Hi there,
I'm feeling a bit down, so I thought I'd share one of my happiest Disney moments, and hopefully I'll get to hear some of yours.
First, some background. I've grown up in a Disney family. My parents took me to Disneyland Paris the year it opened when I was five, and I loved it so much we went back the following three years. Eventually we managed to save up enough to go to America for our first time and visit Walt Disney World, a place we loved even more, and the place we went back to once a year for a number of years thereafter.
But I was heading into an awkward age where Disney just wasn't 'cool' anymore. By the age of 12, I'd lost that childhood wonder I had with the place, and, whilst I still liked WDW, my overwhelming strategy with the park would be run to one big ride, then the next big ride, never taking the time to slow down, try out some of the smaller gems of rides, take in the magic, and enjoy the time with my family. I wouldn't be seen dead hugging Mickey Mouse, and a ride on the Carousel with my parents was out of the question.
It was halfway through our trip when I was thirteen years old, and my parents had forced me to sit down, stop wingeing, and watch the night-time parade. I couldn't stop fidgeting - the parade was BORING! Didn't my parents know that this was when the queue for Space Mountain was smallest because everyone was watching!?
But there I sat, arms folded, with a typical teenage frown, ignoring my parents smiles as they waved to the dancers. Now at some point during the parade, the Cinderella float came by, with the Fairy Godmother high on top, waving her wand and smiling at everyone watching her. I looked up at her, and, as far as I could tell, she was looking right back at me. Looking back at me, smiling, and waving. Now this was the point I was supposed to wave back, but I was a sulky teenager, and embarrasing myself with such an act was out of the question. But she kept looking. And looking. As far as my memory can tell me, the float must have moved all the way around where my parents and I were sitting at the Hub, but she persisted in trying to get a wave back.
And thats when my resistance broke. Despite all my efforts to be cool, my grumpy exterior cracked, and a smile slipped onto my lips. The Fairy Godmother smiled back, waved, and turned to the rest of the crowd. Pinocchio ran up to a little girl in front of me, shook her hand, and ran onwards. She turned to her dad, with a huge smile, and shouted 'I'm never washing this hand again!'
There, in the spectral shadow of Cinderella Castle, the Disney magic came flooding back to me, and I saw the effect Disney could have on people. A Fairy Godmother had returned to me the best thing in my life, and I hadn't even realised I missed it.
From then on, I truely valued my time at Disney, and especially the time with my family. In complete contrast to my thoughts at the time, my favourite Disney memory now is sitting beneath the pavement in the Columbia Harbor House, on a freezing December evening, drinking hot chocolate with my Dad, without any concern or interest in how long the line to Space Mountain was.
And just as a little follow-up... the year after, we returned to WDW and staked out our spots by the Liberty Square bridge to watch the Share a Dream Come True parade. Once again, the Fairy Godmother went by, and once again, it seemed like she looked right at me. With what seemed like eye contact to me, she said her line 'Oh, I remember you...'.
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day, and I wouldn't have wanted to.
If there are any friends of the Fairy Godmother, it would mean the world if she could hear how thankful I am to her for helping me rediscover the magic.
Plus it's really cool to think I share my Fairy Godmother with Cinderella! :wave:
I'm feeling a bit down, so I thought I'd share one of my happiest Disney moments, and hopefully I'll get to hear some of yours.
First, some background. I've grown up in a Disney family. My parents took me to Disneyland Paris the year it opened when I was five, and I loved it so much we went back the following three years. Eventually we managed to save up enough to go to America for our first time and visit Walt Disney World, a place we loved even more, and the place we went back to once a year for a number of years thereafter.
But I was heading into an awkward age where Disney just wasn't 'cool' anymore. By the age of 12, I'd lost that childhood wonder I had with the place, and, whilst I still liked WDW, my overwhelming strategy with the park would be run to one big ride, then the next big ride, never taking the time to slow down, try out some of the smaller gems of rides, take in the magic, and enjoy the time with my family. I wouldn't be seen dead hugging Mickey Mouse, and a ride on the Carousel with my parents was out of the question.
It was halfway through our trip when I was thirteen years old, and my parents had forced me to sit down, stop wingeing, and watch the night-time parade. I couldn't stop fidgeting - the parade was BORING! Didn't my parents know that this was when the queue for Space Mountain was smallest because everyone was watching!?
But there I sat, arms folded, with a typical teenage frown, ignoring my parents smiles as they waved to the dancers. Now at some point during the parade, the Cinderella float came by, with the Fairy Godmother high on top, waving her wand and smiling at everyone watching her. I looked up at her, and, as far as I could tell, she was looking right back at me. Looking back at me, smiling, and waving. Now this was the point I was supposed to wave back, but I was a sulky teenager, and embarrasing myself with such an act was out of the question. But she kept looking. And looking. As far as my memory can tell me, the float must have moved all the way around where my parents and I were sitting at the Hub, but she persisted in trying to get a wave back.
And thats when my resistance broke. Despite all my efforts to be cool, my grumpy exterior cracked, and a smile slipped onto my lips. The Fairy Godmother smiled back, waved, and turned to the rest of the crowd. Pinocchio ran up to a little girl in front of me, shook her hand, and ran onwards. She turned to her dad, with a huge smile, and shouted 'I'm never washing this hand again!'
There, in the spectral shadow of Cinderella Castle, the Disney magic came flooding back to me, and I saw the effect Disney could have on people. A Fairy Godmother had returned to me the best thing in my life, and I hadn't even realised I missed it.
From then on, I truely valued my time at Disney, and especially the time with my family. In complete contrast to my thoughts at the time, my favourite Disney memory now is sitting beneath the pavement in the Columbia Harbor House, on a freezing December evening, drinking hot chocolate with my Dad, without any concern or interest in how long the line to Space Mountain was.
And just as a little follow-up... the year after, we returned to WDW and staked out our spots by the Liberty Square bridge to watch the Share a Dream Come True parade. Once again, the Fairy Godmother went by, and once again, it seemed like she looked right at me. With what seemed like eye contact to me, she said her line 'Oh, I remember you...'.
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day, and I wouldn't have wanted to.
If there are any friends of the Fairy Godmother, it would mean the world if she could hear how thankful I am to her for helping me rediscover the magic.
Plus it's really cool to think I share my Fairy Godmother with Cinderella! :wave:
