Pmlocke
Peter Locke
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2014
Once again I was questioned at work as to my choice to vacation at WDW, like my wife and I do every year, in February. "You do know there are other places in the world to visit", "Aren't you kind of old to be going to a KIDS place", "How can you keep going back to the same, crowded place every year"? Do these sound familiar to you? My wife and I are in our 60's and we continue to return to Disney for one simple reason-the Magic. Let me explain what I mean by Magic. We, like many of you in our age bracket grew up watching the Mickey Mouse Club, the Wonderful World of Disney, every 7 years a classic returned to the theaters. I grew up in a very modest household and understood that I would never get to experience Disneyland because I knew we could not afford it. Our first trip with my family in 1987 to WDW was my first magical moment. When we came around the corner and saw the castle for the first time, my wife and I started to cry. How many people can say their dreams really came true? Go forward to 2009. I have my 4 year old granddaughter on my shoulders and the princess float came by us. My granddaughter grabbed two handfuls of hair, shouted "Oh Grandpa, it's the princesses" and she started to cry. Which then caused me to tear up. Her joy at seeing those princesses, that I felt, was so overwhelming. I still get a bit choked up when I remember that. There have been other moments between my wife and I, who now travel alone, that have caused us to tear up and embrace each other. Magic. How can you explain that to a generation who keeps their eyes focused on a phone screen? The next time someone asks you why you keep going back, tell them it's the Magic. I'll bet they won't understand, and for that I truly feel sorry for them. 202 days and we are back in the Magic. If you see a 66 year old guy dancing in the street during a parade or getting a hug from Minnie at Chef Mickey's next February-that will be me.