking beautiful and happy. I always pause on that picture when I’m shuffling through our photos on the computer.
• DW injured her ankle on a trip in 2005 and we had to use a wheelchair for the remainder of the trip. I had a lot of fun pushing her around at a dangerously high speed.

Though, when I think of WDW I don’t often think of a specific memory as much as I think back to walking around the parks with my family and just enjoying the atmosphere. Just thinking about the little off-shoot at HS by Echo Lake where it’s a bit more peaceful and laid back or just being in Adventureland and just living in that moment of happiness (even if it’s crowded). We often consider moving to Orlando … but that’s a different topic for another day.

 

[DisneyFive]

...as for specific magical moments throughout the years, oh boy where to start...

• Our first time seeing Fantasmic when my older daughter looks over at me with these wide eyes, saying "Is that real fire?" as the lagoon went up in flames... and me replying (just as surprised) "Yes! It is! I can feel it!"
• My three kids being chosen to introduce the start of the Indiana Jones show. We were actually almost late and thought we were going to have terrible seats, but instead they asked us if we wanted to be the guest directors (or something like that). We said YES! and they ushered us right down to the very front!
• My older daughter trying to hide her tears as we took the bus back to our resort on the last night (always MK) of our second trip. She's not a super emotional girl, so to see her crying showed just how much these vacations mean to them. (whew, almost choking up just writing that)
• The amazing discovery of Hoop Dee Doo review! Went there with my parents, and it was totally up their alley. I purchased a nice canvas of the photo they take out front, with all of us together. We laughed so much that night (the beer and sangria didn't hurt)... with my parents acting like goofballs. A hoot'n holler'n great time
• All of us tumbling for the first time in that MASSIVE wave in the Typhoon lagoon wave pool. I remember thinking, holy crap, I can't believe WDW allows such massive waves! Love that place.
• Closing down MK with ice cream in front of The Plaza, seeing the "Kiss goodnight" then slowly walking out.
• The very first time we did Splash Mountain, seeing the photo of us after the ride. My younger daughter (6 at the time) had her nose plugged and her cheeks puffed out like she thought we were going underwater at the end of the big drop! Yeah, had to purchase that photo.
• Being the very first to enter Magic Kingdom (even before PPO breakfast people), with the Magic Behind the Steam Trains tour. I did the tour with my FIL, who also loves all things mechanical. That photo we have with the completely empty main street (except for a few CM's) behind us is one of my favorites.
  
• My MIL discussing the Safari ride at AK later that evening saying... "You know those animals are all fake right!" Then came silence when we tried to figure out if she was joking or not. She was not. We about fell on the floor laughing so hard. That one still comes up now and then.
• Losing our kids on Tom Sawyer Island, then losing my MIL in the process of trying to find the kids. Found the kids, then spent what seemed like an hour trying find my MIL. We haven't been back to Tom Sawyer Island.

...but in the end it's all of us being kids and being wrapped in that Disney bubble and making memories...

Dan

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

What a lovely thread!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Very good idea! I am quite glad to see some positive thinking returning to the boards! (rough Spring Breaks this year huh?)

By big four are as follows:

1. Walking into the AKL lobby
2. On Spaceship Earth when the vehicle turns and you see the earth
3. Riding FOP with my mother and sister
3. Riding Splash Mountain at night and seeing MK and the resorts nearby all lit up

Those four things are giving me goosebumps just thinking about them!

Yes! I love seeing the earth!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

This is one of those questions that makes me wish I had a better memory because I know there are a lot of great moments but my mind is struggling to access them at this moment. However, here are a few I do remember…

• Our DD (not quite age 3 at the time) met Aurora and Prince Phillip for the first time and somehow my DD wound up telling them about her poots. The CM playing Phillip was laughing so hard he was crying. Good times.
  
• Riding the SeaRaycer with my DD on the Seven Seas Lagoon last October.
• My first Disney at Christmastime trip with my (now) wife back in 2005 and walking under the Lights of Winter at Epcot. Wish they would bring that back.
• Being the first family at HS in 2008. DW and I got to ride ToT by ourselves and were given the ride photo as well as a certificate regarding us being the first family. That was really cool.
• There’s a photo I took of my DW while on the above trip where she is on a bench along the pathway near the lake at Pop just sitting there, looking beautiful and happy. I always pause on that picture when I’m shuffling through our photos on the computer.
• DW injured her ankle on a trip in 2005 and we had to use a wheelchair for the remainder of the trip. I had a lot of fun pushing her around at a dangerously high speed.

Though, when I think of WDW I don’t often think of a specific memory as much as I think back to walking around the parks with my family and just enjoying the atmosphere. Just thinking about the little off-shoot at HS by Echo Lake where it’s a bit more peaceful and laid back or just being in Adventureland and just living in that moment of happiness (even if it’s crowded). We often consider moving to Orlando … but that’s a different topic for another day.

Yes!! It often is the little stuff- When DH or Dd are stressed out, I tell them to close their eyes and try to think of all the sights, smells and sounds of walking around Epcot, or AK, or whatever- as much emphasis as we put on the actual attractions, the feeling of just being “there” is pretty darn incredible.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

...as for specific magical moments throughout the years, oh boy where to start...

• Our first time seeing Fantasmic when my older daughter looks over at me with these wide eyes, saying "Is that real fire?" as the lagoon went up in flames... and me replying (just as surprised) "Yes! It is! I can feel it!"
• My three kids being chosen to introduce the start of the Indiana Jones show. We were actually almost late and thought we were going to have terrible seats, but instead they asked us if we wanted to be the guest directors (or something like that). We said YES! and they ushered us right down to the very front!
• My older daughter trying to hide her tears as we took the bus back to our resort on the last night (always MK) of our second trip. She's not a super emotional girl, so to see her crying showed just how much these vacations mean to them. (whew, almost choking up just writing that)
• The amazing discovery of Hoop Dee Doo review! Went there with my parents, and it was totally up their alley. I purchased a nice canvas of the photo they take out front, with all of us together. We laughed so much that night (the beer and sangria didn't hurt)... with my parents acting like goofballs. A hoot'n holler'n great time
• All of us tumbling for the first time in that MASSIVE wave in the Typhoon lagoon wave pool. I remember thinking, hold crap, I can't believe WDW allows such massive waves! Love that place.
• Closing down MK with ice cream in front of The Plaza, seeing the "Kiss goodnight" then slowly walking out.
• The very first time we did Splash Mountain, seeing the photo of us after the ride. My younger daughter (6 at the time) had her nose plugged and her cheeks puffed out like she thought we were going underwater at the end of the big drop! Yeah, had to purchase that photo.
• Being the very first to enter Magic Kingdom (even before PPO breakfast people), with the Magic Behind the Steam Trains tour. I did the tour with my FIL, who also loves all things mechanical. That photo we have with the completely empty main street (except for a few CM's) behind us is one of my favorites.
  
• My MIL discussing the Safari ride at AK later that evening saying... "You know those animals are all fake right!" Then came silence when we tried to figure out if she was joking or not. She was not. We about fell on the floor laughing so hard. That one still comes up now and then.
• Losing our kids on Tom Sawyer Island, then losing my MIL in the process of trying to find the kids. Found the kids, then spent what seemed like an hour trying find my MIL. We haven't been back to Tom Sawyer Island.

...but in the end it's all of us being kids and being wrapped in that Disney bubble and making memories...

Dan

These are all great. Dd and myself cry at the end of every trip too

It’s wonderful to be able to spend time together just playing as a family, and experiencing all of the adventure, hope, and magic together...

 

[alan68]

We've only been once before, but here are a few of our more magical moments:

1. When we first arrived at POR and were greeted by CMs holding a sign with our name on it. We had been chosen as the Royal Family of the Day and got a free upgrade to a Royal Room! DD loved playing with the light-up "fireworks" on the headboards.
2. DD's first time at BBB was truly magical. She loved getting dolled up, and her FGMIT was so awesome.
3. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's on a very busy day. I spilled DW's drink, and even though the place was a madhouse, a CM showed up immediately to clean it up and bring us another one. I bet we'd never get service like that at Six Flags.
4. Seeing DD's face light up when she saw Minnie at the Chase Visa character spot at EPCOT. The Photopass photographer got a great shot of it.
5. My first rides on both Space Mountain and Star Tours. They say these rides are getting old and outdated, but they were new to me. I was a kid again for a short while.
6. Our experience with Kids Nite Out. DW and I wanted a date night, so we hired KNO to watch the kids in the room. I had heard great things about them, and they all proved to be true. The kids loved Cary, and the feeling was mutual. If our upcoming trip includes a date night, we will use KNO again.

It wasn't a perfect trip, but it was mostly awesome and full of great moments. These are the highlights.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

We've only been once before, but here are a few of our more magical moments:

1. When we first arrived at POR and were greeted by CMs holding a sign with our name on it. We had been chosen as the Royal Family of the Day and got a free upgrade to a Royal Room! DD loved playing with the light-up "fireworks" on the headboards.
2. DD's first time at BBB was truly magical. She loved getting dolled up, and her FGMIT was so awesome.
3. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's on a very busy day. I spilled DW's drink, and even though the place was a madhouse, a CM showed up immediately to clean it up and bring us another one. I bet we'd never get service like that at Six Flags.
4. Seeing DD's face light up when she saw Minnie at the Chase Visa character spot at EPCOT. The Photopass photographer got a great shot of it.
5. My first rides on both Space Mountain and Star Tours. They say these rides are getting old and outdated, but they were new to me. I was a kid again for a short while.
6. Our experience with Kids Nite Out. DW and I wanted a date night, so we hired KNO to watch the kids in the room. I had heard great things about them, and they all proved to be true. The kids loved Cary, and the feeling was mutual. If our upcoming trip includes a date night, we will use KNO again.

It wasn't a perfect trip, but it was mostly awesome and full of great moments. These are the highlights.

Awesome! Have a great 2nd trip!

 

[BrianL]

My magical moment was the MK Welcome Show. It is gone now. It just set the tone for an entire trip!

The other thing I love is when you come around the bend on the Monorail and you get your first glimpse of MK and the Castle. It's a perfect moment.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

My magical moment was the MK Welcome Show. It is gone now. It just set the tone for an entire trip!

The other thing I love is when you come around the bend on the Monorail and you get your first glimpse of MK and the Castle. It's a perfect moment.

I agree! Have you seen the new welcome show in the castle steps yet? I haven’t yet- but I will miss the train coming in with the characters on it!

I remember as a kid we were there for rope drop- there was no show, but the CMs had everyone count down from 10 before they opened the gates. It felt like New Year’s Eve!

 

[BrianL]

I agree! Have you seen the new welcome show in the castle steps yet? I haven’t yet- but I will miss the train coming in with the characters on it!

I remember as a kid we were there for rope drop- there was no show, but the CMs had everyone count down from 10 before they opened the gates. It felt like New Year’s Eve!

I have, and it's really nothing special. It could've been, but compared to the train station welcome it is very underwhelming.

 

[loves to dive]

My first happy thoughts are when we get close to those arches saying welcome then pulling up to the resort and the guard at the gate saying welcome home. We have been going for over 35 years and have built up many great memories but it really doesn't take anything special to happen, just being there is our safe and happy place. We started going when my son was just shy of 3, I was a single mom and had to save for 2 years for us to go so we would go every other year. As my son grew older and I got into a relationship and he got into relationships, WDW was still our place. It was where he and I went and while he did eventually take a girlfriend on one trip with us and his now ex-wife on another couple of them, it was still our place. My honey never goes with us, he understands it's our time and our place. My son is now 38 years old and we can go every year, sometimes more than once and it still hasn't lost it's magic for us.

The year my mother died, she was in a hospice house before she died and we had a trip planned. The family told us to go ahead and go since there really wasn't anything we could do and no telling when she would die. She didn't die while we were gone but we spent the entire trip worrying about getting that call. She would occasionally go with us through the years and she loved the place too so I imagine she was waiting for us to get back to tell her about it. She died about a month later. I was lost, she was my best friend, so honey told me that we needed to take a trip to WDW to just give me peace. Even though we had been that year, about 6 months later my son and I went back and everywhere we went we would think about Mama and smile at the memories.

Fast forward and my son was in the Navy and married, he contacted a viral infection in the hospital he worked in (Navy Corpsman) and for about 6 months went through being paralyzed, then walking with a walker, then a cane, then one leg would just give out, then he got migraines and had to be hospitalized sometimes for a week at a time. All the while the doctors ran tests and scratched their heads and couldn't figure out what was wrong. He once had a spasm in his back when they were giving him a shot and it broke the needle it was so bad. Needless to say, this was not easy on his marriage and after they moved back to Georgia she still couldn't deal with his illness and they got divorced. This was almost too much for him, he had some strange something wrong with him that no one could figure out, his wife left him and he was in constant pain. He even considered taking his life a few times, it was not a good time. We took our usual trip to WDW, he with his memories of his ex-wife having been there with us (they even bought DVC, she got it in the divorce) and in pain so he couldn't ride some rides. After we had been there a couple of days, Disney worked it's magic on him. He started to occasionally smile, something he hadn't done in a year. We were staying at BWI and one evening after spending time at F&G at Epcot we were walking back to BW, going over the bridge we hear music coming from YC where they were having some sort of corporate party on the beach and he started singing and dancing. My mother's heart soared, he had smiled, he was singing and dancing, magic had happened. We have since learned he has permanent nerve damage in his spinal cord which can not be repaired so while he is still in a lot of pain, at least he knows why.

We will be there in a couple of weeks, he went back to school and finishes this summer, his degree will most likely require him to move away so we know this could be our last trip together for awhile but we believe in the Disney magic and will let it work on us.

 

[alan68]

My magical moment was the MK Welcome Show. It is gone now. It just set the tone for an entire trip!

I am also glad we caught the welcome show on our 2nd MK day (DD had an early BBB on our first MK day.) I had wanted to have breakfast at the food court that morning, but DW insisted we go for rope drop. If she had listened to me, we might have never gotten the chance to see the original opening show. I'm glad I got it on video now that i know they've changed it.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

Here's my list (apologies in advance for the novel, but it's Disney!)

- First trip ever to the Land, first day there, we pulled Fantasmic FP. Had no idea that at DL, you stand throughout the show. We found our section and were near the back and it was.....a nightmare. Trying to manage the stroller and two small, tired kids, and we couldn't see over the people in front of us - I was thinking, this is going to be horrible. Just then a CM came by, noticed our 1st Visit buttons, and whisked us over to the VIP seating area. It was AMAZING! And we got to watch fireworks from there too. (Lucky for us also because by the time that was over both kids were asleep!)

- My daughter's must-do on every DL trip was to meet Anna & Elsa. She pretended to give them flowers and recited the movie to them. They always played along so well and it was just awesome to watch.

- My son's must-do is Turtle Talk. 1st two trips, he didn't get picked to ask a question and was pretty upset about it. 3rd trip, we ended up in there first and I sat the kids down right in front (and of course talked about how we couldn't count on getting picked). Hubby and I were just praying so hard he would get picked. When Crush said he wanted to talk to the boy in front in the red shirt, we both started crying - our son got picked! And he was so excited that he didn't actually ask a question - he threw out some knowledge about beluga whales - which totally threw Crush off. It was so funny!

- So we took our kids on HM. They were pretty scared afterward. My hubby and sister had Indy FP, so I took the kids to ride Pooh to put happy thoughts back in their heads. While walking over there, to further distract them from memories of HM, I started singing "Let's go fly a kite!" and they joined in, and we were just this mom with her kids, singing and skipping in DL. A CM saw us and started clapping along too.

- There've been several times at DL that we got into random conversations with CM's that ended with them giving us a few free FP's - it's such a small thing but still very magical!

- This doesn't even begin to touch the magic that comes with walking into the park, seeing Main Street, smelling the yummy air smells and hearing all the music!

 

[izzylovesmickey]

DH & I still talk about our kids first trip when they were 6 & 8. The kids went open to close for 4 days, no naps, no breaks, no pool time because they did NOT want to leave the parks. They even made it through extra magic hours until 3am with no whining, no complaining and just loved it! Poor DD had bad blisters from her sneakers and wouldn't tell us because she didn't want to stop!

More recently, probably my favorite memory is from last summer. We are all adults at this point. DD wanted her BF to have his first experience at WDW. I made plans like crazy since we only had 4 days with him before he had to go back to work. He is not from a "Disney" family and isn't a big park ride person, so I really wanted him to have a great time without overwhelming him. He enjoyed MK and even went on all the mountains (Seven Dwarfs was his favorite), drank around the world for DS's 21st birthday (where he decided EP is his favorite park) then went to HS and AK for his last day. FP for FOP. It was the first time any of us had the chance to ride it. When we got off BF declared it the Best. Ride. Ever. It really made his trip. Several months later when we were together with his parents , they commented on how they had never heard him talk about a trip as much as this one and that he couldn't wait to go back. I absolutely love that we have converted him! DD and BF are now engaged and they are planning to go to DL as part of their honeymoon!

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

To start one of our trips we had a horrible travel day. If it could go wrong, it did. We got to the resort very late (4am) but I didn’t want that to alter our first day which is always a visit to the MK. So my DD and I dragged our sorry, sleepy (and in my case still incredibly grumpy from the travel drama the day before) butts out of bed and off we went, coffee in hand.

Little was said, I was still stewing. We hit a few attractions but my less than stellar mood was definitely bringing us down. That’s when my DD announced she’d had enough and dragged me to Town Square to meet up with my best Mouse.

That was it. All I needed was a hug from Mickey.

Mickey is my Magic.