Favorite memories

[Goofyernmost]

My favorite memory is now and always has been arriving on WDW property the very first time. From the moment I entered World Drive, I was hooked. It was because of simple things back then, like radio directions, information and guidance, parking and transportation from trams to monorails. I'm a bit of a mechanical nerd so all the stuff, animatronics, ride systems, etc. had me mesmerized from the beginning. I was always trying to figure out what made things work. Knowing never ruined the magic for me, in fact, it only enhanced it.

It was our first family vacation and it was a big deal, from driving from Vermont, experiencing massive weather changes and foliage type changes (February) and general looks of the areas down the east coast made me more excited every mile of the way. I loved Florida long before I got to WDW. The atmosphere at WDW was (and still is) so enjoyable that I know for a fact that I had more fun then my small children did.

I bet that I could sit down right now, 33 years later and do a detail report on that trip. Surprisingly, the thing that impressed my kids the most were the number of people that I recognized and they me, just walking around MK. They thought that I must have known everyone. We did a number of things that trip from visiting WDW, to the Kennedy Space Center, to Silver Springs, even to a day tour in Washington, DC on the way home and we were only gone 10 days total with 5 days of travel time in there.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I have a few:

Back in 2005 we went and took both of my grandparents who had never been before. My grandmother had suffered a pretty bad stroke a few years before and was in a wheelchair. We stopped somewhere (can't remember now) to get pictures with Pooh, and Pooh saw my grandmother in her wheelchair on the side, and insisted that we wheel her over and was very sweet to her. It was just so cute that whoever was in that suit really wanted to include my disabled grandmother! (to be honest, I'm not why she wasn't in the picture with us?)

My very first trip was in 1996 (or 95? ) and we stayed at Dixie Landings. I remember as a child being blown away at the resort! I remember the lobby being large and like nothing I'd ever seen before! We also LOVED the water slide. This was also the year the castle was dressed up as a cake for her birthday. My very first time I saw it, it was like that, and as a kid, it was completely magical to me!

last,
just September of 2015, I took my own daughter, who was 15mos. One of the first things we did was see Mickey in townsquare, and it was the talking mickey! She was completely shy at first, but once he started talking, she was mesmerized, and is staring at him in every MM picture! On this trip we stayed at AKL for the first time (and first time Deluxe) and when my daughter saw the lobby for the first time, she let out a loud "WHOAAAAA!" it was soooo cute!

 

[KikoKea]

So many! One was when my DH was returning from a deployment over a dozen years ago and the boys and I met him in Atlanta, and then flew together to Orlando for a week at WDW. Another was more recently when my young Marine son came home after a deployment. He was in a tough place, dealing with issues, and we took him to WDW. I'll never forget the big smile on his face as we stood under the lights at the Osborne Family Lights or his laughter on the BMTRR. Two years later, we took our 85 and 90 yr old mothers to WDW and they absolutely loved it. Those are memories I'll cherish.

 

[Missymoe4]

Good thread.
My first memory of WDW is from 1983. We were a newly-married young, broke couple going on only our second trip anywhere far from home together. I never went as a kid and we decided it was something we wanted to do together. She had been before.
We stopped at the Disney Village and spent several hours just walking around checking it out, enjoying the shops and trying a restaurant that is not there anymore.
Here is a photo from that first trip. We stayed off property at an inexpensive place over on 192, the place then was very remote, drove to MK the next day, came back to the car and had peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches in the parking lot because we could not afford to eat two meals onsite, and just had a terrific day.
Then it got even better as we went to EPCOT Center the next day and we were just blown away. Been going back once, twice, sometimes three times per year since, and my wife is still just as beautiful as in this 1983 photo I took with an actual cheap film camera that we had to take home and have the photos developed later when we could pay for them. Good memories.

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This is sweetest response I have read in a long time. Thank you for sharing your memory with us, and the picture to boot!

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Our first trip to WDW in 2014 will always hold a special place in my heart. My daughter was the perfect age to really enjoy the trip as she was 10. It was our first trip where we had to take a plane to get there and it was just the two of us. I will never forget hopping on the magical express for the first time, driving under the arch and pulling up to AoA. So many emotions. It was the best feeling to be able to go on this vacation as a single mom and to do it with my favorite person in the entire world. Our trip was far from perfect but to us it was the best trip ever! We will always have those memories and seeing my daughter continue to act like a kid instead of the "pre-teen" she was becoming was just the best.

 

[epcotisbest]

This is sweetest response I have read in a long time. Thank you for sharing your memory with us, and the picture to boot!

Thank you for the kind reply. I am blessed, then and now.

 

[Figgy1]

Thank you for the kind reply. I am blessed, then and now.

You're also quite smart for marrying her

 

[zeebs758]

Riding ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter when I was 10 years old. I rode it three times during that vacation. The first time I went on with my Mom and sister (11 years old at the time). I remember I was terrified and wouldn't let go on my moms hand. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. I went on again in middle of trip so I dad could go on it. He had to fly in a day later due to work. I was still terrified. By the third time I rode it, I acted like a big tough guy because I wasn't scared anymore. This will always be my favorite Disney memory.

 

[mcurtiss]

- meeting Darth Vader in 1977 at what is now Disney Springs
- watching my DD's eyes as we walked into the MK for the first time.
- riding the monorail through the Contemporary while in the front car
- being able to enjoy a quiet day in the MK