A while back,  a friend suggested that I start a blog to share some thoughts about planning trips to Disney parks and possibly include some helpful tips about other trips I have been on with my husband and children.  I honestly didn’t give it much thought at first because so many other people are already writing blogs about how to plan the perfect Disney vacation.  Who would have any interest in what I have to say?  After all, I have only been to a Disney park 6 different times in my life:

• Walt Disney World–Summer 1979
• Walt Disney World–Summer 1986
• Walt Disney World–Summer 2009
• Walt Disney World–Summer 2013
• Disneyland & California Adventure–Summer 2014
• Walt Disney World–January 2017

When my daughter proofread my draft of this post, she said, “ONLY 6 times, Mom? Really?” So ok, it’s a matter of perspective, but I know people who go to Walt Disney World multiple times a year, so surely there are people out there way more qualified to be giving advice about trips, right?  My friend, Brooke Cartwright, who is a travel agent with Kingdom Magic Vacations, continued to encourage me to use my writing ability and overzealous planning/organizational skills to share my own experiences with people who are in some stage of the planning process of a Disney trip, so here I am (almost midnight) trying to figure out where to begin with my first post.

During my sixteen years of teaching composition writing in English I, the most difficult task for 14-year-old writers was in determining how to begin their introductory paragraph. Most often, they would either begin with a quotation or with a question.  These trite introductions were sources of great aggravation to me, but now, I feel compelled to imitate my former students:

Why do people travel?

Perhaps we should change the word “people” to “families.” There are a multitude of reasons why an individual person would need to travel, but when FAMILIES are traveling, what is the primary objective?  What does the family unit hope to gain from the experience of a trip?  There is obviously not just one right answer to this question, but for the majority of families, I think it is safe to assume that the #1 reason why families plan vacations is to MAKE MEMORIES.  Memories, therefore, will be the subject of my first blog list.

Favorite Disney Vacation Memories:

1. In 1979, I was four. To be honest, I don’t have too many vivid memories of my own from this trip to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Most of my recollections of this time come from looking at the faded pictures in the photo album that my mother put together or from hearing the stories that my parents told me about this vacation, so if you are planning “the trip of a lifetime” and your children are under the age of 5 or 6, you might consider waiting until they are old enough to really remember the experience.

   

   

   

   
2. In 1986, I was 11. This was my younger sister’s first trip to Walt Disney World. Technically, she was there in ’79, but she was still in the womb.  On this vacation, my family went to the Magic Kingdom and the very new Epcot park.  What I remember most was being completely in awe of the Imagination Pavilion with all the state-of-the-art interactive exhibits, and specifically the jumping water fountains captured my attention every time we walked past them.  It just didn’t make sense to my 11-year-old mind how the water could jump from one circle to the next!  Of course as a pre-teen I could ride more of the attractions than I could when I was four, so this was definitely more fun than the first trip!  Unfortunately, my mom couldn’t find any pictures from this trip.  I know we have some somewhere, just have no idea where to look.
3. In 2009, I was 34, but more importantly I was a parent taking my three children (a 7-year-old boy, and 4-year-old twins, one boy, one girl) to Disney World for their first visit. My husband and I planned this trip with his parents as well as his sister and her family (she has four children), so this was a large travel party (a total of 13).  I remember counting to 13 every time we walked anywhere in the park.  We stayed at the Yacht Club during this trip, and I remember having meals at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club resort, Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom, The Nine Dragons in China pavilion at Epcot, Primetime Cafe in Hollywood Studios, and Akershus Princess Storybook Dining in Epcot.  What struck me most profoundly as I walked down Main Street with my children was the sudden urge to call my parents and tell them “THANK YOU!” When I was growing up, my family did not have a lot of “extra” money, so I’m sure my mom and dad had to make some real sacrifices to be able to take me and my sisters to Walt Disney World.  I had no idea of the expenses involved in such a trip until I was the adult helping to plan and pay the bills.  Sharing the magic of Main Street with my children, however, was definitely worth it.  After we stopped for the traditional ice cream cone at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, I DID call my parents, and I think they really appreciated my new-found appreciation for what great parents I have.

   

   

   

   

   

4. I was 38 in 2013.  This was the trip where I really began my obsession with learning how to get the most for my time and money.  This trip was with my husband, my 11-year-old son, and 8-year-old twins.  We met up with my mom and dad who were in Orlando for a conference, and we spent a couple of days with them in the parks before they had to head home.  My crew then spent a few more days in the parks.  I spent HOURS researching and planning the PERFECT trip for my family. The Polynesian Resort was our home during our stay, and we LOVED the theme and location of this resort.  Some of our meals included the Happily Ever After Character Dinner at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian, Coral Reef seafood restaurant at Epcot, Be Our Guest lunch at Magic Kingdom, Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom, Chefs de France in the French Pavilion in Epcot, Yak and Yeti at Animal Kingdom, and Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. We ate VERY WELL!  One of my VERY FAVORITE memories of any of my Disney trips occurred during this visit:  we had been with my parents in Magic Kingdom from prior to park opening to the firework display at park close.  We were in Fantasyland when the fireworks began, and we realized that my parents’ resort bus would soon be departing.  We had to SPRINT from the back of the park, pushing our way through the throngs of fireworks spectators.  Right as we were rushing past the front facade of Cinderella’s castle, a huge burst of color erupted in the sky, and my 8-year-old son turned around to face the castle and proclaimed, “I’m gonna get married here!”  He was, and still is, such a sweet boy!

   

   

   

   

   

5. We had such a great time at WDW in 2013 that my husband and I decided to take the kids out to California during the summer of 2014 (I was 39).  We flew to Anaheim and spent 4 days at Walt’s original park, Disneyland, and its sister park, California Adventure.  I’ve heard many people discuss which park is “better”…World or Land?  Having been to both now, I still couldn’t really answer this question because I love them both.  One is not better than the other; they are just “different.”  I will say that my very favorite “land” of any of the Disney parks that I’ve ever visited is found in California Adventure.  Carsland was truly incredible.  I honestly felt like I was standing on the set of the animated movie. We even got to eat at Flo’s V8 Cafe! Visiting Disneyland is quite different from a trip to  Walt Disney World due to the fact that the parks are in the center of a metropolitan city (Anaheim) rather than out in the middle of hundreds of acres of Disney-owned property with little sign of life from the outside.  At World, you really seem to be a “captive audience”; at Disneyland I didn’t feel like we had to plan our meals within the parks because there were so many choices right outside the entry turnstiles.  However, we did take advantage of the World of Color dining package, so we had one meal at the Wine Country Trattoria to ensure we would have a good seat for the “World of Color” nighttime spectacular.  That combination of fireworks and water show is also my all-time favorite of any firework show that I’ve seen at a Disney park, so a trip out to the west coast may be in order if you want to see some of the best that Disney has to offer.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

6. In April of 2016, I talked my younger sister into signing up to run the Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon with me in January 2017.  I had decided to run this race in November 2015, and I began to run (or as my boss calls it “slog” [slow jog]) on a regular basis.  Months of “training” prepared me for the longest run of my life; I was 41.  This trip was a little different in that I left my family at home; however, I was joined by my parents and my sister and her 6-year-old twins (one boy/one girl).  Due to the shorter length of this trip, we decided to splurge and stay at the Grand Floridian.  One of my favorite memories of this stay was just walking through the grand lobby after checking in:  my nephew’s eyes were wide as he exclaimed with extreme enthusiasm, “This place is FANTASTIC!”  And it was; however, I would not recommend spending the money for this location if you are planning on park touring from open to close and not spending any time in the lovely resort.  The only time we were on property was as we were walking out of our rooms in the morning and back to our rooms in the evening.  On my next trip, I want to plan a “split stay” where we stay at less expensive location when all we are doing is sleeping in the rooms and then on an “off day” when we don’t go to a park, we could move to the Grand to relax and enjoy all that this beautiful resort has to offer.  Our dining choices included the following:  Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort, Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom, Garden Grill at Epcot, and Mama Melrose at Hollywood Studios.  Before I conclude this post, I must sadly confess that I didn’t actually get to participate in the 1/2 marathon that weekend.  An unusual storm moved into the area prompting the RunDisney officials to cancel the 1/2 marathon that Saturday morning.  After my initial bitter disappointment (yes, I cried), I decided to make the most of the rainy day, and I delighted in walking down Main Street with my sister, who had not been to Disney World since SHE was 6, and now she was there with her own 6-year-old children.  It really was a magical moment, and one memory that I will always cherish.  By the way, if it rains while you are at Disney, don’t hide out in a gift shop!  Put your poncho on and GO!  We felt like we had the park to ourselves that day, and we ended up walking over 10 miles through the Magic Kingdom from park opening to park close. And the 6-year-olds walked with us; we never stopped long enough to get them a stroller!