I have always, always loved Disney movies. I think Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I was taken to as a child and I fell in love. Everything I had had to be BatB. So that began the obsession.
I vaguely remember some things from my DL visit, but I was just 4. It wasn't until I was 10 that I was invited to go with my cousin to WDW. It was awkward, because I was a little too old for the magic, but I desperately wanted the magic-- and my group was more like a "ride all the rides" group and not a "soak up the atmosphere" group.
It wasn't until I graduated college and moved to Florida that I really started to fall in love with the parks. I went once with my family and the next year I was all over DH (then fiance) to take me back for a long weekend. His direct quote was, "I don't wanna go see *bleeping* Mickey!" RUDE! I was crushed. He grew up in FL, went every year to
MVMCP, and was soooo jaded. But he eventually caved and we went for Labor Day. I was in a very bad place at that time-- I hated my job SOOOOOO much. But I needed the money to save up for our wedding. I guess he saw how much I needed the break and to be in the magic for a few days, because we left that trip passholders.
The rest had been a whirlwind of Disney magic-- 4 years as passholders, 2 international parks, and planning to hit the China parks in the next couple of years. His attitude has changed immensely and his eyes have definitely been opened to the magic that is there beyond just trying to ride all the rides.
I don't think it's a stretch to say WDW has created an incredibly strong foundation to our marriage. We have SO much FUN together on our weekend trips. It doesn't matter if we are staying at a $39 a night groupon hotel or splurging on site-- eating popcorn at the parks for dinner or doing a signature restaurant-- whatever. We are always having a good time. We've had some of the best conversations about life and plans for our life and possibly kids while sipping margaritas and people watching in the Mexico pavilion.
All our family is within a 30 minute drive of where we live (with the exception of my mother), so while it is a blessing, it can also feel like we are being pulled in 20 directions at once with all the life events and things to do and obligations to fulfill. If it's getting close to being 2 months since our last trip, we can feel it and will say to each other, it's time to go to Disney. It's us time, it's fun time, it's magic time. And it helps us be the best us we can be for each other and for ourselves.
TL;DR version: Yeah-- I drank the kool-aid
Wow -- I've been a rambler these past few days!
Trust me-- that does not sound silly at all! This rings so true for me as well. To the people that "get it," there is a restorative nature to being at a Disney park-- and sometimes it's just what you need to find that little extra magic within yourself to keep on keeping on.