My love for Disney has very little to do with a mouse named Mickey. I am often asked why I love Disney so much, and many wonder why I still consider it a favorite place to vacation. I usually give a short answer, but my love for Disney and a man named Walt that started it all has very little to do with rides and parades.
I was six when my parents drove my younger brother and I to the happiest place on earth, Walt Disney World. My brother and I were so excited we couldn’t wait to reach Orlando. My parents had planned to break the trip from Kentucky into two days, but we didn’t want to stop. This put us a day early in Orlando, which allowed for a detour to SeaWorld. Although that was fun, there was no comparison for what was to come. Due to my amazing grandparents and their Disney Vacation Club membership our first trip included the best of the magic. We stayed at Old Key West resort, and rode the Disney transportation during our stay.
Staying on property cut us off from the rest of the world. The only thing we watched on TV was “Disney TV” and the weather (something I try to continue with every trip). My grandma knowing the park very well, gave instructions to my parents on how to “do the park” and from day one we were off. My memories are a little scattered from that trip, but there are many things I will never forget.
The first was my souvenir, a Snow White "Barbie" doll with the most beautiful shoes. We were each given a budget for $20 to spend on whatever we wanted during the trip. I remember my dad asking me if I wanted an autograph book and I carefully made the decision that I already had a Disney notebook for autographs and I did not want to spend my “Disney Dollars” on that. By the end of the week after comparing many options I happily purchased my Snow White doll then posed for pictures near Mickey and Minnie’s houses with it. I remember playing with my Snow White that evening in our room and listening to the fireworks going off in the distance. I was ecstatic, best purchase decision!
What I’m sure will flabbergast most people is my most vivid food memory during that trip was picking out Chef Boyardee ravioli at the resort shop and eating it while watching TV in our beautiful Key West style room. I didn’t usually have canned ravioli, which I loved, and getting to eat it in front of the TV was a real treat! Best dinner that week! My other food memory involved a yummy turkey leg, which I had never seen before! My mom split it with my brother and I while sitting in Frontier Land. I know there were probably more expensive meals to be had that trip, but those were the most memorable.
I know we rode most of the rides, but I only remember riding Splash Mountain, really only getting on Splash Mountain, Snow White, because it scared me, and the Haunted Mansion, which I will never forget because walking out my brother and I gave each other a look that said we will never ride that again. I also remember the submarine ride; mostly because it was the only time I rode it, as it was gone when we came for our second trip three years later.
There was also the day it rained and we wore yellow Mickey ponchos walking through Magic Kingdom, although I didn’t prefer the rain I loved the location and that the poncho matched my Mickey fanny pack. On one of the sunny days we met Aladdin and Jasmine along with Belle and the Beast. I also remember sitting in the sun waiting for the Toy Story parade at MGM (currently known as Hollywood Studios), and watching in awe as the floats went by.
That first vacation was more magical than my brother and I could have ever imagined! We felt like the luckiest kids because we were in Disney World.
This feeling continued every trip. Every time we couldn’t believe how lucky we were, even when we were in high school. Some of the best memories I have of us are in Disney World. Between riding Barnstormer almost 20 times in a row during a late open, to later sending each other post cards and pictures of the Rockin’ Roller Coaster when we weren’t in Disney together. Disney will always remind me of my brother Christopher, and some of the best parts of my childhood.
Disney was a place where no mater what was going on before the trip, life was close to perfect while we were there. During the times my brother and I didn’t get along at home, an unspoken truce was called for Disney. My grandma who was usually home by four and in bed before nine most days, had never ending energy in the parks and it was hard to keep up. Everyone had a good attitude and was grateful to be there. It was as if the fairy dust had made us a better version of ourselves, for most of the trip at least.
Now that I live in Florida, Disney is a place to spend long weekends with my mom. Although we live far away, Disney keeps us close. We continue to stay in the magical vacation club resorts, usually with close family friends that I consider an adopted aunt and uncle. Even now when I know the parks better than the back of my hand, and have lost count of the number of times I’ve visited, every trip is full of magic and love. I can’t wait to go back again!
