I am writing this on the morning of my departure from WDW – bags already checked in with DME, and an hour to kill, just me, myself, and my carryon bag. I’m in my 40’s and no longer having any family, I spend a week every year at the holidays at WDW to feel like a big kid again for awhile, and to enjoy the warm weather away from Michigan.
Last night, on the bus back to POFQ after MVMCP (sorry about the initials for the uninitiated – you’ll get them after your visit) – I sat behind a harried woman, with three unruly children, and their (I guess) grandmother. At one point, the woman turned to her mother (I am guessing again) and said “I don’t see why they call this place magical.” Grandma agreed: “It’s just an amusement park.” They huffed and puffed a bit on the way back to FQ, and eventually disappeared somewhere into the complex after getting off the bus.
I took a final walk around the pool and sat in the Gazebo looking out at the river for a few minutes before finally going to bed. And it got me thinking, exactly what IS magical about WDW?
For starters, how about the first person in line at each major counter restaurant getting a gift giant blue-frosting cupcake during the current celebration?
How about the paddleboat and the train playing “Jingle Bells” on their air horns as they pass each other by chance behind Tom Sawyers Island?
How about snow that comes from rooftops, floats to the ground, and never accumulates and melts on contact – oh to have that kind of snow in Michigan…
What about the Disney Transportation captain on the boat from FQ down to DD pointing out all the hidden Mickey’s to the kids on board?
What about the firework Mickey Mouse ears that nightly light up the sky?
And then, there is turning a corner and (finally!!!) finding Donald Duck standing there for the first time in 20 years…
…and the Mickey Mouse ears on the snowman in Epcot
…and the entire restaurant staff at The Land greeting you with song and banging instruments during the morning “dash to the fast pass”
…and Santa Clause on his rooftop, with the dancing reindeer at the end of MVMCP parade
And the Seagulls on the way out of Finding Nemo the Musical shouting “Bye! Bye! Bye!” as you pass out of the theatre.
I could go on – but to that woman, and grandmother too – if you can’t find magic at WDW, then you are looking for something that no human can create for you and most likely doesn’t exist. But I feel sorry for those children who will never see it either.
Last night, on the bus back to POFQ after MVMCP (sorry about the initials for the uninitiated – you’ll get them after your visit) – I sat behind a harried woman, with three unruly children, and their (I guess) grandmother. At one point, the woman turned to her mother (I am guessing again) and said “I don’t see why they call this place magical.” Grandma agreed: “It’s just an amusement park.” They huffed and puffed a bit on the way back to FQ, and eventually disappeared somewhere into the complex after getting off the bus.
I took a final walk around the pool and sat in the Gazebo looking out at the river for a few minutes before finally going to bed. And it got me thinking, exactly what IS magical about WDW?
For starters, how about the first person in line at each major counter restaurant getting a gift giant blue-frosting cupcake during the current celebration?
How about the paddleboat and the train playing “Jingle Bells” on their air horns as they pass each other by chance behind Tom Sawyers Island?
How about snow that comes from rooftops, floats to the ground, and never accumulates and melts on contact – oh to have that kind of snow in Michigan…
What about the Disney Transportation captain on the boat from FQ down to DD pointing out all the hidden Mickey’s to the kids on board?
What about the firework Mickey Mouse ears that nightly light up the sky?
And then, there is turning a corner and (finally!!!) finding Donald Duck standing there for the first time in 20 years…
…and the Mickey Mouse ears on the snowman in Epcot
…and the entire restaurant staff at The Land greeting you with song and banging instruments during the morning “dash to the fast pass”
…and Santa Clause on his rooftop, with the dancing reindeer at the end of MVMCP parade
And the Seagulls on the way out of Finding Nemo the Musical shouting “Bye! Bye! Bye!” as you pass out of the theatre.
I could go on – but to that woman, and grandmother too – if you can’t find magic at WDW, then you are looking for something that no human can create for you and most likely doesn’t exist. But I feel sorry for those children who will never see it either.