Disney and Me
- It's A North World
- Mar 22, 2023
- 6 min read
Hi everyone!
Its me - Sam - one fourth of It's a North World. Today is my birthday, and my last one in my 30's!!
Hitting the big 40 next year really gets you thinking about what you have done with all this time and also where you want to be, so I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you all where my love of Disney has come from, and why it's such a HUGE part of my life now.
I've had a love for Disney for as long as I can remember. As a kid I would love nothing more than sitting in my room surrounded by a very large collection of soft toys watching my favourite Disney videos (yes videos!!).
I was bullied quite a bit through primary and secondary school, and to be honest I kept how much I actually loved Disney to myself; I thought dulling it down would potentially be one less thing to be made fun over.
I'd watch all the fairytales and dream that one day, when I was an adult, I would have my happily ever after, and could do all these amazing things like in the films, like what I wanted, and be who I wanted to be without the fear of being picked on for it. But I actually found I still didn't fully embrace my love of Disney until I was a mum myself.
I knew of Walt Disney World, but it never even entered my head that I could ever go there. People I knew had been to Florida with their families, but it wasn't something we could ever afford to do as a family. We hadn't even been abroad, so I didn't really think about it much... things like that just weren't meant for me. Don't get me wrong, we had family holidays and I loved them. We would go to Scotland or Somerset every year with my Auntie and Uncle, and my Mum and Dad would let me take a friend with me. We had some really good times, and I love looking back on all the photos.
In 1992 I saw the advert for Euro Disney on TV and that was it!! It was only in France, a lot closer than America. Maybe that was something I could aim for? I knew it wouldn't be something I would be able to do as a kid, as it was still very expensive, and I never even asked or mentioned how much I wanted to go to my parents as I knew it just wasn't an option. So I dreamt quietly, and kept that wish close to my heart for a very long time.
The closest I could come to a Disney park was the Disney Store!! It was my mothership! I would spend hours if I could, walking round looking at EVERYTHING in there. I'd make lists of the things I wanted, and save all my pocket money so I could buy my favourite plushies, some of which I still have today! I loved that place so much and was devastated when they all closed. They were a very happy memory from my child and adulthood.
Time went on and I went to college and uni , met Jon, we got engaged and then married, and not too long after in 2010 Hayden came along. All the while my love for all things Disney simmered away. I did let it out little by little the older I got, and then having a child was a great excuse, and it really came out!! I still dreamt of going to Eurodisney (now called Disneyland Paris), and taking my little family with me but it still felt very far away.
Life went on with its ups and its downs, especially when we lost my dad in 2011, but throughout it all I found comfort in all things Disney, and again loved nothing more than popping on a Disney film. At some point in 2016, we decided maybe, just maybe, we could afford to go to Disneyland Paris if we saved really hard! We did LOTS of research, and took the plunge and booked it!! And persuaded my mum, who also had a huge soft spot for all things Disney, to join us!
Now, when I tell you I planned a lot for this trip, I mean I planned A LOT!!! I watched every Youtube video you can think of, googled to within a inch of my life, came up with surprises and ideas for us all, and tried to make sure that this 'once in a lifetime trip' would be as perfect and as magical as I could possibly make it.
The week before Christmas 2017 we made the journey to the magic and it was EVERYTHING!!!! That was it, I was totally hooked!!!! I knew this could not possibly be the first and last trip, I just couldn't not have this in my life. The feeling I got when I walked into that park was overwhelming! Magical is an understatement! It felt like I was HOME!!! The Disney in my life escalated dramatically; it snowballed! How had I gone all these years without all this in my life? It just felt right; it felt ME!!
Since that trip we added Estella to our family, visited Disneyland Paris again (in the middle of the whole pandemic situation), and had the thought that Walt Disney World might be do-able! What a dream that would be, and if you had told 10 year old Sam she might actually have the chance to go to Disneyworld, she wouldn't have believed you! After getting the devastating news that my mum had terminal cancer we realised that you just don't know what life's going to throw at you, and you have to LIVE the life you want and make the opportunities you want for yourself. We booked mum's dream DLP trip (stopping at the Disneyland Hotel), but this was cancelled due to the park closing again during the pandemic, but the silver lining was the Magical Staycation cruises on the Disney Magic! We were lucky to do one from Liverpool with mum, which was just the best trip we had ever had!!! So we did another from Tilbury!
We took the plunge and booked WDW for October 2022, and were adamant we would make this happen no matter what!
Life got hard. It was, and still is, the hardest thing I've ever had to go through: watching my mum battle cancer, and losing her to it. Seeing both my kids go through it too was the toughest! Other than try and be there for my mum and the kids, the only other thing I could do was to try and keep some sort of normality, and have things to look forward to. Having these Disney trips to aim for really kept all of us going, and got me though some very tough days!
We lost Mum in May 2022, only a few months after booking another cruise on the Disney Dream for August this year (2023). Booking it was very bitter sweet as I think we all knew she wouldn't be here, but the important thing was having that one thing for her (and us) to look forward to.
Going though this really makes you realise that the life you have is so precious, and I intend to try so hard keep the promises I made to my mum: to live our lives to the full, to make memories with the kids, and to do the things we love.
Right now I think I'm at my most DInsey I've ever been. I feel that it has grown with me. It's been there for my highs and lows, and I hope it stays with me for the rest of my life - I fully intend to be at WDW for the 100th Anniversary!
I love the Disney community I have found, where I can be more me without the worry of ridicule, where I can talk to others who love Disney as much as I do! I really wish I had had this when I was younger, so I could have a safe place to be myself.
For me it's the feeling that Disney gives me. Don't get me wrong, I have ALL the Disney things - if it's got Mickey's face on it I'm sold, our home is filled with Disney - but ultimately it's the magical feeling it gives me, and the joy and hope it brings us as a family. The memories we have from Disney are so precious to us, and will last a lifetime, and I can't wait to see what Disney magic is in our future!
I have so much on my Disney bucket list...
To visit all the Disney parks in the world
To sail on all the Disney Cruise ships and see as much of the world as possible
I'd love to work for/with Disney in any way, shape, or form
To hold an annual pass for DLP
To grow my Youtube channel, blog and Instagram so I can share all our Disney-ness, make Disney friends, and have somewhere where our family can look back on all our memories.
I'm sure this list will only grow, as I hope my love of Disney will too! Here's to 39 years of loving Disney and counting!
Lets see what this year brings, and lets make year 40 an epic one!
Remember...
If you can dream it, you can do it!!
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