Day 483: Just One?

Day 3 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A Picture of your favorite Disney memory. 

Blast from the Past: 

This is a real tough one. I have so many Disney memories! 

But, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that my favorite Disney memory is actually fairy recent, and while I don't have a picture of the memory itself, I'll still tell the story. The picture I chose is one where the top tier is blasting off, as you'll hear about what that means in a moment. 

During the summer of 2011, I traveled to Orlando, Florida for the National FBLA conference with other members of the Seymour FBLA Chapter, including Mrs. Grassel's son, Gordon. For two days before the conference started, I toured a few of us through the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, with some help from my mom. But the moment that really got me caught up was when we were watching the "Magic, Memories, and You" show in the Magic Kingdom. It's a display on  Cinderella Castle, including scenes and ideas from movies and attractions, and it features pictures taken by Photopass Photographers throughout the day. 

But the time we got to Main Street, it was already crowded, but we made sure we found a spot where Gordon could see for the most part. He was a little frustrated at how late it was and he was getting tired, plus he didn't have the best view. Having watched the show before, I knew what was coming, and I told him to listen for words from one of his favorite characters..."To infinity and beyond" -Buzz Lightyear. 

Throughout portions of the show he would whisper to me and ask when Buzz Lightyear was coming, and I told him to keep listening. Finally, he heard the words and said to me, "Lizzie! I heard him" or something like that. I watched his reaction as the top tier of the castle blasted off into space, and if you haven't seen video of this, go do. It's amazing how realistic it looks....it seriously, I'm not not kidding, looks like it's taking off. Gordon's face lit up and all of his worries about being tired and hungry were gone. He was so excited, and the look on his face was all I needed to see. 

It's expressions like this that make me want to work at Disney, so I can bring happiness to kids like that all the time. I'm sure you've all seen those faces when a child you know opens a Christmas or Birthday gift and it's just what they wanted...well in these moments at Disney, like when they see a favorite character for the first time, or find out they are going to Disney World, or even see the castle blast off into space...it's like that expression plus more. Most people call it priceless...I just call it magic. 

Back to the Future:

Dear Lord, how am I supposed to choose?

I think, in terms of trips for me, my favorite one would have to be a triple tie between my last three, so July 2013, March 2014 and June 2014. All three just held a lot of brilliant moments for me. Like, July was spectacular because it was my Birthday and Graduation Trip and we stayed at Bay Lake Tower, which is just one of my absolute favorite places to stay now and my whole family was there and there were a ton of moments I just really appreciated. I got to meet my favorite artist (Larry Dotson), and my brother and I were the last ones in the Magic Kingdom on my birthday and so on and so forth.

Then March was great because I had a chance to explore a lot of Disney in my own unique way. I really spent a lot of time with only my brother on the trip and that seriously made a difference. In addition, I got to meet TONS of awesome people, including meeting Max. It was SUPER awesome getting to meet him and can't wait to head out to his area next summer for a trip to Disneyland & D23.

And finally, June was wonderful because I got to experience Disney with two of my best friends. I don't really get to travel much with friends versus my family, and having them along just made everything even more spectacular. If June was any indication, January is going to be amazing.

So I pick all the memories from those three trips, although there are countless other memories, the one from two years ago included, that rank right up there near the top. You really can't just pick one. It's impossible.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 19).