Your Favorite FIRST sight?

[DisneyJunkie]

What would you say is your favorite FIRST sight on your WDW vacation?

Could it be the first instances of those purple highway signs directing you towards WDW? Or might it be the first "Welcome to Walt Disney World Resort" gateway you drive through? The colorful "Magic Kingdom" tollbooth (what I call it)? Or maybe it's the first spotting of one of the park icons (Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Earful Towers, etc)? Or could it be the first sighting of the resort you'll be staying at? Or maybe just spotting that Epcot monorail moving along its tracks as you drive on?

 

[rubydoo2]

Driving through the Welcome archway for me, every time. Makes me realise I'm back on Disney Property and back in the Disney bubble

 

[BJones82]

Honestly it's looking out the window on I4 and getting a glance of some of the parks That's when I get goose bumps... Then I look ahead and realize I am steering the car into the ditch.... Eyes on the road darn-it!!

 

[Bairstow]

Purple/red highway signs for me, though driving alongside a Disney Transportation Bus would be a close second.

 

[WondersOfLife]

It is definitely the monorail.

 

[MattC]

Spaceship Earth for me.

 

[ShoalFox]

For me, it's always getting a glimpse of SSE's majestic geosphere upon approaching Epcot.

However, what completes the 'first' experience for me is getting to the queue and smelling the burning Rome/plastic that always leaks out of the loading station into the nearby area.

 

[belledream]

Didn't know this would be a poll, so I came in thinking of a park icon, but when I see the "purple highway sign" choice, it's gotta be the winner. The arch is nice, but the signs are like...this is my home and real life for the next x amount of days!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I voted for the welcome arch, but I really love the monorail at the airport and the magical express sign at the airport!

 

[DisneyGigi]

All of the above but seriously, that Welcome to Walt Disney World makes me cry like a baby every time! I am always so thankful that I made it back again. 2 more days and we will be on our way to see it again! So excited I cried writing the post lol

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

The Welcome to Walt Disney World Gateway

 

[FettFan]

Other: The Disney billboards along I-75 and the Florida Turnpike.

 

[graphite1326]

The magical express greeter at the airport. Once I'm in that line my travel worries are over and I am going to be taken care of.

 

[Mickey5150]

My favorite first sight is seeing the Disney Store in Orlando International Airport, that's when I know I have arrived.

 

[ItsFigmentFan]

Pulling in to the Orlando Amtrak station and seeing the classic Seaboard Coast Line depot.

 

[Tom]

It's really seeing MCO when we get off the plane. The Orlando airport is basically my gateway. But then, I know I'm there when I start seeing the purple highway signs.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

This is a welcomed sight when passing in MCO which they dubbed the Pineapple Sky Tower..

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

We really like the build-up, the purple highway signs mean that we are nearly there then it’s seeing the Welcome to WDW arch.
Checking into whichever resort we are staying at always raises the excitement level up a notch but for us it’s arriving at the Magic Kingdom, walking through the tunnel & seeing the castle for the first time on the trip.

 

[Rinx]

My favorites are driving in the from the airport and seeing the first Disney bus and DVC tower on the corner.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

It's hard for me to even answer my own post. I have to go with the "welcome" gateway, but it's a tough call. I love being on I-4 and that first little burst of excitement in just starting to see the billboards along the highway promoting WDW attractions. Then comes the purple highway signs, the gateway, and then the various side-of-the-road on-property advertisments for things like ToT, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and Mission Space. And of course, that first sighting of the monorail in transit is a great sight to see too.