Why Disney?

“You’re going to Disney World, again?” “Aren’t you a little too old for Disney?” For our fellow Disney fans, this usually isn’t a question at all. Over the years of my Disney-loving-self exclaiming from the rooftops how everyone and their mother needs to go to Disney World at least once, I have more so recently run into people who have absolutely no interest in going.

When I ask, very persistently may I add, I get responses such as, “it’s too crowded”, “it’s too hot”, or “there are too many kids”. The funny thing about it, is that you can probably find this same climate in a New England Summer on Nahant Beach, but people still go willingly anytime the temperature reaches above 80 degrees. People still go to local parks like Canobie Lake Park and Six Flags with less fuss, so why not Disney?

As a go-getter who lived on Walt Disney World property for nine months of this past year, I have to tell you – I’ve done as much as I could possibly fit into those nine months. I’ve survived Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, A Very Merry Christmas Party, Christmas week itself, then New Years, followed by all of Epcot’s festivals, as well as the massive tour groups and summer crowds. I’ve dealt with the heat to the random chill of January (this winter is going to be rough for me up here in the frigid North, folks).

After all of the chaos that could have ensued based off of all of the planning that goes into a week’s worth of magic, the wait times for rides like Frozen Ever After or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or even the obsessive phone checking that goes with trying to get into dinner at Be Our Guest – I ask myself, “why Disney”?

When someone asks me why I continue to stick by Walt Disney World and my passion for travelling there, I think about a lot of things. I think about the magical moments that I got to make as a cast member for not only children, but adults too. I’ve gifted stuffed Mickey’s to children for making me smile during a not-so-magical day for me at the Magic Kingdom. I’ve hugged cancer survivors and told them how proud I am of them. I remember how much taking the time to be kind, and showcase those Disney values that we see in our favorite characters, really matters to people. I answer “why Disney” because it reintroduces us to, not the child in us, but the childlike perspective in us.

That’s why when you walk around World Showcase at Epcot that people seem more united than usual, more culturally aware. That’s why you see guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios really feeling like they are a part of the whimsy of movie magic, like they can translate that into the real world, because it’s happening as we speak. When you explore Disney’s Animal Kingdom you are immersed again in story and culture, learning more about conservation and how you can help preserve the beauty of the environment and its inhabitants. It is extremely cliche to say, but there is a certain kind of magic that you just don’t get to experience in any other place I can think of. To me, Disney is a place where anything is possible, and people are united by something that means so much to them.

With all of that being said, Disney Trips & Dole Whips is a new blog. I want to get to know my readers as we grow, so feel free to comment. I want to hear your answer to the question, “Why Disney”! What is something that influences you to continue returning back to the Walt Disney Resort, or other Disney Parks each vacation you take?

 

Photo Description: Tinkerbell making some magic during the Festival of Fantasy Parade at Magic Kingdom Park

Photo Credit: Tori Conners, A  current cast member at WDW Resort