Opening the park at Disney World: being family of the day

I spent my childhood craving a holiday to Walt Disney World in Florida. But, although my parents were (are!) wonderful and took us on many lovely places, including a number of wonderful driving trips around Europe. We never made it to America, and I never met the most famous rodent on earth. It is the only time that I remember my parents telling me that it was simply too expensive – taking two adults and three children to Florida was way beyond our means.

I promised myself then that I would take my children and mentioned this to my husband even before we had them! We knew it would be pricey, but we saved up and up, and finally, when the children were of an age when I thought they would remember the experience, we told them it was happening. They were 11 and 7. And they were thrilled.

[caption id="attachment_1344" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We opened the Magic Kingdom![/caption]

The magic of Disney is something which so many of you will know about. But our experience was particularly special because we were lucky enough to do something utterly amazing: we opened the Magic Kingdom.

Until we got to our first Disney Park, Hollywood Studios, I had no idea that a family was even picked to open the park. But then I saw a family do so, and they looked joyous and a little bemused. I thought no more of it as we added in Epcot and visited Universal Studios too.

We left the Magic Kingdom right to the end of our ten day visit. Knowing that the park opened at 9am, we got there just after 8am. It was a lovely day and we were right at the front of a growing queue, near the turnstiles.

We chatted away to the people behind us and the security guards and cast members too. My son was wearing a Donald Duck cap, but we weren’t doing anything special. Then, around 8.30am, a man came up to us. “We’d like you to be our family of the day and open the park,” he said. I looked at him in disbelief. Had he just said what I thought he had? Yes, he had.

We looked at each other in astonishment. I thought I was going to cry. I had waited my whole life to visit this park, the classic one with the Cinderella Tower in the middle and the It’s a Small World ride, and here I was, being brought in before anyone else, and with the people I loved most beside me. It seemed crazy.

[caption id="attachment_1347" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We got to take pictures in front of the castle with no tourists around![/caption]

The man who ushered us in told us that over a million people visit the park each year, but only 365 get to open it. He then passed us over to another lovely man called Scottie who took us over to an old 1915 blue fire engine and told us we were going to have a quick tour round the park. We drove around “Main Street USA” and Robert sat in the front, tooting the horn at different intervals. Scottie couldn’t have been more charming. He told some of the history of the park and made sure we got pictures in front of the castle – with no tourists anywhere near!

[caption id="attachment_1341" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The family with all of the cast before the ceremony started[/caption]

We were then taken into the Disney railway station where we were introduced to the cast members of the show and to the Main Street "Reporter", Scoop. He told us that we were going to be in the opening show and gave us instructions: Brian needed to stand next to Mickey Mouse, Jess to stand next to Brian, with me next and Robert next to me. My task was to say “Good morning.” I immediately wondered how to say this – and think I ended up sounding as English as I could possibly be!

[caption id="attachment_1339" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Brian with Mickey Mouse when the park was opened[/caption]

We had a picture with the dancers and then it all got very busy. The steam train came into the station and all the characters, from Mary Poppins to Chip and Dale, got off. We stood as we had been told and waved madly. We were suddenly part of a show, which began with "Good morning" from Singin' in the Rain. We were introduced as "The Ebner family from London, England" and I said “Good morning”, while the music and dancing continued around us. Then, after a countdown from 10 to 1, some fireworks went off behind. We looked down and there were thousands of people below us.



The show didn’t last long, and then we were taken backstage. I felt quite tearful if I’m honest – what an experience to be part of, and a complete fluke that we were picked. The children were given some badges, plus a general fast pass for us to use and another for us to use to meet Mickey Mouse later on. He then said that we would be driven to the first ride we wanted to go on (the haunted mansion). It was strange to think that we hadn’t even started the day properly and yet we had already experienced one of the best things ever.

The rest of the day was brilliant, and the kids especially loved it when people came up to us and said “you were the family of the day.” We felt like mini-celebrities.

When we got home we Googled how to become “family of the day” and found that there were all sorts of tips on there, from getting there three hours early, to being advantaged if you were travelling with twins or a baby. We weren’t. We don’t know why we were picked and I’m sure that if we’d tried to be, it wouldn’t have worked.

All I can say is that it was utter magic. And wonderful to experience it all together. You won’t be surprised to hear that it made our holiday the best we had ever had.



Robert says: Just a few weeks ago I wrote a list of my favourite experiences and right at the top of it was opening Disneyland in Orlando, America. It was one of the best moments I have ever had.
It started off with getting to the park early then all of a sudden a man came along as said “You have been picked to be our family of the day and open Disneyworld with Mickey Mouse.” We got a guided tour of the park on an old fashioned Fire truck and got fantastic pictures of the iconic views without any people or crowds scuttling around us. We met up with more people and were told what we were meant to do when on the balcony. We then walked on and Mickey Mouse came off a train followed by all the other Disney Characters.
It was an utterly amazing experience looking down at thousands of people, who could have been in the same shoes as us. Afterwards lots of people thanked us being so great and rewarded us with lots of fast passes. It was BRILLIANT.

[caption id="attachment_1345" align="aligncenter" width="718"] With Mickey Mouse![/caption]

Jess says: Our family has been to some incredible places and participated in unbelievable experiences, but it's not so often that we get to do something that money can't buy, and that very few people get to do.
In 2013, the Magic Kingdom hosted 18.58 million visitors, yet only 365 families got to open the park. This is probably the reason that this event was so special; everyone was so lovely and we were able to do something unique! I can still remember my confusion at being asked to move forward and get through the gate early, and my giddy excitement at driving around the park with the wind in my hair. I loved walking onto the balcony with mum, dad and Robert, and gasped with exhilaration as the fireworks exploded above us! It truly was a day to remember, and possibly the happiest one of my entire life.

READ ABOUT ROBERT'S TRIP TO SPACE CAMP AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTRE

Read about our trip to the Harry Potter studio tour - and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando...

 

Disneyland Paris by Robert

[caption id="attachment_1110" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The parade at Disneyland Paris[/caption]

I went to Disneyland Paris with my scout group and had a great time. The rides and attractions were brilliant but here's the thing: if you want a happy family experience where you meet Mickey Mouse, go to Florida. If you want exciting rides and to get wet go to EuroDisney. Apart from a building where you could meet the most famous Disney character, and the parade, there weren't many things to do with the characters at all, but I still loved it. These are the highlights of my day there:

1. Big Thunder Mountain ( 6+)

If you decide to go on this ride, and you definitely should, go to it early on in the day as the queues can be very long. Big Thunder Mountain was the first ride we went on and the queue was two hours long. Later in the day it became six hours.
This ride is a roller coaster, not too scary and not too calm. The ride was around four minutes long which I thought was brilliant as most rides usually last one minute at the most. There were plenty of small drops, tense moments and some of the ride was in complete darkness. One of the things I thought was cool about this ride was that the main thing that caught your eye in this section of the park was a massive mountain. In the ride your train went all around the mountain and right at the top there were a few seconds when you could see the whole park before you plummeted down. It was the best ride of the day and I would give it 5 stars.

2. The Pirates of The Caribbean Ride (5+)

This ride was an extremely fun one. It took you through the world of pirates and how they find treasure. There were moving models and sound effects but there was a downside... At the beginning there were loads of signs saying you will get very wet, yet I got about a drop of water on me and I was sitting at the front. Apart from that it was a great ride and I would give it three and a half stars.

3. Star Tours (4+ but the youngsters may not understand it very well)

Stars Tours was a fantastic simulation that made you feel like you were actually inside a space ship from the Star Wars films. There were bumps and wobbles, the space craft travelled through the air and the special effects were brilliant. All the talking from the Star Wars characters was in French so I didn't really understand what was going on but the feel of the ride was great and it was the adults' favourite. 4 stars.

4. Alice's Labyrinth (all ages)

Alice's Labyrinth was really fun for both the kids and adults. It was a very tricky maze, yet at some times there was only one route to take. There was the castle of the Queen Of Hearts in the middle of the maze. Me and my partner managed to get out of the labyrinth twice but both times we failed to find the castle, even when accompanied by a leader. The maze had twists and turns as well as things like a mini door. Also there were signs from the Cheshire Cat, some useful and some not. At the end you got to sit down with the the character's things, like wearing the Mad Hatter's Hat. 4 Stars.

5. The Haunted House (5+)

The haunted house was half ride, half walking around. It was creepy but not really scary. One of my favourite bits was at the beginning, when on the walls there were four happy paintings, including a woman picking roses, a couple having a picnic and a woman canoeing on a river. But then the paintings were extended and you could see the woman was picking roses on a graveyard, the couple having a picnic were surrounded by zombies and the woman canoeing was about to fall down a water fall. Another thing I liked was that near the end you looked in a mirror and you could see a monster on top of your car. I would have liked more things to have popped out as all the things were just there for you to look at. 3 Stars.

6. The Parade (all ages)

The parade was brilliant and was one of the only things that made me think of the happy side of Disney. It made me feel like I was four years old again. The floats were fantastic and the costumes were brilliant. There were dancers on roller skates and characters walking, as well as them being on the floats. At one point the Evil Queen from Snow White came up to us, looked at our scouting uniform and gave us the scout salute. 5 stars.

Some of the things we didn't do were:

• The Snow White and the Seven Dwarves roller coaster which was said to be really good


• Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom. You need to be 1.4 M to go on this so we couldn't go on. It had loops, pinwheels and big drops in it so definitely for the older ones.


• Space Mountain which was closed for repairs but looked and sounded amazing.

There was so much more to do like boat rides, a shooting range and even a visit to Robinson Crusoe's tree house. It's a small world, Peter Pan's flight and loads more. It was a fantastic day and you should definitely go.

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Is 11 too old for Disney World?

Is 11 too old for Disney World?

We were thrilled that the Huffington Post UK ran J's article on our trip to Disney. In case you didn't see it there, here it is....

Princesses, parades and characters I faintly remember loving aged two. Surely I, an 11 year old girl, am way too old for Disney World?

As we drove into DisneyWorld, I felt a surge of excitement. I had dreamed of visiting Disney forever and that dream was coming true. However, I was also slightly worried. When I had been begging my parents to take me, I was still in love with Belle, Toy Story and Pluto. Surely I wouldn't feel the same way about meeting them now as I would have when I was younger?

The first park we visited was the Disney Hollywood Studios. I was most looking forward to the Toy Story Mania ride because I'd heard so much about it. My expectations were very high but when I saw the waiting area, I almost changed my mind. It was full of brightly coloured games that looked cheesy and babyish. Suddenly, Disney started seeming less appealing.

My mind changed as soon as the ride started. My family spun around, laughing as we shot virtual pies, pins and darts at pretend targets. It was such good fun.

When my parents persuaded me to have my picture taken with the Monsters Inc characters, I felt a bit embarrassed. The line was full of five year olds and I was eleven! But Disney obviously drew the younger child out of me though, and it was quite cool to have my picture taken with Sully and Mike Wazowski. I didn't even mind knowing it was actors inside the costumes.


Obviously, the Hollywood Studios weren't just full of things for younger children. I enjoyed yelling, clapping and gasping at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, where stunt actors fell off buildings, got punched in the face and ran away from Germans in a WWII scene. Another highlight was Star Wars: Star Tours, where I was strapped into the StarSpeeder 1000 (a motion simulator) and went on a journey through space with C-3PO. It was so good I went on it twice!

At the end of the day, our family watched Fantasmic. By then I wasn't even worried about whether I'd be too old - so far everything had been perfect. The show was fabulous; it had fireworks, boats and scenes from Disney movies projected onto mist. I really enjoyed it.

I wasn't worried about Epcot at all. I'd heard it had some really cool, fast rides and nice places to walk around. I screamed my head off whizzing around Test Track and freaked out on the more intense version of Mission: SPACE. We were on a Spaceship that was going to Mars and you had to press buttons to carry out your allocated roles. The ride had REAL G-forces and was one of only two rides on the whole holiday that I didn't like.

I really enjoyed walking around the pavilions at Epcot. China and Japan had really fabulous statues and Morocco looked like it had come straight out of Aladdin. There was an acrobat balancing on chairs and wine bottles in France, and a band singing British songs. There were also some yummy pastries in Norway. The pavilions looked incredible, but it was really tiring to walk around, and that slightly ruined the day.

I was a little worried about the Magic Kingdom, because the rides were mostly based on Princes and Princesses. The most scary ride I'd heard of was the spinning teacups, and I thought that I would find the day dull and uninteresting.

I changed my mind straight away when our family was picked as family of the day and got to open the park. We were driven around on a 1915 fire engine and got pictures of all of us in the empty park. Then, we got to take part in a special opening show with dancers, fireworks, a steam train and all of the Disney characters. It was brilliant!

As soon as the show was over, we rushed to the Haunted Mansion. I was looking forward to this because I'd heard that it was quite scary. The pre-show was definitely spooky, and I prepared myself for something really bad. The ride itself was actually fine. There were some really cool bits, where there was a lady's face in a crystal lamp and a graveyard, but most was quite funny. When you passed by mirrors, there was a monster sitting on top of you. It was hilarious.

We went to three rides that I thought would be too young for me and I enjoyed two of them. I had no clue how the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor would make you laugh, but it did. There was a very funny bit where they told the story of Monsters Inc using people from the audience. I also thought the Ariel ride was peaceful and relaxing. Everything looked really good, especially the Under The Sea dance with all the fish.

The only other ride I didn't enjoy was the Peter Pan Flight. The sets looked unreal and tiny and it was quite babyish. It was definitely aimed for younger kids.

Our Disney experience ended with a parade including Cinderella, Mickey, Donald, Aladdin and all of the Disney characters. It was the perfect way to end the holiday.

Was I too old for DisneyWorld? No I definitely wasn't. And whatever your age, I doubt you will be either.

Is 11 too old for Disney World?

We were thrilled that the Huffington Post UK ran J's article on our trip to Disney. In case you didn't see it there, here it is....

Princesses, parades and characters I faintly remember loving aged two. Surely I, an 11 year old girl, am way too old for Disney World?

As we drove into DisneyWorld, I felt a surge of excitement. I had dreamed of visiting Disney forever and that dream was coming true. However, I was also slightly worried. When I had been begging my parents to take me, I was still in love with Belle, Toy Story and Pluto. Surely I wouldn't feel the same way about meeting them now as I would have when I was younger?

The first park we visited was the Disney Hollywood Studios. I was most looking forward to the Toy Story Mania ride because I'd heard so much about it. My expectations were very high but when I saw the waiting area, I almost changed my mind. It was full of brightly coloured games that looked cheesy and babyish. Suddenly, Disney started seeming less appealing.

My mind changed as soon as the ride started. My family spun around, laughing as we shot virtual pies, pins and darts at pretend targets. It was such good fun.

When my parents persuaded me to have my picture taken with the Monsters Inc characters, I felt a bit embarrassed. The line was full of five year olds and I was eleven! But Disney obviously drew the younger child out of me though, and it was quite cool to have my picture taken with Sully and Mike Wazowski. I didn't even mind knowing it was actors inside the costumes.
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