Hi! I am a Canadian Disney mom to two Neurotic Disney Kids and a wife to my husband who still doesn't "get it" when I talk about Disney. Until a couple years ago, I assumed I was the only person in the world who thought about Walt Disney World every day and night. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when I found the on-line community of Neurotic Disney People. My other passion outside of Disney is scrapbooking, and I truly don't feel life is complete unless I have a Disney trip album to work on. I've been scrapbooking for over 15 years and I belong to various scrapbooking forums as well. My secret wish is to be Tinkerbell as she flys out of Cinderella's Castle during Wishes, and my favorite food item at WDW is the corn bread at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. When I am resting at WDW you can find me resting by the pool at Port Orleans French Quarter. My favorite park is the Magic Kingdom as it is the first one I ever visited and is the one with the most special memories!
In part one of this series I talked about growing up loving all things Disney and how I thought I was the only one with this obsession. I then talked about my Hubby, who although he is wonderful, just didn’t get my passion for all things Mickey. Now that we are all caught up, let me continue my story…
After our Disneymoon in the early 90’s we began to plan for a family. In 1996 I gave birth to my lovely son who we named after family members…not Walt as I once thought I would. His nursery was (of course) Mickey themed and his favourite toy growing up was his Pooh stuffy. There was no money for extra things like a trip to WDW, but I still ordered the Walt Disney World travel planning video and watched the various Disney specials that ABC television aired periodically. My personal choice for watching and re-watching was the Full House episode where they all went to WDW.
My Hubby and I went on a long weekend trip to Orlando and spent a day in the Magic Kingdom in 1998 to celebrate our anniversary, but it wasn’t until we finally purchased our home computer that my personal world of Disney finally began to open up. I would log onto the Disney website and plan imaginary trips: sometimes trying to see how inexpensive a trip I could plan…other times trying to plan the most expensive and outrageous trip imaginable. Up until this point, I had never stayed at a Disney owned resort. My family trips always were centered on staying offsite….until Spring 2000.
That particular Spring I was pregnant with my daughter and my Gram, Mom, Aunt (yes, my Disney crazy Aunt from part one), my cousin, my son (then 3) and I went to WDW and stayed at the cabins at Fort Wilderness. It was my first time staying right on property and the liberty it gave me to travel around the entire Disney resort was intoxicating! If one of our travelling companions needed to go for a nap they could just take a bus back to the resort while the rest of us enjoyed the parks! No more travelling in a group by car waiting for everyone to be ready to go or to go back to the hotel! It was my son’s first trip to WDW and he has never stayed off property in any of his trips. (My DD was quite surprized when she was 8 to hear that people actually went to Orlando and stayed anywhere else!)
Upon coming home from that trip in 2000, I realized that I had done so much more than create lasting memories of time with my family…I had created a new Disney obsessed fan; my son. He would re-create the Aladdin Royal Caravan parade from MGM Studios with his toys and would have us watch as he had the parade pass us while he sang his version of songs from the parade. He also would play endlessly with the Disney bus and monorail car on wheels I bought him on that trip. (He still wants the Disney Monorail train set at age 18 that I couldn’t afford to buy him back when he was 3…someday, Anthony!)
My daughter is also a neurotic Disney fan and has talked endlessly about all things Disney to her friends. She even went so far as to create a 20 questions-like version car game when she was 5, aptly called “The Disney Game,” where we guess which Disney character she is. Her best friend even knows the game and has played it on many road trips with us over the years.
Through all this, my dear Hubby has remained unchanged. He loves Walt Disney World as a perfect vacation spot for our family. He loves the quality of the resorts from the value to the deluxe (although we have yet to stay at one), and he appreciates the attention to every detail; from cleanliness of everything to impeccable service. He likes always having something to do or see, or just hanging out by the pool or the hotel bar watching a sports game with other like-minded dads. He can discuss the joy of watching the Hoop Dee Doo with his family, but regardless how many times we see it, he still can’t remember the lyrics to the unforgettable Hoop Dee Doo song. I still try to infuse most household conversations with Disney tidbits, but he remains stoic in his ability to separate Disney vacations from a Disney way of life. I accept that he is a Non-Disney person and it is sometimes a one-way Disney conversation by me….but I am still trying to convince him to join me in my Neurotic Disney Life.
Mary Beth it is no wonder we get along – our hubby’s are the same! We are French Quarter fans here to. Do you always stay there? We were there this past February, for my son’s first trip and he loves it too! And don’t worry about those one sided Disney conversations – Walt hears you <3
Suzanne, We have always stayed at a different resort each of our trips, but my heart belongs at Port Orleans FQ! Our last trip we spent some time at PORS for dinner and to see Yee Haw Bob, and I think I would like to try it out next trip. <3 <3 I like to think Walt hears us too….plus I have been so blessed to have my online Disney family too!!