"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Walter Elias Disney
It all started with a mouse.. Mickey Mouse to be exact. In 1955, Walt Disney's dream to open a theme park, where his characters could come to life came true. He first envisioned this idea after taking his children to an amusement park in California, while watching them ride on the carousel. He wanted to build a park where children and parents could have fun together, and so he did.
Walt quickly became landlocked in Anaheim, so he secretly began buying thousands of acres under different names in which his dreams could expand and become what we now know as the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on October 1st, 1971, and today is the kick off to the 18 month long 50th Anniversary Celebration.
FUN FACT: The names Walt Disney used to secretly purchase the land are painted on the windows above the shops on Mainstreet USA. This iconic strip of shops is located at the entry of the Magic Kingdom park and was designed to resemble Walt's hometown in Marceline, Missouri, which is only a 5 1/2 hour drive from my hometown in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Today is truly a day for celebration because it is the opening day of my new home-based travel agency; Family Adventures Club. A long lived dream that I finally have the courage to pursue. While I have worked in the travel industry for many years, I was blessed with the opportunity to leave my 9 to 5 career to stay home and raise our amazing and adventurous two year old son.
The flexibility of working from home has allowed me the opportunity to begin this venture while getting to be a crucial part of my sons early childhood.
While I do intend to expand my business in the future, I am currently specializing in Walt Disney destinations including; Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disney's Aulani Resort, Adventures By Disney and Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser opening March 1, 2022.
I want to provide the best possible service to my clients by being an expert in this niche. My guests will receive magical moments before their trip ever begins, which includes special perks for planning your vacations with me.
So in the spirit of "all good things come in threes"... by celebrating the start of my agency and Disney World's 50th Anniversary, I am also celebrating my very first day of business with my family at Disney On Ice: Mickey's Search Party. A beautiful perk to owning your own business and setting your own hours.
My love for Disney started at a young age when my childhood revolved around new releases of the Classic Disney movies. My parents took my brother and me to Disneyland when I was just seven years old, which was still a perfect age to experience the Disney magic. I will never forget sitting on a curb on Mainstreet USA waiting for the Main Street Electrical Light Parade to begin after the most incredible day at Disneyland. Take a moment to check out the video below of this magical parade that has retired, but Disney has been known to bring back some of their classic entertainment in the past.
In high school, I joined the marching band color-guard and had the great honor of our band opening for one of the parades at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It was a dream come true to experience the thrill of being in an actual parade on Mainstreet USA with Cinderella's magnificent castle as the backdrop.
These experiences grew my appreciation for how Disney is not just for children, but for the children at heart. I barely began my first year in college when I learned that I could live and work at Walt Disney World through the Disney College Program while earning elective college credits.
I would have said yes to any job they offered me, but luckily I was given the opportunity to work at the Magic Kingdom park at Pecos Bills Tall Tale Inn and Café, which is still one of my favorite quick service dining locations to this day. It was perfect... I was living and working at the happiest place on earth! The restaurant is right off the parade route in Frontier Land, which meant every night I got to listen to the sound of the "Share A Dream Come True" parade in the afternoon, "SpectroMagic Parade" in the evening, followed by the firework finale show "Wishes".
I can honestly say I never grew tired of hearing the same shows day in and day out. It was truly blissful and were some of the only times we had very little customers in line. These shows have since retired and made way for new innovative parades and fireworks shows including "Disney Enchantment" which debuts tonight at the Magic Kingdom as part of the 50th celebration.
I was able to catch a preview of the new show last night and was truly blown away. The music was incredible, they included just about every classic character, and used technology to project imagery onto the castle, and for the first time ever, down Mainstreet USA. Disney never disappoints when it comes to firework shows, but if you are feeling nostalgic, take a moment to check out "Wishes" below. This was the evening show during my time in the college program.
When friends and family ask "Why Always Disney?, Well... it's because every time I return I am flooded with magical memories from my past, while still creating new magical moments in my present. Ever since I ended my college program, I continue to return to my "home away from home' because of the huge impact it had on my life. I have even created a Disney fanatic out of my husband, who happily agreed to celebrate our honeymoon at Walt Disney World in 2014. Now he gets the Disney bug as much as I do. It's only been a couple of years since I have been, but we are already planning our next vacation for my sons third birthday. This time I can't wait to experience Disney through his eyes.
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