Disney: Special to some, boring to others: Exposed! Enjoy!

[TLinden16]

This type of thread would be a better fit on the theme parks community board, so I'm going to move it over there now.

 

[jordancej]

Wow! I love your story! It brought tears to my eyes reading it! As a Disney lover myself, i didnt experience WDW till my first trip when i was 36, but i had grew up with Disney on the tv, and with the movies.

But on my first trip to the "world", i totally fell in love! I just went on my 7th trip since 2004, and now i'm an annual passholder!

I thinking maybe the people who dont like WDW, maybe are not letting their inner child come out. Guess, i'm just a big kid at heart!!

 

[Hallowishes]

oh i love your post
i agree with you that one of the main reasons wdw holds so much magic and wonderment for me is the memories i have of it when i was younger. i too am an only child. my parents took me to wdw very regularly as my grandparents had a house not far from orlando.
everytime i walk down main street and see that castle i cant help but be filled with the feelings of nostalgia.
wishes always makes me cry but i can definitely understand how it must feel to have your son experience all of that for the first time.

 

[Stitchnut]

I don't think you are a "girly man." I think that it was sweet and special. What came out was a lot of mixed memories and why you enjoy WDW. That you took the time to reflect and and then share your thoughts with others was really nice. You shouldn't feel embarrassed at all and I appreciate that you cared enough to share. May you and your family continue to embrace WDW together. Way to go!

 

[civileng68]

I'll update my original post here. I think overally whether when young or older, what makes disney different is memories. Very few parks have memories like WDW has and that is definately what separates it and makes magic happen.

 

[DisneyGrampa]

Well-my take on it is a little different. I watched Disneyland being built, on Walt Disney's TV show. My first time at Disneyland was with my wife, then pregnant with our first child.
We couldn't afford frequent trips to Disney, but we brought our five kids to Disney World twice, and Disneyland once.
Now, for the last several years, we've been going back to Disney world with our kids and grandkids. The magic for me is seeing them all enjoying Disney.
And yes, Wishes gets to me too!

 

[pixiefairy]

Lovely post. I am married to a big, burly man...but I watch the same emotions parade across his face while watching Wishes for the first time with our kids, watching them interact with the characters....seeing the castle for the very first time. He may have been more upset than I was on our last full day! I don't find it shameful that a man can show emotion, I think it makes them more "manly" if you ask me!

 

[absolut_mandy]

Wow! I absolutely love your story and I can totally relate to it. There is something that is magical about Disney for me and I would go every day if I could.
In May I took my god daughter to Disney for her first time and the first day we were watching Wishes and I teared up too. It was amazing watching her experience the castle, the fireworks and everything Disney.
I don't know why some people love Disney and others don't, but I'm sure glad that I am in the "love" catergory"

 

[plutosgirl]

Beautiful story...sitting here wiping tears from my eyes at work. Glad everyone else is out of the building.

I still get teary eyed when I first see the castle or the first note of Wishes starts & when I see Pluto. My parents saved and saved to take me and my brother when we were kids and I was so excited to take dh & the girls there and now we've done the Food & Wine, Halloween, Flower show and this year it will be just me and the girls for some Christmas fun...I've never been there at Christmas time. Dh doesn't want to go again so it's just us girls. I can't wait to cry happy tears once again on Main Street!

Thanks for posting.

 

[mickeyfan1973]

What a beautiful story. Tears are clouding my eyes as I read and type this...how's that for sappy??

I also grew up with a single mom who struggled everyday to give me everything. The only thing she couldn't give me was a trip to Disney as a child. I first visited Disney on my Honeymoon 9 years ago...my first and only trip (so far). I gotta say, this is where we disagree. I may not have gone to Disney as a child...but the minute my plane touched down in Orlando I could feel the magic. And when I seen that castle for the first time...I think there was tear in my eye.

I think it takes a special person to experience the true magic of the world, as you did with your son's first visit, and as I hope to with my kid's first visit coming up in Dec. I cannot wait. I know there will be a few tears shed during those 10 days...happy tears of course!!

Thanks for posting and showing all of us the true magic of what Mr. Disney has created. It really is amazing!!

 

[MusiqChic99]

Awesome story!!!

I went growing up many times. We always took a family vacation and Disney World won most of the time! Now I can to experience it for the first time with my son in just a short couple of weeks. I can't wait. I am more excited now at 28, then when I was 8! I hope I feel the magic more this time too.

 

[EAWildman]

I have not read any of the responses to the rest of the thread. I only read the OP and felt a need to respond.

I too have read the bad 1st visit trip reports and wondered what the difference was between those experiences and my own. The OP proposes that having visited as a child may be the key difference. At first I totally disagreed. My first visit to WDW was in 2003 with my wife and two of her brothers. I was hooked (after being intially skeptical). We have been 6 times since 2003 and are now Annual Passholders. I love it...and I never went to WDW as a kid....

But then I thought....wait a minute. It's true I never went to Florida, but when I was 4, my parents drove out to California (from Minnesota) to visit relatives and we got to spend a day at Disneyland. I was only 4 but I remember many, many moments from the little trip to Disneyland. The tea cups, meeting Pluto, the parade, and some rides that made me scared like the Haunted Mansion. So, I did visit as a kid!

Anyway, we took our 18 month old son to WDW last January and had a wonderful trip. He loved it and came back home able to say "Mouse!" when he saw Mickey around the house. Still does it too, now that he's 2.

My wife and I took a two day side trip to WDW this past July without our son and we had a great time. But I did miss having my son there. We watched Wishes both nights and I had the same experience as the OP (but my son wasn't there of course). I was thinking about my son and trying to sing along to myself and found I was all choked up and teary eyed, hearing the music and thinking about my son and my family. And it happened twice! Two nights in row! Geeze....what a softy I am!

Anyway, thanks for the OP, it got me thinking about things and remembering good times at WDW. My wife and son and I will be heading back soon for the Halloween Party. I can't wait to see what he thinks of WDW this time!

Eric

 

[momtobrynncess]

Nice post buddy. I had the same thing happen to me last time we were there a few months ago. I have a 9-year old girl and 5-year old boy. It's a special place. I do feel those who don't get it don't let themselves get it but it does indeed help having roots there although my first time was on my honeymoon 16-years ago. To not appreciate the tremendous effort, money, and time it takes to create such a wonderful place is a tragedy... There is no other place that even comes close as far as my family is concerned.





Ted.

Thank you for your post!! I was getting so tired of reading posts with people complaining about everything from kleenex to the heat. There is no other place that even comes close as far as my family is concerned.

I have so many special memories of Disney from when I was a child, to now that I am an adult, and am taking my child there. We even got married there, and we have been at least once a year every year since 1997.

*Holding my sleeping 18 month old child (her first trip), sleeping through Wishes.
*Watching her taking some of her first steps toward her daddy at DHS, as the music is playing in the background (video we still have).
*Introducing her to her first character greeting experience at LTT.
*Riding rides I had never riden before, with my daughter.
*Seeing the amazement in her eyes the first time she laid eyes on Cinderella/the Castle.
*Hearing her scream, "We're here!!" as the monorail pulls up to the Magic Kingdom.

and on, and on, and on......

The magic will never stop for me and my family.....Thanks for the post!!!