What is it about Disneyland? I’ve asked myself this question a lot, and especially as I’ve gotten older and some grown-up portion of my mind tells me I’m too old for it all. (Aside: Lots of my friends and relatives think I’m too old for it all too…). Most of my life I’ve managed to get to one Disney park or another about once a year, but in between times I’m constantly listening to the music, reading the blogs & message boards, looking at other people’s trip reports, and browsing fondly through my vacation photos. Maybe I need to get a life. But wait, I have one. I have a family and a full-time job I love, and I have many interests other than Disney. Yet nothing quite gets to me the way Disney (and especially Disneyland) does.
So I decided it was time to try to figure out why. After some careful analysis (i.e. talking to myself while walking my dogs), I discovered that it’s not just Disneyland that has a big place in my heart, but it’s the things Disneyland has taught me. It’s the way I like to look at the world. So here’s the list I came up with of the real-world things I have learned from Disneyland (in no particular order). Maybe you can relate.
1. Sometimes it feels good to scream in public. Nothing like letting loose down the big Splash Mountain hill! Sometimes I pretend like I’m screaming at that rude cashier at my supermarket; no matter what, it always ends in Zip-a-dee-do-dah.
2. Even when things are going great, you should still try to make them a little better. Walt said that Disneyland would never be completed as long as there is imagination in the world. I’d like to think we all have the same potential.
3. People of all shapes, sizes, ages, and types can enjoy each other’s company. All you have to do is sit on a Disney park bench or go to the hotel pool to know that no two travelers are alike. Yet most of the time in Disneyland, everyone treats each other as though we all belong. Are you listening, world?
4. Even rodents have a place in the universe. In my deep thoughts, mice are a metaphor for the little things. Sometimes the little things are really the big things. Sometimes mice grow up to be Mickey Mouse.
5. Nostalgia and technology can coexist. Disney teaches this better than most anyone. So many traditions live on in Disneyland even while the technology opens doors to new possibilities. It’s a nice mix I’d like to have in my own life.
6. Optimism is contagious. Does Disneyland make people happy? Or do all the happy people make Disneyland happy? Where does the circle start and end? Does it matter as long as everyone joins in eventually?
7. Turning 60 might not be so bad after all. Diamonds, diamonds, so many diamonds! Here’s hoping my 60th will bring that much bling.
8. Good music enhances everything. It could just be me, but my favorite Disney and life experiences all have a musical soundtrack.
9. The destination can be as fun as the journey. Robert Louis Stevenson said “Better to travel hopefully than to arrive.” Lots of times that’s true, but to me nothing beats that first glimpse of Main Street USA.
10. If you do something well enough, people will pay you for it. I’ve paid more than $100 for many less exciting things than a day at Disneyland. If it’s worth it, it’s worth it; just ask Bill Gates.
11. Maybe you can’t “go home again,” but it’s still fun to show the kids the old neighborhood. More than once (and sometimes more than once a day) I’ve been known to say “When I was a kid…” Normally my teenage boys ignore me, but somehow when we’re all in Disneyland together, they get it. We’re all kids at heart.
12. It’s possible to act like both a princess and a pirate on the same day. Like when I paid for a stranger’s coffee at the drive-thru, only to make an obscene gesture to the person who cut me off on the way out of the parking lot.
Finally…
13. One person with a great idea really can change the world. Walt Disney isn’t the only world-changer, but he’s my favorite. Maybe with his inspiration, we can all be world-changers. It’s worth a try, anyway!
