Do you have a non-neurotic Disney family member? NDM Letty shares her story of how she lives a Disney life with a neurotic daughter and a non-neurotic daughter, all while keeping Disney in her life and sharing her love with both her daughters at the same time. What makes you an NDP? Have a story to share? Have your own Disney Fan Site or Podcast you want to share with the community? Send it to ndm130 AT thedisneydrivenlife DOT com. We just might feature your story here on Sharing Saturdays.
I’m a total Neurotic Disney Mom. Total. I dream of my next trip to the world. I tear up when I see a Disney opening movie introduction. My heart swells up as I imagine myself magically transported to the happiest place on earth. What brings me crashing down to reality is the fact that I have one daughter who does not share my enthusiasm for a Disney vacation. My lovely beautiful child who could tell you the year any Disney movie was produced does not, under any circumstances, want to return to the land of magic and memories. How did this happen? Our first trip as a family was August 2009. See if you can pick out the twin who is not thrilled about being surprised with a trip to Disney.
My family of four – myself, my husband of nearly 20 years, and my lovely twin daughters, age 13, enjoy all things Disney – movies, plush toys, certainly the Disney Store, books. All things with the heartbreaking exception of a trip to Walt Disney World. On the 2009 trip we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We visited only two parks, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. I knew that I had to design this trip with careful consideration of my particular family needs.
Objection number one was the heat. Florida is hot. Not just hot, but oven hot. The only time we can visit is in summer since I work for a school district. I planned our visit in late August knowing the crowds would be lower but cognizant the heat index would be astronomic. To compensate, our stay would be short; only four full days with two park days and two resort days. This way I can alleviate some of the heat issues that pretty much all of us have. Now I had to tackle park touring.
As we Disney Neurotics know very well, Magic Kingdom is big. It is a lot of walking. I secured a double stroller for 8 year old twins knowing full well the stress of pushing that weight around a theme park. However, my intent was to alleviate as much park commotion as I could for the darling daughter not embracing the magic. I have to say this plan worked out rather well. The stroller served as an oasis of comfort. To further accommodate park anxiety, we did not arrive at Magic Kingdom until 1pm. I would have loved to be present for rope drop. I knew my family was just not up to that level of ‘commando style’ park touring. So we languished around the Wilderness Lodge, enjoying a lovely breakfast at Whispering Canyon. I was practically itching with excitement as the minutes ticked.
Magic Kingdom was a dream. We arrived via boat launch. One daughter was beside herself with joy. The other, well…not so much. I knew she would not ride many attractions. What she did ride, I believe she liked. I saw her grab a the ‘floating’ jewels from Mickey’s Philharmagic. She danced with the Main Street Marching Band. She watched, carefully, the characters in the Crystal Palace. She tolerated the Jungle Cruise until we arrived at the temple. Both girls clung to me terrified. They really enjoyed Mickey’s Toon Town. We ended the day far from hub to watch the night time fireworks.
My girls will turn 14 next year. I’m arriving at the milestone of 50. So, I think, I’m due for a return trip. One daughter wants to go NOW. The other one…well.. not so much. But I think enough time has past that we as a family can visit the world again.
Letty has loved all things Disney since she was child. Her first visit to the world was back in 1978. Since then she has returned as a spring break college student; as a young woman traveling with her boyfriend (now husband); and her last visit as a wife and mother of twin girls. Every trip was magical. Keeping her Disney fix between visits, she immerses herself researching all she can about the Disney Company. She reads about resort operations, movie profits, cruise lines, theatrical productions, merchandise, and global operations. She looks forward to sharing her research about this company that has created magic for generations.
