When you knew..

[WDW97]

Since some of you thought it was interesting to know that I am a 15 year old boy who loves Disney, I thought it would be intresting to know when you knew were obessed with the Disney Parks? I think I knew when I was 7 after my second trip, I would come home everyday and stare at the MagicKingdom map for forever and watch YouTube vids alot, etc.

 

[Darth Tater]

When I exited the womb I was humming the theme to Horizons.

 

[luv]

After I first visited, as an adult.

I never went as a kid.

 

[disneysince71]

There are some of us that where raised in Disney and others who discover the MAGIC later... and then some people that just never get it.... you are a lucky one...

 

[bethymouse]

2007 trip @ Christmas w/ my parents, hubby, and kids! The best trip ever! Been every year since!

 

[rufio]

I first visited in 2009, but I didn't fully realize the extent of my obsession until my second visit in 2010 - I had a lot more time to roam and wasn't being dragged down by a party pooper!

 

[DfromATX]

Since some of you thought it was interesting to know that I am a 15 year old boy who loves Disney, I thought it would be intresting to know when you knew were obessed with the Disney Parks? I think I knew when I was 7 after my second trip, I would come home everyday and stare at the MagicKingdom map for forever and watch YouTube vids alot, etc.

You are not alone. My son is almost 17 and he loves it too. I wrote about it not too long ago. To answer your question, our first trip was in 2006 and that's when we became big Disney fans. I was 36 and he was about 10. Never too late!

 

[Fantasmic]

I can't remember not being Disney obsessed!

 

[AllyInWonderland]

Another 15 yr. old here! I have been my entire life, but I was never truly obsessed (singing the songs at random times, having all of the music on my phone, etc.) until about 12 or 13. I had always deeply loved Disney, just not truly obsessed until now.

 

[WDW97]

Another 15 yr. old here! I have been my entire life, but I was never truly obsessed (singing the songs at random times, having all of the music on my phone, etc.) until about 12 or 13. I had always deeply loved Disney, just not truly obsessed until now.

Yep that's pretty much like me!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Let me put it this way. I never smiled as a baby, unless I was at Disney.

I've been obsessed with everything Disney, not just the parks, since I was two. It was probably earlier than that age, but I remember being two and loving Disney very much. Even the company recognized this, when D23 crowned me Disney Geek right around my birthday, last year. One of the best birthdays ever.

http://d23.disney.go.com/news/2012/04/d23s-disney-geek-of-the-week-jasmine-revels/

BTW, age doesn't matter.

 

[AndyS2992]

Since some of you thought it was interesting to know that I am a 15 year old boy who loves Disney, I thought it would be intresting to know when you knew were obessed with the Disney Parks? I think I knew when I was 7 after my second trip, I would come home everyday and stare at the MagicKingdom map for forever and watch YouTube vids alot, etc.

I'm a 20 year old boy who loves Disney and I don't care what others think.

First became obsessed with Disney Parks in 2000 when I was 7 years old and discovered my parents' photo album from their 1989 WDW/Florida vacation which included park maps and stuff and they told me all about it. I had been brought up on Disney movies and when I learnt there was also a place, I was fascinated. A few months later the PS1 game Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour came out and m obsession really began.

I begged to go to WDW but my parents said they couldn't afford it so they took me to Disneyland Paris in 2004 instead which I thought was amazing but still desperately wanted to go to WDW so they caved in and took me in 2006 and I have returned three times since and have just recently came back from Disneyland Paris

We are currently planning our next WDW vacation for September 2014

 

[jayhawkmickey]

I went in 82 when I was 10 and loved it but in the pre-Internet dark ages I didn't have any friends who liked Disney so it just went onto the back burner untill my honeymoon with my wife in 09. We went and now we are both Disney nuts. We've gone together three times since and she went once for the 24 hours without me. Stay true to yourself and like whatever you like, it's easier in the long run.

 

[Disvillain63]

I can't remember not being Disney obsessed!

Agree...I have the Disney books that my mom read to my brothers and I before there was WDW...taking me to the MK in 1972 just helped solidify my obsession...having my own children to raise Disney (I did...their rooms, clothes, bathroom, whole house) just made it worst/better...taking them almost once/year for 20 years...and then my classroom to introduce hundreds of children to Disney and put Magic in their lives...is there a support group? Oh, that's what this is!

 

[iheartmmouse]

Weirdly enough, when we lost my Mom to cancer.... Disney (parks, movies, and music) was something that we always had, and enjoyed together. Once she died I knew that Disney would help me move on (as much as one can) and feel close to her again.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I first knew when I used to drive down as a teenager (close to your age) with my brother and friends immediately after at the end of the school year. We'd push on straight through the night. We'd sleep in a tent. If we felt "rich", we'd stay at Fort Wilderness Campground. Back then, theme park tickets were pretty affordable, even for students making minmum wage. It became an annual ritual for us that we continued through high school and college. The spring of 1983 was a particularly exciting trip. Epcot had opened a few months before and we really were looking forward to a new park. We probably talked about that trip for weeks before we went.

For a bunch of city kids of limited means, there was no place like WDW. We were hooked.

 

[Mongomil]

My first trip was in '73 I don't really remember it sense I was 2. But my parents said that was the start of the love of Disney. The first trip I can actually remember was in '76. The Skyway, the Raceway, 20,000 Leagues, and character interaction is what I remember the most. So for me it has been a long love affair.

 

[Timekeeper]

Since some of you thought it was interesting to know that I am a 15 year old boy who loves Disney, I thought it would be intresting to know when you knew were obessed with the Disney Parks? I think I knew when I was 7 after my second trip, I would come home everyday and stare at the MagicKingdom map for forever and watch YouTube vids alot, etc.

Your comment reminds me of how Disney fans found new ways to enjoy the parks with the evolution of the internet and technology. Many of us enjoyed the parks as children or young adults long before YouTube, so you can imagine our joy when cameras and video cameras became more accessible and virtually everyone gained access to online photo and video sharing. Even as recently as 10 years ago, Disney fans had to hunt down other fans and amateur archivists or one of the very few small business-type "clubs" who published home-made DVDs of a Horizons ride-through, Kitchen Cabaret show, etc. Now, all the glory of WDW nostalgia, and the latest and greatest refurbs, are just a mouse click away. Hmmm, maybe that's why it's called a MOUSE click?

For me, Napster (the original version) opened many doors into the world of the Disney parks. I was able to find tons of attraction recordings, spiels, soundtracks, audio loops, sound effects, etc. that appeared to be "ripped" directly from the master recordings, and not second-hand recordings of in-park playback. I don't know how or where the people "sharing" those .mp3 files obtained all of that material, but it was a great way to explore and re-live much of the magic of WDW.

I imagine that, for many people, the "Disney bug" bites before they even make it past the turnstiles.

 

[fauzha7]

I made weekend trips in 1976 & 79 before going in 80 for our honeymoon, but it wasn't until our 7 kids sent us back in 2005 for a 25th Anniversary trip that we became hooked. Since then, we have made the trip from northeast Ohio in 05, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12. Wish we could make it this year but with our 4th daughter getting married in August, we'll have to hold off until 2014. I'll spend this year reading and living through all of you thru your trip reports and pictures.

 

[WDW97]

Your comment reminds me of how Disney fans found new ways to enjoy the parks with the evolution of the internet and technology. Many of us enjoyed the parks as children or young adults long before YouTube, so you can imagine our joy when cameras and video cameras became more accessible and virtually everyone gained access to online photo and video sharing. Even as recently as 10 years ago, Disney fans had to hunt down other fans and amateur archivists or one of the very few small business-type "clubs" who published home-made DVDs of a Horizons ride-through, Kitchen Cabaret show, etc. Now, all the glory of WDW nostalgia, and the latest and greatest refurbs, are just a mouse click away. Hmmm, maybe that's why it's called a MOUSE click?

For me, Napster (the original version) opened many doors into the world of the Disney parks. I was able to find tons of attraction recordings, spiels, soundtracks, audio loops, sound effects, etc. that appeared to be "ripped" directly from the master recordings, and not second-hand recordings of in-park playback. I don't know how or where the people "sharing" those .mp3 files obtained all of that material, but it was a great way to explore and re-live much of the magic of WDW.

I imagine that, for many people, the "Disney bug" bites before they even make it past the turnstiles.

I couldn't imagine being a Disney fan without Internet, mostly because I've lived with Internet access pretty much my whole life,but imagine having to wait to see New Fantasyland, you would have to wait until you knew someone that had pictures or until you see it in person.