It’s the Little Things in Life

Disney World opened in 1971, shortly after my brother was born and when I was just three. I have been a fanatic my whole life. Seriously. My daughter had been to the World forty times by the time she was 18, and NEVER without me. For years, I’ve had friends ask why we keep going back. A lot of Disney-philes will tell you that the World never stops growing. As Walt Disney said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. It is something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing and adding to.” I’m pretty sure the same applied to Disney World in Walt’s eyes, so yeah it keeps changing. But here’s the thing. We’ve been three times in one year. I don’t care how much it changes; it’s not changing THAT much to have a totally different experience three times in a year. So, we are back to the question, “Why do I keep going?” It all comes down to fuel. It’s Disney Magic that fills MY tank. When I’m feeling low, I need a little touch of Mickey to get back in the saddle. That might be enough, if I were a family of ONE, but I’m not. So, how do we keep it fresh? That’s how we look at another way to make your life unique. Life is all in the details.   

Disney World has four parks, two water parks (we’ve never been), two miniature golf courses, dozens of resorts and even more restaurants. You can see already how you can make a trip different. We have done a few things the same every time (and I mean EVERY TIME), but the magic is in the details. I have 18 years of pictures of Hallie with a Troll in the Norway pavilion of Epcot. I’ve watched her grow up by him. THAT is for me. But, one of the traditions we started when she was three was to pick a theme for each trip to Epcot. As we move around the world (showcase), we take pictures related to that theme. So, we have hat themes. We have candy/snack themes. We even have cast member themes when Hallie was trying to learn to be more outgoing. That’s just one example.

In 2007, I was in Disney for a work conference. I decided to try out Tutto Italia, because Italian food is my very favorite. The next family trip, I took Hal and found HER favorite restaurant on earth as well. So, we have to have lunch at Tutto every trip. Well, if you’ve ever been to Disney, you know how filling the restaurants can be. So, it’s always counter service for dinner (Yorkshire Fish Company in the UK pavilion). Tough to have a different experience every trip if you insist on patronizing the same restaurants. The thing is, we don’t have MUST do restaurants in every park. THAT allows us to try out new ones. That’s a unique trip experience. There are too many details to make every visit the same if you open your eyes to possibilities. In fact, my most recent visit (a one-day Magic Kingdom Covid-land trip) was one I’d written off as a unique trip because it really was about filling my tank. But looking back on the trip writing this, I realized (beyond the character cavalcades, which count as new) that I had a different experience just in how I approached the park. I walked THROUGH the castle for the first time in years. I spent TIME in the Hall of Presidents looking at memorabilia. And I was there open to close and left via the ferry boat, which I’ve never done. It’s all in your perspective. I got familiarity and tradition for the tank and new experiences for the imagination. And, I didn’t even have to plan it this time.