This is a report from our first trip to WDW:
I have been in love with all things Disney for as far back as I can remember . My children have Disney rooms, Disney toys , and watch the Disney channel daily. What started out as a once in a lifetime journey has now turned into a hobby ( my hubby and kids would probably call it an obsession ) !
June 1998 was our first ever trip to WDW , and I have been hooked every since. My husband said if he didn't know better he would swear Mickey and I had a thing going on ! It wasn't until I turned 35 that I was able to finally fulfill a dream of visiting Walt Disney World for the first time ( thanks hubby ).
Along for the ride was my husband Marc, daughters Quisha and Nicki , and son TJ. My mom and godparents also joined us for what would become a trip of a lifetime that turned into a passion for Disney .
We traveled 14 hours non-stop and spent our first night at the Hampton Inn in Orlando. After breakfast the next morning we loaded the car and headed to Buena Vista Suites the next day for our week long stay at Disney. We had a 2 room suite with sofa sleeper , two queen size beds and a mini fridge and microwave. They offer a full course breakfast each morning in the hotel dining area. There is a nice size pool available for your pleasure , but it is not fancy. My mom ( AKA MiMi to her grandchildren ) and my godparents joined us that afternoon. We did not know at the time but my godfather was having problems with his leg and it was a few days before him and my godmother joined us at the parks.
That evening we experienced our first ever Disney meal . Thanks to all of the info that can now be found on the world wide web I was prepared in advance with a field of info about WDW. ( along with a large notebook and several planning books ). One of my favorite web sites had all of the menu's for the various restaurants at WDW , and after a lot of family rap sessions we finally chose Ohana's at the Polynesian Resort as our first meal of the trip. We had a wonderful meal and great CM's. After dinner we went down to the beach at the Poly and watched the electrical water pageant parade and the fireworks from Cinderella's castle at Magic Kingdom . We than rode the monorail around the various resorts . It was a perfect way to began our once in a lifetime WDW vacation ( at the time I thought it would be my only trip ). We went back to the room that night excited about all that we would see in the coming days.
It has been many years since that first trip , and a lot of the events are fuzzy now . But needless to say WDW became an important part of our life. Years later friends ask us why we keep going back , but unless you have been and caught the disease it's kind of hard to explain.
We had a five day pass and visited all four parks . Animal Kingdom had recently opened and we were able to say we had seen a new park at WDW during it's first year. Trying to describe the Tree of Life , or a Bugs Life is hard unless you have seen it yourself. The Kilimanjaro Safari was awesome ( like really being in Africa ) , and the Festival of the Lion King Show was worth the long wait in Orlando's hot sun.Thanks to a lot of pre-planning and a list of must do rides we were able to see and do a lot in those five days. Epcot became my family's favorite park. I felt as if I experienced every country as if I had actually been there. Spaceship Earth is a must do at least once , and the fireworks at night at World Showcase can't be missed. The Animal Kingdom park comes in a close second. MGM was magical, especially the Backlot Tour. We laughed a lot at Muppet Vision 3D , and screamed on the Star Wars ride. Magic Kingdom is magical !! From the first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle , the walk down Main Street , to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. WDW has something for everyone.
The last morning there my youngest daughter Nicki ( AKA Disney Princess ) and I went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare . We had buffet style breakfast with Alice in Wonderland , The Mad Hatter, and out front at the entrance with Mary Poppins.
When my husband picked us up for the return journey home what had started out as a once in a lifetime vacation had now become a regular part of our vacation life. Hubby who was not that excited in the beginning about the trip was in awe the first few days. By the end of the week he was saying we would have to come back again. Well, you didn't need to convince me . I started planning our next trip ( in three years ) as soon as we got back home.
I have been in love with all things Disney for as far back as I can remember . My children have Disney rooms, Disney toys , and watch the Disney channel daily. What started out as a once in a lifetime journey has now turned into a hobby ( my hubby and kids would probably call it an obsession ) !
June 1998 was our first ever trip to WDW , and I have been hooked every since. My husband said if he didn't know better he would swear Mickey and I had a thing going on ! It wasn't until I turned 35 that I was able to finally fulfill a dream of visiting Walt Disney World for the first time ( thanks hubby ).
Along for the ride was my husband Marc, daughters Quisha and Nicki , and son TJ. My mom and godparents also joined us for what would become a trip of a lifetime that turned into a passion for Disney .
We traveled 14 hours non-stop and spent our first night at the Hampton Inn in Orlando. After breakfast the next morning we loaded the car and headed to Buena Vista Suites the next day for our week long stay at Disney. We had a 2 room suite with sofa sleeper , two queen size beds and a mini fridge and microwave. They offer a full course breakfast each morning in the hotel dining area. There is a nice size pool available for your pleasure , but it is not fancy. My mom ( AKA MiMi to her grandchildren ) and my godparents joined us that afternoon. We did not know at the time but my godfather was having problems with his leg and it was a few days before him and my godmother joined us at the parks.
That evening we experienced our first ever Disney meal . Thanks to all of the info that can now be found on the world wide web I was prepared in advance with a field of info about WDW. ( along with a large notebook and several planning books ). One of my favorite web sites had all of the menu's for the various restaurants at WDW , and after a lot of family rap sessions we finally chose Ohana's at the Polynesian Resort as our first meal of the trip. We had a wonderful meal and great CM's. After dinner we went down to the beach at the Poly and watched the electrical water pageant parade and the fireworks from Cinderella's castle at Magic Kingdom . We than rode the monorail around the various resorts . It was a perfect way to began our once in a lifetime WDW vacation ( at the time I thought it would be my only trip ). We went back to the room that night excited about all that we would see in the coming days.
It has been many years since that first trip , and a lot of the events are fuzzy now . But needless to say WDW became an important part of our life. Years later friends ask us why we keep going back , but unless you have been and caught the disease it's kind of hard to explain.
We had a five day pass and visited all four parks . Animal Kingdom had recently opened and we were able to say we had seen a new park at WDW during it's first year. Trying to describe the Tree of Life , or a Bugs Life is hard unless you have seen it yourself. The Kilimanjaro Safari was awesome ( like really being in Africa ) , and the Festival of the Lion King Show was worth the long wait in Orlando's hot sun.Thanks to a lot of pre-planning and a list of must do rides we were able to see and do a lot in those five days. Epcot became my family's favorite park. I felt as if I experienced every country as if I had actually been there. Spaceship Earth is a must do at least once , and the fireworks at night at World Showcase can't be missed. The Animal Kingdom park comes in a close second. MGM was magical, especially the Backlot Tour. We laughed a lot at Muppet Vision 3D , and screamed on the Star Wars ride. Magic Kingdom is magical !! From the first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle , the walk down Main Street , to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. WDW has something for everyone.
The last morning there my youngest daughter Nicki ( AKA Disney Princess ) and I went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare . We had buffet style breakfast with Alice in Wonderland , The Mad Hatter, and out front at the entrance with Mary Poppins.
When my husband picked us up for the return journey home what had started out as a once in a lifetime vacation had now become a regular part of our vacation life. Hubby who was not that excited in the beginning about the trip was in awe the first few days. By the end of the week he was saying we would have to come back again. Well, you didn't need to convince me . I started planning our next trip ( in three years ) as soon as we got back home.
