"To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."- Walt Disney, Opening of Disneyland July 17th, 1955
Is it the fact that Tinkerbell flies over the castle during the nightly fireworks? How about the snow that falls at night during the holidays? From the glitter on your cupcake to the social acceptedness of walking around with mouse ears on your head, being in Disneyland is truly being transported to another magical world. Sadly, after the age of 10, it's not hard to get burnt out on how hard Disney tries to create "the happiest place on earth." By day three of your trip, you've had it with the peppy music, bright lights, long lines, and huge crowds. With all of these annoying distractions, how does the park maintain it's magical appeal? As I've grown up, I've learned that it's the fleeting magical moments that you witness as you're trudging through a sea of strollers, standing outside of a store or bathroom, or trying to balance on the ever-too-small metal fence partitioning the mile-long line for Peter Pan. These episodes are not created on a conveyor belt in a Disney merchandise factory or painstakingly rehearsed and delivered by a park cast member to thousands of guests a day. They are genuinely magical, the memories that stay with you after the glitter has faded and you've given away most of the Disney stuffed animals and park paraphernalia cluttering your room for years.
Here are a few of my favorite Disney memories:
One Last Ride: A few years ago, my mom and I stood in line for what felt like an eternity to ride Peter Pan. I fundamentally disagree with waiting in line for that ride, as it's less than five minutes and more or less uneventful. My mom cannot ride most of the rides at Disneyland because they don't make her feel well, so it's one of her favorites. By the time we finally got on the ride, the park had officially closed, though there was still a good fifty people in line waiting. When our pirate ship reached the end of the ride, my mom said she wished that she could go again. To my surprise, the ride operator said, "Would you like to go again? Please stay seated." Seeing the people in line grunt and scoff as we flew by was fun, but seeing my mom as giddy as a five-year-old was truly unforgettable.
Boo! Most times, my friend Meghan and my favorite part about riding the Haunted Mansion is reciting the opening intro and cackling as loudly as possible while the entry room stretches. Our favorite memory of the ride will always be the time when the employee checking the safety bar in the Doombuggies played a little prank on us. As we ascended the stairs into the ride, he walked inconspicuously beside our buggy, then he stuck his face in ours and said "boo." Such a simple trick, but his cleverness still haunts me until today.
Rapunzle: In Fantasyland, your little princess can now get "Bippidy Boppity Boo'ed," which usually means tying her hair into the tightest little bun possible, sticking a petite crown, and dousing her scalp with glitter. The store also sells the infamous princess costumes and wigs that every young girl covets from the moment she steps foot into the park. The cutest little princess my mom and I have ever seen at Disneyland was a little Japanese girl who was sporting a Rapunzle dress and matching long blonde braided wig. We first saw her outside of the store, gently admiring and stroking her new long blonde locks while following closely behind her mom. While this scene might make most Sociologists go off on a racial hegemony tirade, the girl reminded me of how Disneyland seems to make boundaries disappear and fantasies come alive. I was actually proud that her parents didn't make a fuss over tracking her into the Mulan costume, dolls, or other merchandise. Rapunzle's wig was the best anyway; it was the longest, the most intricate, and it had pretty flowers woven into it!
Ducklings: This past visit, I saw one of the most heart-warming things I've ever seen at a Disney park. As my mom and I were waiting to be seated at an outdoor restaurant in Adventureland, a duck and six or seven little fuzzy ducklings wandered through the crowd and into the restaurant. The floor under the tables still had puddles from being spray-cleaned that morning so the ducks spent a half an hour or so rolling around and swimming underneath the restaurant tables. Even the nature at Disneyland is magical.
Donald: As my mom and I were waiting in line for churros in Tomorrowland on our last night at the park this trip, we saw a small crowd beginning to form nearby. When I asked my mom what it was she said, "I don't know, something about Donald Duck." When I went over to look, I discovered that someone had drawn Donald Duck's face on the ground in water. Soon, a park employee emerged and drew Minnie Mouse and then Goofy with his broom and some water in his dustbin. He had been mopping the ground when he decided to delight parkgoers with his unique talent.
Sword Fight: As we were eating lunch at Downtown Disney, I noticed something kind of peculiar happening behind the window. A father and son were having an epic balloon-sword fight that lasted for almost twenty minutes. Lunch and a show...
After years of thinking about it, I still don't know what makes me love Disneyland as much as I do. Even though it begins to seem more corporatized and bureaucratized as I grow older, something about walking through those gates makes me feel inspired, adventurous, and imaginative. Maybe it's the simple fact that Disney still excites me as much as a 21 year old as it did when I was a 10, and that I know I'll love it as much as I do now when I'm an old lady taking my grandchildren for their 50th time. I love Disneyland because it's a place where yesterday has not been forgotten and it's still okay to be a dreamer. It captures America in the way that most people will never experience it and it awakens our dream of an exciting and adventurous future.
