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MadasaHatter
03-20-2007, 11:05 AM
Hey gang,

Thought this might be an interesting thread.

What happened in our tender lives that we became so enchanted with DL???

When I was a kid in Lincoln NEB I used to pour through my Great Aunt Pearl's Souvenir Guide to DL from the 50's. My Mom went with them to CA in 1956 or so ( and there is movie footage of them climbing the tree house on TSI) and then they went again in 65 or so....I know that the Haunted Mansion was there but not up and running.

I remember seeing a special on TV with Sandy Duncan and Ruth Buzzi if memory serves playing goofy theives that sneak into the Haunted Mansion and get scared by all the ghosts. That is when I really started begging my folks to go. I thought that you could walk through the ride and was pleasantly suprised when I found out you rode in DOOM BUGGIES.

So even though my folks took us on many trips they waited until we were much older to go to CA. and the whole family flew for the first time when I was about 13 and my sis about 10 and my AUnt Donna ( an AP for YEARS!!!) got us passes to DL for XMAS EVE and my first trip ever to Disneyland was on Christmas Day around 1980. She taught us to head to the very newest ride first BTMRR and then off to SPACE and then we relaxed a little. Had a great time of course. I always send her a postal when I go....thanks Aunt Donna for showing us how to "DO" DL.

Then when I graduated college I moved out to SF but stopped to visit Aunt Donna in SO CAL first and visited DL for the first time by myself. Once I drove down to see my sis in LA and when she woke me up on DEC. 31 after I got in to LA late she said"wake up and let's go to DL" I said "But you went two days ago with Aunt Donna and family??" and she answered "Yes, but I didn't go with you!" An improptu NYE in DL!!! Awesome.

I met one of my good friends at a restaurant here in SF and it turned out he was a DISNEY GEEK and we would go to the park once or twice a year taking advantage financially of the AP thru out the 90s.

My sister and I took a week in WDW and even though we had a great time it WAS NOT DL and it was too big and unweildy and I don't excpect to be returning soon. If I am flying that far I will go to Europe instead.

Then I moved to NYC.

When I moved back to CA from NYC (4 years on the EAST COAST) they had built DCA and that was a trip!!!!! Exiting off the freeway into the Parking garage and walking up to the plaza between the two parks was freaky. In the tram I had no idea where DL was or DCA was until I rounded the corner and could see the DL entrance(per other threads I was PRETTY sure they didn't move the entrance to DL!!!!!...heh heh) I have always really enjoyed DCA and think that it is evolving into something pretty cool. I moved to LA and a week later the TWIN TOWERS went down. I couldn't get a job and had a miserable time in LA and the only thing that saved me was my AP. That was when I started hanging out in the park on a weekly basis on my days off which were always week days. It was the first time I had EVER gone to DL and NOT ridden any rides. Just strolling through the grounds....grabbing a corn dog and people watching..... I even asked a gal to dance at the PAVILLION one night while great swing music was playing. That is when I became FULL ON addicted to DL and in a STROLLING THE GROUNDS sense and always felt like what it must be like walking in WALT'S FOOTSTEPS.

I have been back in SF for four years and have been to the park about ten times. I currently have an AP and will be there on MONDAY and TUESDAY.

What are your stories?

Mad as a Hatter

yohomama212
03-20-2007, 11:51 AM
When I was a kid, my school did DL fundraiser tickets and my birthday fell within the valid dates. We went two separate years for my b-day. We also went once for a company night for dad's work. I think there was only once, maybe twice that we went just to go. Then there was my 8th grade field trip and Grad Night. There really wasn't much exciting about all that, it was fun, but Dad always tried to milk the "money's worth" angle and by the end of the night we were more miserable than happy.

Then I had my son, and 12 days later I'm taking him on his first trip to DL. It's Christmas time, Candlelight Concert. Being able to enjoy the park and see all the holiday magic was amazing! The only ride we rode that day was IASW. We spent the entire day hunting down characters and nursing in the Baby Care Center. I think that's when the Disney magic entered my heart. It was a wonderfully special family day that we all enjoyed. We went 5 more times in the next two and a half years. I loved every minute of every trip!

Finally this year we broke down and got APs. DS has had more trips to DL in his life than I did in all my life before him! Heck, even DD has reached that point now just in this year!

My mom tells us stories all the time about going to the park with her grandparents, in the days of ride tickets. I've learned so much here about the history of the park. It really is an amazing place! I just can't help being drawn in by the magic and the wonder!

Liz :cool:

jeffthechef
03-20-2007, 11:54 AM
That is a great story! Here's mine:

My DW and I visited in 2002 and had an enjoyable time. We even brought home a "little souvenoir."

We returned with our daughter in 2003 and that's where our "addiction" stemmed from. The experience through your child's eyes is beyond words. I personally did not get to visit DL until I was a teenager. Growing up, my family saved for years but never made it. My father died of cancer at the tender age of 39 and never got to see it.

We now have a 1 year old son, and it's incredible to see the look on his face when he rides the rides. You can be sure that I will take my family every chance I get!

adriennek
03-20-2007, 12:59 PM
I married Doc Krock.

He got a PhD and said he wanted to get APs. So we did and that was good and fine for awhile...

A few years later, we met some people at the Hub at noon on a Sunday. And then on 7/17.

And Disneyland paid me $75 cash to tell them that I thought McDonald's French Fries in Adventureland was a bad idea.

And then I met this woman with the same name as me but who was younger than me, and yet she insisted that she was the "original" and there was this guy with big red hair and his girlfriend with big blonde hair, and this other guy...

It was a process.

Adrienne

june1st1997
03-20-2007, 01:29 PM
It started wth my parents. Both are Disney fanatics ( mom themovies, dad the park). We went every yaer for my birthday while they were married. It was a horrible marriage, but our trips to Disnyeland were always great. In fact those are the only happy memories I have of their marriage.

My father took us ( brother and step-sibs) ofetn in adolescents. Went a few times as a young adult. Then I fell in love with my husband there.

He was a client of mine and I was supposed to meet a group at Disneyland. Everyone else flaked. He and I did not get along and I did not want to spend any time with him at Disneyland. (I had had a bad date at Disneyland once.. It was Horrible.) As we hit maistreet he stopped me and poited out something on the ground. He said it was a sensor for the parades (we found out later it was not and our love was founded on a lie :) ), at that moment I thought he was the smartest person I'd ever met. Later that day we got stuck on HM for 10 minutes and he almost kissed me. Later that evening by ROA he alsot kissed me again. It seemed like we were the only 2 people in the world. It was magic. It was June 1st 1997. Every year no matter what we are at disneyland celebrating our anniversary. In fact we don't really celebrate of wedding anniversary. June 1st is the one that counts for us.

Last week I was at the end of my rope. Being a mom, running a business and keeping a house had taken it's toll. At 10am I got in the car and went to DLR (1st time i have gone solo and it was amazing!!). I was only there 3 hours and only rode 2 rides... but it centered me.

At that moment I realized Disneyland is where I go to find my center.

Faith Trust & Pixie Dust
03-20-2007, 01:53 PM
I grew up in the Midwest, but my Dad had family in the LA area so every other year we drove out in the summer, and we always spent a day at Disneyland. It was beyond enchanting, and what I remember most is crying when we had to leave. In 1987 I moved to Northern California to attend law school, and whenever a friend would mention going to LA for something I'd ask if we could fit in a day at Disneyland. Most of my friends indulged me, though back then our visits were more spur-of-the-moment, show up at the park with no plan kinds of things. Whenever we'd go I'd call my Mom in Michigan from a pay phone (cell phones weren't as prevalent back then) and say "You'll never guess where I am!" She knew from the tone of my voice exactly where I was. For some reason I was just more relaxed and at ease in the HPOE than anywhere else. DH proposed to me inside of Sleeping Beauty's castle, so he knew what he was getting himself into. Cut ahead a few years and we have three DDs who are thrilled that Disneyland is Mommy's hobby. I love planning our trips almost as much as going. And as much as I love going with the family, I also make it a point to go without kids every other year to enjoy the park in a different way. I always look forward to traveling to national parks, the beach, the mountains...just not in the same way I look forward to going to Disneyland.

futurecm21
03-20-2007, 03:24 PM
Well, my story is pretty simple, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. BTW I think this is a great idea for a thread.:) My mom, and her family visited Disneyland shortly after it first opened, and she loved it. She could not wait to take my brother and I when we were born. So we went, and I have been addicted since the minute I first cruised through the Blue Bayou:) .
futurecm21

Gone2Disneyland
03-20-2007, 04:24 PM
Growing up in central California, my family didn’t make it out much to Disneyland when I was a child. It wasn’t until I was an adult looking for some inspiration to lighten up from crappy days at work that I chose Disneyland to help me do that.

About ten years ago I was working for a toy company designing kid’s meal toys when the mood at the office and the kid’s meal toy market started to turn south. I decided to buy myself a Disneyland premium annual passport then to, as I put it to my friends and co-workers, “buy myself a year’s worth of happiness.” I often went alone and spent much of my time doing a lot of exploring around the park. I learned about the fact that Disneyland was designed so guests would ideally see nothing of the outside world once you went past the berm, truly entering a different world. Well, that worked well for me, because Disneyland allowed me to lighten up and forget about the down side of working in the toy industry and being a creative in the business world. I’ve been a PAP ever since.

That also happened to be around the same time my best friend and his wife delivered their first child, who would become my goddaughter. A year and a half later she got a sister, and there were many years spent exploring and enjoying Disneyland together.

So I consider myself fortunate that I live in southern California and can afford to get a PAP every year. And I’ve now found a number of friends who also have annual passports and have enjoyed going there together (we just went this past Sunday) and learning from them about what they like about Disneyland. I’m generally “the” guy they ask if they want to know anything going on or history-wise with the park, which’ll hopefully come in handy at next month’s MouseAdventure! :)

emmah
03-20-2007, 04:37 PM
my mother and her best friend (my aunt) took me to DL for my 10th birthday, as part of a big trip from NZ to the US west coast. We stayed at the DLH and I had a temper tantrum on the first morning because they tried to feed me danish and doughnuts for breakfast instead of weetbix and milk, and I got mouseears with my name on them, and almost drowned on the lake in front of the hotel when I fell out of my paddleboat and and and. i just associate DL with good times with my mother!

Foodie
03-20-2007, 06:42 PM
My first time in DL was when I was a depressed 15 year old. It was New Year's and I had no idea about anything to do with DL, except that it was considered fun by most people. I don't even remember much about that trip, except for going on It's a Small World for the first time, and smiling for the first time in a very long time. There was something about seeing the dolls singing in different languages, but singing the same song, and feeling a connection to the entire planet of humans that filled me with a sense of hope and wonder. I felt that Disney Magic and love of DL for the first time on that ride. It remains to this day, my very favorite ride, and the memory of what made me fall in love with Disneyland.

-Foodie
:)

LUV_U_MICKEY
03-20-2007, 08:22 PM
I remember the first time I ever heard the name Disneyland, I was about 10 yo and my best friends sister was counting her money that she was saven for a trip she was going to take with her Best friend. I had no idea what any of it was. I figured it was just like the Calgary Stanpeed or some other fair.

When she came back though she had photos and lots of little things, they all seemed so neat, I rushed home and asked my mom if we could go the next week. She gave me an odd look and said yah sure. That was my last thought about it untill many years latter.

Well I had learned about the park since then and I had been dreaming of going for years. My ex hubby and I always talked about "some day we would save enough to go, and we got close a few times but something else always got in the way. It wan't untill last year, about 6 months after I left him, that I realised that I could actually save enough to afford a trip. So last March after a few months of saving and a bunch of planning I got to take my son anlong with my younger sister and niece to Disneyland. It was better then I had ever dreamed, made me feel like a new person. I think it was walking through the front gates that I realised that I was a much strounger and more apt person then anyone had ever given me credit for. I had saved the money, I had been able to do this for my son. I was stronger on my own then I ever was with my Hubby. I had accomplisd on my own we neve could have together. My son, family and I had an amazing time last year. It was the first time we were both truly happy in the past few months. He only heard the word No a few times. I was so swept away by all the magic and the atmouspher(sp). I even cried during the parade when they sang, "Welcome to our family time.." I still remember those great feelings.

So I fell in love with the whole package. I can't wait to get back to the park again this year. I made a promise to my DS, that we would always take 1 vacation every year from then on. I am even more happy to have a new Boy friend who will be comeing along for the trip this time. I just hope he feels the magic in some way or another so he gets as hooked as I am.

PanFan
03-20-2007, 09:02 PM
Wow, what cool stories!

I grew up in Pasadena and went a number of times growing up. My parents always tried to surprise my sister and me, but after a couple of years I caught on and usually figured it out before we got there. Once I suggested we stay at the DLH on a trip back from Arizona or something then go to DL the next day. I was so excited when they said that was a good idea! We kept it a secret from my sister until we pulled into the hotel parking lot. It was my first experience planning a Disney trip.

In high school there was a little girl that I babysat and her parents let me take her to an amusement park every year. I clearly remember the night before I took her to DL for her first time ever. I could hardly sleep--I stayed up for hours planning exactly what we would do and estimating how much time the lines would take. It was incredible seeing it through the eyes of a first-time child!

I got my first AP in college with my family and we had them for a couple of years. So basically I went to the park a lot and always quizzed my parents about what it was like when they were little (my mom first went in the 60's and my dad went in July of 1955). I tried reading a Walt Disney biography in 5th grade or so, but I think it was a little over my head and I never finished it.

But the fascination with Disney history and really the blossoming of the obsession came about as a result of the Save Disney campaign. I saw a bumper sticker for savedisney.com and thought I would check it out. Through there I discovered some great resources (among them MP!). It was through my daily checks on savedisney, mouseplanet, and others, combined with now ever more frequent visits, that I really grew to love the park in a whole different way and I continue to feed my obsession now as a CM!

rentayenta
03-20-2007, 09:13 PM
For as long as I can remember my dad and I had been going to Disneyland. I am an only child and my father raised me. We would go at least once a week if not more. Disneyland is all about my inner child and the fantastic memories that go with that. When I was 4 my sitter worked on Main St. in the silhouette shop. I have vague memories of spending time at Disneyland with her and going backstage and hanging out with other kids.


It's just magic to me and I love passing along that feeling to my own kids.

mommy-san
03-21-2007, 06:51 AM
I believe in Love at first sight!
For me, Disneyland was the one place I had no hope of seeing as a child. My parents divorced when I was small and all the awful-ness that followed left us with little hope of ANY real vacation, never mind a holiday thousands of miles away in another country.
My aunt and their kids and my Grandparents went all the time, but never once offered to take us. (no, ofcourse I'm not bitter):~D
I guess I originally made it my mission to make sure my kids saw it so they wouldn't feel left out when their friends said they were going.
But it turned into so much more. The first time I passed under the tunnel I knew I was a goner. (always the right tunnel!)
Now, at 6.5 and 2.5 my kids have made the trip from northern Alberta 3 times and we will be going yearly. That is a big commitment on our part. It's a costly trip, but totally worth it!

mickeyxminnie
03-21-2007, 07:49 AM
i grew up and still live in sydney australia.. what seems like a whole world away from disneyland especially to a small child. i loved disney movies and we had a fascination with mickey mouse. we used to watch saturday disney every week and would love to see the little clips they would show from disneyland they featured big thunder mountain in the opening and closing credits.. i never imagined i would ever get to go there. After my great grandmother died my great grandad spend the money from selling their house travelling and disneyland was one of the places he went to i loved seeing his photos from that trip and remember looking at them all the time.

In 96 when i was 12 he was organising a trip to go back again with his neice who i knew as aunty beverly, he said that he was going to look into see how much it would cost for me to go.. but when he found out he needed to pay adult fare for my flight he said that he wouldnt be able to take me, needless to say i was devastated and wished everynight that i could go, and one day while visiting my nan who he had moved in with he pulled out a plane ticket that had my name on it.. i litterally jumped up and down and cried, he had given me the best gift ever not only had he introduced me to the world of disneyland but taught me how to share and be kind to others.

Not ever thinking i would have enough money to go again me and my bf started talking about it in 2004 and in august booked the tickets.. he had never been and like me was a huge disney fan, it felt so amazing to share with him disneyland and he fell in love with it just like me when we finally got there in march 2005..

when we got home we would cry whenever anything reminded us of it.. and we started to surround ourselves with all things disney.. again never imagining we would be able to save that much to go again.

august 2006 we started talking again and new i was getting a new job and just said what the hell lets do it.. we booked the flights and again started the countdown for march 07, in september we worked out all our money and decided that with all the extra money we were getting from my new we were going to pay to bring his sister and her 2 kids.. people think we are crazy for spending that much money on them.. but no one here anyways has any idea how great it feels to be able to share this gift with them. to share with them the place we love so much.

my great grandfather died in october 05 and i know he would be very proud of me to be doing what he had done for me for someone else.

our trip blog can be found at http://www.welovedisneyland.net it has a lot of pre trip entries from me, justin, deb, tristan and dyllan.

sorry for such a long post.

oregontraveler
03-21-2007, 08:03 AM
Growing up,my family made about 6 trips to DL. By 1990, I had outgown DL
and needed bigger thrills at MM. In 1996, I was involved with a Japanese sister city program and my host family took me to Tokyo DL for the day. We got there about noon and stayed 'til closing. Seeing the park thru the eyes of a child was a great thrill and also noticing how much this park was different from Anaheim was pretty cool. The nighttime parade "Fantallusion" is beyond
description, I sure hope they bring it stateside one day. That day is still very
special to me. Fast forward to 2003, we took my nephew on his 1st time visit. He was 2 1/2 at the time. That day was all about him, so I missed out on a few things BUT I have been able to make it down annually ever since.
DL is the ultimate theme park and now that I'm older, there are enough thrills
to go around. And it also goes back to Walt's legacy as a creative genius.

Funny thing is the more time I spend on this site and reading trip reports, looking at the new photos. I'm tempted to make a spontaneous road trip.
I'll have to make do until this summer though. :crying:

hefferdude
03-21-2007, 11:20 AM
Part past, part present and part future.

The past was watching "Disneyland" on, I think, WNBC out of NYC. We watched it on a big old wood cabinet RCA b/w TV that we had to change channels with a pair of pliars because the knob had broken off. Disneyland was magic and Walt was like the uncle you wished you had. But it was in California ( where everybody surfed and lived along the PCH ) so it may as well have been on Mars.

The present was moving to California, getting married, having children and growing the family with Disney everywhere. Saving enough $$ to make a trip was a major endeavor but we did it. Even made it to WDW for a long trip.

The future is having some time with the better half, sans kids, making trips to to DLR at a slower pace but enjoying all the memories of the good ( and bad ) times we had there.

Jump ahead a bit and we are really looking forward to re-experiencing DLR all over again if we may be blessed with some grandkids. ( and we might actually be able to afford it too) ;)

Disneymademoiselle
03-21-2007, 12:24 PM
Because we know what's good for us ;)

onederland
03-21-2007, 08:03 PM
my first trip to DL, I was 7 our father had just passed away so my mom took me and my brother to DL for a week. I alway's viewed it as a trip that meant that my mom wanted us to have some joy after such a terrible thing happened and to let us know that we were going to be o.k. as a family without our father around anymore..took my girls for the first time in 05 it was great we will be taking them again end of June 07 can't wait:)

The old man
03-21-2007, 08:16 PM
...Disneyland paid me $75 cash to tell them that I thought McDonald's French Fries in Adventureland was a bad idea....

I would have told them for free. :D

disneyroxxx
03-21-2007, 08:32 PM
I used to live in Redondo Beach, about 45 minutes away from DL, and my parents would always take me there. Now, we usually go once or twice a year, and it has been a place of pure happiness and good memories for me. Actually, not that long ago I realized how much I love Disneyland, so that brang me to collecting anything Disney, and visiting these forums. I guess the real reason I love this place, is because it's the closest thing to magic.

LindaM
03-22-2007, 02:09 PM
My first trip to DL was in 1975, two weeks early I had the mumps and being the youngest of 6 kids, my brothers kept telling me that Mickey phoned and no sick kids were allowed in the park. Needless to say I cried, cause I was 7 and I believed them, anyhow mom & dad packed the station wagon (yes with six of us kids) and drove from Calgary to DL. This was a huge deal for our family, as this was the first time we left Canada to go on a trip (usually it was camping every weekend and 2 weeks in British Columbia every year). After that I went to DL 4 other times with my parents (all my brothers and sisters were moved out by then or working). So once I got married and had kids I kept telling my husband I wanted to take the kids, well something always happened and we just never made it. Last year I decided that my daughter was turning 18 and it was now or never as a family. We went, loved it and now I talked my husband in going again this year, I have a cousin who is getting married (lives in San Jose), we are driving this time though and taking 3 weeks, I can't wait!!! The other night my husband and I were talking and he said to me, maybe we should plan for a trip to Florida next year....WHAT I say, to the computer I go for more Disney planning. Oh I'm in my glory now.

neverlander
03-22-2007, 03:55 PM
1970: First big family vacation... two days in the Pontiac with my dad smoking and the kids fighting. I was six and remember peeing my pants because we couldn't make it to a rest stop on time. The motel we stayed at required, like others in 1970, that girls wear swimming caps in the pool. Good thing we came prepared! We have some great Super 8 footage of us all shaking hands with Mickey... the Brownie projector was a luxury in the day, and we weren't going to DL without the movie camera! My parents bought me an IASW 45 that I listened to continually upon our return. (My brother threatened to break it on more than one occasion, and at 45 years old, still hates that song!) The trip cost $600.

1976: For six years, everytime we wanted something frivolous, we would hear, "You want to go back to DL, don't you?" So the anticipated bicentennial trip was surreal when it actually occured. (I think it was between those two periods that the bug really got me!) We hit Knott's Berry Farm, San Diego Zoo, Tijuana, Reno, stayed at DLH... a really big trip for us. My dad smoked, my mom complained that she's always hated DL, the kids fought... it was great! In my sixth grade journal, I wrote, "I miss Disneyland" again and again.

My dh and I waited 15 years after marriage to have children. During those years, we visited DL a few times and had a ball. On our Disneyland Paris visit in 1997, we concluded that this would be SOOOOO fun with kids. It was time to think about spreading the magic to another generation.

2005, 2006, 2007: We hear, "Wow, DL three years in a row! You guys really like to indulge your children!" Little do they know, we're actually indulging OURSELVES. Okay, the kids love it too. (We fly, don't smoke, don't fight... hope it's as great for them as it was for me!:| )

Whenever it's sleepy time, snuggle time, just a lull in the conversation time, someone in our home inevitably says, "Let's talk about Disneyland."

MauiMickey
03-22-2007, 04:22 PM
My first planned trip to DL was in 1977 (I was 10), but as we got about three miles out of town, our VW van blew its' engine. The DL money went to fix the van. :(

The next summer, my parents tried to take us to DL again. We started out on the trip fine, but as we crossed the border into CA (we were driving from BC), my throat started to feel lumpy. I didn't tell them that I had the mumps until we were well into CA and I knew they wouldn't turn back. I don't remember much from that trip, but I do remember the Disney magic! :)

My parents didn't take us on many vacations, so DL with the mumps is certainly better than no DL at all.

Fast forward to 2002, when DH and I took our two DS, ages 4 and 6. Now THAT was Disney magic! To see DL through the eyes of your children is really wonderful.

A few weeks after we returned from that trip, my Gramps passed away, and I realised how important it was to seize the opportunity to have fun NOW, as you never know if tomorrow will come. So, we asked my parents to go with us to DL for Spring Break 2003. We had a wonderful trip, and boy am I glad we went, as my dad got cancer a few months later, and had a year-long battle to beat the disease (he's cancer-free now!).

We invited my husband's parents to join us in Nov. 2005, and had a fantastic time with them, too. Second only to seeing your children enjoy DL is to see your parents become kids again with your own kids.

I don't know what it is, but every time I hear the music associated with DL, I get all teary. Perhaps it's knowing that there is someplace in the world where we can come together as families and really just enjoy being together without the pressures of the outside world?

neverlander
03-22-2007, 04:36 PM
My first planned trip to DL was in 1977 (I was 10), but as we got about three miles out of town, our VW van blew its' engine. The DL money went to fix the van. :(

The next summer, my parents tried to take us to DL again. We started out on the trip fine, but as we crossed the border into CA (we were driving from BC), my throat started to feel lumpy. I didn't tell them that I had the mumps until we were well into CA and I knew they wouldn't turn back. I don't remember much from that trip, but I do remember the Disney magic! :)

My parents didn't take us on many vacations, so DL with the mumps is certainly better than no DL at all.

Very sad! Glad your subsequent trips turned out better. Looks like we'll be there the same time as you... August 26-31 for us!