Category: Magic Memory Monday

Sometimes you just need to dance – Magic Memory Monday – November 4, 2013

The memory today is actually 3 photos in a series.  During our first family trip to Disney World in January 2008 for the Disney World Marathon we ended up at Hollywood Studios one night while the kid dance party was going on (can’t remember the official name for it).

Our son was only 17 months at the time and really didn’t know many of the Disney characters yet but the music was hopping and he couldn’t get out of the stroller fast enough to get dancing.  He charged up to dance on the edge of the group of kids dancing and just did his thing.  I believe he danced a bit with Goliath the Lion.

Being on the edge of the group though he was the only one who saw Mickey and Minnie coming in from off-stage.  I’m not sure he really knew who they were at the time but he sensed they were something special and charged over to them – luckily I had my camera because even as it was I only managed to get one quick shot of him running toward them.  Not the best photograph but just awesome that it is just T running to them and them reacting to him with really no one else around – brings back some great memories.  A special moment.

After that Mickey and Minnie joined the dancing kids and T got into the mix.  So there is a shot of him dancing with Mickey with Mickey clapping for him and you can tell at least one other parent in the background is watching T and smiling and pointing.  Spreading the joy with dance!

Even with Mickey then turning around to interact with others just got deeper into dancing and you can see the joy and happiness he had just other dancing and grooving to the music.

The only downside is we had to shut things down a bit early as T decided to sit down for a rest in front of the big speakers and since we figured him being able to continue hearing was important we decided to call it a night.  He cried most of the way out of the park at that point – sometimes you just need to dance and he wanted to keep going.

Still a great memory from that first trip – just the joy he had dancing and interacting with the characters was fantastic and it is always nice to remember those moments when there is unconditional happy!

T running toward Mickey and Minnie at Hollywood Studios
T running toward Mickey and Minnie at Hollywood Studios
T dancing with Mickey clapping at Hollywood Studios
T dancing with Mickey clapping at Hollywood Studios
T dancing at Hollywood Studios
T dancing at Hollywood Studios

Magic Memory Monday – Oct 28, 2013

The picture today brings to mind many memories and reminds me of the start of a very good trip to Disney World.  The picture was taken was the first night of the January/February 2013 family trip to Disney World.  We were booked into the Beach Club and had the fantastic surprise of a phenomenal upgrade to start our trip.

After supper we hit Stormalong Bay (the wonderful sand bottomed pool shared by the Beach and Yacht Club resorts) and were basically the only people in the pool.  We had the whole big kids’ area to ourselves and the kids had a blast.  After a rough drive from Winnipeg to Minneapolis through a wicked winter storm and lots of snow to be dealt with in Minneapolis before the trip the massive pool was all the more fantastic.

When I think of this night I think about feeling relaxed and happy to be there while the kids were having such a great time.  We had been on Disney property for less than 6 hours at this point and were already in full on vacation mode.  It was the start of probably our best ever family trip and when I look at this picture I get a whole wave of fun memories from this trip.

Aaaahhhh!

Stormalong Bay pool view at night
Stormalong Bay pool view at night

Magic Memory Monday – Oct 21, 2013

Port Orleans Resort – as a family we have stayed there once and I stayed there once with my brother for the 2012 Disney World Marathon weekend.  Both times it was at the French Quarter portion of the resort.  It is just an absolutely beautiful place with lovely New Orleans influences.

We enjoy so many aspects of the resort from the cafeteria with its Mardi Gras float decorations to the tree lined walkways to the themed pool area.  But really the most important thing to us with this resort is how peaceful it is.  The French Quarter portion is the smallest of the Disney World resorts (at least by room numbers) and from what we have seen one of the least crowded.  The reduced crowds have allowed us lots of opportunities to just wander around and see the sights, take pictures and just really relax.

This picture this week was taken one of the mornings at the French Quarter – our son (who was about 2 and a half at the time) and I were up well before my wife and 3 month daughter so we grabbed the trusty camera to go for a walk.  It was a sunny morning with no wind and just a touch of a chill – it made everything crisp and clear.  We wandered around a bit at the French Quarter and then wandered the walking path to the Riverside resort and got some lovely pics of the southern mansions.

On our way back I snapped the picture below as we wandered beside the lake – you can see the little fellow is pretty happy and I remember very well the peacefulness of the moment.  That is definitely one of the big draws for us with Disney World – those moments of peace seem to be so easy to grab.

Port Orleans - T out for a walk
Port Orleans – T out for a walk

Magic Memory Monday – October 14th, 2013

Disney’s Beach Club Resort at Walt Disney World – the folks there have been very good to us.  We had stayed at the Yacht Club once as the second half of a split vacation – spent 4 nights at Caribbean Beach and 5 nights at Yacht Club.  We ended up picking the Beach Club for our next family vacation after that (just because it was closer to the quick serve meal locations which is important with the kids).  That trip we ended up getting a lovely surprise of a bump up to Club Level which was awesome and helped make the trip.

That helped us decide to go back to the Beach Club Resort again on our next family trip in Jan/Feb 2013.  My wife and I had stayed at the Boardwalk Inn for the Disney World Marathon weekend earlier in January and with the cost of that trip there was no way we could splurge on Club Level but if we really scrimped we could do Beach Club with the family (plus a good deal as Annual Passholders).  So we told the kids that we weren’t going to be able to use the Club Level snack room / lounge (the Stone Harbour Club) but we would have the pool and be super close to Epcot.  They were very happy that we were going to be able to use the big pool at Storm Along Bay and weren’t concerned about the snack room.

When we arrived though we were escorted up to the Club Level for check in – we had apparently been upgraded up to Club Level again!  We were extremely surprised and very grateful as we knew the snack room would actually let us save some money on breakfasts and the ambience on the Club Level is just fantastic.  We were told our room was on the 2nd level (which was a surprise as the Club Level is on the 5th floor but we figured we just given a normal room and access to the Club Level – we were fine with that) so we grabbed the kids and wandered over.  After walking what seemed like miles we got to our room – very far from the snack room but extremely close to the walk way to Epcot – we were happy with the trade off.

We walked into the room and were stunned to find that we had actually been upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite – there was a room with 2 queen beds for the kids, a living room and wet bar area and a separate bathroom for the “master” king bedroom.  The kids’ room had views of the quiet pool as did a balcony off of the living room and although the king bedroom did not have a balcony it had many windows facing south to catch the sun and provide a view of the Boardwalk area.  It was a fantastic view both during the day and at night.  You can see here for a complete trip report for that trip and more pictures for the room specifically here and here.

This picture reminds me of how great the room felt and how magical Disney made the trip this time – we had such a good time being able to walk to Epcot in under 5 minutes and it is hard to put a dollar value on how much more time we had in the parks just from that.

Beach Club 2 bedroom suite view to Boardwalk
Beach Club 2 bedroom suite view to Boardwalk
Beach Club 2 bedroom suite view of path to Epcot
Beach Club 2 bedroom suite view of path to Epcot

 

Magic Memory Monday – October 7th, 2013

This one comes from our latest trip to Disney World in late January / early February 2013.  (trip report for that family trip to Disney World is here)

The little Jedis in training had just finished defeating Darth Vader and were having a frozen treat as their reward.

Even with all the hustle at Hollywood Studios that day we were able to find this quiet spot to sit and relax for a few minutes and let the kids unwind and just relax.  You can see happy and relaxed they are.

Combine the happy mood of the kids with the peaceful area and lovely flowers this whole picture really captures what we were trying to get out of that trip.  We wanted these moments when everyone was just happy and peaceful altogether as a family.  It is hard sometimes to get that when you are at home and are running around trying to get everything done that needs doing – this picture helps remind me of why we go to Disney World and how important it is to find times where we can connect with the kids like this.

Hollywood Studios - frozen treat after defeating Darth Vader
Hollywood Studios – frozen treat after defeating Darth Vader

Magic Memory Monday – September 30th, 2013

This one comes from our late January 2012 trip to Disney World.  Here our daughter (3 at the time) is very excited and happy to see the Muppets fountain in Hollywood Studios.

She is wearing her Minnie Mouse dress and a pair of sunglasses fit for a star – definitely fitting for Hollywood Studios.

She was so excited by the fountain splashing water all over that she was running around all smiles and high pitched squeals of joy.  And I managed to grab this shot in the flurry of excitement.

The picture just seems to capture the joy and excitement kids have at Disney World, when I see this picture I can’t help but smile.

K at Hollywood Studios - Muppet Fountain - 2012
K at Hollywood Studios – Muppet Fountain – 2012

Magic Memory Monday – September 23rd, 2013

Ok time for Magic Memory Monday #2 – This one was from our first family trip to Disney World as well – same day in fact as the first Magic Memory Monday post (link).

We were on Main Street waiting for the fireworks show Wishes to start.  I was holding my son up so he could see around and my wife grabbed the camera and took a shot as he leaned his head into my chin.

This is definitely a nice picture of the 2 of us with Cinderella’s Castle clear and lit up in the background – definitely no mistaking the location or that we were both quite happy at that moment.

The closeness with my son at that moment is something I still carry with me – in fact I keep a copy of this picture on my wall at work as a reminder.  These are the kinds of moments that can happen anywhere but Disney just seems to excel at finding ways for them to happen more often.

Fun side story here was that as the fireworks began we were worried that as he was only 17 months old at the time he might get scared by the lights and the noise.  We needn’t have worried though.  He jumped as the first set of fireworks blew into the sky but then he started clapping and yelling boom!! and yay!!  I think we went to various fireworks shows around Disney World 5 or 6 times on that trip and he would do the same thing each time.  It was awesome to see him enjoying the show and really getting into it.  There is another of those memories that will stick with me for many years to come.

Magic Kingdom - Cinderella's Castle and my Son
Magic Kingdom – Cinderella’s Castle and my Son

Magic Memory Monday – September 16th, 2013

So I am finally getting a bit of an idea on how I want to use this sister site to biggoofyrunner.com and one thought is to post up some of our family Disney pictures and talk about the memory and feelings that come with that picture.

So to start I will go with one of our first pictures taken on our trip in January 2008.  It was my first trip as well as the first trip for our 17 month old son.  My wife had been a few times previously when younger.  I did the full marathon that year and my wife did the half.  We stayed at the Pop Century and this picture was from Magic Kingdom coming down Main Street just after we came in on our first day.

 

Main Street in Magic Kingdom on first visit
Main Street in Magic Kingdom on first visit

 

Looking at this picture I can see the awe and wonder on our son’s face.  There was a moment of happy right there and it was just one of many on that trip.  I did a full marathon on that trip and I don’t really remember much about it to tell the truth besides a few moments here and there…but I can remember so many moments of the joy and wonder from our son from that trip.  That trip started the love affair with Disney World and because of moments like this one I have ended up back there 7 more times between 2008 and 2013.

I have heard anecdotes that say travel broadens a child’s mind and with what we saw with our son I would definitely say that is true – you can almost see the synapses sparking in this picture.