Honestly, my response is similar to dvdjunkie’s in atlanticaunderthesea’s “C’Mon People” thread. I actually like the parks, but the reason I don’t talk about them is because I can never afford to go so I don’t really think about them. And they’ve changed so much, so I probably know nothing about how they are now anyway. I might go sometime in the next two years if I can manage it.
The only memories I have come from when I went to Disney World in 1999, for my 11th birthday. My mother, sister and I went with my aunt and her two daughters (who would literally go every other week and buy everything--they had dozens and dozens of lithographs, toys, snow globes in their house; no wonder they had to file bankruptcy eventually, but I was so jealous when I was young). My aunt had some kind of job with Disney, maybe at one of the stores? So she had a discount for everything. And one of my cousins is disabled, so with her in our party, we kind of got to jump ahead of a lot of people.
I know nothing about what places are called/etc., but I believe my favorite memory was going into the Disney Villains store, and seeing all that merchandise. We couldn’t everything (although I did get a lot that year--a gorgeous Ursula figurine that came with a very nice watch was the best thing I got; villain stationary/pins/figures/pens/posters/etc.; a villain Snowglobe, the one with Chernabog over top, Ursula laid down in front, Pain and Panic with the Magic Mirror at the back, and the Evil Queen in the center; and some gorgeous shirts which I’ve stored away and I honestly never see online, so I’m glad I got them now that they don’t make things like that anymore). I also remember going into a different store which wasn’t necessarily just villains, but they had a giant Ursula statue, which I took a picture with.
I also remember seeing Fantasmic, which I loved because of all the villains. There was the Tower of Terror, which I honestly didn’t want to ride--I’m not crazy about rides--but my cousin coaxed me on with “it only drops twice” (and then I was super-pissed off when we got off, because it dropped three times.
). I remember Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, too. It wasn’t great, but I enjoyed it because I was young and I was so obsessed with the movie. There was a train ride, too, that I liked okay, but can’t remember what it was called or anything. Oh, and I enjoyed Splash Mountain more than I expected, although I hit my nose on the way down which kind of ruined the last part. There was TLK thing, too, where it was audience participation. Of course, my sister and I got called on (I guess they target the children more often), and they wanted me to make an elephant noise, but I was ridiculous.
There was the spinning teacups, which I do remember enjoying. And then some Dumbo spinning in the air ride, which…not so much.
One of the other things I liked was getting autographs. Ariel was my number 1 priority because I knew there wouldn’t be a person signing as Ursula, unfortunately, and I did get her (my favorite signature, easily). I still have it somewhere, but I do remember getting Megara (who I loved, too), Alice, Cinderella, and Jasmine all at once. The Donald guy was a real pest, but I got the signature, too, and Mickey/Minnie. I also got Flik at a special line--I believe ABL was just released or about to premiere soon, can’t remember. I remember seeing Merlin once in a square, but he was running off somewhere--I had really wanted to get his signature, but didn’t get the chance.
I don’t remember liking the food at Disney World. The breakfast was decent, but I remember the pizza’s you could order to your room being really awful. (btw, I believe we saw a naked lady through the curtains on the way to our hotel room; that was such a bizarre memory that just popped in my mind.
) I believe we also went to Universal, but nothing stands out. I remember riding the E.T. ride, which was okay. I think we ate in some kind of saloon recreation there. On my actual birthday, we went to some restaurant which I remember had a Monstro painting along one wall. They sent a birthday card around the restaurant which everybody signed except one person, which was nice. I didn’t know it then (my mother just said he was a celebrity, but I didn’t watch 7th Heaven then), but apparently Stephen Collins was there and he was the one that didn’t sign. (I just asked my mother who that person was as I was typing this.
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My best memories were mostly in the stores, tbh. Looking at all the Ursula stuff, mostly. Of course, when I went, Disney was still pretty huge, so that might be why the merchandise was so nice. I remember walking down one street when it was snowing (my birthday’s at the end of December, so the trip was for Christmas and my birthday combined, which is why my mother bought so much). The experience was probably better for me because of my aunt’s privileges, but she’s no longer in the family. I would definitely like to go back as an adult. Thankfully, I don’t like rides so much, so I wouldn’t waste much time standing in lines.
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