Yesterday, we looked at the new clip from Disney Parks, which showed devoted Disney cast members celebrating their tenures at Disneyland Park. If you caught the clip, you will already know that the 54-second video celebrating Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary profoundly affected me. Now that I’ve had a moment to collect my thoughts and put them in some sort of comprehensible order, I wanted to just circle back and touch on this idea of Generational Happiness, as it might be one of the most incredible concepts I have ever considered.
The beauty of Disneyland has always been its ability to facilitate enchanted moments of connection. Even though many might be mistaken in thinking that Disney provides the magic, I’ve always found that Disney offers the environment, and guests like you and me bring the magic with us. Sharing intimate moments, celebrating milestones, and forming and reaffirming relationships, it’s the enjoyment we share with our loved ones that can take a Disney vacation to the next level. For those of us who were lucky enough to transform our lives from Disney Kids to Disney Adults, we are the luckiest ones of all. We had the chance to spend this cherished time with our parents and grandparents in the parks, and we are now passing on these special moments to our children. Here’s that Generational Happiness we mentioned earlier.
In watching this 54-second video, I was instantly reminded of where the value of Disney is. Gone were all the thoughts we overcomplicate things with, comparing ticket prices and complaining about perks, and what was left was a simplified reminder. Home is where the heart is, and when you visit Disney Parks with the people you love, nothing can limit how magical your time away will be. If you are like me, those little moments that you enjoy at the time might go on to be the core memories that become the foundation of who you are.
Disneyland Cast Member Hank (you’ll see him in the image above) had me in tears just a few days ago. His kind eyes and sweet smile reminded me of my grandfather. A man I never saw actually go on a ride, he was always the one my sister and I would look for, famously holding a video camera (even back then), capturing our excitement. As Hank ends the clip with “And we’re just getting started,” my heart skips a beat, reminding me that not only am I the vessel for cherished memories that have passed but that my time in the parks with my children is laying the ground work for the passing of that Disney Adult torch, where they will be able to know the delight of what comes next, and who those magical beings of our future family might turn out to be.
We have a habit of looking back to see how far we have come, but now is the time to look forward and see how much further we have the opportunity to go. With generations of families bonding over shared Disney vacation memories, there is no doubt that the inclusion of Disney in our world is nothing short of a privilege, and the part it will play in the lives of future generations, in a time when we need social connection more than ever, will remain priceless.
