When was your first visit to the World?

[Sappermont]

1981! We stayed in a Days Inn near a Waffle House. Our first on-site stay was a few years later. We were driving back from Vero Beach and my sister and I were sitting in the back car while my father went somewhere - we didn't know where. We were anxious because we wanted to get into the MK (we were really young) and then he came back with Fort Wilderness t-shirts. He had went to check availability at FW and lo and behold there were cabins available. My sister and I were besides ourselves with excitement. I've stayed onsite ever since - it's just too fun! Fun thread - thanks for the trip down memory lane!

 

[disney1990]

First trip, Spring break 1990 - I was 39. Have been back every year since.

 

[Tinkerbell53]

DL - 1987. Flew to California when I was 15 to visit my 2 older sisters who lived there. They took me to Disneyland and Magic Mountain. Loved the Matterhorn.

WDW - 1988. My mom was going with my sister, her DH, and my niece. I really wanted to go so I saved up my money from my job and bought plane tickets and park tickets. A friend of mine flew down with me. We had to take a separate flight from my family. We went to MK and Epcot. Loved Captain EO and the MSEP.

We also went to Wet N Wild and my family went to Sea World but my friend and I had run out of money and just hung out at the pool. We stayed at The Enclave Hotel on International Drive.

 

[Hollymom1229]

DLR - 1978, I wasn't even a year old. Went there a few times before we moved from CA to MD when I was 5.

WDW - Summer 1989, MGM had just opened. We stayed off site in a timeshare where my parents had to put up with a high pressure pitch to stay there for free. I loved everything about that vacation, it became my magic place. Next trip wasn't until 1999 and I've been making up for lost time since then.

 

[hookedonears]

DL - 1971 (%^ years old)
WDW - 1973 ($% years old)

 

[Neesy228]

1993 - I was 19. my bf (now DH) took me for three days. We scrapped together every penny we could, stayed at a cheap hotel off site and ate French fries the whole trip because we couldn't afford much else! We had the best time!

 

[wdwrich]

DL - 1971 (%^ years old)
WDW - 1973 ($% years old)

Love the way you posted ages!

 

[minnie mum]

May, 1975. Spent one day at MK when we found ourselves with an unplanned layover after flying into a nearby Air Force Base. A friend and I rented a car and motored over for the day. Totally unplanned. Because we knew how limited our time was we signed up for a guided tour. My friend was fascinated by the uniforms the guides wore, I remember. I also had my very first Monte Cristo sandwich for lunch at a restaurant where Tony's is now. Can't remember the name of it though. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur. Looking at the photos, though, I can't get over the clothes that we were wearing. I know they were fashionable at the time, but holy cow!

 

[CruiseCrazy44]

I was born at the tale end of 1968 and we went while I was still four, so 1973! I'm going to sound so uninformed, but was that the first or second year it was open? I remember staying at the Contemporary and staring at the giant mural on the wall and eating there while the monorail sped past. I remember flying on Dumbo with my brother and spotting mom and dad in the crowd. I remember the characters strolling among the visitors as we waited for the gates to open in the morning. I have quite a lot of memories even though I was so young!

 

[paintnolish]

Anyone remember dining on the Empress Lilly? I have a penant from there.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

August 2006. We did 4 nights at AsMu and then a 3 night cruise on the Wonder. My kids were 5 and 11.

 

[Wood Nymph]

It was New Year's Eve Dec 1973. My sisters and I stayed at the Royal Inn. It was fun because my dad let us drive up from Ft Myers and stay in the hotel on our own. I was just 22 and the oldest one. I remember having to wait an hour for a bus to take us back to the hotel. It finally arrived at 1am, an hour after the Magic Kingdom closed. We were afraid we had missed the last bus and would be stranded.

 

[katiee37]

July 2008! Ahhh the memories

 

[stephen1971]

Although I don't remember any of it, December of '71 at 3 months old was my first trip to Disney . We were there visiting my grandparents and my grandfather worked at Disney. My mother has a picture of her holding me during a ride on 20,000 Leagues. We visited a few times every year until my grandfather retired. I still try to make yearly visits to recapture the wonderful memories of my childhood visits. Also visited EPCOT in December of '82 just after it's opening. I remember a lot of empty space at that time as they were still building a few of the pavilions, but it was still the most amazing experience!! The memory that stands out most to me during that visit was, we were in line for Spaceship Earth but had to leave the line and leave EPCOT to pick up a relative that was getting out of school for the day I was so upset. It took a whole year before I was able to ride it during our next visit. EPCOT is my favorite park to this day... Long live Horizons!!

 

[flamark]

Christmas 1972.

 

[skysmom99]

May 1997

I was chaperoning a senior trip for the high school where I work. Cinderella's castle looked like a giant birthday cake. While I had a good time, I didn't really fall in love with WDW until 12 years later when I ended up there on another senior trip.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

September 1996 with then GF now DW. We stayed at CBR and spent 2 days at MK and 1 at Epcot. Also went to Sea World and Universal 1 day each. Do I remember right that IOA was not opened yet?

My father refused to take us when we were kids so I was 27 on this first trip. My sister is 43 and has never been. We took her two boys, along with DW's sister's boy, in 2001 - ages 5, 9 and 11. We had a blast! I hope to be able to bring my sister on a trip with us someday.

 

[gschon]

My first visit was September 1997. We got married that summer, and part of the deal was that I had to learn to love Disney, since she had been many times as a kid.

 

[Disfanx4]

Honeymoon 1987

 

[bjakmom]

Early 1972 - left college to live and work by the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Those were some crazy days!! And everyone who came to visit wanted to go to Magic Kingdom.