When and How did the Disney bug bite you?

[DNSDisney]

My first trip to Disney (MK) was in the 80s (I was in my early 20s) . It was during Oct. There were no crowds to speak of, all the water rides were closed, space mountain was closed and there were no real rollercoaster (which at that time is what I loved) . So I thought there wasn't much to the park.
(Now take the mother ship through time to early 90s)
My daughter was 4 yrs old and my DH and I were thinking of a disney vacation. I bought the Unoffical Guide and found all this stuff I never knew about MK and other parks. Wow I thought. Well the moment I fell in love with the Disney Magic is when my little girl's face lit up with beams of blinding light when she saw the castle. Then the first thing out of her mouth was "Where is Minnie?" We spent the rest of the 3 days we were there finding Minnie and anyother character we could. That visit we only rode Dumbo and Its a small world but it was the best visit we have ever had!

And the addiction just keeps on growing thanks to these boards and the Magic we feel everytime we go!

So tell us how you got the bug (addiction) to Disney.............

 

[hockey mom]

Our first trip was only to the MK and was compliments of my father because we could not afford Disney's ticket prices. I remeber saying to my DH this is way to much money for one theme park as we entered and then we got inside and our mouth dropped. It was the castle, the theming, and the character intereaction that got us hooked. On our drive home we planned to save for 5 years and come back to do everything, well we made it 2 years and have returned every year since.

 

[seashoreCM]

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[seashoreCM]

First trip to WDW, ca. 1975 after doing spring break in Miami and Daytona. Just stopped in for a day to check things (MK only) out. Back then they had individual coupons for each ride and I bought the minimum number of rides.

Next trip was first trip to Epcot, ca. 1985. Used a 3 day hopper pass gotten free from a timeshare presentation. Was discouraged because I didn't think it was intellectually stimulating enough.

Next trip to WDW ca. 1994 to "try it out again". Eighth or so trip after that planned for November 2003. Got hooked when MGM Studios and the lower priced All Star resorts opened.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[WDWLVR]

In 1975 I started working for Sears, Roebuck and Co. in their Headquarters in the Infant and Toddler Buying office. At the time Sears had the copywright to Winnie-the-Pooh. We had a working relationship with Disney as we owned 50 of the Winnie-the-Pooh costumes (same as you saw in the park - think the old ones with honey pots on their heads). My bosses had all been down to WDW for meetings etc. and brought back lots of bochures.

1976 I made my first trip with my mom and fell in love with the place. Two years later we were back staying at the Poly. By that time I was the Winnie-the-Pooh Coordinator and got to spend 7 wonderful years working with Disney (they would do the cleaning and rehab of the costumes and we had to follow their guidelines as to use of the costumes). It was a great learning experience for me.

1990 and DH and I honeymooned at the Grand Floridian. He was a fan before that, but I think he really got hooked on that trip.

2000 we became certified Disney fanatics as we bought into DVC and I signed up here on the DIS.

Life is good!

 

[Serena]

When I was researching where to go for a family vacation and happen to find this place. I don't think I had a choice after that. lol

 

[WDWFOREVER]

Back in December 1991 I suffered an ectopic pregnancy. This was the fifth child I had lost and consequently I went into a depression. My Doctor suggested a break away somewhere warm might do me the world of good. We went to our local travel agent and found that Florida could promise us some good weather when we wanted to travel (first two weeks in April 1992) so we booked. The first park we visited was MGM and from the moment I stepped inside all the sadness and weight on my shoulders lifted. We spent the happiest two weeks than we had spent in the previous two years.

Sadly we lost another child in August 1992 and so went back to Disney in September 1992. We done a little 3 night cruise to the Bahamas and happened to be on the same table as an American couple who live in St Petersburg. We have become very close to them over the years, staying with them for extended periods when we have returned to Florida. They are part of my family.

I think my happiest moment came when I walked down Main Street in May 1994 with my six month old son in his stroller. If anyone ever asks about my most special moment, that was it.

We return to Disney in June for our 10th holiday and I am as excited as if it was my first time.

Jackie

 

[susy]

Oh, Jackie, how mean of you to make us cry first thing the morning (I just put on my makeup!) I wonder if that doctor knows what GREAT advice he gives!

My sister just went through a very bad divorce and I keep telling her she needs to get away. Unfortunately, her ex took his new woman to WDW last year when he was still married to my sister! It was a place my sister always loved, but she won't talk about it now.


I have lived in FL since I was ten, so we've been to WDW too many times to remember. Usually in the summer, staying offsite and just doing the MK one day with no break. UGH! The good and bad cancel each other out in that respect! I remember at the end of the day waiting for those trams to ge back to our car. NEVERMORE!!!

DH and I took our DS for the first time when he was three (right before he turned 4). Our first night we went to Epcot, rode Spaceship Earth and had dinner at the Garden Grill. That first trip (which we researched for 6 months) was so magical that we went back 5 more times during the year!

Some magical moments:

DS being the gatekeeper his first time at the MK!
My b-day breakfast in the castle!
First rider on Space Moutnain- the Saturday of Veterans Day weekend , no less.
Playing with all the Pooh characters by ourselves for fifteen minutes (in toonetown -during Spectro).
A free upgrade to deluxe room at AKL

Our next adventure- WL for Thanksgiving and DS's 6th birthday!
As I'm writing this, my mom and her DH are in the car on their way to BWI- POFQ upgrade for $104!

All character meals (11 total)

 

[RHONDALEE]

WDWLVR - Do you still work for Sears? If so, are you out in Hoffman?
I've worked for Sears for almost 36 years. Started on the Westside, then Downtown and now at Hoffman.

 

[WDWFOREVER]

I'm sorry I made you cry!! Be happy Susy - we got him in the end - some people aren't as lucky as we are. He will be 10 in October and I don't think a day goes by when I don't look at him in wonderment that I could have created something and someone so special (with a little help from DH of course!). My husband always says that it was the same little soul each time but he was just waiting to get the body right!!

How sad for your sister that all her good thoughts and memories about WDW have been replaced by negative ones. I truly feel so sorry for her. It is supposed to be a magical place and it must be devastating to have that magic taken away from you.

I envy you living in Florida!

Jackie

 

[WDWLVR]

RHONDALEE

Would have sent you a pm, but both PM and e-mail are turned off for you. No, I'm no longer at Sears. After working with Winnie-the-Pooh I became a catalog copywriter and later an Asst. Marketing Manager. Then they got rid of catalog i had been with them 17 years at the time. Worked in the Tower for 14 years and then up in Skokie (at the Catalog Headquarters) for 3. If I had stayed I would have been there 28 years now. They gave me a great education and my love of Disney so it was a good parting.

The funniest (to me) part of it is that Sears gave up the rights to Winnie-the-Pooh the same year they let me go. Pooh and I have moved on to other things

 

[Dan Murphy]

OMGoodness, you will be sorry you asked, LOL. A 4 part story, told a few years ago, but true..

I always enjoy hearing how people acquired this unique thing we all share here. Some great stories here, thanks for sharing.

 

[skuttle]

I went to WDW about three times when I was a kid. I always enjoyed it. The last time I went as a child was when I was in the 5th grade. From junior high to high school I was in love with six flags...all those thrill rides and coasters! We'd go almost every summer (me, my mom, a friend, and her mom).

The disney bug bit when DH and I started planning our honeymoon. we both wanted to go to WDW. We've been every year since our honeymoon in 2000. Oh...and the DIS definately feeds my love of WDW since I talk/hear about it every day!

 

[helenabear]

Oh wow, some truly great stories here... I'm in tears after reading these so far!

I wish I had some exciting and prfound story, but mine is pretty simple. I grew up with Disney. I made my first trip to WDW when I was 5 and I was lucky enough to have a mom who wanted to take us back now and then (every few years usually). Now that I am 'grown up' and my mom is no longer around to take me, I still have that love for WDW and Disney in general and that bug my mom planted in me is still very very strong

 

[primax]

WOW! I visited Disney World as a child a decent number of times, and also in my teen years. I always enjoyed Disney but in my mind it was nothing more than 5 days of amusement versus 1 day Six Flags, Busch Gardens, etc. I never felt the "Magic".

It was not until 09/2001 when I took my DD and DW to Disney that the Magic hit me. My DW visted Disney when she was 5 and never saw anything more than the MK. I wanted to take them both to experience disney and BANG the Magic hit me when I got to see both of there faces as we were arriving by Monorail into the Magic Kingdom. Both were very quite and just trying to absorb all the sensory overload, silence was truly broken when my DD said "Where are all the rides" - LOL. She was so confortable with themeparks and rides being completely outside she did know where the rides were since she did not see any. My DW was completely oblivious to everything around her and could not help but throw her head left, right, up, down trying to visually absorb what she was seeing.

Since that trip we have become hugh disney fans, we returned on 05/2002 & are trying to plan our 2003 trip now. Our home has been going through a disney overhaul. The Magic hit me after 26 years and is still going strong thanks to the two beautiful girls in my life.

I love you KLS & MLS!

 

[SuzyQue]

At first I tried not to the let Disney Bug bite me because I didn't want to be disappointed if my DH didn't want to go back, but when I heard him say "I'll never be too old for Disney World!", I knew we were hooked. You have to understand my DH isn't much for trips to new places, we have a place by the lake we spend most of the summer at, so we really didn't travel much. But the magic just took hold of him, he says he's given up trying to talk to the guys at work about it, they think it's just another theme park, he says "they just don't get it". ~~

 

[PandyPaws]

I'm pretty sure I was born this way

I can't remember a time not loving the Mouse, the movies, the shows on TV, the characters, the parks....

 

[AngieBelle]

Pretty much from childhood on, though it really started to escalate when I fell in love with The Little Mermaid at age 8. My first trip to DL was at age 7. I lived in CA until I was 10, and in 5th grade when given a class assignment of drawing my favorite place, I drew Sleeping Beauty castle. The films they did during the early 90s- Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin in particular- really got me hooked, and I never looked back.

 

[sha_lyn]

It was 1975 and I was 7 yrs old. I still feel the emotions I felt walking through the castle the first time. Had a wonderful but rainy time. I love POTC, cried because my parents wouldn't let me ride SpM etc.

Fast forward to the yr 2000. It had been a very rough yr and I realy needed a vacation. Somehow I decided we needed to go to WDW (I think a comercial gave me the idea). I started searching and found the DIS. I knew I needed a $$ plan before aproaching DH. I found out about ASMu, decided on 4 days and apporached him. He hates theme parks, so I knew I had to hit him with the guilt of "the kids will only be kids for a little while". He told me I better pick my time well because we'd never go back. What finally convinced him was DD would be free(ticked buffets) if we went within the following 6 months, before she turned 3. we decided on spring break, so I only had 2 1/2 months to plan.
Soon I found out about SoG (on the DIS) and convinced DH to spend the same $$ amount on 7 days, instead of saving the money. However he didn't really want to make reservations. He thought we could just show up and get a room.

Arrived at WDW, checked in at ASMu, grabed tickets at SoG and had a horrible dinner at CM. Thank goodness we didn't let it ruin our mood.

First day, first park was MGM (planned with help from all here on the DIS, we took advantage of EE). DS and I ran for TOT. I was not going to ride, but he convinced me (I hate drop rides but love coasters). WOW. The day was wonderful (except dissapointed with PTC lack of interaction) but no magic yet.

Next day we head for MK. Well the magic hit as we walked down main st. I was in tears as I walked through the castle. I can't even tell you for certain what we rode first, but is was in fantasyland. The magic really hit however at CP. We had a lunch PS. Remember our first 2 WDW meals weren't good experiences. Well once the pooh characters started the rounds we began to relax. I was shocked that, when I said to the kids that Eeyore was my favoirte, Eeyore made a huge fuss over me. DD was OK with hte characters at CM and so far at CP as long as they didn't get too close. Then Piglet came around. The look on DD's face was priceless (my eyes are tearing up just thining about it). She managed to get out the word Piglet. Rest of the day was amazing. Headed to the room that night and DH said the price of the trip was worth the expression on DD's face. He started talking about the next time we come ( thought we were never returning ) she'll be old enough to enjoy it better. He started tlaking about 5 yrs from them. By the time we left, we both were planning to return in 2 yrs.

2 yrs later we took my extended family. DM, DSi and DNi. Now they have the bug too, but that is a different story.

 

[frannn]

The bug didn't bite me until DH and I went there on our honeymoon in '99. We've been there at least 1X a year since them, and look forward to bringing DD there for her first trip this fall! DH could do without, but our honeymoon trip was the happiest and most magical time I have had in my life (other than the births of my 3 lovely DDs, of course). Every ride was amazing, every meal was scrumptious, even the air was amazing. I could live in WDW and never tire of it. My dream for when I am older and retired is to work PT as a CM, either in the HM or in the food court, just watching the looks on the children's faces as they experience the magic. It will probaby take that long to convince DH! I live for planning my trips, every day, even though the next one is over months away! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one bitten...