My father has always been a great influence in my life and so it does not surprise me that when I look back at my childhood, it was full of Disney and although my bed spread no longer has the Little Mermaid on it and my walls are not covered with Disney posters, Disney continues to still be a part of my life.

I don´t think this fact was quite as obvious until I made my most recent trip to Walt Disney World in May 2006, my 8th trip to the Disney World. It had been 5 years since I had been to Disney World and the trip was a surprise trip from my mom.

She knew how much stress I was under at the time and I seemed to be having problems left and right. She told me she thought hard on where she could take me and the first thing that popped into her head was Disney World. At Disney World, you can escape from reality. You can submerge yourself in a fantasy wonderland where the outside world and its problems do not exist.

]The moment I discovered she had planned this trip, which was 2 months before we were to leave, I honestly felt the stress lift a little bit off my shoulders. As each day past and the trip came closer and closer, I felt myself growing more excited, feeling like I did when I was little a girl.

I began to constantly read about Disney World, listen to podcasts about Disney World and plan our trip to every little detail. It was the perfect escape. I even watched all of my favorite Disney movies every weekend, in preparation for the trip.

I felt like a kid again, so excited and happy. It´s amazing how much a simple trip to Disney World can cheer you up. While we were there, everything excited me. The little video on the bus that takes you to your hotel from the airport, meeting Chip and Dale, going on Spaceship Earth (which my mom and I went on about 5 times!). It was so much fun and I forgot about all of my problems, it was so sad when we had to go back to the "real world".

My mother and I have been all over the world together-England, France, Germany, Hawaii, Mexico... but no place seems to excite me as much as Walt Disney World and although traveling around everywhere is a great experience and I absolutely love doing it, nothing is quite like Disney World.

Photos of Jennifer Davis, then and now.