Guest Post: Growing Up Disney

So, the other day, Growing Up Disney celebrated their first anniversary. I want to first congratulate them, as I know how much work and dedication goes into this endeavor. And also how much Love you have to have to continue doing it. I have been fortunate enough to have met Amy and Ridge, if only online and have had the honor to write a guest post (or two) for this wonderful website in the past. When Amy asked for another guest post, I knew exactly what I was going to write about; the name of this website; Growing Up Disney.

Getting to know Ridge (Chris) and Amy and reading their father’s words, they truly grew up Disney. A few weeks ago, Ridge posted a picture on Twitter of a pile of stuffed animals from his childhood. Believe me, they could have lost Amy’s “Tink” in the pile, it was that big. I made the comment that they truly did Grow Up Disney. Then Amy and I had a conversation about a guide map from the Magic Kingdom that she used to have hanging on her wall, when she was a kid. (I still actually have mine; I know she’s jealous of that.) They mention on the site that they visited Disney World often as kids (I’m jealous of that). Their Father is still a big Disney enthusiast; I mean he writes for the site. Again, I think, “Wow, they did Grow Up Disney.”

I didn’t have that Disney experience. We did go twice to Disney World when I was a kid. I was 12 and 14 when we went; Epcot wasn’t even open yet. I fell in love with the most magical place in the world on those trips. I went back on my senior trip in high school in 1985, then got back again in 1990. It would be another decade before I made it again. That is when I realized I couldn’t live without going every couple of years. I needed to go to Disney World, so I bought in to the Disney Vacation Club.

Because of that, my son, John, hasn’t gone more than two years without going to Disney World since he has been eight (that was when we took our first trip as a family. You can read about it on this site.)  So, I consider that he has been Growing Up Disney. He has undergone many changes, since then; he is 15 now, a true teenage boy, and you can see that in his room (which I try not to look at). But when it comes to Disney, he is still the same kid that got excited about driving the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway car by himself. He has his favorites as we all do, but if we don’t get to them, he doesn’t pout like he did years ago, because he knows it is only a matter of time, before we will be back again.

His favorites have changed a little over the years. He still likes the attractions, and although we haven’t driven the Indy cars in years, (I think they are a little too slow for him) he still likes the cars. Test Track is in his top five favorites, as is Expedition Everest. He has made me go on Mission Space with him a few times and he really enjoys Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin; I think that’s because he competes against his mother and I. I don’t think he really likes some of the attractions that we go to, The Country Bears and Mickey’s Philharmagic for example, but he is good about humoring us and not being much of a teenager when we are in Disney.

John’s favorites now are more of the non-attraction variety: The Boardwalk, Winter Summerland mini-golf, Downtown Disney and of course the FOOD! John helps me write an article on Tuesdays on my website called Tips from a Teenager Tuesday. Every week I ask him to tell me something that everyone should know about in Disney World. The first article we wrote together was called Food, Food, Food. Most weeks he wants to talk about another restaurant, but I keep putting him off. His food favorites are varied. He really likes Le Cellier and the Nine Dragons (He loves Chinese food) and he enjoyed when we ate at Teppan Edo, the Japanese Restaurant in Epcot, but he also includes in his top five the Pepper Market in the Coronado Springs Resort and Big River Brewing, on the Boardwalk. He likes these for the different choices they give him and in the case of Big River, the burgers.

It is very cool, to travel with him to Disney World now, not that it wasn’t when he was younger, but then he wouldn’t share with us what he wanted to do, as kids sometimes do, and then when we couldn’t read his mind, he’d be disappointed. Now it is much easier. He’ll either tell us what he wants to do, or where he would like to eat or he just tells us he’d rather not go. When we were down last summer with our friends, John and his friend decided they wanted a night in. It was funny, two 15 year old boys not wanting to go out at night in Disney World. But they both were tired and in need of some down time, so they stayed in and watched our friends’ little girl and the four of us went out for the evening to a nice dinner and a stroll of Downtown Disney. If John hadn’t been Growing Up Disney this whole time, I don’t think he would have stayed in, he would have forced himself to go out and then the next day he would have been even more tired, which in turn would have probably made him grumpy. And the best part is, he still gets excited about going to Disney World and still wants to go.

What is funny is that I know some kids whose parents guide them in a certain direction when they are young. I have a friend whose siblings all attended a major university, because they grew up being brainwashed, by their dad, to go there. I remember my friend’s sister threatening that she wasn’t going to go to that university, once when she was having a fight with her parents. I have seen this with other things also, but I don’t force John to like Disney, I don’t make him sit and watch Disney movies with us or discuss what is happening in Disney World, but sometimes he does sit with us and watch a Disney movie and sometimes he does bring up the Fantasyland expansion, but he does it on his own. I think it is because, even though it isn’t cool as a fifteen year old, Disney is in his blood. Not just because of the Disney objects we have around the house, but because he has been Growing Up Disney. And I hope that like Amy and Chris, John will look back on these family trips and the things we did in Disney World with happy memories of great family times and I hope that when he has kids I can be like DisneyDad and enjoy walking them up Main Street USA.

Contributed by Bruce G., husband to Heather, proud father of John, and creator of The Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World.

Guest Post: The Best Thing I’ve Ever Seen at a Disney Park

The question was asked, “What's the best thing you’ve ever seen at the Disney Parks?” What a great question. There are so many fascinating things in the Walt Disney World Parks that someone could go on for hours telling all about wonderful things to see in each park. But thinking about this question a little deeper, I thought past the parks themselves and then it was an easy choice at that point. The best thing I ever saw in a Disney Park would be this picture here:

This is my son; he is now 14 years old and a fine young man. When this picture was taken, he was 9 years old and he wasn’t my son yet.

When I first met John, he was 8 years old and he and his mom had been on their own for about 6 years. I met John’s mom while we were working together and friendship grew into a very happy relationship. At that time, John was a very shy, quiet boy who had a great smile and was very excited to have a man in his mom’s life. John and I hit it off very quickly and became friends almost immediately. John’s mom (my wife) and I are both teachers and during our first summer off together, we travelled to visit friends and family to meet people we hadn’t yet met. Our second summer together, when John was nine, we went to Disney World. I’m not saying that Disney made us a family, but I think it helped solidify our relationships.

We were very lucky in the fact that I had a Disney Vacation Club Membership, and my future wife had a free week at a condo that was trying to sell her a time share, so we took a two week Disney Vacation. It was our first time in Disney together and we all were a little nervous about what to expect. I had been to Disney World quite a few times in my life before Heather and John, but this was something new for me and for them also. Once we got there though all worries were quelled and we all had a great time.

I remember our first night of that trip as if it were yesterday. I remember we had gotten into our condo, found a supermarket, had something to eat, and then headed to The Magic Kingdom. When we first arrived, it was dusk and the lights throughout the Happiest Place on Earth were just coming on. We strolled up Main Street USA and went past the Castle into Fantasyland. We went through a couple attractions and had a good time, but John was a car nut at that time. He would read everything about cars he could get his hands on. So, the obvious attraction for us to ride was the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. We stood in line and I videotaped John as we waited. He was jabbering on and on, as I would learn he does when he is excited. When we got close to the boarding area, the Cast Member measured John and said he was tall enough to drive the car. You would have thought he had been made Mayor of Chocolate Town, the way his eyes lit up. We then asked if he wanted one of us to ride with him or did he want to go by himself. The poor kid’s head almost blew off at the thought of “driving” his own car without his mother or me with him. He chose to “drive” by himself and we got in the car in front of him. Along the way we called out to him in the dark and he yelled back, laughing the entire time.

When we exited the ride, he was bubbling over with excitement. He wanted to do it again. The line was long and it was late, so we told him later in the trip we would do it again and we did, but that first time “driving” by himself, and seeing the smile on the little man’s face, and knowing that I helped put it there is the best thing I ever saw in a Disney Park.

Heather and I were married the next year and as a “Family” we have been to Walt Disney World almost every year since then. We enjoy being together and even at 14, John still wants to hang out with us when we are there. This past summer we went with another family, John’s best friend’s family, and the boys only went off on their own once. I credit this not only to the fact that they are both great kids that enjoy their families but also to the Magic of Disney. The Magic of Disney helped make us a family and we look forward to many more memories like this.

John and I, 5 years ago and today:

Contributed by Bruce G., husband to Heather, proud father of John, and creator of The Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World