I finally understand what the hype is all about!

I must admit, I was very skeptical at first about how amazing Disneyland truly would be. I had never gone before in my life and at the age of 21, I expected the magic to not have an effect on me. Sure, I'd be seeing all the nostalgic characters I grew up with coming to life through believable actors, but I always assumed it just would not be the same. I was wrong.

My friend Selene, who came with me, had never experienced the magic of Disney either so we were in for a treat. The second we stepped inside the boundaries of this fantasy land, we were mesmerized. The "It's a Small World" music playing in the background as we gazed at the castles and dressed actors walk around truly hit home. I felt like a kid again and could not help but smile the entire time.

As soon as we started crossing the inside of the castle, Belle and Beast began walking past us with a marching band and began performing to a series of songs reminiscent of the movies they came from. Selene and I had planned to save as much of our phone batteries as possible so we brought three portable chargers to capture the entire experience on our cell phones. How did that end? We didn't even last 2/3 of the day without losing our phone charge. Selene and I traversed through all the different areas, gawking at the beautiful princesses, purchasing some souvenir Mickey and Minnie hats, and watching a stunning medley performance of several of our favorite Disney songs on stage. What a time to be alive.

I think my top moment of the night had to be the light festival where everyone gets lined up to see our Disney characters make a return to the streets along with fun mechanical contraptions that light up the "runway." The lights, the ambiance, positivity - it was all just a dream come true; a dream that I had not expected to captivate me as much as it did. Perhaps I underestimated the inner child within myself, but I'm glad that he came out after a long time to enjoy what I thought was long gone. Thank you, Disneyland. I enjoyed my one-night stand.