Engagement Ring

Brandon, 22, Binghamton, NY

My family has visited Walt Disney World four times and loved every second. On the fifth trip, something special happened that trumps all the previous trips combined. In July 2007, we went for seven days and invited my fiancée to come along with us. I had already proposed to her the year before, but without an engagement ring. Two days prior to the trip, my mother gave me the engagement ring that my dad had given her 27 years ago.

We all took the train down from upstate New York. My fiancée slept in the chair next to me, while the engagement ring was safe in my pocket. We arrived in Orlando, Florida, 27 hours later and made our way to the hotel. That same evening we went to Magic Kingdom to ride a few of the attractions and watch the fireworks show.

During the first few blasts of fireworks, I held my fiancée's left hand while removing the ring (still in its box) from my pocket. Her eyes were already sparkling from the flashes of color and light in the sky. When I opened the box to show her the ring, her eyes magically lit up even more as I slipped the engagement ring onto her finger. We'll be married in 66 days!

Surprising the Kids

David, 45, Hamilton, NJ

We take our kids to Disney World on a yearly basis and came upon a special vacation package. Since the dates coincided with our daughter's 10^th birthday we decided to surprise her and my son. We told them we were just going to do some day trips and did not have anything planned. We packed the car the night before so that they would not suspect anything.

When the time came to leave we went to an afternoon movie first. Afterward we just started to drive until we decided to stop for dinner. At dinner we asked the kids how far we should go, and suggested that we would work our way back from there. Because my wife's sister lives in Florida they suggested visiting her. We drove through the night and when we got closer the kids saw a Downtown Disney bus. The kids asked if we could stop there. We said we would see. When we arrived at the main arch saying "Welcome to Walt Disney World," the kids asked if we could go to the Magic Kingdom for one day and we replied again that we would see.

When we pulled into the POP Century Resort, my son said "Hey, we've stayed here before." After we parked the kids asked what we are doing and my wife said that she had to use the bathroom.

It wasn't until we checked in and the Cast Member said, "We have you here for six days and five nights" that the kids realized that we would be staying. The expression on their faces was magical and will be one to remember.