When did you get "it"

[Dian-er]

I,too, grew up with Disney, but my 1st trip was @ 27, I drove down from MA with my best friend & 4 other girls in 2 cars. It was only MK, but I was hooked. Bawb & my mom stayedwith Erin & Matt for me. Then a year later, we came on out Honeymoon (yes he participated in child rearing before we were married) & he was hooked. Later we brought the 2 older kids (before Brian) & got them hooked. The rest is history.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

It was like entering a magical bubble and leaving the real world behind. I needed that escape in ways that I can never explain. Just walking down Main Street is enough to make me cry now because I know I'm in a happy place!

I think I will always think of Disney as my special little escape when the weight of the world seems to hit me hardest. We have now made 5 trips in 3 years (with another planned in January, 2011) and I imagine we'll continue to go when we need to leave reality behind.

Amanda

Amanda, you hit this nail right on the head!! Your words made me cry almost as much as that first walk down (and last walk out of) Main Street.
Well said!

 

[ToddyLu]

Mom and Dad could not afford WDW so we camped every summer in FL. On a trip to CA in 1978 we went to DL for the day. I was 10 and only really remember Space Mountain. I was excited about going to Disney but I think I knew it wasn't the "the one in FL".

So the plan was to go to Disney for our Honeymoon. DH got a job as a fireman and was at the acedemy during our Honeymoon. So he promised he would take me. We decided to go for our 8th Anniversary in 2002. He had been once for his 12th Bday in 1976, July 4th. They staye din the CR and had a good time. So he wasn't addicted yet either and I just didn't know what I was missing. Only rumors that it was completely awesome.

I did a little planning before that first trip and so did DH. We did it all. My "it" moment was seeing the Castle for the first time at age 34 and freaking out. DH got a kick out of that. We decided we would go again and after the second trip in 2003, decided it would be a yearly trip for both of us. So here we are waiting for our 10th trip this Dec. We purchased our DVC last year and can't wait. We still find new things to do. This year will be HDDR and Beirgarten. DH was so cute last year... he was almost as excited as me to stay at AKV (we had always done Values) for our first DVC trip. He made me close my eyes and he opened the door to our SV studio. WOW!!! Can't get more "it" than that...

WDW is one of the only places in the World where people can go and heal their hearts...instantly. In 2005. after Katrina and lossing DFIL 5 weeks later to Cancer...we decided to keep our Dec. trip for our first Christmas trip to WDW. It was magical and I cannot tell you how I felt the first time they turned on those Osborne Lights. I cried and DH held me there in the middle of the square...it was instant relief and a feeling that we were alright. As corny as that may sound..."It" happened to me then.

 

[lilosurf11]

born with it - my parents took my brother and I when my mom was pregnant with us.

 

[disneymom8589]

My first remembrance of Disney was when I was a young girl and my dad bought us a Disney record at a gas station. I loved that record and played it a lot. Several years later we took our 1st family trip to Disneyland in 1974 and I was definitely hooked! My next visit to Disneyland didn't occur until 1997 (unbelievably!) when my DH and I took our 2 children. Since then we have all turned into "Derds" (Disney Nerds - a term coined by my now adult children!) and have taken numerous Disney vacations - Disneyland, Disney World, and a family Disney cruise.

We now have a new little family member to become a "Derd" - our grandson Kai who was born on August 4th! He is the little guy with the Mickey ears in my avatar!

 

[Friendly Frog]

Late in life.

One trip as a child (10) to DL (when dad had a convention), but we were only able to stay a couple of hours. I was crushed at having to leave so soon.

One trip as a young adult (20) to WDW, I really liked it, but the cost concerns took a lot of fun out of it.

Trip in my 30's, I had a great time, I think that was my got it trip, but unfortunately it would be 10 years before I could go back.

After that I have been going as often as I can, which is much more often than before. I also found the DIS which has both kept me excited about Disney, and helped me to cope between visits.

For me the older I get, and the more problems I face in life, the more I appreciate the escapism and fantasy of Disney. During the most sad of times, you can walk into Disney and feel better.

 

[kaligal]

Disney sucked me in as a kid. I don't even remember a time when I didn't want to go to Disney World. Didn't go until I was an adult, though.

 

[Sandi12404]

I went twice when I was growing up and thought it was fun but I never had a burning desire to go back. Then about 4 years ago we took our kids for the first time and that was it. I started planning and found the dis and I have been hooked ever since.

 

[Tarzan513]

My parents had just gotten divorced and my mom, two brothers and I went down there. It kind of became our thing and we went for several years in a row. It was definitely a time when the four of us became very tight and that really embedded the importance of Disney in my life. The older I become the more I appreciate having that place to go to at that point in our life. Because of this, Disney just gives me this great "family" feeling that I love. Now that we are all adults, it is much harder for us all to get down there at the same time...but that doesn't mean we don't try

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I was involved in a head on collision with a drunk driver in Jan 2008. My husband and 2 year old daughter passed away on impact (along with the drunk). I was the sole survivor. In Nov of 2007 my husband came home from deployment and my mom treated us to a belated honeymoon to Disney World. We were made aware of the trip before Josh's deployment and that's all he talked about for 7 months. He had never been and I was excited to experience that with him for the first time.

My next trip after those horrific events in 2008 was in July of 2009 with friends and my current fiance. I remember walking into Magic Kingdom and at the sight of Cinderella's castle I began to cry. The memories of Josh and I's trip came flooding back and it was in that moment that I wanted to go to Disney as much as I could.

Now every time I go I think back to that wonderful trip I had with my late husband. I can look at the castle now and smile at all the memories I made back in 07.

 

[Friendly Frog]

I was involved in a head on collision with a drunk driver in Jan 2008. My husband and 2 year old daughter passed away on impact (along with the drunk). I was the sole survivor. In Nov of 2007 my husband came home from deployment and my mom treated us to a belated honeymoon to Disney World. We were made aware of the trip before Josh's deployment and that's all he talked about for 7 months. He had never been and I was excited to experience that with him for the first time.

My next trip after those horrific events in 2008 was in July of 2009 with friends and my current fiance. I remember walking into Magic Kingdom and at the sight of Cinderella's castle I began to cry. The memories of Josh and I's trip came flooding back and it was in that moment that I wanted to go to Disney as much as I could.

Now every time I go I think back to that wonderful trip I had with my late husband. I can look at the castle now and smile at all the memories I made back in 07.

I can't even imagine what you have gone through. My husband was in a coma for a while, and that was hard enough.

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I can't even imagine what you have gone through. My husband was in a coma for a while, and that was hard enough.

I still have my rough days but as time has gone on I've had more good days then bad days. One of my main reasons for joining DVC was so I could experience Disney on a yearly basis and I could feel close to my late husband at Disney.

I'll never forget the look on his face when he met Goofy or the grin on his face when we took a picture with Mickey at Animal Kingdom.

 

[FireDancer]

I got "it" the year before I went for the first time in 1991. One of my friends went the year before and when he came back he had a lot of pictures and video. I went through them and knew I would love it. We grew up without a lot of money so getting down there was years in the making. I built it up so much it was destined to not live up to expectations but it did. I've loved WDW ever since. I had always been into the movies but it is the parks that I like best.

 

[DLBDS]

For me it was during my childhood in the mid 70's. My aunt, uncle and two cousins took me along on 3 of their first trips. I didn't make it back again until '06 when I took my family along. That was one l-o-n-g wait but the wait is finally over and I've gone several times since then!

 

[CleoPahd]

I went to Disney a lot as a kid. What kid wouldn't pick up a little "something of it" from that? My husband only went once as a kid and couldn't wait for the opportunity to go back and bring our daughter when she was old enough and we could afford it. After returning from our first trip my mother-in-law shared a story with me, which I later shared with my husband for the first time. As a child with Cystic Fibrosis the doctors didn't expect him to live long. Around the time he was 10 they encouraged his parents to take him to Disney World because they didn't expect that he would live for much longer. The doctors told my mother in law that every child deserves to see the magic at least once in their life. Well, he made it past childhood. A few years later the tables had turned again and it wasn't expected that he would make it past his teens, but he did.

He was surprised by the story when I finally shared it with him. Even though he had always been aware of how sick he was, knowing the background to his one and only wonderful trip opened up a new door for him. After our first trip my husband picked up a severe bacterial infection, along with many other CF patients at his local clinic. The incurable infection can be fatal in CF patients and many didn't survive. That was the point when we realized that going back to disney not only meant a great family trip, it meant reaching another milestone in battling this disease. We knew we had to have our wedding there and have been going back regularly ever since. My husband gets like a little kid planning our trips, and to see him so happy makes me unbelievably happy. It's our opportunity to let loose and get away from the reality & stress of our life, but more importantly it also gives us an opportunity to say "Ha! We're here again...take that!" to this awful disease. At 35 he's getting really "old", but I try to stay positive. We bought DVC a while back so I've got many more years of trips planned for us whether this disease likes it or not!

 

[dizneedoll]

I was involved in a head on collision with a drunk driver in Jan 2008. My husband and 2 year old daughter passed away on impact (along with the drunk). I was the sole survivor. In Nov of 2007 my husband came home from deployment and my mom treated us to a belated honeymoon to Disney World. We were made aware of the trip before Josh's deployment and that's all he talked about for 7 months. He had never been and I was excited to experience that with him for the first time.

My next trip after those horrific events in 2008 was in July of 2009 with friends and my current fiance. I remember walking into Magic Kingdom and at the sight of Cinderella's castle I began to cry. The memories of Josh and I's trip came flooding back and it was in that moment that I wanted to go to Disney as much as I could.

Now every time I go I think back to that wonderful trip I had with my late husband. I can look at the castle now and smile at all the memories I made back in 07.

I'm so very sorry! What a horrible thing to go through. I can't imagine how hard it must have been. I don't know if anything ever happened to my son if I would have the strength to ever go back. I'm glad you are able to remember the happy times and smile about it now.

As for me, I was born with "it." No moment of wow, or conversion or anything like that. Just born with a silver mickey in my mouth. It's always been there.

 

[trivial]

I went a couple of times as a kid, but it was just a blur... I can barely remember any of it now, and I was like 10-12. I have a terrible memory I guess. Then I went on a honeymoon/anniversary/birthday trip in 2007 because my wife wanted to go. Honestly, I fell in love with it and I think I had a better time than she did. I've been planning my next trip since then, although it sure is taking a while.