This summer I am directing a children’s show in my local community theater. It’s basically one big Disney concert! Being surrounded by so much Disney music and paraphernalia has my mind reeling with fairies, magic carpet rides, mighty dragons, and under the sea adventures. Now let me just throw this out there…I am a Disney nerd. At 21 years old, I still get goosebumps when the castle comes up on the screen and that iconic music begins to play. I’ll settle into the couch on the weekend and watch a good animated Disney movie from the 90s (Long may the 90s kids reign!). The opening credits will come up and some score by Alan Menken will begin to play and I will get downright giddy. Then about halfway through the movie I will pull out the iPad or cell phone and try to figure up how many paychecks it will take for me to save for a trip to Disney world. Sadly, it’s a lot. Magic is expensive, people. I’ll daydream about going to Disney world and maybe becoming a princess while I’m there and living out the rest of my days in luxury perched in the nicest room in the Cinderella castle. The point is that we all do this to some extent. Everyone loves Disney! In honor of the one thing I truly believe we all have in common, I have made a list of ten reasons we still love all things Disney this many years later. I realize you are thinking, “Ten?! There are so many more than that!” but if I get started on all the reasons I love Disney I would break the computer. So here are the top 10…

1. Walt Disney. Enough said.

He had humble beginnings and he never lost sight of what was important. He created an empire that sought to help people and bring smiles to their faces.

2. The Music. Wow.

If you’ve never spent an entire day singing “Part of your world” to yourself, you simply haven’t lived.

3. The Castle *Insert swell of dramatic orchestral music*

Seeing the castle for the first time is magical. I highly recommend it.

4. The Fashion

I have never been able to find anything quite as spectacular as the Princesses’ gowns. Belle’s yellow ball-gown, Cinderella’s magical transformation, Aurora’s elegant sleeved dress that goes from pink to blue, Tiana’s lily-pad ensemble, Jasmine’s wonderfully puffy pants, and do not even get me started on Elsa’s ice gown…

5. The central message: you can do the impossible

Homegirl saved China. Ariel changed her species. Cinderella walked on glass shoes and they did not break. Belle managed to see past the fur. These are all crazy things that make you feel pretty good by the end of the movie.

6. Cinderella's transformation

This was briefly mentioned in number four, but I feel it needs it's own category. It was Walt Disney's favorite animation after all.... Just look at it. You can't stop watching.

7. Mickey Mouse.

They say it all started with a mouse. And that mouse is just so loveable.

8. Adventure

Disney creates a multitude of incredible characters for us all to fall in love with. One thing the characters all have in common is their sense of adventure. In turn, these characters make us strive for our own adventures in every day life.

9. The settings

You are lying to yourself if you say you've never dreamed of curling up with a good book in the gigantic library the Beast gave Belle. Ursula's lair, Aurora's enchanted forest, Frozen Arendelle, even Disney World itself is simply, well, magical. Disney is filled with magical places that we've all dreamed of visiting.

10. The good guy always wins

This is a concept that often seems forgotten in this day and time. Sometimes the villain is not always easy to recognize in reality. In Disney movies things are black and white. The prince kills the dragon. Cinderella gets the prince. Jafar gets trapped in a genie lamp. True love conquers all.