Growing up, my mom always encouraged me to put all of my wishes, no matter how extreme, on my Christmas list. Throughout the years, my list would consist of ponies and puppies mixed in with the regular presents like clothes and toys. However, there was always a constant wish that appeared on my list year after year. A family vacation to Disney World was truly my wildest dream each Christmas. In December of 2012, my wish was realized when my entire family, totaling up to 17 people took the trip to Walt Disney World for a week long vacation of magic. This vacation solidified my love for all things Disney and even inspired me to work for Disney some day.

For me, the magic in Disney reaches far beyond meeting characters and watching incredible parades. In previous articles, I have explained the disabilities my sister experiences due to a very rare brain disorder. While we were beyond excited to experience a pixie dust overload, we knew this was going to be a very trying vacation for my sister with plane rides, crowded places and being in a very different environment than she is used to. Every part of our Disney vacation was going to be an adventure; and we were as prepared as we could possibly be. To our surprise, the only activities she was interested in were parades, shows, and meeting characters!

While my sister does not appear to have any kind of delays, it becomes evident when you try to carry on a conversation with her. This has always been a struggle because no one understands that she is different when they first meet her. We anticipated the need to explain to several people that she was nonverbal or that she struggled with loud noises. With the magic of Disney, those conversations never needed to happen. All of the cast members we encountered seemed to have a mutual understanding that my sister was different, but it didn’t ruin her chance of experiencing all of the magic they had to offer. For the first time in her life, my sister was viewed as statistically normal. I was fortunate enough to take the back seat and simply awe in amazement of how much she could do independently! I quickly realized that being a Disney cast member meant much more than simply working in a theme park greeting guests, but yet a journey of creating magic for those who never felt it was possible.

My sister wasn’t the only one who had enough magic to last a life time on this vacation. I was fortunate enough to celebrate a birthday while in Disney World. Every day, I proudly wore my birthday button and princess crown to each park. I received countless “happy birthday!” greetings because of my pin and I honestly loved the small, but meaningful gesture. During the Christmas parade in Magic Kingdom, Santa himself wished me a happy birthday fit for a princess for the whole crowd to hear! Later in the vacation, two royal magic makers in Fantasyland asked me to a ball! These are things that my family and I remember to this day, and I’m sure it will not soon be forgotten.

Like all families, we have our disagreements and are sure to get on each other’s nerves from time to time. When people hear that 17 of us went on vacation together, they tend to cringe at the thought. However, I think that was the closest we have ever been. Sure, travelling to Disney World and attempting to accommodate everyone’s itineraries during the trip was difficult, but at the end of the day, we all enjoyed just being together. My memories of our vacation surround our prank wars at our resort, experiencing the lighting of the castle, the sneak preview of new Fantasyland, and all of the laughing until we cried in between. The magic of Disney has a way of bringing out the best in people and making our stressors of the real world completely melt away.

Now at 22 years old, I still have one goal in life and that is to return to Florida to make a career out of making magic. I truly live, breathe, eat and sleep all things Disney. I will never apologize for my obsession with pixie dust and the concept of never growing up. If you are ever a passenger in my car, you will be subject to Disney sing-a-longs constantly and it’s required to participate. Half of my wardrobe is either from Disney or features Disney characters and I love it! People tend to judge me from loving something they incorrectly believe is just for children. Disney magic does not discriminate and it truly gets more magical with age.