Growing up in my family we were raised to love each other, Jesus and Mickey Mouse. Some might find our Disney obsession puzzling, but our obsession goes beyond the mouse. When my mom was in college, she wrote a paper on Walt Disney, the man behind the most magical place on Earth. From then she was able to admire his work and see in his vision for Disney which is why we took our first trip to Walt Disney World when I was six and my brother was four. When we left that trip we had no idea when we'd be back... or how many times we'd be back I should say.
From that trip on we have gone to Disney multiple times every year. In the beginning of high school I started to get annoyed at the number of Disney trips we were racking up. When people at school would ask me " you're going to Disney again?" I would respond in a rather spoiled way and roll my eyes and answer in a slightly annoyed tone "yes we are." Although I have always loved Disney, there was nothing new about the experience anymore. That being said, the next summer we replaced our Disney trip with a cruise. In your life you tend to have a period in time where you rapidly grow from a kid to a young adult it seems. That was me that summer. I felt as though I had started summer as a kid and came out a senior in high school. So for that following summer guess where I wanted to go on my senior trip? Yep, Disney World, however this trip was different from any of the other trips I had previously had been on.
My favorite thing to do at Disney is to watch "Wishes" firework show right in front of the castle. As the music started playing and the lights started flashing, I never noticed before, but almost louder than the music was the voices of little kids screaming of excitement. The children would overpower "when you wish upon a star." When the fireworks went off hearing cute little voices scream "wow, look mommy pixie dust," or "its magic!" In that moment of hearing all the little voices around me, tears streamed down my face. This wasn't unusual, I normally cry during "Wishes," but this time they were different tears. I realized in that moment by hearing their burst of excitement that I am no longer a little kid. I used to believe it was magic and pixie dust just like them. I had grown. Throughout the trip I had found a new joy in seeing kids experience the most magical place on Earth the same way I have growing up. I can now experience the magic I once felt of Walt Disney World through the eyes of children, my little cousins and my future children.
Disney is a playground for all ages. It is a place of magic, where else can you eat breakfast with Cinderella, lunch with Belle and hang out with pirate Jack Sparrow? Disney has been with me through all stages of my life. Through bangs and braces to Motorola razor to iPhone. I have grown WITH Disney. As Disney gets larger and expands so have my jeans. Were a match made in Heaven. There is no other place I would wanna share these memories with or start new ones with my future family other than Disney. It doesn't matter how many times you have been to Disney, every time you go there is something new to fall in love with. No matter what age, there will always be magic waiting for me at Walt Disney World. It isn't just a vacation spot, it's a memory spot.
Walt Disney said it best "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
