Best/Worst/Bizarre Park Memories

[Jimsdadhalifax]

Best

First time we went to IOA, remember walking in and was soooooo excited. Also first time we saw the train pull up at MK opening.

Worst

Saw a teenage girl fall over at the entrance to one of the slides at Typhoon Lagoon (it used to have stepping stones across a small gap which they subsequently filled in with concrete) The ride got closed and it looked like she broke her wrist

Bizarre

Whilst trying to be clever on the tube slides at Blizzard Beach, I fell out at the top, banged my head and went down without the tube. Idiot!

[BarrettFamily]

Best - That feeling when you see the castle for the first time.

Worst - Hearing the story of how my husband had lost and found DS2 at MK when he was 6 or
Finding out the TA had not joined my Mums and our bookings together and the ADRs she had booked for us were only for 4 not 5 (this was over 10 years ago) it caused a lot of minor, irritating problems that took the shine off my holiday.

Bizarre- getting chosen to take part in the special effects show at the start of the Behind the scenes show (catastrophe canyon?) DS2 chose me instead of their Dad and chose me to get wet so (for those who remember) I was put in the communications hut and had all the water channeled in over me.

[klr15]

Best

It was our first trip ever last year and on our first morning we left Coronado Springs for magic Kingdom. We got there so early we managed to get some amazing pictures of us in front of the castle with no one else in the background on some of the photos. We then had an amazing breakfast at Be Our Guest and then we strolled around Magic Kingdom and watched the park from the people mover, probably one of the best days of my life.

worst

I wouldn’t say we had many bad memories really, after all we’ve only had one trip! One that does stick to mind though was a particularly long and hot day in Hollywood studios towards the end of our last week, I felt so sick and just not right that afternoon it was horrible!

Bizzare

Standing in Olivander’s and hearing a huge commotion behind us, we turned around just to see a single flip flop remaining where there once had been a big group. About a minute later a guy hops back in for his flip flop, turns out they’d rushed outside for a picture of the dragon breathing fire!

[sha9]

Best

Difficult to think of just one but the year my sister and I went on our own without friends stands out. It was just so much more relaxed. I remember sitting on a bench in MK with a Dole Whip float watching the world go by.

Worst
Probably the year before the aforementioned trip when we went with a friend. She took the huff over something ridiculous and we had a fall out. The rest of the trip wasn’t great

Bizarre
I struggled to think of anything bizarre. We did once see an elderly gentleman on a mobility scooter with 2 hats on in Epcot. The bottom one had a security tag on so we assume he shoplifted it. He then took both off, fiddled with the security tag and put both back on. He left followed by a security guard.
I also think people wearing jeans and socks in September heat is bizarre.

[braby]

Best
The look of joy on my son's face when he was given a Disney bag when travelling on Eurostar Disney paris, he was only 3 at the time, he's now 9 and still loves the bag.

Worst
Leaving florida on my sons first visit, we were staying at the clarion Inn LBV, as you get on the I4 to go to the airport you drive back past the hotel, lookig at my his face as he was saying goodbye to the hotel with tears in his eyes still makes me sad.

Bizarre
Stoping at a Denny's at Los Angeles airport just before dropping the hire car off, I was only about 14 years old at the time, we had finished eating and had paid but my parents needed the loo so i took the cars to go and wait in the car, opened the car and threw the keys on the seat, pressed the button inside the door to unlock the doors but pressed the wrong button and ended up locking the doors, with the keys on the front seat.
Parents came out rather unimpressed at what I had done, on seeing us in a rather heated discussion a man wlaks over who was just going into Denny's takes one look at what has happened says he will be back in a second and walks off, two minutes later he is back with a coat hangar and procedes to wedge it in the car door and manages to press the lock and open them.
I never leave keys in a car now.

[Peanutt]

Best

I first went pre-kids... For my second trip onwards I was lucky enough as I always wanted to take the kids to meet Mr Peanutt who loves the place just as much as I do and we have been quite a few times (for me seeing the castle on the boat on the first morning and all having brekkie at Crystal Palace is perfect and this year taking our granddaughter for her first experience too)

Worst

Deciding it was a good idea to take my parents with us one year - this year we will be returning with just my mum (and we no longer speak to my dad for many many reasons... that trip was the start of the reasons why lol)

Bizarre (have done this as things that have stuck in my mind)

So so many to choose from over the years... first trip in 1992 being 'kidnapped' from a queue by Woody Woodpecker (at 7am Im not at my best so he was 'politely' told on the 3rd or 4th attempt to put me down and go away! )... on other trips my mum getting stuck under a waterfall in a lazy river (cue hysterical laughter and no help from us sorry) or daughter in full meltdown running away from Sulley after changing her mind on the photo option while all the little kids stood watching (she was 12, still have that photo lol)

[SquishTheWhale]

Best: Checking into Cabana Bay and being upgraded to a tower room- getting into the room and seeing floor to ceiling windows with a stunning view of Volcano Bay. It just made my whole holiday.

Worst: At about age 14 my mum and step dad took us on a trip to the US in which we included a visit to Disneyland in LA. I remember us all waiting for ages in a good spot to watch a water/lights show, only for 1 minute before the show starts a cast member to tell us to leave as we can't stand there. There was no reason we couldn't be there- it wasn't a path- and the cast member had been stood there the whole time with us, without telling us we'd have to move! There was no viewing spots left so just 3 gutted kids and a livid mother!

Bizarre: the amount of people who assumed my husband was Latina and just came up to him speaking Spanish. He is half Chinese so I guess because he doesn't look totally white English they assumed he was Latina?! Happened several times a day!

[Imagineer2802]

Love this. So many to choose from after 15 years of visits!

Best
1) Watching Happily Ever After for the first time. Having grown up with Wishes (my parents' best memory as it was the first time I hadn't cried at fireworks!) I was convinced that nothing could beat it, but I was completely overwhelmed by how stunning it was. I felt the proper Disney magic come alive again.
2) first time at Discovery Cove. Swimming with dolphins had been a lifelong dream and it was amazing to finally do it. I didn't eat all day as I didn't want to get out of the snorkelling lagoon!

Worst
Several spring to mind:
A) spending 5 hours late in the evening at CentraCare waiting for a three second appointment to be told I had a mouth infection (which I already knew!) This was the same evening that we had realised our DSLR had been left in the taxi back from universal and the driver had driven off with it. We spent the whole holiday without a decent camera (gutted as it was our first MNSSHP) and spent every day on the phone to Mears/police until we eventually go it back on the day Of our flight home. It was slightly damaged and contained photos of the taxi driver and his family at home!

B) Villains Unleashed event at Hollywood Studios. Oh my god...the worst Event ever organised by Disney. They completely over sold tickets so the park was rammed. Nothing had waits of less than three hours so we saw no special characters and only one (crap) show. I nearly collapsed from heat exhaustion too, on the path next to Beauty and the Beast, in the dark, dressed as a pirate The guest relations line for refunds was nearly 2 hours long too. We got a refund the next day. Fast forward to later in the holiday and we turned up to Magic Kingdom in full costume for MNSSHP only to be denied entry. The blimmin cast member had only refunded those tickets instead of Villains Unleashed. After a lot of arguing they let us in free of charge.

Weirdest
I'm sure I've had a lot of weird moments but one particular theme springs to mind..you may be able to guess if you have read my trip reports. Now, it may be to do with differences in culture, but I just don't understand how free men are in water park changing rooms. They are everywhere. Naked. Everything hanging out. Showering with the curtain open, slapping suncream into every nook and cranny. Drying "all areas" of hair with a hand dryer. Just put the snake away!

[Clamshell]

Shuffling the order a bit for mine...

Worst - leaving Magic Kingdom on the last day of our holiday when I was a kid. We were on the ferry and the castle was getting smaller. Mum said ‘take one last look because we aren’t coming again’

Best - standard outside Magic Kingdom on the first day of mine and Mr Clamshells first trip, thinking I always knew it wasn’t my last time.

Most bizarre - I got it a bit wrong in the lockers at escape from gringotts. Whilst queuing in a huge queue for a screen to allocate a locker, the lady in front of me finished and squatted down to one side to put her stuff in a low down locker. I was conscious of holding every one up so reached over her to get my locker sorted and her husband started a huge over the top rant to Her about people being rude. In hindsight, I should have waited for her to finish. What made it worse is we ended up in the same lift in the gringotts queue, and then even worse, the same row of 4 in the actual ride 😕

[MinniMouse]

Best Park Memory

Has to be our first trip, watched the fireworks from Frontierland (didn't realise you should watch from the front). We all found it very emotional and had a big family hug after it

Worst Park Memory

Heatstroke on our last trip - were left queuing in the baking heat, despite turning up on time at BOG, felt immediately unwell after leaving, we had FP's for SDMT and I can't remember anything about it. Had to stop at every bathroom on way out of MK, sorry if TMI

Most Bizzare Park Memory

Last trip again, walking back to the changing rooms when a Brazillian girl (from one of those tour groups) grabbed our youngest DS (17 at the time) and took a selfie with him! This carried on at various times of our holiday much to DS's delight and sometimes embarrassment. A group of them were beckoning him at Universal one evening.