
A wise man once said “Too many people grow up. That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget.” That same wise man created a land, then a world, of magic that has united millions of people in their love of all things Disney. This is the same man who said you can’t have progress without change, but alas, we grow up, we forget. Change is inevitable and there will always be those who shiver at the thought of it and fight it tooth and nail, but without it, you become stagnant. That is one thing I never want Disney to be: stagnant.
The events of the past year have brought us all to crave the “normal” and find a sense of what used to be; that what we loved must stay frozen in time till the world is ready for it. Unfortunately, such flights of fancy lead to anger and upset, unjustified outrage at things you cannot control and truly have no real effect on your day to day. Unified as we all are in our love for Disney, it can sometimes feel like the changes that are made, changes that you might not agree with, are personal or will take away from your magical experience. In the previous days we have all gotten some interesting updates out of the Disney Company higher ups, doing away with Extra Magic Hours and Disney’s Magical Express specifically. What will we do? Where will we go? The outrage has been feverish with social media nearly in a frenzy at the audacity of this decision. I wouldn’t be doing this pandemic justice if I wasn’t doomscrolling the comment section on every post about these decisions. The unanimous opinion… HOW DARE THEY!? Well, folks, they did, and they will do it again.
It feels like no matter what move Disney makes in this pandemic they are skewered, but do any of you run a billion dollar industry? Maybe these decisions have a bigger picture than inconveniencing your family by making you ride a Brightline train (shudder). Maybe these decisions will help cut costs that will be able to start refurbishing attractions that have needed updating. Maybe they will help expand the much-loved shows and entertainment so that all the cast members that had been laid off can come back in a timely manner. I know it feels like it, but Disney as a company is not out to hurt you or take away your magic. The Magical Express has only been around since 2005; families found a way to Disney with their luggage before then and they will find a way again. Every time something changes, something better will be unveiled. You just have to wait for it, but good times are coming again, I just know it.
The “magic” of Disney isn’t in a bus. Again, we grow, we forget, but as a child, did you care how you got to the parks? Did you care that you took a bus, a car, a taxi, a train, a tram, a monorail, a ferry? Was your entire trip dampened if you were made to carry your own luggage? For me, I never even would have noticed or cared. I was there to ride some rides and meet Mickey and you could have made me walk to the park from the airport and I would have still been just as stoked to be there. The magic isn’t gone, the magic is different. The changes aren’t coming tomorrow or even a year from now; you have time to make arrangements. You have time to prepare yourself for the magic that is coming back when the world stops hurting.
As visitors to their World, we would like to feel like Disney could do no wrong; that if it makes it easier for us, that’s obviously what is best. Change is uncomfortable, but change is necessary for progress. It’s scary to feel like what we have known and expected will be replaced with something new and unfamiliar. Have faith that the pixie dust is doing what it’s supposed to do so that we can grow and forget the uncomfortable changes we have all had to endure this last year.
I don’t have any parting words of wisdom or bits of advice for what to do in the meantime, though I wish I did, but I hear that puzzles are rather relaxing, unlike screaming at people on social media about the injustices of Disney transportation. Its time to grow up and forget, because the world does not revolve around your vacation.