Who remembers their first trip to Disney??? Well in July of 1990, when I was eleven years old, I made my way to Walt Disney World for the first time.
I remember the trip there vividly… my parents had a Ford minivan and seven of us (four adults and three kids) made the trip from Louisiana to Orlando, FL (about a 15 hour drive). My dad had to get creative to fit seven people and everyone’s luggage in the van, so he took out the back seat and built a platform that the luggage could be stored underneath and me, my sister and my cousin could sit or lay on top. So we piled it with blankets to soften the plywood for the ride and off we went! No seat belts for the kids… shocking! But we didn’t care! It was a fun experience for us!
I hope you enjoy these nostalgic pictures!!!
First stop… Magic Kingdom! It is something you just never forget, turning that corner on Main Street and getting your first look at the castle!
And check out this photo taken as we were driving up to Magic Kingdom… It doesn’t look the same now…
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| You can see Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain |
I love this picture of me, Stephanie (sister) and David (cousin) on a bench on Main Street USA.
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| That’s me on the right |
I was able to have my first experience on many classic rides…
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| Me on Peter Pan’s Flight |
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| Peter Pan’s Flight |
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| Pirate’s of the Caribbean |
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| It’s a Small World |
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| Me & dad on Tomorrowland Speedway |
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| Liberty Belle River Boat |
And then there are the rides that are no longer there like The Walt Disney World Skyway (closed 1999) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (closed 1994)…
Needless to say, we had an excellent first day at Disney World!
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| Yep, that’s me in the middle acting silly! |
And proof that the Main Street Electrical Parade is a classic that has not changed:
Next on to Disney MGM Studios! For years, I still called this park MGM after the name was changed to Hollywood Studios. I still slip every now and then and say MGM instead.
MGM was still a new park in 1990 as it had only opened in May 1989. So was this not only a new experience for me, being a newbie at Disney, but it was a totally new experience, period. It was a beautiful park:
Honey I Shrunk the Kids was a HUGE movie in 1990, it had it’s own show!
And the highlight of MGM and one of the highlights of the entire trip for me was the Backlot Tour!
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| Does anyone else remember the Backlot Tour going through the Streets of America? |
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| Can you name these space ships??? |
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| Catastrophe Canyon |
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| I remember feeling the heat from the fire! |
GREAT first experience with Disney MGM which still to this day one of my favorites!
The last day of our trip was at Epcot. Now, I did not appreciate Epcot as a kid like I do as an adult!!! I absolutely LOVE Epcot now. But so many things still stand out to me from that first trip. I mean, world’s largest golf ball, hello! Just kidding, but I did think that as a kid…
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| Me, Stephanie, David, Aunt Diane & Uncle John |
So who remembers World of Motion (before Test Track)???
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| Transportation Pavilion before Test Track |
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| Umm, that just looks like a shiny ElCamino to me… |
And off to World Showcase…
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| I really wish they still had these buses!!! |
And that concludes what I remember about my first trip to Disney World. I will admit that I am a bit fuzzy on some of the details, hey that was a long time ago, but the pictures do help! But what this trip did was spark the love of all things Disney in me. This was the only trip of my childhood, but I went again when I graduated high school and began bringing my family in 2008. All of us who are Disney fans have that moment when Disney becomes part of your life, the movies started it for me, but this trip sealed the deal.
Alisa
