What is your "I have arrived" moment?

[MHWeaver913]

There are alot of choices for this one, however I think the experience my family and I had in March was the topper.. please allow me to explain--

(This may be long as a bit of backstory helps to explain the feelings that later occur so please hang with me.)

My wife and I met in HS, and we ended up being young parents, and have really struggled at times to make things workout, sometimes questioning how in the heck we're doing as well as we're doing, and how blessed we've been when we should have been anything but. So being able to say that while we're both still in college, working full time, and raising our son, to plan our first trip to WDW as a family was surreal in itself. What made the "moment" complete was how the first night of our trip played out.

We had driven from Lexington to Atlanta, to Orlando in 2 days, and thought our first night was going to get totally rained out. We got to Pop, and it seemed that every cast member bent over backwards when they saw the "first visit" pins on my wife and son. (I knew what to expect from Disney service, they had no idea..) and after waiting on the rain, we thought what the heck, lets try to make Spectromagic and Wishes at MK and headed over.. Didnt expect to catch the first show of Spectromagic, however how it worked out, I couldnt have paid Disney to set it up any better...

We got to Magic Kingdom, bags checked, etc, and stopped to oogle the train station and as we went under it and came out, the music for Spectromagic hit, a CM saw me pushing my wife in her wheelchair (and her and my son's look of pure dumbstruck awe), offered us a curbside seat, right up front for the parade with the castle in the background. All of us were literally floored and to be able to stand back and see the looks on the faces of my wife and son that night, has to be hands down the best Disney moment I've ever experienced and it really set the tone for the week.. It was the combination of the "Welcome to Disney" moment and the feeling of accomplishment after everything we've had to go through over the last few years.

Sorry if this was too long for some people.. Just had to get it out there

[cmlopat]

LOVE reading everyones "Holy ****, I'm here!" moments!!
Funny how MCO is so tied to the experience. I love stepping off the plane and taking a deep breath of air so humid its hard to breath, and seeing the palm trees on the monorail ride to baggage claim.
Being a DVC member it really is complete when you check in and the cast member says "Welcome Home!" - gets me every time!

[DAR]

Depending on where I'm staying, either seeing a Disney bus or especially the monorail flying past.

[cheshire_cat_81]

These are all awesome! My utmost "I'm HERE!" moment starts as I walk through the turnstiles at Epcot and here the theme "Legacy" and is complete after walking in to Spaceship Earth. The smell of the air conditioning, the greasy smell of the turntable and a hint of Rome burning always brings me back to my first visit at the age of 3 in 1984, walking through the entrance with mom and dad holding my hands. I'm very excited to say that I'll be going with my parents for the first time since 1988 and the first time ever with my 2 sisters, 22 and 17!

[JNota0005DakMC]

thats awesome... ill be there around the same time... walking through into Epcot is near the top of the list for me too...

[cheshire_cat_81]

Come on guys keep it going! These are awesome!

[Mr. Tom Morrow]

As popular as the castle is, when I see Spaceship Earth I get hit the hardest. I think it is because I see the castle in so much of the media, when I see it, it is not as exciting. Spaceship Earth however, you don't see too often in the media and when it is right there in front of my face, I feel like I am there. I just think it is the moments you don't really think about before they happen that make you feel like you have arrived, because the ones you do think about it is expected. Now that I have acknowledged Spaceship Earth, it will probably be something different next time.

[wdwkid32]

when you get off the magical exspress bus.

[JNota0005DakMC]

what about when you get on the magical express bus...

[tmbcole]

My gotcha moment is when I walk into Magic Kingdom and see the Castle or walk by the Bakery and smell the fresh baked goods. It never gets old. I saw other posts about checking into the resort which is also nice, but the Castle does it for me everytime.

[kjr175]

For me, it is more of a overall "I can't believe i'm back" moment. I have always tended to visit Epcot first. It begins when I enter the property and see Spaceship Earth. Walking down the pathway to the entrance and hearing the BGM begins to trigger memories. When I walk past the Mexico pavilion and smell the combination of a disney water ride and the wonderful food, I reach sensory overload. Usually when I get to that point, all the stress of the world fades away. Truly a magical moment for me. :-)

[vikstar]

For me it has to be when I'm on the monorail heading to the magic kingdom and the monorail has just come out through the contemporary resort and I can see the magic kingdom for the first time.

It puts the biggest smile on my face every time

Vic

[kentgurgie]

The signs on the Highway are the first ones, But checking in and getting your passes I just love it!! Its never complete without a trip to the Polynesian Great Ceremonial House! 45 Days!!!! HOORAY!!!

[Nicole-la]

When I see the moving Tower Of Terror sign, or the Mickey Mouse water tower!

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i always get giddy when we pull up in front of our resort and go check in.. that is a moment for me but we have always drove.

this time were flying so i cant wait to get this new experience

since me and brent have been married.. like a week before we go on vacation.. any vacation.. we always hear a certain song on the radio and it always gets us in vacation mood..

The Final Countdown by Europe

"its the final countdown to vacation"