The Many Stages of my Disney Life

Today's article is a post that I had originally written for WDW Fan Zone. 

Enjoy!!!

I am a 31 almost 32 year old total Disney addict!! I can honestly say that as long as I can remember, I have always loved Walt Disney World!! When did it actually begin? I am not too sure…what I do know is that when this year’s Disney theme was announced I was actually excited about it all. “Let the Memories Begin” helped me to sit back and reminisce about all of the wonderful stages in my Disney life.  As I began to look back I noticed that my Disney addiction has morphed based on what I was going through in my life. From a young child to an adult no two phases have been the same.

As a child…..

My parents were never huge Disney fans…what I mean by that is, we would take yearly day trips to the WDW. My father only likes Epcot so most of our time was spent there.  The only real reason we went to WDW yearly is because my grandparents lived close by….whenever we would visit them for the summer we always made a stop at WDW. While I do not remember too many of my childhood trips to WDW I do remember my uncle taking me on a day trip to WDW. For some reason I recall going on Space Mountain and sitting on his lap, not sure if that really happened but I can remember thinking that I was really in outer space. Remembering that feeling helps me relate to my kids and how they view the magic!! No matter what my trips were like as a young child, I was already hooked on the mouse. I would constantly ask my parents if we could take a family vacation to WDW and if we could sleep over night. That dream did not come true…..yet.

Guess who this is????

As a teen…..

My trips to WDW as a teen were a bit strange. Did I mention that we would visit my grandparents for the summer? Well as an only child my parents thought that once I turned 14 it would be good for them and for me if I brought a friend along on our yearly “grandparent” vacation.  At that time and still today my best friend was Katie. Katie like me had an addiction to the mouse.  She was lucky though; her family took trips and actually got to sleep over at WDW….wow!!! Anyways, Katie and I really wanted to take a day trip to WDW but it was about 90 minutes from my grandparent’s house…needless to say my parents did not want to go and they did not want to drive us. So Katie and I took a bus…yep!!!  This trend continued until we were 17…we did it three times!! Traveling with Katie on the bus to the most magical place on earth are some of the most magical memories of Walt Disney World that I hold in my heart. Not only because I was at WDW but because I was with Katie, her and I still makes trips to WDW. :0)

As a young adult….

Now I won’t dig too far deep into my personal life but I gave birth to my daughter right after I graduated high school. This obviously put a HUGE halt on any WDW trips for a while…well at least so I thought???  I was wrong.  Lexis (my daughter) was just 3 years old when I decided it was time for a trip to WDW. Guess who would join me…yep Katie and this time my mom. We were so excited…I was even more excited because guess what I got to do? Sleep over at Disney World!!!!!  We booked a 5 night stay at the Polynesian. It was by far the most magical trip I had ever had at Disney.   From 1999 until 2001 Katie, Lexis and I continued to go on our wonderful Disney World adventures.

As an adult…..

My how time flies when you are having fun and how things change.  As the story goes, while in collage I met Dan. Fast forward to 2003 I was married and teaching school. Dan had not been to WDW since he was a young child…wow I sure did need to change that. We planned our first trip for August of 2004. We took that trip with 11 of us total.  As a family we were hooked!!! I was so worried that Dan would not share my love for WDW but he did!! Fast forward again to now, we have three children and 6 WDW trips together as a family. What a blessing it has been to be able to experience Disney with my children their grandparents and our friends.   

While my love for Walt Disney World has always been in my heart my purpose for being there has changed. It was not until recently that I realized how Disney has had such a positive impact on my life. It has given me the drive to save….look ahead…and always have something to look forward to. I cannot wait to create many more memories and stages in my Disney life.

Are you like me? Do you view your Disney life in stages?

See ya real soon!!

Kelly