Ever work in an ice cream shop? I have. You're around it so much you lose interest. How can you lose interest in such a wonderful thing like ice cream you say?! You're so used to it that it doesn't become special anymore and you begin to dread it.
I hear what you're saying. I fear that would also happen to me if I worked there. Which is why I only play there! But I do appreciate the sacrifice made by all the CMs who make the Magic happen so people like me can live a dream! Having said that, I've met plenty of CMs who, even though they work in the parks all the time, still seem to radiate with the Magic and enjoy being there regularly! They are certainly a BIG part of what makes the parks so special! Thank you, CMs, for all your hard work and dedication towards making Walt Disney's dream a reality!
I respect this response and I think it's great that you can appreciate it after spending so much time there. I feel the exact opposite though. But that's the great thing about opinions.... they can't be wrong.
So, let me give an example. I live in a suburb of Chicago and when I would go downtown as kid, I loved every second of it!! It was so much fun with tons to do. I couldn't take my eyes off of the buildings that went endlessly up into the sky. I grew older, commuted to college in the city, worked 3 years in the city after college and as the years went by, I found that I NEVER looked up at the buildings. I barely noticed the artwork on the sidewalks. The charming 100+ year old buildings just looked old rather than historic. People appeared to be more rude, etc, etc.
That's a great point. I'm wondering if maybe part of the reason why it looks/feels different now could be at least partially also because of the difference between seeing it through the eyes of a child vs that of an adult? And also maybe because real cities aren't "imagineered" to filter out unpleasant elements? Like the way Main Street, USA, is an idyllic, idealized re-creation of turn of the century America without any of the actual unpleasant things from that time and place allowed to intrude on the show. What the Imagineers call "heightened reality".
But I can kind of relate to what you and others are saying because after I've been there for a long time focusing on the parks with all my free time, I do start to miss other things even though I NEVER get tired of or bored with the parks. Not the unpleasant elements of the "real world", but things like my other hobbies and interests that I neglect in order to focus on the parks, as well as family and friends back home. That's why I think my current 6 months there/6 months away pattern works perfectly for me.
BTW, I finally made my first-ever visit to Chicago last fall. Great town! I didn't see and do everything, but my favorite parts (no surprise, given my interests) were Great America and the two Zoos. I'm going to try to make it to the Aquarium next time.
This last part isn't a response to anyone in particular, just another thing I wanted to include in one of my earlier posts, but forgot:
"And Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted".
"What happened?"
"He lived Happily Ever After"
- Willy Wonka
