Why do you love Disney?

[justapixel]

I live in CA, but have only been to Disneyland twice in my life. Both times, I had a great time, but it's not a place I would consider for frequent vacations. I kind of felt like, once you've done the rides, you know what is there and no need to go back for many years.

I have some friends who are Disney fanatics though - take every vacation at Disney, etc.

I see a lot of people like that here, I find it interesting. I am curious to know what it is about the Disney experience that keeps you coming back for more.

I have to say, since we are going down there next week, finding this forum has been amazingly helpful. You all are so nice. I see people answering questions from newbies that HAD to have been asked a hundred times befoe, without ever saying "do a search" or being sarcastic. And it's also been great to get the tips on how to maximize my time. And, I'm compiling a little book of all the Easter Eggs at Disney so we can have some fun not on rides - something I never would have been able to do without this forum.

I'm thinking that to stay on this forum, with all you nice folks, I'm going to have to catch Disney fever. So, explain it to me. Why do you love Disney?

 

[Master Mason]

My parents took us every year as a kid, we had a couple of aunts that lived down there, so they made their visits and took us to DL. So it is like walking into my childhood for me.

Things that keep me coming back
1. The friendly people
2. The cleanliness of the parks
3. The amazing details, you could spend years there and always discover something new that you hadn't seen before
4. Where else can a 60 year old and a 6 year old participate in the same activity and have just as much fun?

 

[Hound 109]

...cause i can't sing or dance.

hound


& Pixel...I think you said you had a 10 y/o boy. Check out the attached Jedi link.

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1478699

& if you get your EE priviledge from the AAA newbie, here's a thread on EE that might be helpful.

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392671

 

[justapixel]

Thanks for the links, Hound! The Jedi thing looks fun and I'll bring a sign or something so maybe my son will be picked.

I'm going to print the EE thing.

 

[Saavy?]

Rather hard to put into words... hmmm..

Disneyland has become my annual destination choice year after year for many reasons.

1.) I love being in the "cocoon" of Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel. Nothing else exists for that week (well... except for the Medieval Times "whoop it up" blowout evening).

2.) I check out of the "real world" the minute I pass through my hotel room door and get to stay in this state of peaceful mind bliss for 6 days.

3.) How often does your only priority consist of "have fun", "relax", "slow down", "enjoy yourself", "take it all in"?

4.) My vision tends to change from 40-something cynical and life-weary into 6 year old wonder, innocence, and awe. I love that transition.

5.) It's entertaining. Rides, shows, parades, fireworks... there is always something to experience, watch, participate in, and simply enjoy. It is never boring.

6.) The food is terrific.

7.) The shopping is terrific.

8.) Immersion into an uncorrupted environment of innocence.

9.) Where else can you belt out the "Pirate's Life For Me" song at the top of your lungs and not be escorted to the psych room of the nearest ER?
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1505152

10.) It keeps me sane.
(mid-page post)
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1493937&page=2

 

[Bsbllmom]

I love the "Magic" of Disney that envelopes you as soon as you get off of the tram.

The people are so nice at Disney and you don't get that in the real world.

The looks on my kids faces everytime we find something new just melts my heart.

The look that my husband gets everytime we find something new shows me that he is a kid down deep inside.

I love the feeling I get when I see the characters and how they spread the "Magic" to everyone around them.

I think by reading this board and especially this forum you are beginning to see, feel and appreciate the "Magic" of Disney.

Have a great trip and just take it all in.

 

[wvnative]

For all of the above reasons and more.

It's an amazing break from the mundane.

It's cheaper than most other places we can go and both enjoy ourselves.

I love being totally immersed in Disney. There's just something about having a huge corn dog (we never eat those at home) while sitting on a park bench under a big shade tree listening to the Dapper Dans sing from across the way.

I love the rides. Well, most of them.

I love that I only have to take one or two days of vacation and still get ot recharge like I've been out for a week.

It's a sense of freedom I think. When I'm there, everyone around me loves Disney too. I don't have to worry about the everyday stuff because it's like it's own little world.

It's just really hard to put it in words.

 

[justapixel]

I think you are all putting it into words very well.

I have to say, that had I not found this board, I think I would have been not very excited about this trip. Instead of thinking Magic and Innocence, I would have been thinking lines and people crowding me.

You all have put it in a very new and fun light for me. I think my attitude will be a lot better for having found this forum. Now, I can't wait to get there!

 

[XTinabell]

I actually have a little background story why I love DL so much.
When I was 6 years old my brother was 7 and we saw a commercial for Disneyland and we begged and begged our parents to take us to disneyland. My parents said that when I was 8 they would take us. Well I started praying everynight, would god please send me to Disneyland so I could ride the teacups. My 8th birthday came and went my parents couldn't afford the trip. FINALLY when I was 16 my parents took me to Disneyland for the first time. We were a family of 6 so it was a very budgeted holiday but nevertheless I got to ride the teacups. And now I go because every time I step through the gates I feel like my prayers have been answered again and it brings out the kid in me. I've grown to love more and more about DL, because my first time was a budget trip we didn't eat in the park at all, now when I go I eat in the park for all my meals and snacks. It's just a very magical place and it just seems like all your worries and stresses are gone while you're there.

 

[eatmypixiedust]

It's strange but when I was in junior high I liked Magic Mountain (I know, this is blasphemous!) When I was a teenager I started to like Disney. I've been an AP holder since I was about 18 or 19 years old (I'm now 27).

I am constantly under a lot of stress at work and when I get vacation time, I use it to spend time at DL. Disneyland has always been my stress reliever and it's nice to escape from the headaches and chaos at work.

I like to arrive at the park early in the morning (when it's not crowded) and walk around the shops, eat a dole whip float or mickey pancake, take pics around the park, etc.

Disney makes me happy and it helps cheer me up when I feel overwhelmed with work. You can never have too much pixie dust!

 

[Anater]

I was born and raised in Southern CA - and I never lived more than 90 minutes from Disneyland. We would go every other year as a family and when I became an adult it became the place to take my out of state friends when visiting. I remember the last time I went in 2001 I was jaded and it seemed like a bore - nice but nothing special. Fast forward to 2007. I moved to WA state last year with my husband and three and a half year old son. A few months ago we started to plan our trip to Cali for this coming December to see friends and family. It dawned on me that our son is old enough to appreciate Disneyland and we should go for a day. I started researching Disney on the internet and became obsessed. Seriously, I check this darn board three times a day - is this normal?! The focus of our trip has changed from visiting friends and family, to now spending three days at DLR. My son's birthday will fall on one of days at the park so I'm doubly excited. I think I have this obsession with Disney now for several reasons. I see the world more through my son's eyes now - I can't wait to see his reaction to the very same things that made me wide eyed on my trips as a kid. Plus, I think I took Disney for granted. Forgive me Disney! But it was always an hour away so I never had to plan a trip, we just went. I don't know if I would be so excited about Disneyland, if it were not for my son. And I now know for a fact that if we ever moved back APs would be a must!

 

[mystic_path]

I think its because its so peaceful. The music is happy the people there are happy and are there just enjoying themselves. You get wrapped up in your own little world while you are there and its like your a child without any worry in the world.
There is so many aweful events happening in the world, and even adult hood with the worry of bills and the stress of work will get to you after awhile. So having a place which doesnt allow any of that to occur and takes you away from reality for even 5 minutes is just incredible.

I mean even if your sitting at coke corner outside in the shade on a sunny day with a drink and a mickey pretzel while watching the piano player play his disney songs. I mean how much more relaxing can you get while people bussle by laughing and smiling and enjoying themselves and knowing that you are one of them? Or watching a child interact with their favorite character really believing that that character is the real deal is just priceless.

 

[BraMax]

I think the reason I love DLR so much is that it allows me to stop being a mom and be a big kid with my kids. The looks on their faces when the hear the music at the trams and when you pass through the tunnel in to the land of magic. We are going on our 3rd tripNext week( second this year it's a surprise for our boys) and I think I am more excited than anyone. My husband said after our first visit yeah it was great he had fun but he wouldn't be back anytime soon. Our first trip was Dec '05. Needless to say as our boys have gotten older and they do more everytime he keeps wanting to go back. We are headed to WDW Feb'08 for a land and sea vacation with the Disney Cruise Line. See I've got him hook line and sinker. Just wait you will catch the magic soon enough.

 

[PrincessSitka]

I was born and raised in Alaska. We really didnt hear much about a Disneyland. So when I turned 18 I went to California and heard all about it. At about 27 I went with my son he really is not a disneyland person but he has a daughter now. Me and her go every yr. We go on her birthday she loves it. It just is so relexing. Even my boss knows we go and I get teasted about it. Dont care it is the best thing that we do for our selfs. Husband doents even go. WE get spoiled by the staff at the Disneyland hotel. Best limo picks us up they even call me before I leave and tell me what the weather is like there. I loe all of the pampering.

 

[ter-moo]

I agree with everything everyone else has said here--the magic, the innocence, the wonder.

I'd like to add QUALITY to that list. Everything Disney does is just so GOOD! The shows, the cleanliness, the cast members, the look of the parks, the gardens, the little touches on the rides. Go to a non-Disney park and you may get thrills, but the little touches are not there and the quality is rushed.

I ALWAYS cry during the parades and the fireworks and the shows because they are so over-the-top well done! I'm a performer, so I appreciate how hard it is to capture that.

 

[justapixel]

You all write so well, and it's so beautiful, what you are saying. Thank you!

 

[Another^Dimension]

I live in CA, but have only been to Disneyland twice in my life. Both times, I had a great time, but it's not a place I would consider for frequent vacations. I kind of felt like, once you've done the rides, you know what is there and no need to go back for many years.

As an AP.. most of the time I visit.. it's not for the rides.

Sometimes I ride a few.. to feed my forever burning Screamin' and Buzz addictions... but sometimes not. I'll catch a parade or fireworks or Fantasmic! or maybe even just a few live acts in either park (unfortunately most of the time there aren't really even a few playing park-wide anymore).. or one of the many fun acts in Downtown Disney...


The parks are so much more than just the rides/attractions... and those with an AP and time to discover more Disneyland Resort details enjoy the incredible depth of the Resort ... without hurry or stress ... and also at times enjoy the rides/attractions.
But really.. the parks at the Resort are far far more than just rides.


I've gone several visits without riding anything except the tram or the monorail in... and truthfully those visits were no less fun or more fun than ones where I rode rides my whole visit.
Disneyland is multi-dimensional, visually, audibly and magically...


If you don't want it to be, it doesn't have to be the same visit twice... or maybe you might want it to be. Which many people do.

AP visitors have the freedom to do as much or as little as they want... each visit. Every visit. Many visits. They are all already paid for...


Of course it's still fun to visit/do Disneyland 'commando style' when friends and family from out of town visit... but those are just a a dozen or so days every year...


If I only went for the rides/attractions like I used to when I first became an AP, Disneyland might have gotten less interesting... but I've learned so much about Disneyland and Walt Disney since then.. inside the park and out... and the depth of entertainment, escape, discovery, details and things to take pics of and see and the magic I became an AP to enjoy more of... is nearly immeasureble.
Especially for the price.
Endless fun. Especially if you love live bands, character meets, shows/parades and awesome theming and a world class controlled atmosphere ... and the rides/attractions


A friend asked about the price and why I go and what I do at the parks that I don't get tired of... and I said.. 'Pretty much I pay 300 a year to ride Screamin', Soarin' and Tower almost anytime I want. The year of Disneyland that comes along with it is just extra, an incredible, still unbelievable addition... really just more icing on the cake'.


Unlike many other hardcore Disneyland park fans.. I love other parks too.
Amusement, fair and theme.
Many many other places have magic (not Disney magic... but many other exciting and fullfilling kinds).. and many other places can be and are fun, beautiful, memorable, awesome, exciting ... and anticipated destinations for me. Amusement parks and just natural places to visit and vacation. I visit Disneyland frequently, so I always vacation elsewhere.

I just get more personally from my local/home parks than other amusement and themed places.

Those home parks just happen to be DL and DCA.

All people are different... some people just want to visit Disneyland, some people feel more and are touched differently... by the place, by it's meaning, by it's founder, by it's uniqueness (that it's copies can't and won't ever duplicate )... by what it was, by what it is, by what it's becoming yearly.. and by what it will eventually become.
Because it will never be finished.

Many people can relate to that eternal hope and forever thinking.
That hope within Disney and especially within Disneyland.

 

[MATTERHORN]

I am sitting here reading this thread in tears!! You have all put into words exactly how I feel on each trip and why I keep coming back!! I have memories from my childhood and now I am building those with my kids!! Leaving the real world behind for a few days is truly priceless!!

I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip and see the Land through new, brighter, wide open eyes. It really is so magical!

Andrea

 

[daisy2]

When we walk through the tunnels into Main Street that is our escape from reality. I revert back to my childhood. I enjoy Disneyland because it's fun, clean, lots to see and really good food.

 

[mimichan]

The first time I ever went to Disneyland was when I was on my way to college in Colorado. My mom decided to bring our whole family up for a vacation (I have 2 younger brothers) to visit Disneyland before I went away. This would be our very first trip to the mainland. It was so magical and I was in love with anything Disney from then on. My second trip to Disneyland was when I graduated from college. The next time I visited Disneyland was when I got married and went on my honeymoon. Yup, believe it or not, we went to Disneyland and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. It was my husband's very first trip there and he also fell in love with Disney. We took our very first family trip to Disneyland with our 2 children, who at that time were DS7 and DD5. My 2 children are both Disney fanatics. We visited Disneyland as a family a total of 5 times and WDW twice. Now I'm a grandma and I'm enjoying Disneyland through the eyes of my granddaughter. She's only 2 but has already been there twice and we're going again this fall. She's already a Disney fanatic as she's in love with Playhouse Disney and all the Disney princesses. I don't know what it is but it's such a magical place where all your dreams do come true while you're there and indeed, it is the "happiest place on earth!"