“Mickey!” my 3-year-old granddaughter squealed when she saw the 4-foot ceramic statue of Mickey Mouse at the Disney Springs shopping complex in Disney World.
“Mickey!” her twin brother echoed as they ran toward the icon, patting his giant yellow shoes and giving Mickey’s big white glove a high five.
“Let me take a picture of you with Mickey,” I said, coaxing them to sit in front of the figure and smile.
Courtesy of the author
My husband and I are huge Disney fans. We’re annual pass holders and Disney Vacation Club owners. Our living room is dedicated to all our Mickey and Minnie souvenirs. As much as we can’t wait to take our grandkids to the Magic Kingdom, we vowed never to pay them a $150-plus entrance fee until they’re 6 or 7 years old. That way, they’ll remember the experience.
It’s expensive and exhausting
Thirty years ago, I took my three children, ages 5, 8, and 9, to Disney World. We spent six glorious days having Snow White, Jasmine, Goofy and all the characters sign their autograph books. The Bugs Life show in the Tree of Life made the kids shriek with laughter when bug boogers (water) sprayed at them. It’s a Small World was their favorite ride.
Sadly, my youngest doesn’t remember any of these wonderful family moments because he was too young.
Seeing parents and grandparents trying to get every dollar’s worth out of their tickets by wrangling tired, screaming babies and pleading with terrified toddlers to stand next to the Green Army Man from Toy Story and a smile takes the magic out of the Happiest Place on Earth. That’s why we’ve shifted our strategy.
We still take them to Disney World but not to the parks
We still love to take our grandchildren to Disney World — either staying in our RV at Fort Wilderness Campground or Saratoga Springs, our home resort. Sometimes, we drive there for the day and park at the transportation center. But we don’t go inside the parks. Instead, we spend hours riding the free transportation — boats, monorails, buses, and gondolas.
Disney World is more than just the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Once we drive under the Walt Disney World entrance arch, we’ve entered a magical place where every inch is landscaped, and all cast members are friendly. It’s about the memories we’ve made over the years and the new memories we’re creating with our grandkids.
Every time we walk into the Grand Floridian resort, my husband says, “My dad used to love to have a glass of chardonnay in that bar behind where the band used to play.” I can tell he’s fondly picturing his now-deceased father at his favorite table, looking out the dome-shaped window.
We have so many memories
We’re excited to have a new generation of kids to share our happy place, although I often have to remind my husband of our agreement. He’s a kid himself when we’re at Disney.
He’s tempted to take the twins into Magic Kingdom to see their eyes light up as they gaze at Cinderella’s Castle and be enchanted by Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade. That’s almost worth all the money just to see him excited to watch them, but I don’t want to set a precedent for future visits (for the grandkids or my husband).
We did capture our time at Disney by utilizing their photographer who stood outside the Magic Kingdom ticket gate. She positioned us in front of a Mickey landscaped in flowers and the Main Street clock tower. She snapped some pictures and scanned my Magic Band so we could entertain the 3-year-olds by looking at the images in our annual pass account while waiting for the monorail. One of our favorites.
Another favorite, the Disney Skyliner — free gondola transportation — runs between multiple resorts, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. We love to watch the tiny people from as high as 60 feet in the air in capsules decorated with characters like The Princess and the Frog and Monsters, Inc.
We don’t have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to have the Disney experience with our 3-year-old grandchildren. What’s most important is creating the Disney magic with lots of smiles and laughter without dipping too far into our retirement savings.
