Kids go to Disneyland, and Walt Disney World and they don't realize the magnitude of the situation, and how it can have a wonderful influence on the rest of their lives.
I took my first trip without family to visit an old friend who had moved way back when we were in grade school. We kept in touch all those years and she and her parents invited me to come and stay with them for a couple weeks in southern California. I fell in love with it and really didn't want to come home. Her Mom even offered to let me live there if I wanted to stay! I knew my Mom and Dad would be broken hearted so I reluctantly turned down their generous offer.
Let me digress here for one moment. I took my first trip to Walt Disney World for my senior class trip in high school in 1976. I was hooked immediately. I didn't want to leave.
It would be two years before I would make my first venture to the west coast and go and spend a day at the place that Walt walked. I was overwhelmed with emotions and even today, forty years later I can still remember that feeling. As I walked around in Disneyland, it was almost like Walt was walking with me.
I didn't get back to Disneyland for another 38 years. This time I was not just with a friend, but the love of my life who had never been before. It was pretty close to a first time for me since it had been so long, and I had never been to California Adventure. As I strolled into Disneyland in 2016, I had that feeling all over again.
Anyway, here I was at the tender age of 20 just after spending the day at Disneyland, and of course I had to bring home a very large Mickey Mouse! He even had his own seat on the 747 that brought me back home! See that big smile on my face? I was one happy girl!
Here I am at home with my new pal!
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