So here I am, 41 years old and recently realized that 2024 will mark 40 years of me going to Disney World on family vacations! That is just so crazy to me, but makes the fact that I love Disney so much make so much sense. Not only have I been coming with my family for almost 40 years but my parents have been coming since the very beginning of Walt Disney World! While at my mom and dads house a couple weeks ago I went through some old photo albums with my mom and found so many great old pictures from all of our Disney vacations. I thought I would share them with you all this week and some of the many memories I have from the magical trips we have had! Since this is covering almost 40 years of Disney vacation memories, 50 if you count going back to my parents first trip, it isn’t going to be a short one this week! Let’s get started.
How It Started
Walt Disney World opened in 1971 and my parents and grandparents were there in 1972 for the first time! My mom and dad drove all the way from North Carolina to Florida in their red Volkswagon Beetle to visit The Most Magical Place On Earth. My grandmother and grandfather were with them as well as a couple other relatives. Imagine how cool it would have been to be in Magic Kingdom within the first year of it opening! This is where a lifetime of Disney magic started for me!
My First Trip
Fast forward to 1984, I am 2 years old and ready to meet Mickey for the first time! This trip would be just me, my mom, dad and older brother as my baby sister had not been born yet. It is so cool to see these pictures. I obviously don’t have any actual memories from this trip but my mom told me the best story from this trip! Apparently Chip and Dale fell madly in love with me and walked around the park with me and my brother for a while. Then they gave us the coolest poster with all the characters in the park that days signatures! Recently my parents remodeled their house and my mom actually found this poster! Believe it or not, even Orange Bird signed it. Now I have it and it will be framed and saved forever.
Disney Through The Years
From then on my family visited Disney World every 2-3 years, usually over 4th of July. There are so many memories from all of these trips and I hope I never forget them. Here are just some of those memories.
Flying Down Highway 95
We always drove down for our trips. Looking back now I don’t know how my parents did these trips. My dad would usually work a full day while my mom did her normal work as well as getting everything packed and ready to go then we would leave right after he got home and drive through the night. When we got there we hit the ground running and went from rope drop to park close everyday we were there. From what I remember we even went for part of a day the day we left and again drove through the night and my parents were back at it and working again the next day. They had to have been exhausted!
Somehow, in an era where there were no cell phones and GPS apps to tell you where to go my dad navigated this route like Magellan! He used a big paper map and even tracked the gas mileage of our big blue van (it had velvet curtains, a table and a little TV in it!). He knew exactly where to stop to get the best gas prices, a decent meal and a clean bathroom to use. And you better do all those things when he stopped because he wasn’t stopping again! Hahaha! I remember playing mad libs and the license plate game. And I remember falling asleep facing the window and waking up to the feeling that I was in light speed on the Millennium Falcon because the lights would be flying by so fast. Most of all I remember getting so excited to see every punny South of the Border sign and then super excited when the big sombrero would come into view. My mom would even wake us up to see it if we had fallen asleep.
Welcome To The Transportation & Ticket Center
One of the things I remember most is arriving at the TTC on the first day of our trips. Back then you didn’t have your tickets in advance you got them at the TTC when you arrived. I remember parking and all of us making sure we memorized what Disney character lot we parked in, then getting on the real wildest ride int he wilderness…..the parking lot tram! Hahaha! They are so much tamer now than they were back then! I just remember holding on for dear life as they slung you around the parking lot. I remember that there were topiaries like the ones they have now at Flower & Garden festival where you go to get on the ferry boats to Magic Kingdom and my mom would always want to get pictures of them.
From there I remember taking the boat or the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and seeing the train out front before going in and getting a look at Cinderella castle for the first time. I still get butterflies and feel the need to take a picture of both of these things every time I go to the park.
Magic Disney Milestones
The coolest thing about going to Disney for this long is how I have been able to see it grow and change. My parents went when there was just Magic Kingdom and then again when EPCOT was newly opened (1982) with my brother and I in 1984. We were there shortly after Hollywood Studios (MGM back then) opened (1989) and you could see characters from Dick Tracy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and even Barbie and the Ninja Turtles in 1991! We were there for the 25th Anniversary when the castle looked like a giant pink birthday cake (just why?! hahaha) in 1996. Again shortly after Animal Kingdom opened (1998) for Jay’s first trip and our last trip all together in 2001. And of course some of us were here for the 50th anniversary celebration and are now enjoying all the 100th anniversary additions!
Places We’ve Stayed
I’ll be honest, I don’t have a lot of memories about the places we stayed on all these trips. Probably because, like most little kids on a Disney vacation, I was half asleep when we left for the day and completely asleep when we got back! But I do have some very clear memories of some of the accommodations! We stayed off property for all of our trips up until I was in middle school. One in particular I remember was a time we stayed in a family members vacation home that, I believe was somewhere in Kissimmee or Davenport amongst some major orange groves. I’m sure it is no longer orange groves.
The thing I remember about this place is that my mom was so upset as we got closer to it because it was much farther away than she thought it would be and we would have to do a lot of driving to get back and forth to the parks. It was very late and dark, I have no doubt she was exhausted and she was crying because she was worried about wasting our precious time in the parks driving. My brother started doing what he does best and making everyone laugh, with an action figure he had, calling it Kaeopectate man and throwing it around the car! Hahaha, my mom started laughing, we finally got to the place and other than that I just remember there being a giant palmetto bug inside somewhere. I’m sure my mom stressed about the place every time we had to drive back and forth but I don’t even remember what it looked like! I only remember the initial trip there, the bug and a magical trip in Disney World. Funny enough, we found some random pictures of us outside this place when going through eh albums!
Thats the beauty of a Disney vacation. Everything is left behind and washed away once you enter those parks. It is pure magic and still is to this day, an escape from reality and into the magic that is Disney!
Other than that my only memories of the places we stayed are when we started staying in Disney resorts! The first one we ever stayed in was the Contemporary resort. I think this was in 1996 but I am not 100% sure. I remember realizing we were staying in the resort the monorail went through and feeling like this could not be real life. I remember breakfasts in the hotel and early mornings on the monorail where the phrase “Please Stand Clear Of The Doors, Por Favor Mantengase Alejado De Las Puertas!” was forever etched into my brain. I could tell that my mom felt amazing staying there and felt like that was the best trip we ever had, but every trip had been the best trip we ever had no matter where we stayed.
The next two trips we would stay at The Grand Floridian! This is my moms all time favorite resort, can you blame her?! I remember the first time we stayed there in 1997 or 98 I think, a Cast Member took us to our building in a golf cart, we stayed in the Copa Chica building and my sister and I started singing “At the Copa, Copa Chica” to the tune of Copa Cabana and then all of a sudden we stopped because there was a snake stretched across the sidewalk!! We freaked out and the Cast member driving just ran right over it and kept going. It was wild! The next time we would stay here would be in 2001 and would be my now husbands first trip to Disney! This resort still holds the most special place in my heart because of these two last trips with my whole family.
Mickey Butter, Animal Noises, Turkey Legs, Farts & The Diamond Horseshoe
Strange heading, I know! But these are some of my fondest memories. My mom would always book a dinner in Cinderella castle one night on our trips, usually while fireworks were going on! We always loved the Mickey shaped butter, and when I say Mickey shaped I mean a full Mickey Mouse standing up on the butter dish!! Over the years the Mickey butter changed and became, well, flatter but still very cool.
Animal noises?? Must be talking about Animal Kingdom right?? Wrong! I feel like this happened multiple times but on one particular trip my brother decided to use his amazing skill for animal impersonations while we waited in line for rides. Specifically in line for Pirates of the Caribbean he hid behind a couple of the walls in the queue and made goat and cow sounds while confused guests looked around trying to figure out where it was coming from! Hahaha! This is the same trip that my brother started calling the giant turkey legs “BBQ Goat Legs” in a funny accent that we still say today every time we see someone with one.
Farts, really?? Yes really! I was in middle school ok! Don’t judge! We ate breakfast at Tony’s Town Square that morning, if you don’t know, Tony’s used to have the most amazing breakfast! I can taste the hot chocolate as I write this. Well, we used the restroom before heading out into Magic Kingdom for the day and there was a poor little girl trying to use the potty and apparently she had frustrated her mom because she was afraid of the toilet. To be fair, Disney toilets are quite loud! Well poor Rachel (we know her name because her mom kept telling her to just stand there and be afraid of the toilet) finally got on the potty and had a rather loud toot followed by a surprised and scared “UH OH!”. This was hilarious to my brother, sister and I and for the rest of the trip we kept making a fart noise and saying UH OH constantly! Much to my mothers embarrassment I’m sure.
One of the times we were having so much fun doing this we were in line for Thunder Mountain, on the ramp headed down to the load in area, and my mom was desperately trying to get us to stop doing this. The man behind us, who was probably only in his 20’s but seemed “older” to me at the time could see that we really thought this was funny, so he leans forward and asks us what it was all about. We proceeded to tell this perfect stranger about poor Rachel in the Tony’s Town Square bathroom and he proceeded to whisper that we should do it again, counted to three and did the fart sound UH OH with us and made my mom crack up laughing! And then I rode in the front of the train with him and we laughed the whole time. Craziness! Still to this day, every time I’m in that part of the Thunder Mountain ride I remember this happening and can picture it. But Disney has always been and still is the best place to meet new people and talk to strangers! Hahaha!
So what about the Diamond Horseshoe? Well, if you don’t know, the Diamond Horseshoe in Frontierland as you get into Liberty Square used to have a whole stage show! it was a lot like the Hoop Dee Doo Review that we have now over at the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds. This was my dads favorite dinner and show. The blonde performer used to go out into the audience pick a random man, usually a bald man, and talk to him while sitting on his knee and touching his bald head. One time she picked my dad! Who has the most wonderful head of hair and instead of rubbing a bald head she talked about how amazing his hair was. If you have ever met my dad you know she’s not wrong, his hair is incredible!
More First Trips
My parents first trip was in 1972, mine was in 1984 but there have been lots of other first trips since then! Here are memories of all the first trips we have had over the years!
My Husbands First Trip
At the time, Jay was my boyfriend but had become part of our family so when we went on our family trip in 2001 he got to come too! We stayed at The Grand Floridian and he slept on the floor between the bed and the wall in the room. I won’t go into too much detail because I talked about how being in Disney was therapeutic for Jay in my Disney Therapy article, but at the time he was struggling with some PTSD and Disney was the first place he was able to be in a large crowd without feeling anxious. One of my favorite memories from this trip is how much fun my brother and Jay had at the Polynesian Luau that resulted in one very funny picture of my brother with his favorite hula girl and one of Jay and my brother hanging upside down in the monorail!
This would also be the trip where we went to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and my mom got so excited at the end when they doo the Yahoo contest between the sides of the room that she yelled “Ya, ya, ya YAHOO!” one of my top 10 Disney vacation memories for sure!
First Trip As A Married Couple
No surprise to anyone, we spent our honeymoon in Disney World! We were married in August of 2002 and got to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for our honeymoon! It was an incredible trip filled with character meals, champagne on our room balcony over looking Bay Lake and one of our favorite pictures! We had someone take a picture of us on the bridge in the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge that years later we would recreate with our two boys!
Babies First Trip
Once we bought my dance studio we started doing Disney trips with that where the kids got to perform in Disney Springs. The first one of those happened in October of 2009 and was also Sawyers first trip AND his first birthday. This would also be the first time I ever saw Magic Kingdom decorated for Halloween and the first time I ever attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, spoiler it’s my favorite and I can’t wait to go again!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party where Sawyer was dressed as Peter Pan, Jay was Captain Hook and I was Wendy is probably my favorite memory from this trip. A close second would be our breakfast at Ohana where Sawyer met Mickey for the first time!
The next first would be Thatchers first trip when he was only 8 months old! My favorite memory here was also when he met Mickey for the first time at the Tusker House character lunch in Animal Kingdom. We also got the best picture of the boys sitting in the best spot by the Port Orleans Riverside Old Man Island Pool in their “first visit” ear hats. Definitely one of the best pictures! Thatcher would end up getting his first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop in Magic Kingdom on his next trip just 7 months later on another studio trip!
On that same studio trip we would have two more firsts! My nieces first trip to Disney World and my moms first time going with some of her grandchildren! It was so cool having my mom here with us again, I wish my dad, brother and his kids had been able to go too. We had the best time and even went to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party TWICE! Babies slept in strollers, we used rider swap, watched Elsa freeze the castle (Disney please bring this back!), saw parades and stage shows and fireworks and ran through the Splash Mountain queue riding over and over during one of the Christmas parties!
The Other “Firsts”
We had our first trip back after the Covid closure, wearing masks, modified queue lines and experiences. It was still totally magical even though things were different, it had it’s own different kind of magic while still feeling the same Disney magic. And then last June, almost a year ago (I can’t believe it’s been almost a year) we had our first trip as locals!! Since then we’ve had our first Passholder preview on Tron: Lightcycle Run, our first time being at opening day of an EPCOT festival, our first time watching Happily Ever After when it returned (insert crying face here), first holidays in Disney, first time celebrating birthdays and we are looking forward to a ton more firsts!
Conclusion
This only scratched the surface of all the amazing memories I have from so many years of Disney World vacations. There are so many, and the cool thing is that when I walk by the places those memories were made it feels like I am right back in that moment. One in particular is the fountain in the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop. I vividly remember putting rasta wigs and sunglasses on my dad, wearing sombreros with my brother and sister and my brother in full rasta gear and all of us sitting around him on the fountain.
These and so many others are etched into my mind forever. I have no doubt that these trips were exhausting for my parents but you would have never known it while we were there, I just remember my moms “Disney walk” as my dad called it because she walked so fast and my dad smiling bigger than I had ever seen him smile and seeming so relaxed and feeling like the luckiest kid on earth. I know my mom probably felt like we missed doing a lot of stuff because our trips were never super long but I never felt like we missed a thing. Even now as an adult who has planned many trips myself I wonder how she did it all! She had her own kind of Disney magic that created the best trips with the best memories and she made sure we made the most of every single moment we were there!
I know this one was long so I applaud and thank you if you are still reading! There is just so much to say about 40 years of Disney magic. I still feel butterflies in my stomach when I see the train out front at Magic Kingdom, get the first glimpse of the castle on Main Street or have a park day planned! It is just magical and everyone should experience it at least once, although you will want to come back again and again! The one first I hope I get is the first time my whole family gets to go to Disney together, my mom and dad, my sisters family, my brothers family and mine all together again in Disney World. That would be the most epic first ever!
I hope you all enjoyed my stroll down the Disney memory lane. I won’t lie I got teary eyed a couple of times thinking about some of these things and trying to decide what to include and when to cut it short. Thank you all for being here and as always, I hope you all have the most magical day!