Top Five Things About Being a 50 Year Old Disney Fan

Posted on April 24, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

It’s good to be me. Born in 1964, I share a birthday with some of Walt Disney’s best productions. It’s a Small World and Carousel of Progress ring a bell? We are the same age. Old? Heck no, we’re classics! So, here we are in 2014…on November 16th, it’ll be official – I’ll have reached the half-century mark. Clearly I’m comfortable with that (I’m freely admitting it right here for you to read) and it’s true what they say, you know, you’re only as old as you feel. I feel great. Gravity’s effects excluded, the original parts are holding up pretty well and I’m pretty low maintenance. I exercise regularly and try to eat right. In the marriage arena, I’m a winner! We will reach a marital milestone this year, too – 25th anniversary’s coming up on September 9th.

So, those of you who are in your twenties or thirties who are reading this and thinking – She’s clearly delusional – that chick is OLD! Go right ahead, you young whippersnappers – Believe what you will. Sure, I have a few gray hairs and a couple of crows’ feet, but I’ve earned them! I don’t mind being “old” – I’m seasoned, well informed, wise even. I KNOW things now in a way I could only dream about way back when. We’ve raised our kids (who we love more than they’ll ever know) and we did a great job with that! They’re delightful, happy productive members of society and they love all things Disney! What more could we ask for?

For those of you who haven’t yet reached this incredibly special and rewarding phase of life and may be concerned about what it will be like, I give you…

The Top 5 Things About Being a 50-Year-Old Disney Fan:

1. Back to Pre-Kid Status, but Smarter! We’re DINKs again (Dual Income No Kids), but now we can spend money on Disney vacations in a more sensible, guilt-free way. The first time around we were in the super lean years – we did much more dreaming than doing (wouldn’t change a thing about that) and enjoyed Disney mostly in the form of movies, videos, toys and games. Visits to Walt Disney World were such a treat – and difficult to manage. Now we’ve earned our “money management” badges and make better choices day to day – resulting in better Disney vacations year to year.

2. The Many Forms of Disney Vacations! We’ve learned to appreciate all kinds of Disney trips. We love Disney Cruise Line and have enjoyed many different cruises of various lengths. We’ve experienced Walt Disney World at Value, Moderate, and Deluxe- resorts, and as DVC Members. We enjoyed every nanosecond of every Disney vacation – I’ll be honest, at one time, we were seriously broke! Staying on-property at all was a BIG DEAL! A special, hard earned luxury. I guess that’s why we still feel that way. Now, though, we can slow down more and appreciate those little Disney details…incredible.

3. ‘Ohana Means Family – Having “adult” (I still picture them as little) children means we can occasionally vacation without them and they’ll house-sit and dog-sit (our beloved dog, Junior, doesn’t fare well at a kennel). We LOVE taking The Fam with us on trips, but now that we no longer have our vacations dictated by school schedules, Raymond and I can get away for some alone time. We deserve it.

4. The Standby Lines are GREAT! When you remove the potential for childhood melt-downs, diaper changes, and whining – and you enjoy time alone with your family away from the stresses of everyday life, the standby lines are FUN! We enjoy each other’s company – time stands still and we can talk…really TALK…reminisce about past happy times at Walt Disney World, contemplate the meaning of specific aspects of various Disney Imagineering marvels, have some serious Hidden-Mickey-spotting competitions – you name it. If you love the company you’re keeping, the standby lines go by much faster and actually become happy memories in and of themselves.

5. SO Much to Look Forward To! Okay, I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss the fun Disney things you can do with little kids. Character meals, princess meet and greets, parades, hanging out by the pool – we DO look forward to the future when we may be fortunate enough to be blessed with grandchildren (some day…not too soon, though). Thinking about the potential of having a child to love as your own but being able to spoil them rotten…well, that would just be about the very best thing imaginable. Especially at Walt Disney World!!!

So, I’ll tell you again…it’s good to be me! I’m about to be 50 and I’m proud to say it. If you’ve been worried about being old like me, put those fears aside – I can’t find a downside here. I’m a Disney fan who grew up with ALL the best Disney things and I still have plenty of time to experience the next 50 years of… Living a Disney Life.

Leave a comment – what will you do when YOU are a 50 year old Disney fan?

100 Days of Living a Disney Life

Posted on February 2, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Living a Disney Life.com has reached a small milestone today – The blog is 100 days old. During that time, I have written about every Disney topic from Disney cruise ports, theme parks and restaurant reviews to DIY Disney Christmas ornaments, Disney vintage vinyl, Disney Pin trading, and Disney recipes to cook at home – I guess I’ve had a thing or two to say about my love for Disney!

Let’s take a sec to ponder how this happened. It all began with a tweet I noticed on September 4th. It was from @WDWDisneyDiva and it said, “So you think you know Disney? Recruiting Disney Writers!” I thought – “I know Disney” and followed the link to find out more. I submitted an article for consideration called The Importance of Planning, But Not Too Much – I sent it in on a whim – because we are huge Disney fans at my house, because I thought writing that one article would be fun, because I like a challenge and trying new things, but mostly because my youngest child had just left home and I was finding out first hand that “empty nest syndrome”, something I used to make jokes about, was an actual thing. Along with my article, I submitted a silly top ten list of reasons the selection committee at Tips From the Disney Divas & Devos should choose me as an article writer. It was for fun, but guess what? I got the job!

It was like setting a match to very dry tinder.

My brain kicked into overdrive. I made lists of articles I could write and I became consumed with thoughts of Disney – how our family had always loved Disney and how huge a role Disney had played in our lives, how our happiest memories involve Disney vacations, how we have so many Disney collectibles, Disney books, Disney pins, Disney clothes. I started waking up in the middle of the night thinking of more and more Disney things to talk about. There was NO way I was going to get this under control submitting two articles a month – I needed to start my own Disney blog so I could get some sleep!

I did consider carefully what I’d be getting into. You can’t embark on something like this then abandon ship – well, I guess you CAN, but that’s not my style. I have pretty good sticking power and have never been afraid of commitment (I did say yes when Raymond proposed to me just 6 weeks after we met!). For about the price of a new purse (that was my justification, anyway) I bought my own website URL for three years. So, honestly, Kristin the Disney Diva and fellow Diva, Amy get the credit (or the blame, I suppose) for Living a Disney Life.com’s existence.

I knew absolutely nothing about blogging other than knowing I like to read a few. Google was my classroom and I crammed as if studying for final exams – blog hosting sites, Word Press basics, themes, widgets, pages, links, SEO, categories, tags, spam blocking, how to set up a Facebook page for a website. Exciting stuff! I published my first Living a Disney Life post on October 26th and this is my 102nd post in 100 days! I still have a LOT to learn but at least the raging firestorm of Disney thoughts has now been contained to manageable flames – with an occasional flare up.

It’s like discovering buried treasure in my own backyard! I had a twitter account purely for the purpose of ~~spying~~ seeing what my children and their friends had to say…today I have over 500 followers. The number of fans that make up the Disney Community is amazing and those that I’ve met through this experience have been kind and funny and, most of all, welcoming and supportive. Living a Disney Life on Facebook has over 250 “likes” and I’ve been building small audiences on Pinterest and Instagram as well. I even have a Klout score and I know what it is! One of the most exciting things to happen so far, though, involves my love of Disney Podcasts.

Early on, I confided in Raymond a secret wish I’d been keeping – maybe someday, after a while, if my blog became successful, maybe I might get lucky enough to be invited as a guest on one of the Disney podcasts I love so much. I couldn’t believe when, after day 69’s post – Disney Podcasts – Are you a Podperson? brought so much attention – My wish came true! The fabulous, gracious Disney Dream Girls asked me to be a guest on their show to talk about my Disney New Year’s Resolutions. I’m still amazed that this happened to me! The episode aired on January 9th – if you haven’t had the chance, please give the Dream Girls a listen.

So today I just wanted to look back a mere three months and reflect on all the fantastic things that have happened during that time (with The Fam’s unwavering support – I love you!). Tomorrow’s post will be back to normal with another random Disney topic from my Disney life.

Please accept my very heartfelt thanks for taking the time to visit and read this and other posts, thank you for following me on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thank you for liking the blog’s Facebook page and for every comment you’ve left me there and here. Yes, I would probably still tweet, pin, and post even if you weren’t here – but you are what has made this experience unbelievably magical instead of ordinary and for that, I am sincerely grateful.