Do you remember your first time at Disney?

Sitting around on an Easter Sunday thinking how in the world I be came a Disney nut.
I remember going in the early 80's when there was only the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We stayed in Fort Wilderness in our big Winnebago Chieftain for about 10 days with my mom, dad and sister. It was not very busy, my sister and I rode Space Mountain over and over again to the point the just let us stay in the coaster and not have to get out. I also remember going to Epcot one day and having a stranger say you folks must be from Canada. It was cool, locals in long shirts and pants and us in shorts and T-shirts . I asked my dad how he knew and he just laughed. Hell it was warm for us.

One of the strongest memories was riding the Monorail in the front, through the Contemperary. That was the coolest thing I ever saw in my life to that point. The other was the fun we had as a family on that trip, I don't think it was ever duplicated on any other trip we had.

Amy never could understand why I was never a fan of CW here in Toronto. We went to WDW in 2001 for our honeymoon and she now understands. There is just a feeling in the air you get walking through the gates and seeing the castle for the first time. I have never been anywhere that can come close.

As an adult it's a place to escape from the real world for awhile.

So how about you guys and gals when and what was your first time like???

 

My parents took us in August of 1974 when I was just shy of 2-years-old. We also camped at Fort Wilderness. I don't remember anything of that trip but apparently I loved It's a Small World, and made my poor parents ride it again and again.

My second trip, I was just shy of 8 it was still only Magic Kingdom at WDW. We camped at Fort Wilderness, and we had a full week to enjoy all the offerings of MK. I distinctly remember the campground general store and playing checkers ... swimming and exploring those new-fangled water slides at the river water park ... the sky-ride... and my teenage brother introducing me to the Haunted Mansion! I also have a distinct memory of Goofy water-skiing in the lagoon, and Smee waving to us from a boat.

My parents grew up on the Mickey Mouse Club, and we watched the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night. I didn't go back again to WDW until 1998 for my first-year wedding anniversary. It's amazing how as soon as I walked through the gates of MK, it all came flooding back.

Now that I have 2 girls, it's the only place I want to go for a family vacation. We started off planning on going every five years ... LOL ... it's turning into an annual jaunt now ; Got to love aeroplan points!

 

My first memories of going to Disney World was in 1980 we got up at 6am and drove from the condo we were staying at in Longboat Key to Orlando. Then in the park there are three rides that I most vividly remember from that trip. The most vivid was riding Space Mountain with my uncle it was the first time I had been on a roller coaster of any kind and sitting together in one seat was cool. I remember being memorized in the subs thinking how neat it was to be in a sub under water. The last ride that I recall was the skyway being able to see the park from the birds eye view was a unique experience you don't really have anymore except briefly on rides like Splash Mountain.

 

I'm a late bloomer so far as this goes... My first visit to Disneyland in California was in May of 2006. May 6-9, to be exact, one day after the beginning of the 50th Anniversary, and planned that way.

It's a little weird to describe though, because my first trip was actually quite mixed. I was unbelievably stoked to go and to get there. I probably dropped my luggage and was out of my hotel in under five minutes! I was staying just down the street, and let the Matterhorn guide me to the park.

For the few few hours, I was so excited that I could barely do anything... I wanted to do everything all at once! It was awesome to just be there, after years of planning and putting it off and studying up on it and even writing a few term papers on it. The first thing I did was to watch the 50th Anniversary movie in the Opera House, and then ride the Disneyland Railroad. That in itself was pretty amazing, since somehow or other any knowledge about Primeval World completely escaped me. I was completely taken by surprise to see this diorama of animatronic dinosaurs... I love dinosaurs and I love steam trains, and it remains one of my favorite Disneyland attractions. Then I went slowly down Main St., watched Steamboat Willie for the first time ever in the Main St. Cinema, played in the Penny Arcade, and then walked around Disneyland by foot.

The afternoon was running out, so I finally started going on rides, beginning with Snow White's Scary Adventure and Pinocchio's Daring Journey. They were pretty alright... a little funhouse style, but alright. Then I started the clockwise route: Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Tarzan's Treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean... Finally I couldn't contain myself anymore and went on the Haunted Mansion. Twice in a row.

And that's when the weirdness started. I ended up feeling rather mixed about the Mansion. On the one hand, it was awesome to finally be riding the real, honest-to-goodness Haunted Mansion. On the other, I was really disappointed with the presentation. It was really obvious that instead of being in a haunted old house, I was really in a warehouse full of black-painted soundstages. It wasn't the fully and flawlessly immersive experience I was expecting.

Therein lay the problem... Lord, deliver me from expectation! I had so built up Disneyland in my head as this place of total flawless immersion in the the worlds of Disney animation and imagination made real. What it was was a generally quite well done theme park. But I could still notice the ways in which it was obvious that it was just a theme park... The kind of fake gloss on everything, the black soundstages, the not-quite-so-flawless effects... Then I actually started going into a bit of depression, realizing that I had spent $2000 to find out that Disneyland in fact wasn't as cool as Disneyland in my head.

I still made a go of it, rode more rides, went on Pirates and Mansion again, but I was kind of wandering around in a bit of a daze. The next day I met up with my friends from down in LA, who I was meeting in person for the first time. We had become acquainted on Doombuggies.com, and it was a bit uncomfortable to have to explain why I had mixed feelings about the Mansion ^_^ However, they made it their mission to make sure I had a good time. That full day of Saturday we went hard on the E-Ticket rides... Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror... And things did start to come around a bit. I mean, Indiana Jones and the Tower of Terror are amazing rides and come the closest to what I was expecting in terms of flawless immersion.

The big paradigm shift came with the Disney Animation exhibit in California Adventure. Encapsulated in that building was everything that I came to Disneyland to experience. It was practically a cathedral in honour of Disney animation, with music playing and patterned lights twinkling in theme with clips and concept art from a full range of films projected on the screens. Beyond this testament to animation was the Sorceror's Workshop animation studio walkthrough, which had three rooms patterned on different characters. The first was the alchemy lab belonging to the Magic Mirror, the second was the Beast's library and the third was Ursula's lair, and they were exactly that sort of immersive experience of stepping into the world of Disney that I wanted. This was it, I was there!

So by the end of the second day I was in high spirits again, riding the Mansion, watching the fireworks, and having a great time. Basically I had received what I wanted and somehow in the process it reconciled me to letting go of my expectations and enjoying Disneyland for what it actually was. There was just one problem... By the time this finally came around for me, I only had one day left, and it was packed. I had a Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour arranged and had stupidly left all my shopping till then. I didn't have the kind of time I really wanted for actually being able to enjoy the park.

Suffice it to say, those unresolved feelings directly fuelled my desire to return. I arranged my second trip for almost an exact year to the same time (May 10-16, 2006), and that trip ended up being about the most fun week I've ever had in my life. I do plan on going back again in a few years, after there've been enough changes accumulated to warrant going (I almost, almost went for October of 2007, to my friends' wedding, but didn't have the dough). I ; love it! ; ;

 

January "88 at the age of 25 with then GF (future DW), & sister. My mom had always wanted to take us as children but is deathly afraid of flying and there was no way my dad was going to drive all the way to Florida from Montreal by himself as my mom doesn't drive.

We explored MK & EPCOT for three days. The water tower for MGM Studios was up but the park was not yet open. Downtown Disney was called "The Shops at Lake Buena Vista" if my memory serves me correctly

We stayed at the Ecolodge on 192 in Kissimmee.

When we returned in 2005 with the kids I couldn't believe how much the whole area had changed.

 

My first visit to WDW was in the early 90's. My Mother and I decided we needed a getaway after my Grandmothers passing. What better place to visit but WDW. We stay off, off site. Our daily drive was around 45 mins, but it was enough to get me hooked.

 

Do I ever!! ; My first trip was in January 2003. ; It was the first trip that I took with Sean together. ; I couldn't believe that I was actually getting to go somewhere I had only heard about and somewhere I could have only have dreamed to go. ; I never thought I would ever get to see such amazing fireworks or a water show like Fantasmic! ; I grew up in a small town where the most fireworks I seen were like three exploding at one time.

I remember our first day was in Epcot. ; I remember how stressed I was the first few hours, because I realized how big the parks work and worried that we wouldn’t get to see and do everything. ; I was so used to planning vacations almost down to the hour, that this trip was really out of my element. ; But once Sean snapped me out of my comfort zone we were good to go for the rest of the trip. ; We had a great trip. ; We didn’t expect it to be as cool as it was. I remember being at Epcot and Sean having to buy a sweat shirt because he was getting chilly. ;

We also made our way to Typhoon Lagoon on a very chilly day. ; We thought it was very strange that cast members were in parkas, gloves and hats and here we were in our bathing suits. ; Cast members knew we were from the north. ; I had a bad snorkeling experience with the sharks that day too. ; The water kept leaking into my mask and I kept getting water in my snorkel. ; At one point I did have to stop and the life guard came over to see if I was alright. ; This was one thing I really wanted to do and Sean ended up really enjoying and I hated it. ; One day I might try snorkeling again, but not with sharks in the water.

The day that we went to MK though. ; Now that was overwhelming. ; I never felt like that before and just couldn’t take in everything fast enough. ; We stopped on Main Street to get our photo taken, then walked up to Cinderella Castle and caught the first show of the day. ; The minute I seen those Disney characters on stage, I cried and I remember Sean hugging me. ; I get emotional just thinking about the way I felt while we were standing there. ; It was definitely a moment I will never forget. ; The rest of our days at WDW were amazing and I am sure if I looked back at the photos from our first trip that I would remember more.

I also remember the crappy off site hotel we stayed at. ; We were trying to make the trip as cheap as possible and man was that place ever cheap. ; It was the Super 8 which was pretty much right off Disney property in Kissimee. ; I don’t think it is in business anymore. ; The ant that climbed over Sean’s computer was one thing, but the mold in the bathroom and just the crappy everything was certainly something we won’t forget any time soon.

Our second trip was memorable as well because that was the trip that Sean and I got engaged. ; I was on such a high from that. ; I remember the following evening taking a photo, that is now sitting on my desk at work, at Epcot and the photographer saying that we looked like we just got married. ; Ahh, that was so much fun.

Our third trip together I will never forget because that was our honeymoon and Sean’s uncle decided to show up three days earlier than expected and stay with us in our resort room. ; Not fun.

And our last trip I will remember how much fun we had at mousefest and all the wonderful people we were introduced to.

 

My very first trip to Disney I was 23-24, and had always wanted to go! The night before we decided to take the Ferry across the lake so I could get the full picture of the park, with the castle in the background. As we walked up to the ferry, it started!!! The Disney World Goosebumps!!! I had them all down my arm and on the back of my neck. It was a little windy that day so as the wind blew across my arms I had a chill of excitement. I couldn't believe I was here... I Sean was at Disney world! I think I pinched myself to make sure it wasn't a dream!!!

When we got on the ferry we went to the front of the boat so we could see the Castle and park as we got closer.... I was so excited, the only comparison would be a 8 year old boy trying to get some sleep on Christmas eve.

As we walked off the ferry and headed to the gate I was in Awe. I was paying close attention to detail, looking at the bricks on the ground, the train station and the Monorail that I have always seen in commercials.

As we entered the park it still didn't hit me that we were at Disney world, until I saw the main street leading up to the castle. Right before main street there is a bench where you can sit down and look down the road to the castle, I sat down on this bench for about 5 to 10 min (which at the time seemed like 1 hour) and that's when it hit me! I WAS AT DISNEY WORLD!

A big sigh of relief came over me, a kind of calmness, like I had completed a life journey.... From that point on I was hooked.. I had the Disney bug, and there was no stopping me!


That is my very first experience to Disney World.....

Oh if your wondering what happened after the bench... well I am not sure, because once I got up, I was an 8 year old kid again!

 

Thanks everyone, it's always neat to see how it all started for everyone. Still get the gears from the guys at work(construction) but I don't care ;D.
Anyone else?

 

I have three heads when I talk Disney here at work. ; Everyone goes south for their vacations and can't understand why I go to Disney every vacation. ; Umm... you go south every vacation there is not difference. ; I got asked the other day about something and I said 4 trips and I still haven't done everything. ; One of the guys that has gone to DL not DW couldn't believe it. ; Well believe it! ; There is so much more to do!

 

My first time at WDW was in April of 1983 (20 years old). ; My grandparents lived in Fort Myers, I had just graduated from Nursing and had nnnnnnnnnooooo money!!!!! ; ;I saved every last penny to go down, my grandparents had promised me that if I could get there they would cover the rest of the trip! ; ;I was so so so so excited to go! ; Epcot was just new then and I was so totally amazed! ; ;

Sharing that with my grandparents was the beginning of the "magic" of WDW for me....I understood the "magic" immediately, as did my grandparents. ; ;Once I was married and had children, their first WDW world experiences were spent with myself and my grandparents too (DH always stayed home). ; ;I can remember riding It's a Small World with my grandma and seeing her eyes water up as soon as the boat started to move into the first room and she would sing right along.....to this day I can't ride that without crying....!!!

A few months before my grandmother passed away she had really wanted to go back to WDW with my grandfather and I and the kids, unfortunately her illness just progressed too quickly and she was never able to go. ; ;So..........the following year my oldest DD and I took my grandfather down for a trip.......we had a great time, and it was just like she (grandma) was right there with us!

Now, DH goes with me, he enjoys himself but really doesn't get the "magic".(and of course thinks I am totally nuts most of the time) ; ;Isn't it amazing how your experiences of disney last forever! ; I wouldn't trade them for anything!

 

My first visit I was 4 years old and we stayed at the Polynesian (am I the only one here who remembers the rock slide?)

I hated it. ; Really. ; I remember being on the (now) Liberty Square Riverboat and being very annoyed because I was really, really hot (it was late July) and my parents have the 8mm film of me on the boat to prove it.

So, I made my parents go on IASW like a bazillion times. ; Then they hated it too. ;D

I remember the Empress Lily in the VERY good old days when it was a character breakfast. ; Oh how I would love to have that restaurant back the way it once was.