Introducing Disney vacation expert Deborah Bowen

Deborah Bowen joins fellow Disney Moms Panel member Jill Cooper as a regular contributor to the Orbitz blog. Look for her insider tips on where to eat, stay and play at Walt Disney World.

By Deborah Bowen

On October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World – then, just the Magic Kingdom and many thousands of undeveloped acres in central Florida – opened its gates to the public for the first time. As 10,000 people streamed into the Park on opening day, critics made known their skepticism. Little did these doubters know that Walt Disney’s vision would grow even beyond his own scope of dreams.

Opening day was a game-changing moment in so many areas: tourism, the travel industry as a whole, popular culture … the list goes on. And the entire Walt Disney World entity has become a great source of joy for people of all types. I am one of those people who lives her life wrapped in the Disney paradigm, a mindset of happiness, of contentment, of togetherness.

As a Florida native, I’m fortunate enough to have visited the Walt Disney World Parks and Resort hotels many hundreds of times throughout my childhood. Now that I have children of my own, the trips have taken on a new and differentlife for me: I am experiencing the Disney magic next to them, through them, with them. These sorts of trips are deeply personal, drawing as they do on my own nostalgia for childhood, and the pleasure I take in my children. Not only do I get the fun of riding Soarin’ and the deliciousness of a cold Dole Whip, but I also get to watch the faces of my boys (7 and 6) as they try and taste and laugh.

The Walt Disney World Moms Panel, of which I am an overjoyed member, helps people plan their own magical vacations to The Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts. It is my great pleasure to assist each traveler — whether for the first visit or hundredth — with getting the most of his/her stay.

Thank you for letting me share my memories — and helping you let your memories begin.

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Deborah Bowen, an English professor at the University of South Florida and member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, has lived the majority of her life less than an hour from Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts.

Tagged: Disney, Family time