Puget Peach
My name is Puget Peach and I'm a Disneyholic!
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2007
- Messages
- 428
When did you fall in love with Disney World? Was it love at first sight? Were you a reluctant trip recruit? When did you first realize you were under the spell of Disney Magic?
It took me quite a while to fall under the spell of Disney Magic.
The Awareness Stage
As a baby boomer I watched the footage from Disneyland on the Mickey Mouse Club (in black and white) and dreamed of flying with Dumbo. I watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" (on a black & white set), and Disney movies
were the only ones we were permitted to see (with the exception of Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments" at a drive-in on the 4th of July with fireworks).
Failed First Date Stage
In 1973
I teamed up with some co-workers for Daytona Beach spring break. After a day on the boardwalk, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom. Frankly, I don't remember much about that visit except Peter Pan (Dumbo was not operating that day) and figuring out the ride tickets. No magic for me yet.
Second Chance Stage
November of 1994 I visited Disneyland. My Trade Association had rented the park for the evening and my very first stop was Dumbo. I rode ride after ride with little or no wait. It was fun, but I didn't begin to feel anything special until standing in the queue for the Roger Rabbit Taxi ride. It was an amazing queue. I began to look at the depth of detail in the Haunted Mansion. I might come back. Maybe. Sometime.
Getting Acquainted Stage
It would be another 5 years before another visit to Disney, this one a 4 day hopper at Walt Disney World. I was enthralled with Epcot, amazed at the Animal Kingdom, thrilled at MGM, and infatuated with the Magic Kingdom. But I was not yet in love.
The Love Bug Strikes, but it’s not Herbie!
2002 - I needed a vacation somewhere I could have fun and be safe all by myself. I first searched for a cruise, but nothing was in budget. Then I saw the Disney World value resort sale advertised for $55 per night and I began doing some online research.
I decided to try Disney World because nothing else was working out. And I began to fall in love on that trip.
After a red-eye flight and the Mears shuttle, I arrived at the All Star Sports check-in. I requested a quiet room on the top floor. No problem. That was during the "length of stay" packages, so I asked to have the cost of my departure day (early flight) deducted from my ticket price. No problem. It was 10 AM and my room was ready. WOW.
I grabbed a quick shower and the next bus to the Animal Kingdom. I discovered Primeval Whirl and the Tarzan show. Double WOW.
The next day at the Magic Kingdom, somewhere between getting a fast pass for Buzz and riding Astro-Orbiter, I lost my KTTW. I panicked.
I was traveling light with only $10 cash on me. No ID, nothing else. As I made my way to the exit to go back to my resort and hassle with the front desk (wondering if I could even ride the bus without my KTTW), I spotted Guest Services and decided to see if someone might have found it and turned it into lost and found. I was greeted with a huge smile and an attitude that made me sit up and take notice. "Oh, don't worry, that happens all the time. I'll cancel your charging privileges and get you a ticket for today so you can continue to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. You can replace your KTTW when you return to your resort this evening." WOW. They really wanted me to have a good time, even though losing my ticket was totally my own fault. They fixed it with no hassles whatsoever. After a call to the resort, I got my ticket du jour and I was on my way to the Jungle Cruise.
It was like that moment you look at someone and really "see" him or her. I started noticing the queues, the street performers, the costuming for cast members, and the landscaping. I was falling deeper and deeper in love with the Disney magic.
Like any successful relationship, the more I learn, the more in love I am. When I’m not planning my next trip, I read other people’s trip reports. I maintain spreadsheets for packing lists, adding or replacing when someone else’s better idea comes along. And it’s a warts and all thing. Hot weather, under deodorized crowds, late buses, and lines are no contest compared with the creativity and imagination present everywhere you look and, most of all, the Cast Members who make it all work.
How about you? When (and how) did you fall in love with Disney?
It took me quite a while to fall under the spell of Disney Magic.
The Awareness Stage
As a baby boomer I watched the footage from Disneyland on the Mickey Mouse Club (in black and white) and dreamed of flying with Dumbo. I watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" (on a black & white set), and Disney movies
were the only ones we were permitted to see (with the exception of Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments" at a drive-in on the 4th of July with fireworks). Failed First Date Stage
In 1973
I teamed up with some co-workers for Daytona Beach spring break. After a day on the boardwalk, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom. Frankly, I don't remember much about that visit except Peter Pan (Dumbo was not operating that day) and figuring out the ride tickets. No magic for me yet. Second Chance Stage
November of 1994 I visited Disneyland. My Trade Association had rented the park for the evening and my very first stop was Dumbo. I rode ride after ride with little or no wait. It was fun, but I didn't begin to feel anything special until standing in the queue for the Roger Rabbit Taxi ride. It was an amazing queue. I began to look at the depth of detail in the Haunted Mansion. I might come back. Maybe. Sometime.
Getting Acquainted Stage
It would be another 5 years before another visit to Disney, this one a 4 day hopper at Walt Disney World. I was enthralled with Epcot, amazed at the Animal Kingdom, thrilled at MGM, and infatuated with the Magic Kingdom. But I was not yet in love.
The Love Bug Strikes, but it’s not Herbie!
2002 - I needed a vacation somewhere I could have fun and be safe all by myself. I first searched for a cruise, but nothing was in budget. Then I saw the Disney World value resort sale advertised for $55 per night and I began doing some online research.
I decided to try Disney World because nothing else was working out. And I began to fall in love on that trip.After a red-eye flight and the Mears shuttle, I arrived at the All Star Sports check-in. I requested a quiet room on the top floor. No problem. That was during the "length of stay" packages, so I asked to have the cost of my departure day (early flight) deducted from my ticket price. No problem. It was 10 AM and my room was ready. WOW.
I grabbed a quick shower and the next bus to the Animal Kingdom. I discovered Primeval Whirl and the Tarzan show. Double WOW. The next day at the Magic Kingdom, somewhere between getting a fast pass for Buzz and riding Astro-Orbiter, I lost my KTTW. I panicked.
I was traveling light with only $10 cash on me. No ID, nothing else. As I made my way to the exit to go back to my resort and hassle with the front desk (wondering if I could even ride the bus without my KTTW), I spotted Guest Services and decided to see if someone might have found it and turned it into lost and found. I was greeted with a huge smile and an attitude that made me sit up and take notice. "Oh, don't worry, that happens all the time. I'll cancel your charging privileges and get you a ticket for today so you can continue to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. You can replace your KTTW when you return to your resort this evening." WOW. They really wanted me to have a good time, even though losing my ticket was totally my own fault. They fixed it with no hassles whatsoever. After a call to the resort, I got my ticket du jour and I was on my way to the Jungle Cruise. It was like that moment you look at someone and really "see" him or her. I started noticing the queues, the street performers, the costuming for cast members, and the landscaping. I was falling deeper and deeper in love with the Disney magic.
Like any successful relationship, the more I learn, the more in love I am. When I’m not planning my next trip, I read other people’s trip reports. I maintain spreadsheets for packing lists, adding or replacing when someone else’s better idea comes along. And it’s a warts and all thing. Hot weather, under deodorized crowds, late buses, and lines are no contest compared with the creativity and imagination present everywhere you look and, most of all, the Cast Members who make it all work.
How about you? When (and how) did you fall in love with Disney?
I can't wait to do it again. I cried almost every single day at every single thing because I was so happy just to be there.
and the guys wanted to be "CooL".
We mostly looked like
Anyway I really started to fall deeply in love with Mouse when we started taking our kids. Boy! when you see the eyes on those kids light up........there is no feeling like it. Now all the kids are grown and gone.
Just me and DH,
, but we don't sit at home. Disney here we come, (without the kids)
Wow! what a difference in the way you view things.
Flowers are prettier, shows are nicer, attractions like The Hall of Presidents don't seem to be too long anymore....
. Awwwwwww....have fallen in love with Dumbo, It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh and characters all over again.
