1 post tagged “disney”
There is much I can share regarding our summer family vacation. I briefly shared the Goofy story (please refer to Chronicles of Our Florida Vacation) because that truly was the highlight of our trip. There is something about seeing the brilliant light of life in a child's eyes. The whole Disney experience for me was quite magical. Not to sound trite or silly by using the word magical, since that is plastered all over Disney, but it certainly was. What I felt was a connection to my youth, more specifically, a connection to my mom, through the eyes of Ethan.
Entering the gate and walking down Main Street my heart ached for yesterday as Ethan stared at all the wonderment around him. I of course got tearful thinking of all the wonderful and zany memories I have stored of my own experiences at Disney. My mom was the chief event planner for my three brothers and myself and she spared nothing upon making our Disney World vacations truly remarkable. We always stayed on the grounds: the Contemporary hotel, the Polynesian, and at other Disney resorts. That was way before the Grand Floridian, Swan, etc. We would always make the bee-line for Tomorrow Land first, just like we did with Ethan, and eat those huge turkey legs over in Frontier Land.
Before Epcot opened it doors in 1982 my mom took us over on the monerail to take a "sneak peek"- I remember they were putting together that great big globe. And when Epcot finally opened my mom took us there and I was not too impressed. I simply renamed Epcot to Nepcot (Nothing Exciting Pitiful Community of Tomorrow). To this day we all laugh over the impressive renaming from a girl who was 8 years old at the time.
On our recent flight back on Southwest Airlines, I had a few moments to leaf through the Spirit Magazine nestled in the seat pocket by my knees. I came across an article titled Never forget you experienced the power of magic- a father's love letter to his children reflecting the magic of Disney. How fitting! I forgot to take the magazine home with me but I recently contacted Spirit Magazine and they quickly emailed me the article. (See- again, customer service working like a charm!!!) I have included that article because it simply embodies how I felt the day we took Ethan to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. (I highlighted my favorite part)
Dear Kids,
Did you enjoy Disney World? Hope so. I sure did, and your mom did, too. I was thinking on the flight back home: Did I ever tell you about my first Disney ride?
Let’s see, this would have been in 1964. So I was exactly your age, Caroline. I was 9. The ride was It’s a Small World—like the one we chose for our first ride last week. It wasn’t at Walt Disney World but at something called the New York World’s Fair. When I emerged from our little boat more than 40 years ago, I had only one question for my parents. It was the same one you three asked all last week: “Can we go again?” Despite the long line, my parents said, “Sure.”
That’s why I wrote this down. I want you to understand the power of magic on the mind of a child.
You’re not always going to see things like Disney World the way you do now. I’m sorry to say, they’re going to lose some of their magic. Lots of teenagers and even more adults feel cynical about Disney. The word they use is “manipulative,” which means something that’s designed to work on kids—or on anyone, really—as if it’s a trick. Daddy’s advice is to resist this thinking. Try to keep things magical.
Manipulation had nothing to do with the joy on your face, Jack, when you scurried through the caves on Tom Sawyer Island. Or when your 6-year-old twin, Caroline, screamed just as loudly during her fifth trip on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster as she had on her first. Or when you, Mary Grace, were all aglow as you went ’round and ’round on the carousel.
My favorite part of the vacation? I’d have to say Cinderella’s Castle. As part of their big promotion this year, the Disney folks built a suite of rooms there. Each day all year, one guest gets picked at random to have dinner in the castle
with his family, hosted by Fairy Godmother. Then the lucky family sleeps in Cinderella’s suite. How cool—how magical—is that?
Well, we didn’t win the lottery, but I just had to wrangle a tour for you all. My press card did the trick. So we took the elevator up to the suite, and when the doors opened, there, in a 14-karatgold inlay on the floor, was the pumpkin coach. When the push of a button turned the fireplace into a flat-screen TV—well, Caroline, you couldn’t stop smiling. And when another button set off a little display of fireworks in the grate, Mary Grace, you kept going, “Oh! Oh!”
What I saw on your face was the power of magic at work on the mind of a child—the exact same thing that your Papa and Mama saw in me all those years ago.
Can we go again? Sure.
Love,Dad
Robert Sullivan, editorial director of Life Books, goes through his day with “It’s a Small World” running through his head. His most recent book is You’re Still Away (Maple Street Press), a collection of golf writings.
