Our First Disney Trip

Every time I book a “First Visit” trip to Walt Disney World for a client, it makes me reminisce on my past trips. And especially about our family’s first trip ever to Walt Disney World.

January 2000 was our first time going. The trip was given to us as a Christmas gift just a month before and we were going for my 8th birthday! It was a big family trip with our cousins, aunt, and uncle.

My sister was only three so she doesn’t really remember it, but she remembers stories about it. I was seven (turning eight) and I remember the experience and certain moments but not any details. I think it’s so fun to have been able to grow up going to Walt Disney World. It changes every time depending on your age. When you’re older you appreciate more and notice more (specifically the details) and you can remember it more. As a kid it’s just fun!

What all of us will remember forever is that on Jan. 26 (my birthday) we had to buy scarves, hats, and mittens as there was FROST! It was literally only 1°C and only reached a high of 8°C. You’d think being from Canada we’d be prepared for the cold, but we were new at travelling and thought Florida was always hot. It wasn’t like now, where information is at our fingertips, we had no idea what it would be like when we got there. So it was sweaters and jackets for us that trip, although fortunately it warmed up that weekend and we enjoyed the sun and shorts for a couple of days.

There are also things we’ve taken from that trip that have followed us on our subsequent trips the last 20 years. A weird thing that always stuck with me is that my birthday was on a Wednesday and we were at Magic Kingdom theme park. Now when we go, for us, we always love to go to Magic Kingdom on a Wednesday.

I also remember from that day, the Winnie the Pooh Character Breakfast at The Crystal Palace. Another thing that’s become tradition as we almost always do this meal on our trips.

And lastly: Space Mountain. It was my first roller coaster ever and probably what scarred me from liking them. I was in the middle seat, my cousin in the front and my dad in the back. The ‘not being able to see what was going on’ was terrifying. I didn’t learn until I was older how much scarier (although now fun) the very front is because you completely can’t see!

Our trip in 2000 we stayed off property at a nearby hotel and also did SeaWorld on the last weekend. I don’t remember it much except for the fact that is was warm and sunny so we could wear our summer clothes. We also got caricatures done and as I write this, I’m remembering an incident with my sister’s drawing – we accidentally left it behind at the stingray tank! Fortunately we both had the caricatures on our wall growing up so we must have gone back and found it.

In January 2020 I was able to be back at Magic Kingdom for my 28th Birthday and in celebrating that I found all our old photos from our very first trip. It’s so fun to see how the park looks different … and the fashion changes (oh boy!). Enjoy some of the pictures from our first trip.