A Learning Experience

As I have said before, I always learn something new when I make a trip to Disney World. Most people will put one sterotype on the Disney Parks, and that is Rides, Rides, Rides. The truth is though, that those of us who know Disney a bit better know that there is more than that sterotype. There is a huge learning experience there as well. I know so many things about Disney, and I am sure I could almost write a book on all of the things Disney has taught me, life lessons, and random information that I use everyday. You can learn history, science, literature, and even math, not only through the rides, but through many different things. There is a common saying, "Don't just rush through life, stop and smell the roses once and a while." This holds true for Disney World as well. Many people will spend a day at Epcot forsay, starting out their day riding rides, followed by a quick lunch, more rides, a quick dinner, and finishing out with Fireworks. Yes, even for many of us Disney Freaks, this holds true, but we also add in more to our days. We stop and "smell the roses" as we read and notice things we never did before, talk to a cast member, and eat somewhere that we have not in a while. Disney World is not just rides, rides and more rides, it is something more, and what I always say to people as my answer is "you just have to be there to understand".

Pixie Dust

Those of us who have been lucky enough to have more than one or two trips to a Disney park, we all find that each and everyone of our trips are different, and for different reasons. If they were all the same, what would be the point. I often have people ask me why I still love going to Disney World even with how many times I have been there. My answer is always, "There is always something different a change, a new ride, and a new experience to have." Of course, Disney is different for each person who goes there as well, making each experience even more different. You will never be able to finish everything at Disney World in a day or two, it would take months, and even with the large number of trips I have had, I still have not experienced it all. Sure, you can get all of the rides in from each park, but you will never have the full experience. Every trip I find something new, I learn something new, and I become more and more excited.

Although I have gone to Disney so many times, and many without new rides and such, there is always something new to do. Maybe you have not traveled a path at Animal Kingdom for years, or maybe you have not eaten at a restraunt before, even though it has been there the whole time. Each Disney trip is different, and each person is different, meaning that each day, there are millions of different Disney experiences for you to investagate. There are plenty of magical things that can happen, like the recent Disney endorcement, one for you to travel to Disney and get in free on your birthday. I did not take advantage of this, considering my birthday is in July, and it is just plain hot down there that time of year, but for many people this was a great offer, especially for those with young kids. If you eat at a sit-down restruant, it is quite possible that they will do something special for you on your special day. In the past, my family has been greeted with special food, and especially special desserts. This past vacation, my mom celebrated her birthday early, since hers is directly on christmas, it would be very hard to go down there that time of year. We went in early December, and even then it was busy enough, but either way, we still went and she always noted on each of our dinner reservations that she was celebrating her birthday. Which most of the time, ment something special for all of us. Our first night we ate at the Garden Grill in the land at Epcot, and for her birthday celebration, we recieved a special dessert, it was like a berry tart if I remember correctly. It was delicious. Another memory I have of my mom celebrating her birthday, only this time it was many years ago, but yet we were still at the Garden Grill, we recieved a different Speical Dessert, and Chip or Dale, one of the two chipmunks I know for certain came and put whipped cream on my mom's nose. It was funny, and the best part, we have it on video.

But Disney celebrations are not just for birthdays, there are many more magical things that happen at Disney World and Disney parks around the world everyday. What are some more of them? You will just have to keep reading to find out.

A Funny Experience

As I travel to Florida and WDW more and more over the years, I find that I love to educate others about my favorite place. I started this blog with that same feeling and today I have a chance to experience it again. As I was waiting in between presentations today in my Civics class, my teacher came up to me and asked me a question. She is taking her kids on a family vacation to Disney World this summer and wanted to know if a 2 PM Lunch dining time was a good time to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom. They are going for Fourth of July, and my first reply, busy and hot. I agreed that a 2 PM dining time was good because of a few things. It is a later lunch, and most people will dine there at night or for an early lunch, and especially with reservations, it was a good idea. Second, it was in the heat of the day, and it will feel nice to get out of the extreme heat of the parks and get into some nice air conditioning. She thanked me and told me that she would have more questions for me in the future. I am happy to answer all of them, and most of all, I am just happy to share my knowledge that I have learned throughout the years I have gone on trips there. In fact, this trip I am going to try and spend more time looking and things, observing them, and I plan to keep a highly detailed journal of everything I see and do, including pictures of my dishes I eat, people I meet, places I go, and new things I discover. To tell the truth, I don't always want to leave my pet family here (I house 15 cats in my barn and have 1 house cat), and so they because my main priority, but now I am full blown excited about my trip to Disney this upcoming November, and I have no idea why, but I feel like I need to learn more and more about Disney, so I can make the most memorible vacation I have ever had, and take many more pictures for my desktop background and facebook profile that is.

My Magical Memories

As everyone who travels to Walt Disney World, or any Disney park for that matter, we all have our Magical Memories. I myself have my own, and I cherish them with respect as I grow older. I once heard a saying, "growing old is inevitable, but growing up...well, that's optional". I actually have no idea who originally said this quote, but it does refer to Disney's Peter Pan, and the fact that Peter will never grow up, nor grow old as long as he is in Neverland, but for those of us who are forced to live outside of Neverland, we will always be kids at heart when it comes to Disney. A lot of my most magical memories are based on the fact that when I am at WDW, I can be more myself than I can anywhere else in the whole world, and I know that I can just be that kid in me, the kid that cannot be found here in Wisconsin as much.

My own magical memories go from special experiences to something as simple as a great day with my family. I didn't always know the heart within the Disney Magic, but as I grow a little older, I start to notice things I never did before, and I find that I am caring more and more about the thing that I love. I would have to say that my most magical memories are when I discover something I never knew about Disney before, and often, this happens at home as well. While reading a book or magazines about Disney World or Walt himself, I will learn something that will increase my knowledge of Disney, and this gives me more of a special feeling now more than it ever has before. Just tonight I was reading Celebrations Magazine and I found at least 5 things I never knew about Disney World in it, I even stumped my parents with one! While learning about Disney, I get this happy feeling, more carefree than anything, and I just felt good. The Thunderstorm going on outside my window dissapeared and my worries about school and homework went away, as I focused more and more about Disney.

Another one of my most magical memories and something I will remember for the rest of my life I am sure, it is the first time my family was family of the day at a Disney Restaurant. We were having a lunch at the Garden Grill in EPCOT, and we were named family of the day. We were served a special meal, and also got a free pass. Much to our Dissapointment, we were leaving that day, but we were still able to use the free pass to snag a last ride on Test Track.

I have many many more magical memories, but I will save some of them for another time. Now, I want to know what some of your magical memories are?

A Big Hello

Hi Everyone!

To start out, I am known as EpcotExpert, as my code name at least, and I have always loved Disney. I found that I love to write things, and I decided to increase my writing skills by starting a blog about the thing I love most, Disney. I am not very old, in fact I am only 14, a Freshman in High School in the 2009-2010 school year. I have been to Disney World 18 times in my life, along with having gone on 2 Disney Cruise Line Trips. No, I have never been to Disneyland, but I absolutely love Disney World, and I am sure there are a lot of kids just like me out there. It just so happens I could be the only "Disney kid" in my school, since I live in a small Wisconsin town.

As I write on this blog, I will try to find more and more people who are just like me, as I already know of quite a few, but I just need to find more. I will try to post as often as I can, about different topics, all including Disney of course!

If you would like to contact me, please do, at epcotexpert@yahoo.com ! If sending me an email, please give it a subject line called WDW Kids, so I will know what it is and who it is from.