What turned you into a Disney geek?

[janoimagine]

For me it was a present from my Aunt with a trip to Disney for kindergarden graduation .... a long time ago. Then it was a trip every year after that with my parents and brother till I had the opportunity to intern with the company in Burbank when I was in college.

 

[becanya]

For me it was actually coming home from our first trip. I loved the trip, but it was the months after that I processed exactly what I loved about the trip. Actually turned into a complete Disney freak.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I've always been a Disnerd.

I grew up with all the Disney movies. I watched all the TV shows. All the holiday things. Lots of stuff. In Canada, we had a channel called "Family Channel" and they had Disney stuff playing all the time. Even old stuff with Walt in it.

I went to Walt Disney World for the first time when I was three. I didn't get to go again until I was 12 or so.

In those many years, I drew a lot. I wanted to be an animator (didn't work out, but that's neither here nor there). Walt was my idol. So, I was extremely excited to return to Walt Disney World. I think that next trip was during the Millennium Celebration.

I had watched my old home videos many times. So, experiencing Animal Kingdom (which was new) was a thrill. But, I got totally hooked on the parks through the combination of ROE and Tapestry of.... whatever it was at the time. Dreams or Nations. One of the two. Anyway, it was a two week trip. I saw everything and it was awesome.

I've been there two more times since then. And look forward to the next one almost everyday.

 

[Krack]

For me it was the opening of EPCOT Center. Even as a little kid, the Magic Kingdom seemed a little "kiddie-fied" for me, but when EPCOT was built, it seemed like home - especially Future World. Each pavilion was like a living breathing operational museum. All the AAs, the music, the "fun for kids and adults" approach, the new technology on display - it was perfect.

 

[JustInTime]

I would say it was Cinderella that really made me love Disney. It really opened the door for me.

 

[BuzzGoofy]

In 2007 I agreed to go to WDW with My adult daughter. I was just going to accompany her and her cousin and because I needed a vacation. I know this is a cleshay(SP) but the first sight of the Castle after going under the Train Station was what turned me into a Disney Geek. I did not find this sight until after my second trip two years later. This sight has definately fueled my obsession.

 

[Duke of Disney]

It has been a tradition throughout my life with my family. We went a lot when I was younger, sometimes several times in a year. Following ups and downs, we didnt go for many years - but in the last 10 years, we've been about every year, or at least I have. Im going for my 2nd time this year in 25 days. Im looking forward to all the sights, food and rides!

Along the way I met a CM who has made the experience of visiting Disney even better. Now if this economy would turn around and allow me to secure a job, everything would be alright.

 

[powlessfamily4]

I became a Mickey Mouse fan at the age of 4 when my Dad ran/skated across the ice at an Icecapades event so I could shake Mickey Mouses hand. I come from a large family with a lot of kids (10) so vacations were usually not done on a grand scale. The first year my parents loaded everyone up and took them to Disney was the year I got married (1986). They took the 7 kids that were still living at home. My parents and family fell in love with it. My Dad later took my older two sisters with their spouses however I was living in Hawaii with my husband by then and didn't go. I briefly visited Universal Studios and MGM Studios back in the 90's on a trip with some friends. But I never visited Magic Kingdom or any of the other parks.

So 2010 rolls around and my brother insisted I plan a trip with him and go to WDW. He quizzed me and held "Disney meetings" between our two families.I was instructed I must NEVER stay off property or all magic could end LOL He also signed me up for my WDW Magic account and told me to come here with any question I had. I thought he was nuts. Then he took me to Disney for a week. I was so hooked! One week after I came back we planned the November trip.

YEAH WE LEAVE IN 8 DAYS!!!!!!! WOOO HOO I'M GOING TO DISNEY IN 8 DAYS AND THEN BACK AGAIN IN JULY!!! Life is good!!

 

[Susan Savia]

We took our two children every year since they were babies and so we pretty much watched them grow up. My daughter was never afraid to ride anything whereas my son was very shy. I can't define a moment that changed me, but as a whole the cleanliness of the parks, the music, the great CMs, the mood it puts you in and the way you feel so close to your family being there.

 

[216bruce]

Oddly enough my interest started with National Geographic. My grandfather subscribed and when I was a kid they had an article on Walt and Disneyland back in the early 60's. So, between that and growing up watching him and the Sunday show the park was always a place I wanted to visit. When we got married, my wife and I honeymooned there, went there when she was 5 months pregnant with our daughter and once the kids were old enough to appreciate it, went just about every year. We are empty nesters now and are going on two cruises this year and I am attending D23 Expo in August. My daughter is going to honeymoon there as well since she is marrying a fellow Disnerd (love that term). What keeps us going back is the quality of the experience- It's good to know that near perfection can still exist in an increasingly complex, scary and cynical world. Let the geek flag fly proudly!

 

[Mouse Man]

First off it was when I was a little boy watching the wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights with my family. Seeing Davy Crocket, The Ugly Dachsund, Johnny Tremain and the Sons of Liberty and so on had me hooked. Then when I was seven years old my sister and my future Borother in-Law took me to WDW in FLA for the first time ever. It was one of those childhood memories that I will never forget. Then going as an adult with a girl friend and soon to be wife. Now I am going on 48 and have my son and daughter grown and on there own (Had Children at young age). Now it's there mother and I going to Disney and having the times of our life there. 2012 we take our Grandson Jack for his first Disney visit ever. Disney is a very special place for us and if this makes me a geek, then so be it. I just can't get enough of it. Lastly, we will shortly be DVC members so the geekdom really begins.

 

[ctosh]

Alway have been!! :wave:

 

[Magenta Panther]

My parents are huge Disney fans, and they infected me with their wonderful delirious illness. :lol: But when I got older, and was going through my rebellious teenage years, I looked for ways to debunk their regard for Walt Disney; I read various books about him and even talked to a couple of people who worked for him. After all that research, I finally came to the realization that Walt was a good person as well as a great visionary and innovator. I've been a devoted fan ever since.

 

[ZipADeeSarah]

I'd say it's been a gradual thing. Each trip got me closer and closer to complete obsessiveness. I guess taking my husband last year for his first trip ever (on his 44th birthday) sealed the deal for me. He often tells me, "nobody ever loved me enough to take me to Disney World before you." Although he isn't as obsessed as me, I've convinced him to take a trip with my stepdaughters this December (their first), and a quick jaunt over in February while we're there on business. I am hoping the kids have my back on hassling him to to take us every other year, at least. Or maybe the DVC folks will wear him down this time. He thinks I'm kidding about us retiring and getting part time jobs there...

Plus, finding this site didn't help... :animwink:

 

[majorrfb]

It all started when.....

In the days before t.v. (middle, late 40's) our local radio station had a show
called "Storytime". It featured all kinds of kid stories and many of Disney
stories. Every Saturday, we kids went to the movies which always featured a weekly serial and 5 cartoons. Many of these cartoons were Disney.
Forward to 1978 and my new wife suggests we visit the World for the first time. Well, after that first visit I was hooked--BIG TIME. Always a kid a heart, I have never lost the zeal for all things Disney, especially, the Theme Parks. Party on!!! :sohappy:

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Well, the movies and cartoon short subjects have always been important to me, and I still remember clearly how elated I felt when my parents surprised me with my first visit to Disneyland when I was five (I didn't know where we were going until we were actually in the parking lot). But neither of those things tipped the scales for me. It was probably seeing "Wishes" for the first time during Disneyland's 50th anniversary while my boyfriend and I were on our first date. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I cried a little.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

For me, it started when I was very young and always loved the movie Peter Pan and wanted to dress up like Tinkerbell. I remember seeing pictures of the teacups and always wanted to ride it. My friend went in 1982/83 after they opened up Epcot and I so wanted to go.

My first trip was as an adult with our daughter and we have been hooked since, planning our 21st trip next year.

 

[PurpleDragon]

This site was probably the biggest one thing that turned me into a full blown Disneyphile. I had always been a casual fan but after about a year on this site I was a full blown Disney nut. Before I joined this site I had never seen American Adventure or Carousel of Progress, I had never eaten a Dole Whip or School Bread, and had eaten at maybe 4 or 5 of Disney's table service restaurants. I did not even know what a Hidden Mickey was back in 2004.

This about sums it up for me as well. I've been a Disney fan for many years but never considered myself a Disney geek till after I joined this site. All the trips down to WDW during my childhood is what made me a WDW fan, since staying in a tent at Fort Wilderness was cheaper than any other hotel in FLA, Disney was a frequent summer vacation spot thru most of my adolescent years. But I have to say that digging around on the web and finally stumbling onto this site is what turned me into a full blown Disney geek.

 

[NYwdwfan]

This about sums it up for me as well. I've been a Disney fan for many years but never considered myself a Disney geek till after I joined this site. All the trips down to WDW during my childhood is what made me a WDW fan, since staying in a tent at Fort Wilderness was cheaper than any other hotel in FLA, Disney was a frequent summer vacation spot thru most of my adolescent years. But I have to say that digging around on the web and finally stumbling onto this site is what turned me into a full blown Disney geek.

You mean it's not normal to obsessively hunt for info on Disneyworld for hours upon hours a day? :lookaroun

My day consists of:
step 1: log in to wdwmagic.com
step 2: click on new posts
step 3: post to everything that interests me
step 4: repeat step 2
step 5: repeat step 4 :lookaroun

 

[PurpleDragon]

You mean it's not normal to obsessively hunt for info on Disneyworld for hours upon hours a day? :lookaroun

Well before I found this site I guess I did do that, so maybe I was a Disney geek before. But honestly there used to be hardly anything online about the parks at all. I would find some random private sites here and there with videos and I would download all I could before Disney hit them with the copyright hammer. I think I found like 4-5 sites that had that happen. Now Disney doesn't care about people posting on ride videos.