The Start of the Magic

As a child, we only traveled to see family. Money was tight, and vacations were frivolous and costly. I carried this thinking into my adulthood, and my husband and I rarely traveled. When L was 2, her daddy half-heartedly told her we would to go Disney World for her 5th birthday, and L never forgot it. In fact, with every year, she got more vocal and excited, so 3 years later we took our first Disney trip.

Since it was my mission to do Disney World on the cheap, I booked a deal trough Living Social. You know the saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” well, I learned this the hard way. The deal included 3 nights in deluxe off-site accommodations, with 2 free park tickets to any Disney park of our choice. All we had to do to get the tickets was sit through a timeshare presentation. Yep, we did that, and we barely survived to tell about it.

We arrived in Orlando the day before, eager to check out our primo resort with top notch amenities. We spent much of our 10 hour drive talking up the beautiful grounds, our comfy room and the great pool to our young girls. When we arrived, J and I looked at each other, wondering if we were at the wrong resort. It was a total dump! It smelled bad, the grounds were unkempt, and there was zero magic to this place. With much frustration from the front desk manager’s chilly reception, it was time to check out our room. I walked in, saw the rips in the upholstery, the dingy bedspreads, and the stained bath tub, and I broke down crying. It was awful, and we were stuck here for 3 nights!

At the time, saving money was my top priority for this trip. After walking into this rat trap, I wanted out immediately, and I did not care about any kind of cancellation penalty. Unfortunately it was 7:00, the girls were hungry, and we had an early start to the next day. So, after a regroup chat over CiCi’s pizza, we were ready to take action. We decided to throw our tight budget out the window (well, at least a little) and call Disney to see if they had any availability for the next 2 nights.

Have you ever talked to an angel? I have. It was the cast member from Disney that night on the phone. I had not booked anything through Disney except a splurge dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table for L’s birthday meal. Even that was booked online, so we truly had no idea what Disney customer service was like. This angelic woman was the nicest, most helpful customer service person I had spoken with up to this point. She patiently listened to my desperate cries to get out of the dump we were in, and then she proceeded to offer up magical words of reassurance that she could come to our rescue. After inquiring about our meager budget, she proceeded to find us the perfect sanctuary from our dreadful reality.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort had just opened up several months before, and since we were traveling in the middle of January, it was the off-season. We scored a room in The Little Mermaid section of the resort for a steal, only $99 per night. The entire conversation, even being placed on hold and listening to Disney tunes was a pleasurable experience. The Disney magic captured this stressed out mom of two. All we had to do was make it through one terrible night sleep and one horrifying sales pitch from a sleazy timeshare salesman.

We did it! We survived the timeshare presentation, the chat with the first salesperson, and we even survived the staredown with the closer too. It took iron-clad determination to not give into the pseudo-intimidating sales tactics being thrown at us, but we managed to get out of there an hour later with our free tickets. We were finally on our way to the magic.

Driving under the Disney World sign is a feeling like no other. It’s the gateway to the magic, and immediately my family was filled with immense excitement. It’s only a short distance to the entrance to our hotel, so the cheering only became louder as we approached the resort. To say my girls were in total awe is an understatement. They were 5 and almost 3, and Ariel was their hero. To see a 30 foot Ariel greet them as we pulled in only brought on more cheering and squealing from my two girlies.

From there, we checked in, marveled at the lobby, then proceeded to our section of the resort. We took it all in: the massive Nemo pool, the regal King Triton and other Little Mermaid statues, the kid play area, then finally our room. Coming from a true dump of a resort the previous night, I think anything would have been an improvement, but Disney’s resort grounds are immaculately clean and exquisitely decorated. The details are endless, and the room was amazing. Again, the squeals from two excited girls echoed through the small room. From this moment on, we were hooked!

We rode countless rides, ate fun snacks, and watched the most amazing parades. I didn’t expect it, but it became the girls’ mission to meet every possible character celebrity they could find. They were living in pure magic, and J and I relished in every giggle, moment of awe, and wide eye expression they had. For us parents, Disney was all about watching our girls experience the magic. As we exited the park for the last time on that second day, L turned to her younger sister and confidently proclaimed, “when you turn 5, we get to come back again!”

Spoiler alert: We did!

Since that pivotal moment, I view vacations very differently. They aren't frivolous, they are priceless. Vacations, especially Disney ones are expensive. Our entire Disney vacation was only two days in the Magic Kingdom, but that was all it took to hook my family. There will always be dozens of other ways to spend your hard earned money rather than a fun family vacation. But I cringe at the thought of talking J out of fulfilling his promise to his 5 year old daughter just to save a couple grand. There is an old church hymn whose lyrics are “precious memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul.” When I think back on this vacation and the ones to follow, they are some of my most precious memories with my husband and girls. Even my parents, adult sisters and families had the opportunity to get in on the magic a while back.

I will continue to write about my family vacations, show pictures and share my favorite (stolen) tips. Meanwhile, are you a Disney-junky too? What is one of your favorite vacation memories?