The Disney Mom!: My Disney Journey

It’s funny, when I started writing this entry my topic was different then what it turned out to be. Somehow, it ended up being about my Disney journey. It’s interesting, to me at least, to think that for some their Disney journey started years ago with countless trips over a lifetime and for others it started with years of longing for a place they know will be magical. No matter how your journey started we were all lead to the same place, the same love and the same magic.

My journey started long before I knew there even was a Disney World. As a child I loved Mickey Mouse! Stuffed animals, toys, books you name it!

When my mother saved up to take my sisters and I on our very first back in 1987 I remember being in love!! I remember riding the train around Magic Kingdom and passing the construction for Mickey’s Birthdayland and commenting to my Mom that we should come back next year when it opened!

She just chuckled, boo!

Along the way, I thought about returning to Disney World but it seemed that next trip was just out of reach. But I still loved Disney World and I still loved Mickey.

When I went off to College in the 90’s my friend gave me a whole basket full of Mickey Mouse goodies. Including a pillow that stayed on my bed every night my freshman year and a note pad! That note pad just happened to be handy the night I first meet my husband and it was the note pad I used to write my phone number on when he walked me back to my dorm after our first meeting in a mutual friends room.

So, without Mickey this journey may have been different ;)

I tried to convince hubby that we should honeymoon at WDW. But, it wasn’t meant to be. As many times as I asked, I got “Why would I want to go to Disney World on our honeymoon?!” as a response! In retrospect, it was a good thing! He got the flu on our honeymoon, so a week laying by a pool in St. Lucia was a good cure!

A few years and 2 kids later we were in the process of building our home and living with my in laws! A freezing cold, snowy, icy, windy winter put the building schedule a lot of schedule and I was itching to get out of my in-laws house!!! I tried very hard to convince hubby that we should take some of the money we had put aside for new house extras and take a little vacation to WDW for our daughters 3^rd birthday. He thought I was insane!! Again, in retrospect, it probably wouldn’t have been the best way to spend a few thousand dollars of our new house money! But, it would have been a good mental health break ;)

A few months after our house was complete and we were all moved in and enjoying having our own space again my mother in law came to me with a fabulous offer!!

She wanted to take hubby, myself, the 2 kiddos, my sister in law and her fiancé to Disney World to celebrate her 60^th birthday!! A week at Animal Kingdom Lodge!!!

Couldn’t pass that offer up now could I??

I look back on that trip with such fond memories!!! My 2 older kiddos were just babies!!! We celebrated DD’s 4^th birthday at Cinderella’s Royal and ate cake for breakfast! I’ll never forget DD saying “I get to eat cake for breakfast at Disney World!?” LOL!!

I also look back on it with horror!!! So many rookie mistakes, complete exhaustion, not to mention me driving hubby, myself, the kiddos, and the in laws to VA to get the autotrain in a god awful snow and ice storm!

Many a trip were to follow! A few Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party trips, a pregnant me trip, a magically upgrade to club level at Grand Floridian trip, a first trip for my family with no one but the five of us trip, a I just had my thyroid removed and am feeling sorry for myself trip, a extravaganza of 10 people trip, a 10^th anniversary trip, a first DVC trip, girls trips, Dis girls trips and on and on!!