PDA

View Full Version : Favorite Disney Park Memories



disney4life
12-20-2016, 02:42 AM
I'm sure a post like this has been done before, but I'm new to this site and would love to hear some of your favorite Disney Park memories! Whether its from when you were a kid to taking your own kids to the parks... anything at all that stands out!

For me, being a California kid, my family and I frequented Disneyland about every year growing up. We didn't make our way to Disney World until I was 13 and I remember just being completely amazed at how big it is and how you never lose that "Disney" feel from the moment you get on the property to the moment you leave. It truly was an incredible feeling.

So feel free and post anything that has stuck with you over the years! I'd love to see what other people's experiences are!

Thanks!

ibelieveindisneymagic
12-20-2016, 06:54 AM
My now DH proposed in MK, so that is (of course) a favourite, but the one that I love to share is my Mom.

We'd never gone to Disney as kids, and she didn't come with us on our early "adult" trips, so, it was my 60 year old Mom's first trip to Disney. We get there, check in (she loves the resort), and we head off to MK. We come under the train station, and she sees the castle at the end of Main Street. Well, she starts to cry, saying "it is just as beautiful as I always imagined". So, I start to cry, 'cause my Mom is happy and she imagined seeing the castle, and then my daughter starts crying since I'm crying and her Nana is crying. My poor husband looks at us all and sighs. "It's going to be one of those trips, isn't it". But, the memory of my Mom seeing the castle for the first time will always stick with me, and reminds me that it is indeed a special, magical place.

MississippiDisneyFreak
12-20-2016, 09:18 AM
It has to be my first trip in 2003. I was in my 30's and really had no idea how big Disney World was. I remember our first park was MGM and first ride the Great Movie Ride and then seeing MK and Haunted Mansion and Pirates oh my.

merciantinkerbell
12-20-2016, 02:47 PM
For me it was when my future hubby and I went to Disneyland Paris in March 2004. It was very cold but we wrapped up and was enjoying MK. As we came out under the castle the ambient music was Sleeping Beauty waltz, so he grabbed me and we started to waltz in front of the castle. As we waltzed snow starts to fall, the big fluffy what I call romantic flakes. We carried on as some passing Japanese tourists took photos and filmed us! Wonderful.

Scallywag
01-09-2017, 04:56 PM
A few trips back at MK. It was late at night and raining. We rode Thunder Mountain 8-10 x in a row. No one was in line so me and the kids just kept hopping on over and over. It was a blast.

faline
01-09-2017, 08:59 PM
Wow!! There are so many!!! My very first walk down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom way back in 1979. Staying at Fort Wilderness in a tent and hearing the Electrical Water Parade while not knowing what it was we were hearing. Watching fireworks so many times from so many places. I could go on and on............

Wayne
01-10-2017, 12:29 PM
Several great memories with family and friends. One sticks out, though, that involved observing a stranger. This had to be around '79 or '80. At that time, the characters roamed the parks, even Mickey and Minnie. As Mickey and his guide were finishing up a visit in front of City Hall, a young girl with Downs was sitting in a stroller off to the side. Mickey walked over to her, knelt down in front of her and gave her a big hug, being very gentle and compassionate with her so as not to frighten her in any way. As they hugged, the little girl had the biggest smile on her face. I will always remember that smile and Mickey's caring attitude toward her.

MrPeetrie
01-10-2017, 02:16 PM
I have so many, it's hard to try and pick just one. I do recall one E-night back when it was just my wife and I in Disney. We were in the Magic Kingdom late at night. Many of the characters were out, walking around. We came to the hub in front of the castle around midnight and several of the characters were there, including Mickey Mouse. My wife said to Mickey, "Mickey, Minnie is my husband's favorite." Mickey made a fist and shook it at me humorously. He then got down on one knee and mimed a proposal to my wife. It was hilarious.

luvdiznee
01-11-2017, 05:01 PM
Just any and all trips with my DD starting at the age of 6 until about the age of 11...Now she's just all grown up...��

TheVBs
01-12-2017, 07:05 AM
Love these stories. IbelieveinDisneymagic, I loved your story about you, your mom and your daughter crying and your husband's response! MercianTinkerBell, loved your waltz story!

DD12 and I were just doing this in the car the other day, sharing our favorite memories. One of my favorites is from our trip in 2009, when she was 5. She had a Tinker Bell autograph book that Hook refused to sign and he swiped it from her. After a lot of fussing and grabbing for it, they finally got it back by using the magic word. Later in the trip when we saw Peter Pan and Wendy, DD(then)5 said to him, "I have a story to tell you about Capt. Hook." in this very serious, hushed tone. He looked at her, sat on the ground, patted the ground across from him and in exactly the same tone said, "Tell me!" And they sat on the ground like that, her intently telling her story and him intently listening. Those are some of my favorite pictures.

baldburke
01-12-2017, 12:55 PM
As a kid of maybe 10 years in the early 80's I remember feeling like we were transported somewhere out of this world. WDW was (and is) huge but back then there wasn't much besides MK, the monorail hotels, the Disney Village with it's hotels and the golf resort and the Tree Houses so there were a lot of wide open spaces. But even in the Magic Kingdom itself everything was larger than life and so neat and clean. Again, WDW is still all that (larger than life and relatively clean) but in an age of GCI and on-demand information the element of surprise is harder to achieve.

lawgirl
01-13-2017, 06:16 PM
We've been going to WDW since I was born, so I have tons and tons of memories and favorites! One of my most memorable was around 2010...we had a great trip at AKL Kidani with our 6 month old and my parents. One night, we saw a poster for the "new" MVMCP, so on a whim we decided to check it out, and my parents were so sweet to babysit. We headed out, and it was freezing! But the party that night was absolutely amazing. I think this was when the parties were new, and not well advertised, and it was practically empty. At one point we were walking down Main Street by ourselves...I kept telling him this is like a fairytale. I've never in my life been to WDW when the park was almost empty. It was like being in a dream, and I will never forget that night. Truly magical! OMG, we went to the MVMCP this year, and had a blast, but boy was it crowded.

Imalismom
01-14-2017, 11:18 AM
I have several favorites - the first one was the very first Intercot meet - getting to meet everyone for the very first time was great - we had such a great time - we invented "The Dolls", we discovered "no bad dancing" and felt like a growing family.

The second was when my daughter who was 8 at the time was selected to open Magic Kingdom. She got to pick a magic word of the day (piglet), and she felt like the most important person in the entire universe. 15 years later she STILL talks about the special-ness of that day.

Next came the 10 and 15 year Intercot meets, as our Intercot family continues to grow
- it it is a delight to meet new people and reconnect with ones from the very very beginning. Riding It's a small world together - you had to be there to understand...

Last was just a few months ago, a quickly put together mini meet in the hanger at Disney Springs - it was the first time as a "local" for me, and knowing that I will be able to now get to do more with Intercot , made that night very endearing to me.

joonyer
01-14-2017, 07:16 PM
First trip to Disney World with my wife and sons (age 9 and 6) in 2002.
We checked in at All Star sports about 9pm and were told that MK was open until midnight. It was not in our plans to go that night, but we went for the bus stop on the spur of the moment. The kids didn't know what to expect except we were all super excited. Got to MK and the train was coming into the station (my 6 year old loved trains) right when we entered the gates. We rode the train to Frontierland and then got on Splash Mountain. There was a full moon that night so the outside portions of the ride were really cool. Then the MK fireworks started going off while we were on the ride!. We had no idea about the fireworks time, so it was just serendipity, totally magical and completely awesome. The kids were mesmerized and I had tears in my eyes listening to their excited chattering about how cool Disney was. We have been back many times and managed to replicate the experience a couple of times (without the full moon), but nothing has topped that magical first-time memory. We have all been hooked ever since. Now my oldest son and his wife are heading there next month for their first anniversary trip. He told me he is planning to take her on Splash Mountain during the fireworks, just like his first Disney trip! Cool!