Enjoy this complimentary excerpt from A Year of Disney, posted especially for blog readers! Posting links back to this page is fine.  In order to allow me to keep these sneak peeks posted for all blog readers, I ask that you do not copy or post any of this copyrighted work.  Thanks! – Amy 

The baby is crying. I’m frustrated and cranky. My husband is either off trying to get a FastPass or he has gone AWOL. What happened to the magical vacation I’d spent months researching and endless hours planning? Where did I go wrong? And how could I prevent this in the future?

Back in December 2012, in the first hour of the first day of our first family visit to Walt Disney World, these were the thoughts circling my mind as I tried to figure out how to get the magic back. My wistful hope of watching my daughter grow up Disney seemed to be going down the drain.

I took a deep breath and remembered I was on vacation. One way or another, we were going to have fun. And that’s when I caught sight of Minnie Mouse. I can’t say the heavens opened and light poured down on us, but I can say that watching my toddler run up to Minnie for her first hug was when I knew our family would deeply enjoy Disney World.

So, what did go wrong that first day? What could I learn from it? Figuring this out has led to many more happy trips to Disney World for our little family. Recently, I started thinking about what could I share with others to help them avoid the inevitable moments of panic that bedevil every Disney trip. This book grew from the stress of those first minutes of our first morning at Hollywood Studios. I hope to share a little of what I’ve learned while enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth. If these stories make you grin, or if you pick up something that enhances your next trip, then mission accomplished.

There are at least thousands and likely millions of Disney fans on the internet who can answer every question you might have about the parks. There are former Cast Members who can share “secrets” I may never know about. But what I can share are lessons we learned as a family—sometimes the hard way—in fifteen trips to Disney World over two years.

My name is Amy. I have a non-Disney, full-time professional job. I’m something of an obsessive Disney fan, as you can tell by the existence of this book. My husband, Craig, is a stay-at-home dad. He’s also a woodworker, handyman, and amateur engineer. Our daughter, Samantha, started going to Disney when she was two years old. She has yet to start kindergarten and she already has some definite opinions on having fun at Disney World.

All of us have grown to treasure our trips to Disney World. And, of course, that first trip did get much better. Craig returned from his FastPass mission shortly after Samantha and I waved goodbye to Minnie Mouse. While deciding what ride to go on first, we had our first Magical Moment. Behind my back, Donald Duck was walking backstage for his break. He came up behind us, surprising my daughter as he bent down to kiss her head. Samantha laughed, I laughed, Craig laughed. The Disney magic was working its spell. A Cast Member had taken a few precious moments to make our trip more special when he could have simply walked past and started his break. This book is also a tribute to those Cast Members who make the “magic” real. Thank you.

– All Rights Reserved.  Copyright Material: Amy Bashor, Author; ThemeParkPress, Publisher.