I probably fall into the perfect demographic of immunity to Disney magic; I'm a 24 year old, middle-class male. Evidence of this immunity became apparent after a recent trip to Orlando with my girlfriend Jessica's family. Whereas Disney World is considered to be "The Happiest Place on Earth" I would have found the front seat of my rental car, parked in the Sneezy 96 parking lot to be a happier place, for most of the day we spent at Magic Kingdom. December 30th is one of the WORST days to go to Disney World, as it turns out. People from all over the world pack themselves into lines up to and over three hours long, to get chance at two minutes of moderate enjoyment on one of these rides.
I spent most of the day in a sort of deep meditation, removing myself from the endless boredom of lines by becoming almost cathartic. When I did take the time to look around, I wondered what could possess people of all ages, genders, and nationalities, to travel halfway around the world to push through crowds and wait in queue to spend $7.00 on a Lemonade, then wait in another line just to piss it back out. To me, nothing was worth this kind of torment; especially considering how much you spend to gain entry into these parks.
It wasn't until the firework show at the end of the night that I started to notice why everyone was there. Children were walking around with Mickey Mouse ears on, senior citizens wore Disney wrist watches, little girls wore Disney princess dresses, and everyone was mesmerized by the glowing lights of the Magic Kingdom Castle, as it stood before the fireworks exploding in the sky. You could see the magic on all of the children's faces, they were under a spell. When something as harmless and family enjoyable as Disney is, it is hard for parents to avoid it. Whether they make the trek to Disney World, or just put in a Disney movie to silence their screaming toddlers, parents can depend of Disney magic to see their children pleased. The children love the magic, and the parents love to see their children's faces. The rest of us, we just try to remember a times when we didn't know how much of a mark up they were selling that Lemonade at, or how foolish were are for waiting in these lines. We try to push those truths out of our minds, and try to remember when we too were under a little Disney magic, when we didn't need to understand the difference between magic and reality, but only pleasure and pain.
Though I still don't see myself braving a trip to Disney World any time soon, I understand now why we all need a little Disney, after all.
Good post!
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