Into the looking glass: the magic of Disney

I am going to tell you a secret.  My love for Disney has absolutely nothing to do with the rides, attractions, over the top productions, or food (definitely not the food).  It’s a little confusing  because I always want to go to Disney. My work  badge is on a red Mickey Mouse lanyard.  I get excited every time we go and I clog all of my friends instagram and facebook feeds the entire time there.  We’ve only gone twice this year, but every time I take a few days off, which is usually because I am cleaning up snot, vomit, or some other vile gift from the Scrugglets, someone invariably asks me upon my return if we went to Disney again (insert eyeroll here).

I am a Florida native, and grew up a couple of hours away from central Florida.  My two closest friends and I even road-tripped to Miami at the end of senior year and pit stopped for a couple of days at the Magic Kingdom…and napped on benches in various areas of the park. We went a couple of times in my early adulthood.  But as I got older, the anticipation of the rides and parades were replaced by dread of the sweltering lines.  (DO NOT GO TO DISNEY IN THE SUMMER.)  Being obscenely close to the sweaty people swarming through the parks… not pleasant.

And then my babies were born.  One Friday night, when the scrugglets were two and an infant, my husband and I were discussing our plans for going to the zoo the next day.  He stopped what he was doing on the computer (he is always on the computer–but then again I am too, I guess) and said, “why don’t we just go to the Animal Kingdom?  We’ve never been and it’s like a zoo, right?”  So, we got online, booked a hotel room, packed all the gear we thought we would need, put the babies in their car seats and headed down. We got there are 3am!

The next morning the kids woke up in a strange place and their tired parents brought them to Disney World.   From the moment we walked in, I was hooked.  I saw the wonder, amazement, and magic of Disney through my Toddler’s  eyes.  I rarely ride anything that Pea won’t ride and she’s scared of heights, speed, loud noises, big costumed characters…you name it and she is terrified. Then she discovered princesses and fairies.  We started a birthday tradition of having breakfast with the princesses.

As you can see, she LOVED it the first time.

Disney has built a world of enchantment and though it is rare that I see it through my own eyes. (Am I the only one that finds it awkward to be standing next to an adult wearing a bright yellow princess gown with a wide vacuous smile plastered on her face as she greets children in a musical sing song voice????)

I know the Scrugglets will grow up and lose that wonder…I want to cherish it as much as I can (and can afford) before they get to that point.  When we are there, the mundanity of our household routine is replaced with pixie dust. I don’t have to try to tackle the dishes or laundry or make dinner. I can sit back and relax with the people I love most in this world and enjoy the magic.

Want to see what’s new at Disney World for 2018?