Retro Disney Love

If you are an active Instagram user, you are well aware of the popular hashtag #throwbackthursday. One of my favorite #tbt subjects is the Walt Disney World Resort! If you have read my previous post, Measuring Time by Disney Visits, you are already familiar with my longstanding love of Disney. When I am visiting my parents, or when a family member is kind enough to send them to me, I love to find and share pictures from my personal family Disney history. 

This is probably my favorite Disney throwback picture ever! This is the beginning of my Walt Disney World history, with my beautiful mother at the Magic Kingdom during the Grand Opening month on October 22, 1971. This picture was taken just a few days before the official grand opening, and was probably in a time that we would now refer to as a soft opening. This was about a decade before I was born!

The picture above is from the mid 80’s, as evidenced by the Gummi Bears on the float, as well as Robin Hood and Maid Marian on the side of the street. These are some long forgotten characters that were a huge part of my childhood! Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bearsran from 1985-1991 and was a predecessor to the Disney Afternoons fun of the mid-90’s. Just seeing a glimpse of these characters instantly reminds me of an entire slice of childhood, that I could go years without thinking of otherwise. 

This view is from one of my favorite trips to the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World. I was in middle school, thought I had the world figured out, and was loving life. We stayed in a concierge level room, and had a beautiful balcony view of the Magic Kingdom. To me, at that time, the world was perfect.

These two pictures are from the same magical trip to Disney World, when I was about 8 years old. Some of my favorite parts of these pictures are my mom’s hair, the now extinct Skyway at Magic Kingdom, the original location of the Dumbo ride, the most awesome Granny, and my tiny baby sister! Disney World vacations give you the chance to remember a moment in time. You can see how the park has changed, how you’ve changed, how life has changed, and remember that glimpse of the past, framed in stillness in the photo forever. 

At Disney, time stands still. The visit is full of happiness, a childlike joy, and a zest for life. It’s magic.

And now, I am making my own moments in time. Below, are my five little munchkins at last year’s Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. Tomorrow, we visit this festival again, and all of these precious little ones are one year older, bigger, wiser, and closer to flying out of the nest. May we each treasure these moments in time, at Disney World, at our home, and in our hearts.