Which Disney Memory makes you smile?

[Sneezie]

I love to hear the "good" Disney stories. They make me smile, so I thought this would be good thread to start.

I'll go first:

In September 2007, I, along with 9 of my family members, took a Grand Gathering trip to Disney World. My cousin, who is a cynic, was not looking forward to the trip, but her two DDs wanted her to come along so she did. We stayed at the AKL and when the bus pulled up to the resort she wasn't really impressed, but when we walked through those double doors hers eyes grew to the size of saucers and she kept whispering "Oh my God, this place is beautiful." After that, she was like a kid in a candy store. I even heard her talking to someone on her cell phone while she was sitting on her balcony and saying "you should see this place, it is absolutely gorgeous!!!

That memory makes me smile.

I also can't wait to smile when I take my niece this September. I can't wait to see her dancing down Main Street.

Anyone else has any Disney memories that make them smile?

 

[Tinkerbell63]

Mine is when I blew Pinocchio a kiss. He caught it, put it in his pocket and made the quiet sign!

 

[Sneezie]

Mine is when I blew Pinocchio a kiss. He caught it, put it in his pocket and made the quiet sign!

That sounds so sweet.

Anyone else care to share?

 

[secretpantssam]

Last september on the day we arrived we decided to go to Magic Kingdom, of course to see the castle. Right when we got onto Main Street, the little show with the trolley was going on. The trolley conductor grabbed my hand and started dancing with me up and down main street. It was the perfect way to start my trip!

 

[cmsizzlin]

Mine would have to be (in 2007) the look on my two neices faces 5 & 6 at the time when they first stepped onto Main Street and saw the castle and turned to each other and said - Told you it was real

 

[tlenzendorf]

Mine was when DDthen4 almost drowned I know, doesn't seem funny, but it is now. Wasn't magical or a super special moment, but something we still talk about. We were at AKL and she was sitting on the steps of the hot tub with her small kids size inner tube around her waist. I had just gotten out and was wrapping up in towels(cold!! 45 degrees in January!!) and getting her towel ready. I turned around and told her it was time to get out, she threw her fists up in the air, yelled NOOOO and ran down the steps into the water that was over her head. Well..... when she put her hands up and the water goes over your hands, guess where the floatie goes... thats right, it floats off So I jump in towel and all and grab her up. She cried for about 30 seconds and then says "I said I wasn't ready to get out!"

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I have 3, on of each of my kids.
My first is my oldest DD, now 14. We took her for her 3rd birthday. Our first morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Chef Mickey's. After breakfast we got on the monerail to head over to the MK, when we got on, she gushed on and on thanking us for taking her to Disney World, she was quite surprised to find out that was not DW, but breakfast and could not believe that there was more. who knew, 24 hours in a car each way and she'd have been happy with just breakfast!

My middle DD was 9 months old on her first trip. She was teething and loved Pluto, that combo made for my favorite memory with her. We were at Donald's Breakfastasaurus at AK and Pluto came over to her. She reached out and grabbed his tongue and started teething away. Pluto stood there for several minutes allowing her to chew away and us to take photos and video tape. I know, it was probably filthy, but it was too cute to worry about (and she didn't get sick, so all was fine!)

My baby was 10 months on her first trip, but my favorite memory for her was not on her first trip, but when she was 4. She is named after Ariel (middle name) and one of Ariel's sisters (first name), and we went to meet Ariel at her Grotto and Ariel spent a very long time talking with her (and us) about her name, and how flattered she was that we used her name and her sister's name to name our daughter, and our baby felt very, very special. We have met Ariel many times and the conversations seem to be about the same but that first time was very magical.

Memories like these and 100s of others are why when people ask us how we can afford to go again I say "how can we afford not to?" We don't eat out, we don't have the best of anything but I will scrimp and save to make more memories like these that I will cherish forever!

 

[turkeymama]

Being from Louisiana, we have done Mardi Gras a few times. Up until our first trip to WDW, our kids had never really seen anything other than Mardi Gras parades. Well, you can imagine their shock when Mickey and friends failed to throw beads and baubles from the floats.

Poor little things. They just kept waving and hollering. Still no beads. It is one of my favorite memories from my first trip.

 

[Sneezie]

All of these are so sweet and funny.

Keep em coming.

I have another one:

Last year, my sister and I went to Disney alone (first time we ever did that). It was our last day in the parks and we were planning to hit our favorite attractions in every park and end the trip with Fantasmic.

We headed to AK first to ride EE and see the FOTLK show, from there we went to MK to ride BTMRR and POC, next we jumped on the monrail to Epcot to ride Soarin', when we got there the stand-by line was very long and the Fast Pass times were too late in the day. Well, we accepted the fact that we would not be able to ride Soaring before we left. We were bummed though. As we are walking away a lady walks up to us and asks us if we would like two FastPasses for right now to Soarin. It was like the heavens opened up and we could hear the Alleluia chorus. We couldn't believe our good fortune. It turns out her daughter had fallen asleep and they didn't want to wake her. She said she'd been trying to give them away for a while, but everyone was passing her up to go and stand in the Stand By line . We practically kissed her and her husband and ran down the Fast Pass line.

We were able to get to MGM and ride TSM and still get in the Amphitheater in time to see Fantasmic

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Laughing until I had to sit down at Fantasia Gardens with friends last December.

We were all laughing so hard --- parents kept their children away from us.

Every ball went into the water.....Lou's first putt when onto the sidewalk of hole #2.

Tiger Woods fears nothing from our group!!!

 

[Sneezie]

Being from Louisiana, we have done Mardi Gras a few times. Up until our first trip to WDW, our kids had never really seen anything other than Mardi Gras parades. Well, you can imagine their shock when Mickey and friends failed to throw beads and baubles from the floats.

Poor little things. They just kept waving and hollering. Still no beads. It is one of my favorite memories from my first trip.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm from Louisiana too and I can remember wondering where the beads were the first time I saw the parade scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. My DD16 will still say "Oh, that's not a real parade" when they don't throw anything.

 

[Flanigan]

All of them...

No but seriously there are 2 that stand out:

1. Going as a family when I was young, I found a $50 that someone had unfortunately lost. I used part of the money to buy my sister a necklace and earrings.

2. Going for the first time with my DW. She had never been and it was her first time, she was also worried about how she would really feel about the characters. We stayed on site, had the meal plan, and ADRs to breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. When the first character came up to our table, she was like a little girl, all giddy that she was getting to see the characters.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Oh I have many....

Let's see, the first is of my niece. It was arrival day for her family. They were staying at the BWK. They had been up at 5:30am (A real rarity!) to make their flight. After check-in, we headed over to Epcot. We had a wonderful dinner in GB - back when you could get walkup tables. We saw the WS, Illuminations, and took our time leaving. By then, 10:30pm, all the adults were exhausted, limping through the beautiful Boardwalk area. My niece, mesmerized by the pretty lights - was ecstatic, and bouncing up and down in her stroller as vigorously as she could with a HUGE smile on her face! I knew then that she was a true diehard!

A few years later, it was 11:30 at night. HStudios pm EMH had just ended. Most of the folks on the bus were falling asleep. It was midweek in our trip, and we had done a bit of hopping. Same niece now six, is on the bus with her three year old cousin. She turns to me and asks, "So what park are headed to now?" Then they started chanting,"Another Park! Another Park!" (We didn't let it go on for long.) Ironic thing....a few hours later both of them were sick as dogs! They woke up at about 4am and started throwing up! Luckily, it was short lived.

My third memory is of Easter week in 2002 - just five months after 9/11. Many Americans were still freaked out about flying and going to places like WDW. It was eerie to see the low crowds all week, but also fantasic because MK had extended Easter hours. One night we were in MK, and BTMRR had no line. If nobody was waiting in your row, CM's were allowing guests to stay on the ride. We saw it was a challenge, how many times could we ride BTMRR beofe the park closed? I lost count after 15. It was just fun, as the same folks kept re-riding with us. The only contest was among those competing for the last car. It spoiled me. I don't think I'll ever wait more than 15 minutes for BTMRR again! It still makes me smile though - especially when the posted wait for BTMRR is over an hour!

 

[Experiment_626]

A few years ago, I was dating a young lady who had wanted to go to Disney all her life and had never been able to go, for financial and other reasons.

I came into a little bit of money, and I needed to buy a car (I had been in a wreck that wasn't my fault). As it turned out, the car I wanted was located in Orlando. I needed a ride down there to get it, as my old car had been totaled, and I live about four hours away. I got her to take me. After we got the car, I told her I wanted to buy a seasonal pass now that I had the money to do it. Since she'd never been, it was easy enough to convince her that I had to go to the TTC to do that. She stood back while I bought the pass -- as well as a one day ticket for her. She had mentioned that she thought she would happy enough to just be able to see the castle with her own eyes. I told her we could ride the monorail without a ticket and she could actually go to the turnstiles at the Magic Kingdom and see it from there.

Now, of course if I hadn't had the ticket for her, this would have been torture in the guise of kindness!

I got us in the front of the monorail for the ride over to the park. When we got off the monorail and walked up to the gate, I told her I had one more trick she could use to get an even better look at the castle -- and handed her the ticket.

The look on her face was priceless. I think she thought it was a dream even when we left after the park had closed.

SSB

 

[Sneezie]

A few years ago, I was dating a young lady who had wanted to go to Disney all her life and had never been able to go, for financial and other reasons.

I came into a little bit of money, and I needed to buy a car (I had been in a wreck that wasn't my fault). As it turned out, the car I wanted was located in Orlando. I needed a ride down there to get it, as my old car had been totaled, and I live about four hours away. I got her to take me. After we got the car, I told her I wanted to buy a seasonal pass now that I had the money to do it. Since she'd never been, it was easy enough to convince her that I had to go to the TTC to do that. She stood back while I bought the pass -- as well as a one day ticket for her. She had mentioned that she thought she would happy enough to just be able to see the castle with her own eyes. I told her we could ride the monorail without a ticket and she could actually go to the turnstiles at the Magic Kingdom and see it from there.

Now, of course if I hadn't had the ticket for her, this would have been torture in the guise of kindness!

I got us in the front of the monorail for the ride over to the park. When we got off the monorail and walked up to the gate, I told her I had one more trick she could use to get an even better look at the castle -- and handed her the ticket.

The look on her face was priceless. I think she thought it was a dream even when we left after the park had closed.

SSB

That is such a sweet story. You sound like a good catch!

 

[LouDisney]

I have so many, it would take a lot of time to write them all out.

I'm a passholder, and go many times during the year, but my family (me, my sister, two nephews, aunt, uncle, 2 cousins, cousin's husband), take a family trip once (or twice) a year, together. Our last family trip, was last summer, in July. Our first day there, we headed to the Magic Kingdom, and as we were walking through the gates, my nephew (then 5), turned to me and said, "I love Disney World, it's so much fun here". I agreed, and almost burst into tears.

He totally get it's, not that he ever had a choice...LOL Just kidding. I just hope that he always loves it, and wants to continue to go, throughout his whole life.

 

[lilpapsgirl]

My favorite memory was the very first time DH and myself went to disney as a Married couple. We got married on a Friday in November of last year and drove down to disney the same night as we are only 2 hours at most from Orlando. My in laws made us ressie's at Fulton's Crab House where we enjoyed our first diner as Husband and Wife. The next morning we got up and went to the Magic Kindom. We bought our bride and groom hats and stopped off near the entrance at City Hall and got our just married pins....we got some many congrats and well wishes. Very Magical day I must say!! We are going back in about 2 weeks and can't wait to relive the magic.

 

[rpbear]

My family and I have been to WDW 21 times. My DDs are older now 15 and 21. We used to take several vacations a year but with the economy and pay cuts we are just taking one this year. I asked my daughters what they wanted to do this summer. Their answer was they wanted the magic of WDW. That brought a smile to my face because it is what I wanted to hear but I am always scared they will out grow WDW. I love that my daughters who both love thrill rides still prefer the magic of Disney. My oldest DD is in nursing school and said sometimes when she is studying she thinks of Disney. I guess I did something right!

 

[lspst8]

My favorite memory is from my first trip when I was 8 (I'm 29 now, so it was a long time ago) and my family was eating at the hibachi restaurant in Japan. I chef started to cook all the vegetable, and I said that I hated mushrooms. He immediately scooped up all the mushrooms and dropped them onto my plate! Everyone at the table was laughing, and my mom took some great pictures of my mushroom dinner

 

[TBLaube]

This thread is so great! With all of the negativity in the world, it is refreshing to come here and put a smile on my face from reading these positive posts.
Being the WDW/DL junkie that I am, there are so many great memories, but here are a few that stand out....

1. Last year on Mother's Day a month before I was deploying, I took my Mother and sons to DL for the day. She had finished up all of her cancer treatments and was feeling up to a celebration. We were held up a little bit on POTC and thought that it was a bit strange....but as we walked out of the ride, the Dream Squad was there with Dream Fastpasses for us. It was our first ride of the day and was the best Mother's Day present ever. We were all so excited and it was one of our best trips ever.

2. In 2005, returned from a deployment and stayed at WL. When we arrived and were in our room, someone knocked at the door. When I opened it, there was a gift for me with a card from Snow White and 4 WL chocolate totem pole lollipops for us to say "Thank you" for coming home safely. The kids and I loved those so much.

3. On the same trip, we ate at Sci-Fi like we always do and our server was very friendly. We started talking about how much we love Disney and how I just returned from deloyment and didn't really think anything about it. At the end of our meal, she brought the manager over and he thanked me for my service and gave us all free desserts.

There are so many wonderful memories created at Disney. We tend to go before and after I return from deployments and well...anytime that we can! It truly is a magical place for my family and I hope that my children will carry on the tradition with their families.
Please know that I don't expect any special treatment when I go to WDW or DL, but in my experience, Disney has always gone above and beyond to treat me with such kindness and respect for what I do. That is just an added bonus to the Disney magic spread everyday. We are counting down the days until our July trip for our first DVC visit......I can't wait to hear those words "Welcome Home ".....