It All Started with a Mouse

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It was the year 2008, and I finally convinced Lee to go to Disneyland! I was so excited and Isabella was just a baby! It was a short trip, but we drove from Washington State down to Anaheim, stopping overnight in Sacramento both on the way there and back. We did Disneyland for 2 days and California Adventure 1 day. Since Isabella was only 8 months old, and the other 2 were in Kindergarten and preschool, we figured we wouldn't be there long. I mean how much can we really do with toddlers? We also hit Universal on the way home. It was a whirlwind of a trip. We really did only what you can do wit very young children. Yet, it was enough of a sweet taste, I couldn't wait to go back. I started daydreaming and planning our next trip. It came in 2010! 

This time we had booked a timeshare stay with a company we had found in Hawaii. At the time it was called Shell Vacations. This was a week long trip, and we took full advantage of it! We even booked a lunch at Ariel's Grotto. (it was a princess lunch) I kept saying, why don't we invest in a Disney timeshare, and Lee said, I don't think it's a good idea. This is a one and done trip and we will move on to doing other vacations around the world. So we ended up buying into Shell Vacation Club at the time! I knew I wanted to come back. The obsession as some called it, or passion was just beginning to spark! In the meantime, I asked our timeshare to do an ongoing search for the Grand California, since they were partnered with RCI. 

That fateful call came late summer one day in August in 2011! Someone backed out of a last minute vacation and wanted to know if we wanted their suite! Did we want it! We absolutely did! They told us there was a catch. That we had to go the first week of school or we don't get it. Obviously, that was a no-brainer for us! When we got there, it was absolutely amazing! A real suite, it was! We even had a patio with a view that overlooked the Ferris wheel and World of Color show! We also go early entry into CA every other day! It was quiet and well worth it! It however, did spoil us and we realized immediately we should have bought into Disney Timeshare. We really took our time through the park, stopping to see every little thing Walt added to the park as a bonus guest experience. We also knew we were on our way to becoming Disney Adults with a Disney loving family! Every trip we dreamed and started planning before we even left. And we truly got the blues. When we walked in, we choked up, knowing we were truly happy creating memories for our family for years to come! We became annual passholders, and visited the parks 2 - 3 weeks every 6 months! Of course we were the crazy family! But we were also the ones all of our friends and family came to on advice about what to do, visit eat, etc at the parks! 

Of course it all started with our very first picture with Mickey Mouse and doing everything we could that Disney offered. And fast forward 15 + years later, we are now planning our retirement to be centered around Disney! We knew California was to expensive to retire in, so Florida it was! We planned to retire there in 2015, well before we'd ever step foot in Florida! Now with only a few years until our great move across the United States, we are planning, dreaming, designing our dream house, and counting the months and days until we can just wake up and go to Disney! 

Lee and I are in the process of getting our travel agent license as well, so we can also help other live their dreams, and share our deep love for the Mouse and all things magical! 

Until next time . . .