What I love about Disneyland with Trac, and Disneyland for free, is the slow, unstressed pace we are allowed to take with our day. It's not as if we have to cram a lifetime's worth of dreams into a single day, like many of the princes and princesses you see parading around. We don't even have a daisy-obsessed, blonde-haired, blue-eyed toddler to drag around and impress (as my family did the last time we made the trip). We can hold hands and simply float through the park, talking for hours in line for rides, slowly slurping dole whip floats on an abandoned bench (for who else has time to sit down when your day cost you $300), and meander from store to ride to show in a thoughtless, relaxed, perfectly content fashion as zippity-do-da and wish upon a star soundtrack our day. If we miss anything, we will just catch it next time. No full day, sunrise to sunset, disney mania. Just magic.
This is how I really discovered that Disneyland can be the happiest place on earth. I fell in love with Trav for the first time in a quiet corner of the hunger bear restaurant only a year ago because there was no rush to make sure we got on space mountain one last time or made it over to our soarin'fastpass time before California Adventures closes at 10. We sat at that table and talked for a few hours (we had both been to Disneyland hundreds--most likely--of times throughout our childhoods in southern Cali) Much of our day this year was spent that way as well. I love it. You notice things when you aren't worried about fastpassing or how long the Indiana Jones ride is. Things like the little girls in their handmade Cinderella dresses, or the sparkle in the old man's eye as he sweeps up spilt popcorn while whistling along to the teacups (he retired ten years before as a coorporate lawyer and took this job to witness magic). You start to notice the incredibly organized and creative details of the park--the perfectly laid tiles, the hidden treasures in the cement walkways and stucco walls, and the "oh my goodness, even those flowers are growing in the shape of mickey!"
I know that for most people, Disneyland is a mad rush of happiness and glitter and fireworks mixed with overpriced ice cream bars melting down their kid's faces, face-offs for stroller parking, and extremely sore feet. And I realize most people do pay a small fortune for their day or two spent in this brightly painted fairytale wonderland. But I hope people don't lose sight of Walt's dream. "If you can dream it you can do it" He also said something about being able to build the most wonderful place in the world but it is nothing without people. As much as we love to hate things in life (especially expensive things), Walt's dream has helped a lot of other people's dreams come true. Including my cute cousin, Madison, who visited Disneyland for the first time this year. She got her hair done by her fairy godmother and was given a special order princess dress to wear around. She just turned 16 and she has Down's Syndrome.
I, for one, am a disney fan through and through. For the details, the glitter, and the magic. And I am extremely grateful for the people in my life that make it possible to enjoy this wonderland from this perspective, especially in this starving-student stage of my life.
This is how I really discovered that Disneyland can be the happiest place on earth. I fell in love with Trav for the first time in a quiet corner of the hunger bear restaurant only a year ago because there was no rush to make sure we got on space mountain one last time or made it over to our soarin'fastpass time before California Adventures closes at 10. We sat at that table and talked for a few hours (we had both been to Disneyland hundreds--most likely--of times throughout our childhoods in southern Cali) Much of our day this year was spent that way as well. I love it. You notice things when you aren't worried about fastpassing or how long the Indiana Jones ride is. Things like the little girls in their handmade Cinderella dresses, or the sparkle in the old man's eye as he sweeps up spilt popcorn while whistling along to the teacups (he retired ten years before as a coorporate lawyer and took this job to witness magic). You start to notice the incredibly organized and creative details of the park--the perfectly laid tiles, the hidden treasures in the cement walkways and stucco walls, and the "oh my goodness, even those flowers are growing in the shape of mickey!"
I know that for most people, Disneyland is a mad rush of happiness and glitter and fireworks mixed with overpriced ice cream bars melting down their kid's faces, face-offs for stroller parking, and extremely sore feet. And I realize most people do pay a small fortune for their day or two spent in this brightly painted fairytale wonderland. But I hope people don't lose sight of Walt's dream. "If you can dream it you can do it" He also said something about being able to build the most wonderful place in the world but it is nothing without people. As much as we love to hate things in life (especially expensive things), Walt's dream has helped a lot of other people's dreams come true. Including my cute cousin, Madison, who visited Disneyland for the first time this year. She got her hair done by her fairy godmother and was given a special order princess dress to wear around. She just turned 16 and she has Down's Syndrome.
I, for one, am a disney fan through and through. For the details, the glitter, and the magic. And I am extremely grateful for the people in my life that make it possible to enjoy this wonderland from this perspective, especially in this starving-student stage of my life.
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