Focused on the Magic : Welcome to the Orange Magical Blogorail

Welcome to the first stop aboard the new Magical Blogorail Orange. Enjoy the ride as we introduce ourselves, our blogs and share what inspired us to start our blogs!

Hi, my name is Deb, I'm a boomer mom to 2 wonderful college age boys (1 adopted with special needs from Russia and 1 biological) who have grown up to be Disneyfied young men. I'm a wife to an amazing husband, for 35 yrs!

Looking back, my earliest Disney experiences were of watching the Mickey Mouse Club on TV. I was a huge fan and even became a card carrying honorary Mouseketeer. Seeing Bambi in the theater for the first time made me cry. I loved my Snow White doll, Davy Crocket hat, Disneyland Viewmaster reels and any Disney books or comic book I could find to read. When The Wonderful World of Color came on TV I sat mesmerized as Tinkerbell and sometimes Walt Disney himself brought us to foreign lands on nature adventures or into space. Seeing The World's Fair exhibits of IASW and Carousel of Progress was very exciting and inspired my interest in technology. It was a magical childhood growing up with Disney:)

When we started a family it was natural to include Disney in our lives with books, toys, and movies. We started traveling to WDW with our first son in 1990. We went twice a year until Peter our 2nd DS joined our family then it would be once a year. When Peter joined us on his very first trip he barely spoke English. I remember he literally fell backward when he saw Genie in the lobby of the Contemporary. Fortunately, Peter wasn't thoroughly traumatized and enjoyed many character meetings.

I was always very active in the online Disney communities starting around 1990 just before our first trip. There I met Deb Wills, Lou Mongello, Pete Werner and many more wonderful Disney friends. We would exchange all sorts of travel and planning information much like we still do today. We'd get together for meets and chat on IRC. The exchange of information was very helpful for all of us.

We've enjoyed taking DCL cruises on the Magic twice and The Wonder twice. We became DVC members at The Boardwalk Villas in 1997 through a resale. For the past 21 years we've celebrated Peter's citizenship, his Gotcha Day, many birthdays, anniversaries and a wedding in WDW. I've traveled to Walt Disney World with the whole family, DH & I sans kids, myself with both boys, myself and each DS, with extended family, friends, teens, college boys and solo too.
The Grand Floridian,The Yacht Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Contemporary, Villas Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club Villas, Saratoga Springs Spa & Resort, Port Orleans, and the Boardwalk Villas are my favorite resorts.

You'll find Focused on the Magic is filled with my photography and an eclectic collection of my foodie driven thoughts in dining reviews and experiences all focused on the magic in Disney.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed the ride and learned a little bit about me! See ya' real soon! ºoº