Your Best Day!

I realized last night that 10 years ago yesterday was what I considered my very best day at WDW, maybe my best day ever! Back story: I was listening to an internet radio station that started playing "Montezuma", which was the last musical piece that they would play around World Shocase Lagoon before Illumination (before they changed all the music). I turned to my wife while we were eating dinner and said, "Do you realize that 10 years ago almost to the minute we were listening to this waiting for our 3rd Illuminations show of our trip?" She was surprised that I could remember such things.

But that day was my best day. We started out at Disney Studios - hit ToT and then RcR and then Star Tours. Headed over to Animal Kingdom where we hit the Safari and caught Festival of the Lion King. Went to Blizzard Beach and hit Summit Plummet twice. Then over to MK where we had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and caught Wishes (it was brand new when we went). Then jammed to the monorail and headed over to Epcot - there we caught Mission:Space (new that year too!) and then caught a seat for Illuminations. Could there possibly be a better day?!?

So what was your favorite day at WDW?

There have been too many good times at Disney World to count, I mean any day at WDW is usually a pretty good one, right? :mickey:

However, one of the most special for us was when we were visiting in January 2004 for my DD's 3rd birthday. She was wearing her handmade Belle gown (thanks to her wonderfully talented Grandma!) and getting character autographs in DHS. A cast member had been watching us for awhile, and then she just started chatting us up, asking questions about our stay, what our plans were for the day. Then she asked us if we would be interested in being the grand marshals for the Stars and Motor Cars parade that day!!

Long story short (I'm sure my trip report is archived somewhere if you really want all the details :)), my husband, daughter, MIL, and I rode in the parade, amazed and completely giddy the entire time! We felt so special and couldn't believe our good fortune. :cloud9:

It was Summer of 2002

DD4 (at that time) DW and I finished a long day at MK.

Saw more characters than we thought.. rode a few good rides. finished up with Splash mountain.

Then... we went over to California Grill.. late reservations so we could see the fireworks just after dinner.

To our surprise... Our Waiter came over to our table and asked DD4 if she wanted to:

"Turn on the Fireworks"

Back then the castle lights changed colors just before the fireworks would start.

We were walked over to behind the hostess stand. She was told to push these buttons when she told her to do so...The hostess saw the lights change and told DD4

"Ok, Turn on the Fireworks" (she actually turned down the house lights)

Then then walked her/us over to the window and BOOM....

Still the coolest thing that ever happened to us at Disney.

They gave her a little card that all the servers signed.

Scott

My perfect day was Dec. 30 2012. My son and I walked from Beach Club to HS for rope drop. Hit RnR & ToT. Walked back and picked up wife and daughter and off to EPCOT. Did all of FW and managed to get on TT singles line in 70 minutes when normal standby was 210 minutes! Headed back for late afternoon swim at Stormalong Bay complete with ice cream for kids and piña coladas for the adults:marg: Back to world showcase for a grazing dinner. Fish and chips from UK, lamb sandwich from Morroco, brat from Germany, nachos from Mexico:eat::eat::eat: Three Caberros and Holiday Illuminations.
Enough now to wear is all out except my son. He convinces me to head to MK as girls head back to BC. He was a genius as Main Street is packed with a DJ party with rockin music and a rockin crowd:cool: firework show was out of this world!! Two shows being shot off together as mirror images and 11 different spots in the finally to create an encompassing 360 degree circle. Now re-energized hit all 3 mountains, HM,PoC,BL.

Our day started at 8am and we left MK at 2am.:mickey::mickey:

Our perfect day was last Sunday.

DH and I had a great Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before that but the weather was a little rainy; a little grey; all three days.

Sunday, we had until our Magical Express Bus at 2:00 - it was sunny and worked it's way up to the low 80's that day. Coming from the Midwest and experiencing the "polar vortex" that would have been enough...

We stayed at the Poly so after breakfast, we took the monorail from the TTC to EPCOT.

Walked thru EPCOT and exited the International Gateway and then took a leisurely walk to DHS.

Rode Tower of Terror (my all time favorite ride) and had a "come back sequence."

Walked back to EPCOT and had lunch at Spice Table Road (:thumbsup:)

Had dessert at what we fondly refer to as the "French Pastry Ride" in France.

Walked the long way back to the monorail station from France. Stopped by the stand in World Showcase that sells jewelry that is made of recycled park maps. I already knew I wanted a physical memory of our perfect day.

Rode the monorail back to the TTC and had enough time to sit by the pool for 25 minutes before we had to get our luggage.

My perfect day - definitely one I will remember for years to come.

We have had many perfect days and a lot of them were with friends, family, and the girls when they were younger.

People tell me they are waiting to go to WDW until their children are older- I tell them don't wait. The magic of going with little kids is a memory I will treasure forever. My girls started going when they were around 2 and enjoyed the characters and rides and shows even at that young age.

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Originally Posted by Katzateer

People tell me they are waiting to go to WDW until their children are older- I tell them don't wait. The magic of going with little kids is a memory I will treasure forever. My girls started going when they were around 2 and enjoyed the characters and rides and shows even at that young age.

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Katzeteer, you are so, SO right. We first took our daughter to Walt Disney World when she was only 17 months old. Detractors said it was stupid and a waste of money because she'd never remember anything from the trip.

But I'll never forget the look in her eyes as she saw some amazing sights. I remember her legs kicking uncontrollably from excitement as she saw Simba in Festival of the Lion King. I remember her running around in the convenient store at Port Orleans, pointing to each character and trying her best to say their names as she figured out Mickey Lives Here!

Those memories of her first trip are emblazoned in my mind and I'd never want to miss that! What is that worth?

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Originally Posted by Gator

I realized last night that 10 years ago yesterday was what I considered my very best day at WDW, maybe my best day ever! Back story: I was listening to an internet radio station that started playing "Montezuma", which was the last musical piece that they would play around World Shocase Lagoon before Illumination (before they changed all the music). I turned to my wife while we were eating dinner and said, "Do you realize that 10 years ago almost to the minute we were listening to this waiting for our 3rd Illuminations show of our trip?" She was surprised that I could remember such things.

But that day was my best day. We started out at Disney Studios - hit ToT and then RcR and then Star Tours. Headed over to Animal Kingdom where we hit the Safari and caught Festival of the Lion King. Went to Blizzard Beach and hit Summit Plummet twice. Then over to MK where we had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and caught Wishes (it was brand new when we went). Then jammed to the monorail and headed over to Epcot - there we caught Mission:Space (new that year too!) and then caught a seat for Illuminations. Could there possibly be a better day?!?

So what was your favorite day at WDW?

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Wow!!! That's an impressive day!!!

I don't remember much about the day, but I do remember we did HS in the evening. This was back when I was a little girl, probably 6 or 7 years old. It was just me and my dad.

I don't remember the specifics of the night, but it was the first time I was old enough to do thrill rides at HS (back then, MGM). My dad was so excited to take me on Star Tours and we took pictures with the Storm Trooper and Vader statues (remember how they used to be there at the end as you were exiting the ride area and going into the shop?).

The ToT had just launched and we stood there on Hollywood Boulevard, wondering if we were going to ride it. I remember eating a slice of watermelon while we discussed it. For some reason, he has a picture of that too. He was really unsure about us riding it, but he decided we should do it and I followed his lead and confidence. This was back when it only dropped you once, but that was a terrifying idea. We rode it and then I wanted to do it again!

It was just a fun day where I was old enough to do the big kid rides with my dad.

I can't remember one entire best day, for me it's more about the firsts. The first time I walked down Main St. and saw the castle was the best. The first time I saw the Tree of Life was amazing. The first park I ever visited was MGM and my first ride the Great Movie Ride and it's still a favorite. The first time I saw Illuminations voiced by James Earl Jones it was freezing cold too, he is still my favorite narrator

I'd say our best Disney day was actually a travel day, our arrival day on our first trip as a family to WDW with our boys, then age 9 & 6. We had the old "Ultimate" length-of-stay passes and when we arrived at All-Star Sports, about 8-9 pm we discovered that MK was open 'til 1.am. that night. In spite of having been in the car for 6 hours, and the boys having been in school all day, we caught a bus and made it to MK in time to ride several attractions. The awe on the boys faces was pure magic. without planning or even knowing what we were doing, we found ourselves riding Splash Mountain under a full moon during the fireworks show. It was total Disney "magic" and an awesome introduction to WDW for the kids. We make sure to repeat that experience on every trip if possible; it's a family tradition. We got back to our hotel about 2 am completely exhausted, but it was so worth it; our favorite Disney memory.

Great thread Gator....

Being fortunate enough to visit a dozen times or so over the past decade it's hard to backtrack to a 'best' day. Actually there have been many. And it really does revolve around our 2 DS'. It's really moments I relish the most. Watching their delight with all the character interactions when they were younger, their first time driving a speedway car or one of the speedboats, having a blast at the waterparks....the list goes on.

From a best day standpoint, I think to those lucky days we've had where we hit a park (MK especially), sun shining, crowds are light and we proceed to hit all the rides and shows we can handle. Compared to those crowded days you feel like you have the run of the park.

Love reading all of these :cloud9:

My best day is actually a best week. Back in March 2011. I finally got my husband to go. So my 2 sons, my husband and my myself had a "real" WDW vacation. We stayed at POP, did the parks, pools, downtown Disney. All of it. It was wonderful to have us together as a family!!

I wish my husband were "into" Disney. He hates it really but was willing to go because the boys were older and loved it and they remember it!

Like the PP usually it's specific moments that we remember. Still I keep going back to one day on our trip last year - 2 bedroom at the Boardwalk and the day after the day after my birthday. The day after my birthday was great - we did fun stuff at 3 parks, short lines, plans went like clockwork, did lots of old favorites and some new experiences during an admittedly long day.

Which might account for why the next day is the one I remember most fondly. We slept in, ate breakfast at Cape May, shopped for essentials at a nearby grocery store (beverages, flowers, chocolate), had a yummy lunch in an almost empty Manginos at Shades of Green ,and hung out by the BW's quiet pool. When our left overs for supper seemed slim, I went to the Pizza Window on the Boardwalk and back in about 2 minutes (not really but way quicker than at WL or POR). After supper, while relaxing in our living room DH was missing his comfy pants, so I zoomed (figuratively) back down to the BW where I scored cute Mickey loungers plus two kinds of ice cream for dessert at the Screen Door.

This day might seem like not much but it was relaxing (pool and lunch), fun (breakfast with Donald particularly and touring SoG which we hadn't done before), and convenient (BW being SO handy).

Jan

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Originally Posted by MississippiDisneyFreak

I can't remember one entire best day, for me it's more about the firsts.

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I know the feeling! 3 firsts I'll never forget.
1. The first time I took off in Rockin'RollerCoaster. What a rush!
2. The first time I saw the giant Sorceror's Hat - fell in love with it.
3. The first time I saw the finale' of Illuminations - WOW!

In May 2011, We were there for the official opening of Star Tours 3D and George Lucas was there, it was my first experience with a Star Wars Weekend and also first time riding RocknRoller Coaster and a few other things as well.
:mickey:I think Pirates 4 came out that day as well

November 2003

My son was granted a wish by the Make a Wish foundation. Merlin was still in the parks. He walked into the crowd and immediately noticed my son's button from Give Kids the World. He asked for my son's autograph book, and we told him we didn't have one yet. He walked away from the crowd, into a store, and came back out with an autograph book and pen for my son. He asked if we were sticking around for the show, and we told him that we were. Merlin picked my son to pull the sword from the stone. These were such incredible moments we will never forget. My son pulled the sword and received a medal from Merlin. It is a day I will never forget and it was probably the day I became a Disney fan for life. We're so grateful for the experience for our son. If only Merlin were still around!