I've always taken pride in my ability to be in touch with my emotions and cry easily, and also my ability to be in touch with my inner-child and childlike sense of wonder.
When "Hurricane K" devestated my hometown, I began to feel a jaded cynicism, bitterness, and world-weariness I had never felt before. New Orleans was a place I had no desire to be, so I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and see what it would be like to live near Disney World!
My first day there, I bought an AP and promptly headed to the MK for rope drop. This was my first day in a Disney park since the storm, and first since Wishes was added. It was nice seeing all my old favorite attractions again, but there was still a large degree of emotional "disconnect" - I wasn't seeing things through the eyes of my inner 8-year old like I normally would. Nothing really gave me goosebumps or made me cry (tears of happiness) like it normally would, especially after not being there for awhile.
My last ride of the night was Big Thunder, since Wishes would be starting at park closing. I was trying to make it to Fantasyland or in front of the Castle for my first-ever viewing of Wishes. But I mistimed things and the fanfare started playing while I was walking along the riverfront.
So I stopped and watched along the river, near the Frontierland/Liberty Square border, and I could see some of the shells beautifully reflecting in the water.
I felt the first tinge of goosebumps when Peter Pan says "I wish we'd never have to grow up - off to Neverland!", followed by Pinocchio's "Jiminy, someday I wish I could be a real boy", and Aladdin's "Genie, I wish for your freedom".
But what really got me was the finale. What makes this show isn't just the visuals of the fireworks, but the combination of the fireworks WITH the soundtrack - both music and dialogue.
When good overcomes the forces of evil, and Jiminy says "It's the Blue Fairy!" and then the Blue Fairy is represented by the rapid-fire big blue bursts scored to the Wishes fanfare and then says "Remember, we must always believe in our Wishes, for they are the Magic in the world. Now, let's all put our hearts together, and make a wish come true", I just completely and totally lost it. It was the first real cry I had since the storm, and the first time that day (or since the storm) that I saw anything in life through the eyes of my inner little boy.
That finale was really a transcendental spiritual experience for me. I remember feeling such a sense of relief that I hadn't lost my inner child and childlike sense of wonder. Since then, I am happy to say that the jaded cynicism and bitterness I felt in the aftermath of the storm has completely faded away, and I have seen all 4 parks through the eyes of my inner child, getting the goosebumps and tears of joy in many places where they didn't come that first day. Seeing the parks through childlike eyes and getting goosebumps or happy tears at the drop of a hat is now a normal, regular occurance again!
But there will always be a special place in my heart for Wishes, which can still regularly move me to tears, and would be able to do so regardless of the context of my first viewing of it.
