One day, you're walking into Main Street USA, surrounded by mouse ears and sunshine, with "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" playing in the background and Cinderella's Castle right in front of you. Everyone's smiling, even if it is a Monday at 8 a.m. Then the next day, you're not there anymore. You've returned home from the most magical place on Earth, and you're back to reality. And a sad, sad reality that is.
Upon your arrival home, post-Disney depression hits you. Hard. First of all, you're no longer surrounded by the warmth of the beautiful Florida sunshine everyday. And it just makes you so sad.
But it only gets worse. No one outside of Disney tells you to "have a magical day!" No one. It's heartbreaking, really. The waiters at your local restaurants and the cashiers at the supermarket down the street just don't have the same touch that those special – dare I say magical – Disney employees acquire. "Have a good day" is not the same.
When you're having one of those days when you just want to hug Mickey Mouse (come on, we all have them), you just have to settle for the Mickey stuffed animal on your bed. Sigh. Or when you're in the mood to laugh until you cry with Gaston or giggle with Ariel when she talks about Flounder and Sebastian, the best you can do is look at the pictures that were taken when you met them and try to live through the pictures.
You crave a Mickey-shaped pretzel, rice crispy treat, waffle or ice cream bar all hours of the day, not to mention the Dole Whips, cotton candy and churros as well. You'd always choose to eat Goofy's candy, specifically the sour gummies, over any type of candy that they have at home. The pizza from Italy in Epcot calls your name, as do the margaritas from Mexico. Everything just seems to taste a little better in Disney.
While all of this is tough, the hardest part of going through post-Disney depression is when you realize you're not able to act like a little kid anymore. Back to reality means back to acting your own age, back to where it's totally not normal to wear sparkly Minnie Mouse ears at all times, and back to where waiting in line as an adult to meet Tinkerbell is considered a little strange. The most special thing about Disney World is no matter how old you are, you're able to rewind time and act however old you wish to be. It's still just as magical.
So what are the remedies for post-Disney depression? Some might say look at the pictures and videos from your recent trip. Others may tell you to take a drive to your local Disney Store, and live vicariously through that. Me? I'll give you my simple solution: start planning your next trip.
