My mother's love of adventure, along with growing up near Orlando, gave me a great appreciation for theme parks and beaches. So, it’s only natural for me to love going to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. I love visiting the parks no matter if it's riding the newest ride, a classic ride, or eating at one of the many cool themed restaurants at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom. I visited most of these parks when they first opened. I was only 11 months old when I got to go to the Magic Kingdom for the first time in December of 1971, so I don’t remember anything about it, but we went very often over the years, especially when friends came to visit, and my mother liked to talk about the first time we went. I was fortunate enough to get to go to Epcot’s Grand Opening before it was opened to the public because my father’s work had invitation-only tickets for a Radio Station, he worked for that was doing a LOT of Disney advertising at the time. I remember my first Epcot visit well, but not the rides. I was very sick with the flu and a high fever, but I tried to hide it from my mom so I wouldn’t spoil the fun for everyone else. She knew something was wrong, and kept telling me we could go home if I wanted to. I kept telling her that I did NOT want to go home. I played it off as being minor and avoided letting her touch my head. I pushed myself hard that day to make it through to the end. Thank goodness for Tylenol. I’d go to sleep anytime I could sit down, even on the rides, at our special dinner in Japan, and on the curb if it took my parents more than two seconds to decide what we going to do next. Yeah, that’s back in the days when you didn’t need a strategic plan to ‘work everything’ into a day. When Hollywood Studios first opened it was called Disney MGM Studios. I had 3-month-old twin baby girls, so I waited until early December to go. By then, I was pregnant with another girl, so walking around all day was tiring but we still had a blast. I really loved The Great Movie Ride, the Backstage Studio Tours with the Catastrophe Canyon, the Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, and the just-opened Star Tours. When Animal Kingdom (AK) opened, I had moved to Nashville so I had to make a special trip back ‘home’ to see what this new Kingdom was all about. Though much has at AK over the years, I still love to go on the Safari, watch It’s Tough to be a Bug in the Tree of Life, take the train to what was Conversation Station, and explore Gorilla Falls.
I really enjoy traveling, and even the detailed planning (that most people hate). I’ve traveled a fair amount and been lucky enough to go to some wonderful places in my 50-plus years. I am so thankful for the adventurous spirit that my mother instilled in me. Because I have been to Walt Disney World hundreds of times, and spend so much time keeping up with what I need to know and what’s changed before I plan my next trip, it seemed only natural for me to want to include that as a ‘specialty’ in my desire to be a travel agent. Though the parks have changed through the years, the magical memories of my childhood still come flooding back to me when I arrive. Disney is a special place for me. I spend a lot of time keeping up with what is going on there and enjoy sharing that info with others. So, hopefully, you can better understand why I enjoy Disney travel planning and I say that you can ALWAYS talk to Disney to me. #talkdisneytome #disneyworld #disneylife #disney
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