Welcome To Our Disney Family..

I know exactly what you mean! I come here as we can all share in each other's excitement and that in itself builds up my own excitement! I love reading my friends* trip reports and seeing what they have got up to, and I love sharing mine.

*i class everyone on here as my friends now, I feel like we are a close disney family

agreed!

couldn't agree more!!! apart from my mam nobody in my life "gets" Disney and I love that I can escape and just talk about it freely and either someone will be able to answer my question or understand what I'm talking about!!!!!

Same here. I don't exactly have the luxury of people who get me but here, it is a relief to be not judged for my Disney fandom. I know for a fact if I told people I know in real life about my Disney fandom, I'd be judged negatively based on my ethnicity and age but it would be more so based on my gender. The potential embarrassment and shame isn't worth confessing my Disney fandom for. So I've come to terms that the people I've encountered in real life don't need to know about my Disney fanaticism because well, it's my business. I have other places where I can be free to express my Disney love and people will treat me as an equal.

There are plenty of other Disney "families" out there that may be larger but bigger doesn't always necessarily mean better. We don't have "likes", "stars" or "points", we have each other and respect from one another.

Couldn't agree more! Well said Watchmaker!

Aww thanks watchmaker it's not just forums like these that make people feel part of the big Disney family but the cast members and imagineers too.

I've been lucky enough to meet a few great cast members in Paris who even remembered us on return visits, I hope that this trip I will get to repeat that experience.

Thanks to watchmaker and everyone else on here for making a great inclusive group.

I will second the sentiments Mr The Watchmaker sir.It's nice to converse with a bunch of like minded people .
P.s. if there is a vacancy for a black sheep of the family I would like to submit my application

Darn it! That's what I was going to apply for! Can I go for..... Deranged cousin from the country?

Working in a very structured business, living with a group of similarly aged adults, and hanging out with a large group of people who can't remember the last time they watched a Disney movie, let alone if they've ever visited the World... It's wonderful to find people who are so happy to talk about one of my greatest passions.

I haven't been on here long (as my join date will show ), but the welcoming atmosphere of these forums, the willingness of others here to jump on board and help others with their wealth of knowledge, and to squee along with us as we gush about our favorite rides, foods and even upcoming trips is just a real pleasure.

Plus you guys never seem to get bored of me going on and on about how much I love Disney... It's a real pain to watch the interest die in someone's eyes when you tell them about the insanely amazing time slot you just got your reservation for at Be Our Guest, or how you spent 45 minutes on the bus in this morning imagining you were in a Doom Buggy gliding along through The Haunted Mansion...

We may be a hodge-podge bunch, but you're certainly becoming some of my favorite people

I second all of your thoughts. You guys are my daily Disney pulse check.

I agree 100%!!! I think I've said it before!

All my "friends" ask why I picked Disney for my 40th birthday. You know, the ones who "have never been" the ones who say "you're going back? you were just there last year..." I just smile and proudly say "WHY YES I AM" while thinking KISS MY A**!!!!!!!

I would rather go to Disney yearly than go to the same old beach renting the same old house and sitting my butt in the sand any old day!!!

So big hugs to you all! Can't wait to meet some of you on our upcoming trip and future ones!

I so agree. I went to Hawaii for my 40th. I spent maybe a total of 2 hours the whole trip between the beach and the pool. The rest of the time I was on the go. This was the year before I discovered my love for Disney. If I had it before, I probably would have gone there instead.

I thought a Disneyaerian was somebody who visited regularly over the age of 60 ??

Right!! I have friends that stay in our state and surrounding areas all year (granted we do have beaches and mountains all within a 2-3 hour drive, but still!) and always go on the same vacations and then look at Bill and me weird when we say we're going to Disney again. Yes this is what we like.. yes we like the beach too.. and we do that for long weekends throughout the summer, but we also love Disney and its what we want to spend our time and money on so shush!!

[steps off soapbox]

But really this is why I'm happy I found this forum, I can talk to a handful of people about my Disney obsession in real life, but even they start to tune me out after so long

All my friends are headed off to music festivals all over the country in the summer, and I'm just sitting here waiting for my Magic Express package and vacation planning DVD to arrive.

Very well said Watchmaker! I love the forum. It is nice to know there are other Disney fanatics out there. I love the trip reports and the ideas I get from everyone. If I am having a bad day this is where I go because I always find something to smile about on the forum.