Memories of your first visit to WDW.

[addacollier]

What was your main memory (or couple) from your first visit to WDW?

Mine was back in 1989 on the hotel bus approaching EPCOT and feeling really excited as Spaceship Earth got closer. Also, I remember how everything was incredibly clean and well run compared to UK theme parks at the time.

 

[nol_dur]

The first one I can remember was back in 2006 running on Pooh's Playground

 

[belledream]

1995. I was 5 years old, wearing Belle's blue dress, and met her in Epcot. She was like, "You look just like me!"

And apparently, I was so excited to have this dress that I put it on and ran out of our room at All Star Music without shoes on. I don't remember that, but we do have a picture of a barefoot gift standing outside of Rock Inn in the dress.

 

[Raineman]

It was March of 1990. I was 16, and visiting relatives in St. Petersburg with my grandmother. We stayed at a motel off property for 3 days, and spent a day at all three parks. We didn't grab a map when we went to MK, so we were walking blind around the park, and we never did find a few of the attractions (HM being one). Epcot was great-my grandmother almost had to forcibly remove me from Communicore, and, overall, the classic Epcot edutainment in Future World was right in my wheelhouse-the attraction that sticks out in my mind the most was Horizons. MGM Studios was awesome too; Star Tours was my favourite, along with the backlot tour (seeing the screen used Star Wars vehicles in the vehicle "graveyard" on the backlot tour was worth the price of admission). Probably the best memory was visiting with my grandmother, who passed away 8 years go. Even now when I am at WDW, I will see something that reminds me of when we went for our first time at WDW.

 

[yedliW]

I don't remember much about my first trip, it was a day each in MK and EPCOT Center while visiting my grandparents in Tampa in 1985..

I do remember seeing Figment (I remember seeing the 3d movie and playing with the giant pin table after), eating at the QS at the American pavilion, and not riding SSE at EPCOT,

As far as MK goes, about all I remember is 20k Leagues, Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. I'm sure we did Pirates.

I also remember one of the Presidential things.. but I can't remember if it was the Hall or American Experience..

Sadly, I wouldn't return until 2012.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I have no memories of my first Disney World trip because I was 1 years old. My mom told me that she would feed me crackers in the Tiki Room to calm me down... perhaps that explains my enduring soft spot for this attraction.

But on the second trip, circa 1981 when I was almost 5, oddly enough, my first memory is seeing the construction of the monorail expansion to EPCOT as we drove to our lodging at the Contemporary.

I remember the thrill of walking through the tunnel onto Main Street. I remember being fascinated by the different monorail colors. I remember watching Disney movies most nights at the Contemporary's movie theater (this was before most of the classic movies were available on video), where we watched Cinderella, Dumbo and, believe it or not, Song of the South. I remember loving the Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, not so much Pirates of the Caribbean (my older brother convinced me the pirates fired real guns).

I recall eating breakfast at what was then known as the "Buffeteria" (Chef Mickey's now), and eating at a character breakfast at what was then called the Empress Lilly (now Paddlefish). Finally, the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village (now Disney Springs) had a really awesome playground, which I assume is long since gone.

 

[KINGLOUIS1993]

I was 7 when we first visited back in 2001 and I just remember being completely hooked on everything I saw. It was my second holiday outside of the UK (First was Disneyland Paris) so it was a big adventure.

My family didn't know what to really expect but it left a lasting impression that has had us coming back every 2/3 years.

One of my more vivid memories was getting to meet the characters especially Woody and Buzz. My first Ride Experience would be either kilimanjaro Safari's or Test Track. I used to love the Nighttime show at Epcot and the Night time parade at MK.

 

[Janir]

2011, "off roading" between Animal Kingdom Lodge and the AK entrance trying to find the AK entrance. GPS navigation was't very helpful then and it looked like we were going the wrong direction but there was no obvious way to go back the way we just came so I but the truck into 4x4 mode, and slowly hopped up the curb and carefully drove over the grass as to not tear it up to go to the other road going the direction back where we came and supposedly to AK entrance. Wound up at AKL entrance and the way I WAS going was indeed the right direction in the first place.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

Wow, so many.....July '93 (I was in early elementary school):

-Driving 20+ hours to Florida, riding backwards in station wagon

-Staying at an off site Howard Johnson's with a kiddie breakfast

-Accidentally leaving two crayons out in the back seat which ended up melting in the sun

-The heat and daily downpours

-Riding the monorail and how cool it was going through the Contemporary

-My little brother throwing up on the parking lot tram

-My individual 5-day paper park hopper ticket

-The Party Gras parade floats

-The trees in the hub, the castle, and the fireworks

-My dad being super geeked (he had never been as a kid, only visited the preview center)

-My dad making friends with a dad from the UK while waiting 45 minutes for Splash

-The chipmunk chatter in the Splash queue

- Getting lost on Tom Sawyer Island

-Slight trepidation of riding Haunted Mansion

-All the FL dark rides

-The submarine ride giving me anxiety about being "so deep" under water; the kraken scene didn't help

-Meeting Mickey and friends in Toon Town

-SpectroMagic, including Jiminy Crickets announcement over the speakers

-Seeing SSE for the first time (aka God's golf ball)

-Building my own roller coaster in Communicore

-SeaBase Alpha

-Dreamfinder and Figment on his flying machine

-Getting nauseous on Body Wars

-Cranium Command

-My little brother looking at ducks swimming in World Showcase Lagoon and subsequently getting his head stuck in the bars across from the Mexico pavilion

-The trolls in Maelstrom

-The red phone booths in the UK pavilion

-All the fire in the IJ stunt show

-Seeing the Ninja Turtles on the backlot tour

-Seeing Vern's house from Ernest Saves Christmas on the backlot

-Catastrophe Canyon in all its glory

-Accidentally running into the side of Genie

-Vincent Price introducing Sorcery in the Sky

-Going to see Hoop Dee Doo review

 

[DisneyDoctor]

1999. I was 5 years old and remember so vividly riding Splash Mountain with my grandma. Splash will always hold a special place in my heart. What I'd give to ride it one more time with her..

 

[ppet]

It was in 2000, I never went as a kid. this was a trip with my kids and wife. My favorite memory was holding my wife's hand while we watched our son and daughter dance with the tall puppets in the parade of nations.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Well I don't have memories of my first visit as I was in the womb lo..
We do have a home video of my mom in front of the train station holding her belly.

My first real visit was when I was 2.5 and I don't think I recall anything from it.
I pretty much went every year growing up after that so memories blend together.
I do recall Image Works when I was 4.5.
I believe that was also the same trip that later at Epcot I said "I want a stroller and a Coke" lol.

Like I said they blend together but I can remember little things like how my dad would always sit in the doom buggy behind me and knock on it and the first time I went on Space Mountain I was probably 5.5 and when I realized you had to ride single file I got scared and my older sister said she would sit behind me and if I flew out she'd grab me. Um why did that make me fell better??? lol.

 

[Weather_Lady]

My strongest memories of my first WDW trip (it was Easter week 1982, and I was barely 6) include:
- the 20+-hour road trip down, sitting in a rear-facing seat in the back of our family van which had no windows in the back (Mom had packed my sister and me a box of things to do that included some brand-new books, art supplies, card games and toys, so somehow we survived it!)
- the thrill of seeing the Haunted Mansion ballroom scene for the first time (I was astounded - I had the Haunted Mansion storytelling record at home and had been excited to see it)
- it's a small world (again, had the record at home, knew the song, and couldn't believe it was real)
- meeting the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, who was roaming MK doing random greetings, possibly as a sort of "Easter bunny" stand-in ; and
- getting to ride in the very front of the monorail with the driver, on the wrap-around bench that gave us a panoramic view of everything. So awesome! (Our family got picked to do this several times over the course of several subsequent trips -- I have a sneaky suspicion that my mother's drop-dead-gorgeousness might have had something to do with it.)

The rest of the visit (which would only have included the Magic Kingdom, since Epcot didn't open until months later) is a bit of a blur.

 

[SKG]

April 1981
-The drive down from Massachusetts
-Orange Juice at the Florida welcome center
-EPCOT under construction
-Staying in a rental trailer at Fort Wilderness
-River Country
-Long ride home

 

[Heppenheimer]

April 1981
-The drive down from Massachusetts
-Orange Juice at the Florida welcome center
-EPCOT under construction
-Staying in a rental trailer at Fort Wilderness
-River Country
-Long ride home

Wow, you just reminded me of that! Has my memory invented this or did they also have a little animatronic bird?

 

[MaximumEd]

Seeing Epcot in all its 1986 glory. It was a true marvel for a 12 year old science nerd, and something I’ll never forget.

 

[Goofyernmost]

February 1983

1. Drove down from Vermont during the kids mid-winter break.
2. I was 35, there with my wife and two daughters (9) and (7).
3. I was unhappy at the Florida Welcome Ctr. They were out of Orange Juice and only had Grapefruit Juice. I hate Grapefruit.
4. I still haven't forgiven Florida for that.
5. Diverted onto Daytona Beach to drive down it and stop for a few minutes.
6. Stayed in a Brand New (now torn down) Econo-Lodge just west of the main gate.
7. They had me at World Drive and the radio connection.
8. I don't remember what the first attraction was. At that point, we were trying to just do recommendations from friends.
9. Went to EPCOT CTR. (it had only been open about 4 months. It was awful. Very few open attractions, lines that seemed to stretch back to Vermont, so...
10. Left and went to Kennedy Space Center for the rest of the day.
11. Finished up with WDW and went up the west side of Florida to Silver Springs and rode the glass bottom boats.
12. From there to Washington, DC where we took a guided tour of the highlights.
13. Headed home with my girls and myself loudly singing "Now is the time" from CoP until my wife wanted to kill us.
14. Arrived home tired, but, confirmed Disney Park addicts.

For years I remembered every single day of that trip. In fact it took up a whole chapter of my "unpublished book" Titled, "What Is A Queue and Why Do I Have To Stand In It" mostly written for my children which covered all my youth traveling with my parents and every one after that, (that I could remember). It was our first big family vacation and road trip. We did it many times after that and it was still fun... but, we never could recapture that first trip excitement. Subsequent ones were still fun, but, never as good as the first one.

 

[Kingoglow]

1982.

I remember that our parents let my brother and I roam the Magic Kingdom by ourselves from open to about 3pm. I was 8 at the time and my brother was 6, had a great time exploring everything. We were fascinated with the Swiss Family Tree House and PotC. We took the skyride several times and went 20,000 leagues under the sea.

We met up with our parents for a late lunch and then ran off, on our own again, to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Snow White's Scary Adventures for several hours.

It was the best.

 

[Nunu]

1983, visiting a foreign country for the first time and going to WDW with my grandma. I remember how amazed and in awe I was!
At the time, there was only MK and EPCOT.

Loved everything about WDW, the rides, the food, the parades!
I clearly remember my grandma, laughing so hard while riding Space Mountain, she passed years ago, but that moment stayed with me and that's what comes to mind when I think of her.

Happy times indeed!

 

[Nottamus]

1998.
The train trip from Wilmington DE to Orlando area.....

it was over booked, so they added another car. We ended up in that one...which had the Ac broken in the full on position. They gave us all blankets. (so we shivered under blankets)
it was over booked, so they ran out of dinner foods, and apologized to us saying there was a snack car. We ate pretzels and chips for the 21 hour trip there. gah.

Once in Disney, it was amazing. Epcot being my favorite. AK had just opened, but it closed the week we were there (we were told) due to some animal deaths.

That was my old life...NOW in 2014, the wife and I made a few trips, and bought in to DVC AKL. Two times a year, and never regret a thing.

We are 50's, no children..just us. We totally love the place. Changes and all...we'll keep going!