I have been to Walt Disney World 6 times. 2 times with my parents when I was a teenager, 2 times with my parents, my brother and his wife, and my husband and son, one time just my husband and I and one time just my little family of three. All of these visits to my second home have amazing memories, like my first visit, or my sons first hair cut, which we had done at Harmony Barbershop, or a week to experience the magic just my husband and I on our 10th wedding anniversary. But nothing compares to the memories that were made on our last trip in October/ November of 2010.
It was our first family trip with just the 3 of us, and we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. That made it special unto itself. My husband is not a fan of roller coasters, and I LOVE them. So I was thrilled when my son who had just turned 7 less than a week before wanted to ride the coasters with me. We went on all of the Roller Coasters, some more than once. He loved them. And I was so happy to have something special for just me and my little man to do together in Disney.
My son is a huge Star Wars fan, so his memory that he will carry with him forever is the mad dash to be part of the Star Wars Jedi training. The ropes dropped and off we went, running, and it paid off. He was the last child in the line for the first show. He was thrilled; he was going to “fight” Darth Vader. He went through his training and then patiently waited for his turn, and then it came. With a big smile he walked up and took center stage to fight Vader. Then as he was finishing the storm troopers began to advance on him and he was told to Force them. Well this was the perfect child to pick for that, little did they know that during the whole trip every time we came to the automatic doors he would “force” them open for us. This was his highlight, and he still tells everyone how he got to force the troopers.
On our last full day there we were chosen to be the Flag Family at Wilderness Lodge. This to me was a once in a lifetime memory and an honor. We met Ranger Joe at the front desk. He asked for our letter that had been delivered to our room to notify us. We then began our journey to the roof.
First things first, take in the view. It was a cloudy day, and ended up raining most of the day, but the view. Wow. It was just amazing. My husband and I stood in awe as we looked out over the world. My son just ran around.
Ranger Joe was great with Cole, who had to raise all the flags. We were just there to watch. We learned about the 5 flags on the lodge and raised each one, starting with the American flag and ending with the Wilderness Lodge flag. After all the flags were raised we said the Pledge of Allegiance, and tears came to my eyes.
What a proud moment for myself and my family, like I said what an honor. Ranger Joe then presented us with a certificate for being the Flag Family on Thursday November 4, 2010. Some people asked me what we do to get chosen.
Well in most cases you are chosen at random, but after we did our online check in I sent a special request to them. I told them we were going to be celebrating our Sons 7 birthday and mine and my husband’s 11 wedding anniversary, which was the day after we left Disney.
It worked, we were chosen and it was a memory I will never forget. Our first trip with just our little family of 3 was the most special and Magical; Dreams really do come true at Disney.
Best wishes
Cynthia J. Settimo
This article comes to us from Cynthia, she is a fan of the Chip and Company website and is now a Chip Panel Columnist. She wanted to share some of her Disney Magic with everyone and hopes it brightens you day! The Chip Panel is still looking for Guest Bloggers. Click here if you want to learn more.
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