Making Memories....

I've been blogging with three fabulous women for two years and have been enjoying all the fun topics we come up with week after week. If you want to see what we've discussed in the past, check out our posts here.

This week, Mom of Many chose the topic: Talk about your first trip to Disney. What was your favorite ride? Is it still your favorite ride?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

When I recently traveled to Disney World with my family, it felt like I was there for the first time. This is partially because I hadn't been there in such a long time that I forgot what it was like. However, some things came back to me like no time was ever lost. And there's also the fact that a lot of things changed. Some rides were added and others taken away. Some rides felt different from how I previously remembered them.

Having said that, I really am at a loss for memories of my first Disney World trip. I know I was five years old and that our babysitter came with. We drove all the way to Florida in my parents' station wagon. We have gone on tons of trips to Florida (whether or not it was for Disney) since that time and a lot of them are a blur when it comes to theme parks. There used to be a non-Disney park called Circus World. There was a room where we could get our faces painted like clowns. I remember asking all the face painters their names. I wasn't shy at all! I also remember going to a character breakfast, but only because I know my parents have a picture where I'm wearing this red sundress with different colored shapes on it and standing with some of the characters. (Mom, if you're reading this and you find that picture, please send it to me. Same for some pictures where I had my face painted at Circus World.)

I don't know if I went on the Haunted Mansion ride on my first trip (I was five, so I hope it wasn't that trip), but I remember being freaked out by the image of a ghost or monster in our little car thing at the end. I thought it was following me out of the ride! I remember seeing some 3D movie where kids are in some sort of circus and they throw pies at people.) I'm sure we went on all the standard, kid-friendly rides though. I liked "It's a Small World" when I was a kid. There was so much to take in. I could see why my kids like it now. As an adult, I don't like that ride. It felt insanely long and slow and the dolls creeped me out. I kept thinking that they probably come to life after the park closes down. I was feeling sorry for the dolls who have to spin around in circles over and over again. I also won't go on the Haunted Mansion, regardless of whether it's appropriate for my kids or not. I definitely liked the Peter Pan and Pirates rides better when I was a kid, as well. I probably even went on the Dumbo ride a lot. And I don't have the equilibrium to tolerate Big Thunder anymore. I loved it when I was younger. I would never go on Space Mountain though, even as a kid.

The rides at Epcot were mostly boring (if anything educational was involved) when I was younger. I liked the Imagination ride (Figment!) and Horizons, which gave us a glimpse of the future. Spaceship Earth was pretty slow, from what I remember. I think there was some show about food that was cute. I don't think it was a ride though. And I think The Living Sea was a walk through exhibit. I remember a ride called The Land, but not what happened during it. I think there was a cheesy song to go along with it. We didn't go to Epcot on this trip, so I didn't get to relive any other memories of it.

I remember other aspects of our Florida trips from when I was a kid. Some memories are from our many trips to the time share in Pompano Beach, where family friends of ours usually stayed, as well. Others are from Orlando, like going to Sea World (loved the sea lion and otter show) or the Jacuzzi bath tub bubble incident. I remember most of the restaurants we went to in my youth, especially our regular favorites like Po' Folks, Flaming Pit, Bobby Rubino's, Americo's, Lovin' Oven (which had TVs on every table), Lai Lai (really good Chinese food) and Skipper's ice cream. What I noticed about Orlando this time around is how much it feels like Las Vegas. There's a cheesy souvenir shop every few blocks, surrounded by tons of hotels and restaurants. Maybe that's just the street we drove on the most, but it all felt like way too much.

To finish off this post, I'll leave you with this video. It inspired the title of this post and it's ever so cheesy! (I think I used the word "cheesy" three times in this post.)