Sunday, January 20, 2013

Guest Author Sunday ~ Tamela Hansen

Disney Gals Welcome

Tamela Hansen

to Guest Author Sunday




The Disney Gals are pleased to welcome back Guest Gal Tamela Hansen with some great advice for when to introduce your child to the magic of Disney.


Hi, this is Tamela Hansen from Alabama. Thank you all so much for inviting me back as a Disney Gal Guest.
One question I have encountered through the years is "Should I wait to bring my child to Disney until they can remember it? “  To share my thoughts on this question I would like to include some personal experiences.

I have been going to Disney as long as I can remember. At every age Disney became more enchanting in a different aspect. As a child I loved to see Mickey and all his buddies and of course I could ride "It's a Small World" over and over and over ALL day long! Then at the age of seven I had a little sister. Going to Disney as a Big sister was so special. My parents and I enjoyed all the adorable reactions from my little sister. Watching her meet Mickey for the first time to seeing which ride would be her favorite. Seeing Disney through her eyes showed me that when I had children I would definitely make sure that they experienced Disney at an early age.



Then finally when my son was 13 months we were Disney bound! He went in to the Magic Kingdom saying a word here and there and came out at the end of the day using short sentences. Disney literally opened him up to a” Whole New World”.  He could not stop telling people for months about how exciting his Disney experience was (of course in his own way).  As parents we saw how Disney expanded his mind and imagination.  Then we knew we would bring him as often as we could.  So, after we had our second son we brought him at 7 months.  He loved the color yellow, so when he saw Donald Duck’s bill (it was probably the biggest color yellow he had ever seen) he tried to take it off poor Donald!  My sons were and are still mesmerized by Disney.  The memories we made in their first two years of life are priceless!  The memories and experiences have added so much to our family and help my husband and I continue to raise two precious boys.

I was discussing with our Disney Gal Gayle about her memories at Disney as a child and she told me that at 6 or 7 months in 1955 she still remembers the details of her mom boarding the Jungle Boat.  She also remembers at 2 seeing the Matterhorn scaffolding.

So when I am asked the question about waiting to bring your child to Disney until they can remember it I have only one response, “When do you want YOUR family memories of Disney to begin?”





5 comments:

  1. I love this post Tamela! It really is a common question and I was always told to wait until she's at least 5. No chance!!! I wanted the memories to start much earlier than that as well and I don't regret it at all. I recommend taking lots of pictures and video though. My daughter watches her first visits of WDW over and over again so she never forgets a thing :)

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  2. Must be a universal question,I away get asked that too. My kids started going to WDW at 4, 2 and 6 months. We've got hysterical video of Snow White planting a kiss on my son'e forehead and he was grabbing her inappropriately. Guess he thought it was feeding time ;) If you don't always need to go go go, take the time and take the little ones. Slow down to their pace and enjoy the magic.

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  3. So very true... as a known Disney enthusiast I am often told "as soon as they are old enough to remember we are going to take our kids." I share with them as you have and try yo get them to see the value of the Wonder. When my kids were little the $$ for a trip was an issue so our first trip dd was 6 and ds was 11 months. Wish dd could have been there earlier but she has made up for it lots. We made trips about every 5 years as they grew. Dd spent her honeymoon at WDW and a first anniversary trip pregnant with my DGS. She is now a single mom and DVC member. DGS just about 6 years old is anxiously awaiting trip #13 to WDW this summer followed by Disney Cruise #1 on the Fantasy. I have been with him every time and cherish every memory from the first ride on It's a Small World and the first kiss/bite to Minnie's nose to his first rides on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder last summer. Disney is such a big part of who he is... in such a magical way!

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  4. Tamela, we also get this question we always say it is never too early. Our oldest tells everyone his first trip was when I was pregnant with him (which was also his dad's first trip, memories that I always will remember) and our youngest went when he was 1 1/2 years old (and both were getting over the chicken pox). They can both tell you different thing about different trips. Also we can tell you about the first time our youngest son took his wife to be and see saw Winnie the Pooh, it was like she was 5 it was the best moment ever and we got to see them all!

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  5. From the children's point of view, I agree with Tamela. I still remember Disneyland at 3 years old. As far as from the parents point of view, my parents had memories of our first trip when I was 11 months. I don't remember that one but they cherished the memory of that time in their hearts and with a couple of photos. When to do our first trip was a tough one for me. We waited until our daughter was 7 because she did not want to walk anywhere, being carried was her mode of transportation. I didn't want the memories to be of a kicking, screaming exhausted daughter and cranky, exhausted parents. Now, at 15, she can't get enough of WDW. And she still catches a ride on my lap as often as I will allow it!

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