My First Trip to Walt Disney World

Three months from today we are going to be driving down to Florida for our first family vacation at Disney World. I’m a huge fan of Disney and I've been dreaming of taking Emily to Disney World since I found out that I was pregnant. As we are getting to the last few months before our big trip, I’m going to be writing about my past trips as well as our plans to make Emily’s first trip unforgettable!

Me and my sister with the Big Cheese

My parents took my sister and me to Disney World for the first time in the summer of 1986. I was 9 at the time so I have a lot of memories of the trip that made me a lifelong Disney fan.

I think we drove down from Michigan and we spent part of the vacation visiting my uncle who was living in Florida at the time. Back then, there was only the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We spent at least one day at each of the parks, starting with the Magic Kingdom.

Driving with my mom

The ride that made the biggest impression on me was The Haunted Mansion. It scared me but I was fascinated. After one ride, it was my favorite and is still my favorite ride to this day. Later in the day, we were in a spooky magic shop on Main Street where I found a storybook and record set for The Haunted Mansion. My parents got it for me and it was my favorite souvenir.

The Haunted Mansion

We rode a lot of the other rides that were around in the late 80’s. I really liked the 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride as well as Pirates of the Caribbean. We also rode on Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway and It’s a Small World.

Me and my Dad flying with Dumbo

Character meets were a lot different back then because the characters just roamed around the park. We got to meet Mickey, Minnie, some of the mice from Cinderella, Eeyore, Donald and the 3 Little Pigs. The character meeting that I remember the most was the Big Bad Wolf. This is because the Big Bad Wolf was big and bad and popped my sister's balloon. She was really upset about it.

Post balloon popping

Epcot was another day and it was a pretty new park at the time. I still remember joining in with some of the activities at CommuniCore. I also remember the Kitchen Kabaret, which was a fun show with singing food. But my favorite ride in Epcot was Journey Into Imagination. Figment the dragon was adorable and the story with the Dreamfinder as he took us into the world of Imagination was awesome. Sadly that version of the ride no longer exists but I am still a big fan of Figment.

Me and my sister with my dad in Epcot

I loved every minute of our time at Walt Disney World. It would be a long seven years before I’d be back at my favorite place in the world. You can read about my 2nd trip to the World here!