What is "Disney Magic"?

[meredith1]

Okay....tell me about this "disney magic." We are taking our three yr old the week after Thanksgiving. We are seasoned travelers but, this will be our first to WDW. What is this Disney Magic that you guys refer to?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

How much time do you have?

For me, "Disney Magic" is the complete experience. It's not a theme park; it's an immersing event. It's the unexpected touches that make everything flow together seemlessly. It's the suspension of reality that occurs when we drive though the gates. It's forgetting the outside world exists. It's little things that make you smile. It's watching Wishes or Illuminations and just saying "WOW!" as the night turns as bright as the day. It's tearing up when the little girl's voice floats over the Magic Kingdom singing, "Star Light, Star Bright, First start I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." It's the look on my child's face when he sees Mickey and *KNOWS* that is Mickey Mouse - not someone in a suit -- it's MICKEY. It's more than I can put into words, and it's like crack - once you 'get it' you never get enough.

I hope you and your family have a magical experience!

 

[supersuperwendy]

For me....it's a feeling and tons of nostalgia

and what Claire said! That about sums it up for me too!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It's hard to describe "Disney magic". It's just something you have to experience. And it can be different for each person. Claire described it well.

For me, it's the giddy feeling I get walking into the Magic Kingdom and seeing the castle. It's seeing the grin on my DD's face as she talks to the princesses. It's being told to have a "magical day" by the castmembers on the phone when making my reservations. It's in the way the castmembers treat the guests. It's getting to be in a place where you can feel like a kid no matter what age you are.

 

[fireman17]

The "magic" for our family is just being there. We started traveling to WDW in 2003 with at that time was just our two children and since then our family has grown to four and each trip is magical in it's own special way.
With this being your first WDW trip one piece of advice I can strongly give is, do not think that you can see it all!! See WDW through thr eyes of your child go slowly and see different thing not just the rides. Stop at city hall and get your first visit pins, take plenty of breaks and make sure you take your child out of the stroller often so they too can get a break this always helps our little one.
Depending on what resort your staying at see if they are doing anything special day to day or just take a day and go and visit other hotels especially if you need a break at Magic Kingdom take a trip on the Monorail and visit the resorts on the loop.
But remember you're at WDW the most magical place on earth and have a great trip!!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am simply not able to put it into words. I have gone since I was a kid. When I go on property, I feel that I leave the real world behind. We are "on property snobs". Part of that is, well--I never found any off site accommodations to be "magical" and for more than a decade we lived within an hour and a half. So renting houses and off site accommodations just don't have the same appeal. We could just drive home.

Not everyone feels that pixie dust mind you. It just really depends on the person.

If I can't do on site, I will try to stay close by near DTD. It isn't quite the same, but it'll do if we don't want to drive home.

You'll either feel it or you won't and that is okay! Everyone has different likes and dislikes.

 

[readytogotodisney]

For me, "Disney Magic" is the complete experience. It's not a theme park; it's an immersing event. It's the unexpected touches that make everything flow together seemlessly. It's the suspension of reality that occurs when we drive though the gates. It's forgetting the outside world exists. It's little things that make you smile. It's watching Wishes or Illuminations and just saying "WOW!" as the night turns as bright as the day. It's tearing up when the little girl's voice floats over the Magic Kingdom singing, "Star Light, Star Bright, First start I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." It's the look on my child's face when he sees Mickey and *KNOWS* that is Mickey Mouse - not someone in a suit -- it's MICKEY. It's more than I can put into words, and it's like crack - once you 'get it' you never get enough.

Exactly... all of this and more. Maybe I'm a sap, but it makes me tear up every time.

For me Disney magic is that amazing feeling that makes it nearly impossible to wipe the smile off my face. Once we walk under that train platform in MK and see the castle, hear the music, see the little kids (mine included) so excited....I love it all.
I'm sure for me it has something to do with childhood memories too, but Disney does a fabulous job of striving to make each and every person have a great time while they are at WDW.

 

[BAMLuvMickey]

How much time do you have?

For me, "Disney Magic" is the complete experience. It's not a theme park; it's an immersing event. It's the unexpected touches that make everything flow together seemlessly. It's the suspension of reality that occurs when we drive though the gates. It's forgetting the outside world exists. It's little things that make you smile. It's watching Wishes or Illuminations and just saying "WOW!" as the night turns as bright as the day. It's tearing up when the little girl's voice floats over the Magic Kingdom singing, "Star Light, Star Bright, First start I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." It's the look on my child's face when he sees Mickey and *KNOWS* that is Mickey Mouse - not someone in a suit -- it's MICKEY. It's more than I can put into words, and it's like crack - once you 'get it' you never get enough.

I hope you and your family have a magical experience!

Well said....
I teared up a lil' bit reading it. Also, for me seeing my sons' faces the first time they ever walked into MK and saw Cinderella Castle! The wonder and awe of it. Riding ME is special to me. I feel like I am going to a magical land and only ME can get me there.
I swear my kids are better behaved when we go(not saying they are overly naughty boys) they just seem happier and the stress of "REALITY" disappears. Expecting the Unexpected. My only wish is that I could get there sooner. As it looks, sadly, we probably won't make our tentative Sept. 2012 trip but I KNOW we will go back! Maybe once the renovations are done!

 

[LCoulter]

My very first visit to WDW was just before I turned 30 for our honeymoon (DH had been a number of times as a kid). I was blown away by the parks, the details of the parks, the shows, the cast members, the on-site resorts. I’ve been to parks like Six Flags before but this is nothing like that and we try to go once every year and have been many times before we had DD. We prefer to stay at a hotel on-site because we love the theming of the various Disney hotels.

Now we have a DD4 who has been with us to WDW 4 times since she was 18 months old. Each age has been a new magical experience. I still remember our breakfast at Crystal Palace on our first trip with her, when DD at 18 months old, first saw Pooh and friends and when her favorite character, Piglet, appeared at the table, she was shaking with excitement. She hugged and kissed each of the characters.

Have a magical trip!

 

[sparks19]

Oh gosh. What to say. It's really something you don't understand until you experience it yourself. It doesn't SOUND magical but it really really is.

For me it's my cheeks hurting because I just can't stop smiling the entire time. Needing to pack tissues because I'm so happy I regularly tear up lol. Seeing my daughters face... thats the best part of all. Not only did I experience WDW as a kid... now I get to experience it through her eyes all over again. It's an amazing feeling. When we pull through the gates at our resort and they say "Welcome home" I could just burst with happiness.

You go and enjoy your trip and you'll understand. Your idea of the magic might not be the same as someone else's but it's magic all the same and you'll find it

Have fun I wish I were going sooner than september LOL

 

[disneyquestions]

For me....it's a feeling and tons of nostalgia

This. I have a special place in my heart for Disney - and my DDs are following close in my footsteps. Disney is just MAGIC - Its LOVE - Its everything that YOU make it to be.

 

[jacesmommy]

Wow Claire you hit this right on the head! People look at me and roll their eyes when I talked about the magic!! And it's so hard to explain but you certainly did. I always felt the magic but until I went with my DS (now 7 and going for trip #6 in Sept) it became so much MORE magical!!! It's the look on his face and his belief in the magic as well that just makes it....well.....MAGICAL!

You drive under that Walt Disney World archway on your DME bus and you leave the world behind. It's a feeling in your belly. Not a detail is missed. It feels 'safe.' It's so many things!

 

[Disney_1derland]

Everyone that has posted has hit on some aspect of what it is for me. It's non-quantifiable on so many levels. But, when you find it for the very first time, you will be completely taken aback. It's powerful and it truly is magic.

It's in the tears that well up when I walk under that train trestle for the first time each trip and stop to look under the banner and read the words "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy", it's in the absolute joy you see on the childrens' faces as they meet the characters and see this 'imaginary' figure become real and tangible. It's in the people you meet that restore your faith in humanity, even if just for a little while. It's in standing before the Partners statue and thanking one man for dreaming, creating and sharing a dream that endures as something pure and beautiful all these many years later. It's in kindness and gestures that can be so small and insignificant but can completely brighten your day. It's in small plastic coins handed out with a smile by the doorman at POFQ. It's in the sidewalk at night in Epcot, sparkling and dancing and making my children giggle with joy as they get pixie dust on their feet. It's in the screams of joy coming from that giant hill on splash mountain. It's in forgetting to be 'strict mom' and remembering to hold on to their childhood as long as we can and let it all go and experience joy. It's in finding a place, virtual though it may be, where thousands of 'us' can come to reminisce about the 'magic' and what it means and how to hold it and spread through our daily lives. It's not a vacation, it's a way of life and once you've been touched by it, you're never without it.

I hope that you are able to experience it in your trip. I promise you, it will blow your mind

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Disney magic: You go to Disney with a full wallet. When you get back home, your wallet is empty!

TADA!

 

[mom2val]

For me the "Disney Magic" is this - Disney is the one place we totally unplug and focus on just our family dh, dd & me. The rest of the world no longer exists. We get lost in the fantasy and magic. It's like this huge burden is lifted off and the world is a shiny happy place.

 

[amym2]

For many people, myself included, it has something to do with childhood memories. It brings back that warm fuzzy "happily ever after" feeling. I look at my kids and think about what I must have felt like the first time I saw Mickey, and I feel that "magic" all over again.

But I also know plenty of people who had never been to WDW until they were adults and took their own children, and they felt the "magic" as well. It's a feeling unlike any other place, as others said, it's about the experience not just the rides. Some of that has to do with characters we all know and love, some of it the cast members who make everyone feel special, some of it the wonderful shows and parades.

When I think about a trip to Six Flags, it sounds like fun, but it is nothing like Disney, nothing. There's really no way to explain it, you just have to go and see for yourself. I'm sure not everyone feels the "magic" the same way, and sadly there are people who just don't "get" it. That's life!

 

[kkacar]

It's that choked up feeling I get as I go under the train platform and can FINALLY see the Castle again. It's walking down Main Street and knowing that my daughter and my hubby are right there with me and even though we are just walking we are making memories to last a lifetime. It's the smells and the sounds that take me back when ever I encounter them when we are not there. Its the look of wonder and pleading of my daughter to ride Big Thunder Mountain... one more time. Even though we have rode it nearly 10 times already during a trip.

It's remembering my daughters face the 1st time she saw Mickey Mouse and after all the trips later she still wants to see Mickey Mouse every.single.time.

Disney is a part of who we are. It's knowing that for 6-8 days we are going to be the family that I wish we had the time to be all year round, but the hustle and bustle of real life gets in the way.

Unfortunately I never got to experience Disney as a child, but I have made sure that all my wonder and love for it has been transferred to my daughter.

That's Disney magic for me.

kelli

 

[sparks19]

BAH you guys make me cry lol

I told my hubby about this thread. his response was 2 things that really make it for me....

1) the cast members. any cast members that have direct contact with customers are SO good at their jobs. They play their roles, and they play them well. when we tell them our stories I'm sure they've heard that same story 1000 times but they still act like it's the first time they've ever heard it. They go all out and are a key part in that magic. It's those little touches from the cast members that I really enjoy.

2) Disney doesn't do anything half way. When you walk into a park or a restaurant or a store... every little detail is there. It's not all about rides. You could spend an entire trip just looking around for the small details that most of the time we don't even notice. It's not just a vacation... it's an experience. A total immersion experience.

I ad libbed a little because I can't remember the EXACT words he said lol but that was the basics of it.

 

[stashbin]

How much time do you have?

For me, "Disney Magic" is the complete experience. It's not a theme park; it's an immersing event. It's the unexpected touches that make everything flow together seemlessly. It's the suspension of reality that occurs when we drive though the gates. It's forgetting the outside world exists. It's little things that make you smile. It's watching Wishes or Illuminations and just saying "WOW!" as the night turns as bright as the day. It's tearing up when the little girl's voice floats over the Magic Kingdom singing, "Star Light, Star Bright, First start I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." It's the look on my child's face when he sees Mickey and *KNOWS* that is Mickey Mouse - not someone in a suit -- it's MICKEY. It's more than I can put into words, and it's like crack - once you 'get it' you never get enough.

I hope you and your family have a magical experience!

I couldn't have said it better myself. THIS IS Disney Magic! We are leaving in 4 days and I actually got butterflies in my stomach when I read your post because it is such a magical suspension of the every day grind!

 

[Pimama]

Love this! I agree that the CM and the details work together to create the magic. I remember once running into a cranky CM entering the park and it was so out of place. My husband and I just looked at each other and said "she won't be here long"
I also love the feeling of leaving stress behind and walking into another world. Disney magic does empty the wallet though so it's important to know what you have to spend and not worry about it. It's funny how Micky-onomics sets in and it could be easy to blow a budget if you're not careful. Of course it's not fun to be too careful so I usually over budget.

Have fun!