Once Upon a Time: Our Disney History

Welcome Aboard--Bienvenidos Abordo

Welcome to our family blog for our Disney vacation, Summer 2011! For most of us, this will be our first trip in 4 years, and we are all very excited! In our family, if you're talkin' Disney, 4 years is just too long!

So where does our Disney Story begin?

22 years ago, my parents, Bill and Tammy, visited WDW with some friends for the first time. Needless to say, they fell in love with the Disney experience, and returned within a year with the entire family. Since then, we have been traveling from Texas to Orlando as often as possible, adding to our collection of Disney Home Videos, Mickey Mouse beach towels, and of course thousands of memories!! Our family has grown considerably, along with the Disney parks themselves, and this year my parents will be returning with their 2 daughters, a son in law, and 2 grandchildren.

This Year's Disney Cast:

Bill

Age: 56

Occupation: Physician

Trip to Disney: #19

Last Disney Trip: 2008 (30th anniversary)

Most looking forward to: sitting with Tammy and enjoying our memories.

Tammy

Age: 52

Occupation: Art Teacher

Trip to Disney: #20

Last Disney Trip: 2010 (with 3 sisters)

Excited to: Return to Magic Kingdom and find our family brick, purchased in 1994!

Taylor

Age: 20

Occupation: Student (Go Frogs!)/Ride Enthusiast

Trip to Disney: #16

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Dream Job at Disney: getting to be Tinkerbell and fly from the top of Cinderella Castle every night!

Whitney

Age: 29

Occupation: Middle School Science Teacher

Trip to Disney: #12

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Favorite Disney touch: the way the sidewalks twinkle as you walk towards the exit after Illuminations at Epcot.

Rodney

Age: 30

Occupation: Pilot

Trip to Disney: #4

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most excited about: watching Caleb loose his britches when he tries Summit Plummet for the first time!

Caleb

Age: 11

Occupation: Ninja

Trip to Disney: #4

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most looking forward to: Finally being tall enough for Space Mountain and Rockin' Roller Coaster

Hannah

Age: 5

Occupation: Princess

Trip to Disney: #2

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most looking forward to: her appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (but shhhhh! she doesn't know it yet!!)

And our Honorary Cast Members:

Zachary and Hunter

(unable to attend due to pursuit of their own passions and dreams, like any true mouseketeer)

Zach will be traveling to L.A. as well as working in DFW, working on his career as a singer/songwriter, and Hunter will be performing in Cyrano de Burgerac, part of Dallas Shakespeare in the Park. We are so sad that they won't be joining us on this trip, but thrilled to know that they are both doing what they love!!

Second Star on the Right, and Straight on Till Morning

So, tomorrow, July 8, begins our journey to the Happiest Place on Earth. The Dove family will be departing from Kingwood, Tx early in the morning, and Bill, Tammy, and Taylor will be leaving Denison, Tx at around 10:30 am. The plan is to take 2 days to drive, and meet in Orlando on the afternoon of Saturday the 9th.

The hope is to write a little on this blog every day (hopefully), so that our friends and family can keep up with us during our 2 week stay in Orlando. We are so excited about this trip, and hope that you'll check back to see what we're up to!!

See ya' real soon!

Taylor