Making Memories

The family, with Chip and Dale, at the Magic Kingdom (April 2009)

Earlier today, @DisneyParks on Twitter posed this question: What is your first Disney Parks memory?

I thought about it and came up with several, only one of which I shared.

I don't know how old I was or when I really started remembering our trips, but these are the things that stick out in my mind:

- Driving to Orlando from my grandparent's house in Tampa - the excitement of those 'day trips' to the Magic Kingdom was almost unbearable. I wanted to be there NOW!

- Seeing the first signs for Walt Disney World and then seeing the gateway to the Magic Kingdom (where mom and dad had to pay for parking). We were almost there!

- Getting out of the car, looking around to see where we were parked (Goofy, Minnie, Pluto?) and then hopping on the tram that would take us to the Ticket and Transportation Center.

- Hopping on the Monorail, finally headed to the Magic Kingdom!

- Walking through the passageway underneath the train station and stepping onto Main Street and there it was. The Castle. I was in my happy place. We had made it.

We made many trips to the MK (and later to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios) when I was younger, and the were all magical for different reasons.

A few more memories:

- Riding 'it's a small world' -- this has always been my favorite ride.

- Buying those little plastic fruits filled with juice - I remember oranges, apples and grapes. I am quite certain that I actually collected those for a while.

- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I wish they had kept this ride.

- Pirates of the Caribbean, pre-Capt. Jack Sparrow. My other all-time favorite ride. I actually loved waiting in the queue for this ride -- it's so dark and spooky.

- Riding Space Mountain for the first time with my dad. Scary and fun!

- "If You Had Wings" -- that was a great ride.

- The Skyway (you know, the little buckets on the wire). At the time I loved it . Now, I am terrified of bucket rides.

- The Main Street Electric Parade...I loved this parade, but at the same time it made me sad, because I knew our day at the Magic Kingdom was coming to a close.

- The twinge of sadness I felt as we disembarked the tram and headed to our car, knowing that our magical day was over. But there was also a little glimmer of hope, knowing that another magical day would happen again soon.

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I hope that the tips and information I share on this blog will help you and your family create magical memories for many years!

- TLC