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View Full Version : Remember your FIRST time?



DisneyDustin22
04-23-2004, 03:40 PM
Some of us are old, some older, some younger, we all vary. Yet, we are all young at heart in this magical place. We all share experiences, memories, etc. What I ask you is this, do you remember your FIRST time to Disneyland? Maybe it was when you were a few months old. Most likely you wouldnt remember that ;) Maybe it was when you were 2. Maybe you were 8. Maybe by some strange happening you were in your twenties, like a friend of mine whom I took last summer. How old were you? What do you remember? Did you get a hug from Mickey? Did you get a ear balloon at the end of the day? What sticks out in your memories? Share with the rest of us...

sediment
04-23-2004, 04:02 PM
18. Took my then-girlfriend. Made out on the dark rides.

orangechicken
04-23-2004, 04:08 PM
6, my sister had the chicken pox and I screamed when I saw goofy for the first time. I made my mom go on It's a Small Word with me for an entire day (she guessed 30 times).

Zigen
04-23-2004, 04:11 PM
I recall that I was around 9 with my brother who is 3 years older than me. This was back in the 80's, my parents wanted to go watch the shows while me and my bro wanted to go on rides. So we split up agreeing to meet at the HUB around 5pm. Our parents gave us money to buy lunch and snacks but we would use that money to play video games at the arcade in Tomorrowland. It was a great arcade back then, much bigger than it is today(or maybe since i was smaller, the place looked huge). I also remember the penny arcade on Main Street. Almost everything was a penny.

I remember exploring the caves on mark twain island. The fort was open with the guns. I remember trying to dare him to jump in the bottemless pit in one of the caves.

Oddly enough i don't remember going on many rides. Just space mnt. and the subs. Maybe we spent too much time in the arcades... Still had a blast though. That's bout all I can remember...

disneyboy7
04-23-2004, 04:13 PM
I entered this life as a resident of Los Alamitos. My mom says that my first time to DL was when I was 1 yr old. Can't say that I remember that visit. The first visit I do remember is when I was 5 or 6. POTC was always my favorite ride even after I figured out how the "fire" was made.
My parents would buy me only one souvenir - I chose a small plastic, red, rectangular flashlight with a picture of the castle and the Disneyland logo on one side. It was most prized possesion for years to come - even after it no longer worked. I still have it.
I know Walt wanted me to be happy when I left the park, but I was always sad. That's why I always wanted more merchandise. Now I can buy as much as I want and go back whenever I want.
I should join DA, but I'm not hurting anyone :D

Lani
04-23-2004, 04:20 PM
Funny you should ask, DD. The tale of my first visit was just published over at SaveDisney.com, under their "What Disney Means To Me" column! :) Here's the link:

http://www.savedisney.com/families/letters/wdm/wdm042204.asp

Enjoy!

SCUBAbe
04-23-2004, 04:57 PM
I have an older sister so I've been going since before birth. I have memory of my first time going. We would go at least once a year from the time I was born. My child has been going dince she was about 2 years old. Two of my best memories that are about first time visits is watching my child play on the island. She loved it there. The second one is when we brought her friend who rarely goes. She really enjoyed it. I loved seeing her eyes light up with wonder....

Boingonut
04-23-2004, 06:56 PM
I was 19. I live in Utah (for now, but not much longer Califonia here I come!) Anyway my friends and I decided to take road trip to Las Vegas and then LA. We stayed at one of my friends sisters house who lives in Overton I belive. Anyway we went to Disneyland one one of the days that we were there. I remember thinking that I had never seen a place like that before and fell in love right away, I did not know much about Disneyland at the time, DCA was still under consturtion an I remeber being disapointed that it was not part of the park (only later did I go there only to find out that I was not missing much) But at the time I thought DL was like any other amusment park, boy was I wrong. Since that first trip I have become a DL fanitc, going there whenever I can. I can't wait until next September when I will be moving to So Cal to go to CalArts. One of the first things I am getting is an AP even though my school is about 2 hours away (on a good day) from DL, I don't care! It is a lot better then 12 hours which is the way it is for me now.

Hakuna Makarla
04-23-2004, 07:42 PM
I will be going for the very first time in a few months. I am 45 years old and have wanted to go my whole life! My kids will be thrilled when we go. I hope to post all my experiences here!

Opus1guy
04-23-2004, 08:13 PM
I don't remember much of my first visit to Disneyland, other than the feeling of amazement at all the detail and the size and scope of the place. More vivid memories came later, as that first visit was just too overwhelming.

One thing I do remember though...that castle looked 10 stories high back then to me, for some reason. I swear it's been shrinking over the years. :)

When I first visited Disneyland, it was one-of-a-kind and nobody had ever even seen a themed park like it before! Just amusement parks, carnies, state fairs, world fairs, and such.

But with the proliferation of Theme Parks these days, I always wonder how differently the first visit to Disneyland might be to someone that was brought up with Universals or Six Flags first.

blondiemouse
04-24-2004, 08:19 AM
Real Disneyland ? Anaheim ? Paris don't count ? 20th March 2004-the memories get more pleasant everyday,in the words of Arnold "I'll be back" :fez: :cool:

jswtsang
04-26-2004, 08:02 AM
I believe I was 3 so I don't remember much and some of this may be a composite of stories my sister told me or other trips, but I remember having a yellow stroller that broke somewhere along our trip to California, my sister likes to rib me about how fat I was...I got a red balloon with the ears that we deflated and kept, and according to the family I spent most of the day on the merry go round, but then again that might have been my sister...my mom never made it on many rides, cept on our trip in 1990(I think) when she went on every ride except for space mountain...b/c I didn't want to go because she said she'd do it once and then be done with it :-P.

also I vaguely remember loud fireworks at the motel but that might be when I was older.
jt

Slate
04-26-2004, 09:45 AM
My first visit was last year when I took my wife and 5 year old son.
I had ridden on rides so everything was what I expected, BUT when I went on
the pirates my jaw dropped. I never imagined anything so cool and it takes
you to another time. I imagined being in a boat in the 15 century cruising through the village.

DL truly has magic that other theme parks do not.

Since that first time we have been going every 2 months for 5 days at a time.

My son has Autism and it really opened him up. Very therapeutic for him.

Only concerns are the crowds seem to be getting bigger and bigger. I hope gridlock does not ruin the place.

NirvanaMan
04-26-2004, 10:02 AM
My first time was when I was a little kid, so I don't really remember anything 'cept the parking lot sign. So I will give a little synopsis of my first time I can remember.

It was about 4 years ago. I was in the area on busisness getting some customer feedback on the styling of some prototype vehicles that were going to come out in the future. The research was being conducted in Manhattan beach, but I really wanted to check out disneyland. I drove down from the hotel to Disneyland, the directions were really poor so I ended up way Camp Pendleton before I realized I was off course. I angrily backtracked and did not get to Disney till after 1pm. I decided to go in anyway...then had to decide which ticket to get. At the time, the company plane was running freely between Detroit and John Wayne, so I figured I could just hop on it anytime to come out to CA. (That route was consequently cut about 2 months later) So...I decided to get a 3 day pass. I went into DCA first, since it was new and I had spent a lot of time at WDW. I thought it wasn't nearly as bad as people said and enjoyed some of the rides. I later headed to DL. I still got that magical feeling when walking through the gates. All my worries and concerns were lifted off my shoulders. The first thing that shocked me was the size of the castle. Wow that is really really small I thought, having been used to the WDW castle. I somehow never noticed the materhorn my first few trips there...I guess I just wasn't expecting it/looking for it. Don't ask...I have no idea. I remember thinking that Pirates and thunder seemed to be better than their WDW counterparts, but splash was not very good at this park. Overall I thought WDW is a much better destination spot, but DL is nice none the less. Over the past year...or really 6 months I have grown to appreciate some of the subtle details and history about DL and now have a greater affection/appreciation for it. However, I still have to say I like WDW best. I know, that is blasphemy on this board. Maybe I go here too much to get super excited about it anymore. I had a great time there and it turned my :mad: into a :).

Terrapin
04-26-2004, 01:50 PM
Summer of 1955. I was 6 and I have a distinct memory of us getting lost driving to Disneyland from Riverside. Dad stopped the car and my parents referred to a map. I remember being surrounded by orange groves and wondering how Disneyland could possibly be near.

And I remember riding Dumbo and walking thru the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit which was cool because I had recently seen the movie.

Pirate Girl
04-26-2004, 01:55 PM
First time I ever went, I was 4 months old.

First time I went that I remember: about 2 years old. I remember my dad taking me on the pontoon bridge and jumping from barrel to barrel. :)

That could be why I'm slightly touchy about anyone messing with TSI!

Veezer
04-26-2004, 01:58 PM
I was very young...say under 5...all I remeber that Goofy totally freaked me out. I remeber crying like a baby...well I was still like a baby back then.

Ohana33
04-26-2004, 02:21 PM
haha well i don't remember my first time really. i was 6 weeks old. i was born with a slight heart problem and the doctor said i should stay at home until i was 6 weeks. when that day came, my parents jumped into the car and took me straight to disneyland :) from what ive seen in pics and video, it was a grand old time, followed by hundreds of other trips