First Trip to Disney World with the Kids in 2008 - First Experiences Are Always Magical!

First Trip to Disney World with the Kids in 2008 – First Experiences Are Always Magical!

by EECC Travels
in Disney Travel, Disney vlog
on April 27, 2016

Everyone remembers their first trip to Disney, don’t they? If you ask my boys today, unfortunately the answer is no. Well they remember going to Disney and having fun but don’t remember any specifics. Thank goodness for pictures and video!!! I can attest that their first trip was magical, even if they don’t remember the details…

We took our first big family vacation in 2008, and my first choice of locations was Walt Disney World. At this point Cameron and Colby were 4, Ethan was 7 and Emily was an oh-so-fun-teenager at 14. We had waited until the twins were old enough to make the trip and enjoy themselves and 4 was a perfect age! They were big enough that we didn’t need a stroller and they could go the day without a long nap… Naps are best on the train or in a show anyway… We did have harnesses for the twins, which I loved! One was tethered to me and one to Jason. This ended up being the best pre-purchase of our trip, since I never had to worry about being separated from them in the sometimes overwhelming summer crowds. I had so many people ask me where I got them hoping they could be purchased in the parks for their small kids.

So we planned, or at least I thought we planned, and we drove from Louisiana to Orlando in July, 2008. We stayed in an off site condo which was really nice and big, but silly me had never done this before and couldn’t figure out why no one had made the beds or given us fresh towels when we returned at the end of our first day in the park… I feel really stupid now looking back with all of the Disney World knowledge that I have acquired over the last few years… But I got some laundry detergent, and made the beds each morning after that and we were good to go! My second faux pas was not knowing about dining reservations… Have you ever tried to walk up to a table service restaurant and ask for a table in July in Magic Kingdom??? Laughable! Needless to say, we had quick service at every meal in the parks… This trip was a learning experience for us, but I learned a lot and was prepared for the next trip!

We visited all four parks and Typhoon Lagoon during this vacation. Seeing the kids faces light up at their first sight of the castle or their awe at the enormous Tree of Life, was something I will never forget!

Magic Kingdom: We ended up spending most of our time in Tomorrowland and Toon Town during this trip. The boys loved Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Astro Orbiter, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and even Stich’s Great Escape (which I personally can do without) and Jason and Emily got to ride Space Mountain. They enjoyed walking through Mickey and Minnie’s houses and riding Goofy’s Barnstormer. But the best part of the day was the character interactions. With autograph books in hand, they even enjoyed the wait and anticipation of seeing Buzz and Stitch and others…

This is my favorite picture with a character! Stitch took hold of their harnesses!

Hollywood Studios: This park received a brand new name in 2008, but it was still the amazing park I remembered! Complete with Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat!!! We caught an art class and met some characters in Animation Courtyard, explored a galaxy far, far away on Star Tours, played in a giant backyard and Ethan even became party of High School Musical!

Animal Kingdom: The boys were fascinated by the Tree of Life! They of course thought it was a real tree… Their favorite area was Dinoland, so we ate at Resturantasaurus and then the boys took the buckets from their kids meals over to the Boneyard to play. It seemed forever before we got them out of there! Then we scared them to death on Dinosaur… in our defense, we had never ridden it before and didn’t know it would be so scary. We tried to cool off with ice cream as we walked the jungle trails and met our favorites in Camp Minnie-Mickey.

Epcot: We loved Spaceship Earth and playing the games in Innoventions. The most magical experience from this trip came in Epcot! We were walking into World Showcase and a cast member stopped us and asked if we wanted to be part of the Year of a Million Dreams. Of course we did and he gave our entire family commemorative Mickey ears!!! It was a truly magical moment and set us for a wonderful day!

So needless to say, even if they don’t remember the details, take your kids when they are young! They will love it and want to go back time and again. And when they don’t remember, show them photos!