days to go until WDW! :)
My 9th reason to be excited for Disney...
truly it is a place where dreams come true! I still get butterflies in my stomach when we hit Disney property!
Our best family vacations have been here. Three years ago, Scott and I were traveling with a 2 year old, 5 year old and 8 year old. It could have been a week of disasters and meltdowns. Yet with only two days left in our vacation, we looked at each other one day and said we wished it could last forever! Everyone was happy and agreeable. The pixie dust had worked its magic and all was right with the world.
Disney has been a part of my life longer than I can remember. I had the Mickey Mouse Club album. I have vivid memories of seeing Mary Poppins in the theater with my cousins and brothers. I wore Mickey Mouse 'jam shorts' in high school. In fact, I even worked at the Disney Store when it was still operated and owned by the Walt Disney Company. Scott and I had a magical Disney wedding before the theme park even offered it.
My first trip was when I was in the fifth grade. My parents and grandparents took my brothers and I in a motor home. We stayed at Fort Wilderness and my Aunt Ginny and Uncle Chic and their three children stayed in a motor home across from us. The only 'park' open was the Magic Kingdom. We ate breakfast at a Perkins Restaurant and were ecstatic that they could make 'Mickey Mouse' pancakes like Daddy! We took the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom and had tear off tickets pinned to our clothing to get into the Park each day. I remember the trip vividly. We had gone down the week that encompassed my birthday and my cousin, Michelle (we are 2 years and 1 week apart in age with me being the older of the two). We were excited to spend our birthdays in Disney World and we both got a Monopoly game ... something each of us had wanted. My oldest cousin, Chippi, had just gotten her driver's license and my Pop Pop let her drive the golf cart. The first time driving it, she hit the gas and Pop Pop fell off. All of the remaining 5 grandchildren were there to witness it laughing hysterically. I have too many memories from that very first trip to recount. It was the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship between me and Mickey at his home.
I've been down many times since then via car and plane, but mostly by car. The most moving time had to be when Andrew was 1 1/2 years old and my entire family went down to celebrate the millenium. My Pop Pop had passed away six months before, so Mom Mom went with us. My parents shared a room with my youngest brother, Jeffrey, and his wife, Krissi and their son, Alec. My Mom Mom, brother Doug, Scott, Andrew and I shared another room. The first day we went into EPCOT, having stayed at the Boardwalk, we stood before the fountain of water with the music blasting early in the morning. Andrew and my nephew Alec, who was a month older than Andrew, were with all of us just staring in awe at the magic of Disney. I was overcome with emotion and trying to hide my tears from Scott. I had never imagined that I would be taking my child to Disney with my parents and my grandmother - the very people who had introduced me to the magic many years prior. It made me miss my grandfather even more, but totally made me appreciate the lasting effects and impact Walt Disney has had on me and my life.
I am hoping that when my children are adults we can experience Disney again with them through their children's eyes and they will appreciate the generational love of Walt's dream. Disney has played a huge part in our lives and we truly believe that our dreams have come true each time we pass through the turnstyles into the Magic Kingdom!
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