A few weekends ago, my wife and I traveled to Walt Disney World, in Orlando. The purpose of the trip was for me to run in the Run Disney Half Marathon, but we used it as an excuse to make a weekend of it and have some fun. And we did! In addition to being a huge fan of Disney World, Jen is also a Disney Pin Trader. You've seen these people, they walk around the park with their eyes at chest level looking for the lanyards of other traders to see if there are the collectible Disney pins there that might be traded to complete a set or just add to the overall collection. Disney cast members have them as well, and the nice thing about their lanyards is that ANY pin on them is eligible for a trade. If you ask them to trade, they cannot say no (they can always return to the Source to replace a pin lost in trade). My wife is both addict and enabler of this practice. She brings her trading set of pins to the park every time and spends a good portion of the day ogling the lanyards of park employees. If I didn't know better, I think I'd be a tad jealous. She also has an uncanny knack for getting other folks hooked on it, too. She can get anyone aged 4 to 80 going on pin collecting. It really is amusing to watch, and if it gives her the opportunity to be a kid in a place that brings out the child in everyone, then I am heartily supportive of the endeavor.
Oh, the run was fun, too. The weather was a brisk 55 degrees and clear. My goal was to beat my "split" time of my marathon from Thanksgiving weekend. The marathon was the only other endurance race in my past, so I had to use the split as a gauge. Because I am a "new" race runner, I had no "speed credentials" to offer Disney when I signed up for the race. This meant that I would not be allowed to start in the first wave. In fact it meant I would start in the eighth. Wave 8 is no place from which to start if you want to compete against anyone, including yourself. I tried nonetheless. By the end of the run I was passing folks who started in Wave 3. It was a good run for me even though I only managed to tie my marathon split. It was as fun a "training run" as I have ever had; to the point that I am seriously contemplating running the "Goofy" next year. The Goofy Challenge is running both the Half and Full marathon (The Donald and The Mickey) across Saturday & Sunday. Disney was all-out on the course for photo opportunities and to highlight that the park really is one of the happiest places on the planet.
I am sincere in that sentiment. You really have to work at not smiling and at being sour if, after an hour or two in any Disney park, you are not at least a little lighter of heart. And if you still find this difficult then perhaps your perspective on the matter is skewed.
I am the first to admit that I do not smile near enough and that I look at things a tad more cynically than many of my contemporaries. I'm a pre-geriatric curmudgeon in many respects. But when I walk into a Disney Park--specifically Disney; not Kings Dominion or Six Flags, and not Universal--I can't help but grin and get caught up in...the lightness of it all. The adult in me recognizes that Disney, the cast and staff members, all of them, do a great deal of very hard work to create an environment that makes it easy to be happier than you were the moment before you walked in to one of their parks (the kid in me simply thinks, "Cool! Disney!"). And for most of us that feeling lasts for the duration of our time in the park. For a fortunate fraction of us, the "hangover" effect from that feeling lasts a bit longer than our stay.
Of course there are those for whom none of this applies. Oh, they'll come into the park on an energetic high and they will no doubt "get" the momentary feeling of lightness, but they come to the park to conquer it, not enjoy it. You know these folks, too. They are the ones who must ride every ride, see every show. One hundred percent of the park must be conquered in a single day or the day has no meaning and the "mission", a failure. And if you missed identifying these folks as they came in the park with you, you'll know them before the day's end. They are the zombies, the slack-faced-thousand-yard-stare-reverting-back-to-adult-reality (I submit that this reversion is inappropriate within the perimeter of any Disney venue) park wanderers who sense the futility of their mission and are wondering why they came to the park to begin with. If your daily life patterns include supplication to a deity, then you should pray for these people, these lost souls. Hope that they clearly see the tactical error of their ways and will one day return to a Disney park to enjoy it for its own sake. Otherwise avoid them. Total buzz-kill....Luckily we had in our little group the ultimate defense against such people invading our day--a child.
So, after the race, I returned to the hotel to clean up and roust Jen for her day of pin trading. Actually, we were set to meet with a dear friend from my squadron days. We've not seen each other in nearly a decade and she'd married and had a child in that time. I was anxious to see her again and to meet her 4 year-old daughter (her husband and I met in Korea during an exercise there--"Small World", he thinks, as he writes in a Disney theme).
We met in the Epcot park just shy of mid-day. It was a fine reunion. My friend has found a life that is bringing her peace and joy in ample quantities to share (her attitude is infectious), and my heart was instantly stolen by her daughter. Jen and I had been to Epcot before, and since little Chloe had not, it was decided that we all would simply let her drive the events of the day (with her parents' guidance, of course). What a great day it was! Disney was meant to be experienced through the eyes of a child. And through that lens, you can only smile, feel the lightness of life and enjoy the ride. We had a wonderful time together and, yes, "Miss Jenni" properly introduced Chloe to the world of pin trading. At one point, 4 year-old Chloe was actively scouting cast member lanyards for a specific pin because she knew Miss Jenni wanted one more to complete a set. Did I mention, this is a very savvy child?
From my arrival in the park to run the race at 0500, it was a 14 hour day to include a character dinner in "Norway". We ate with all the Disney Princesses and got our group picture taken with "Belle". Chloe was in heaven, the feeling contagious. We parted ways as night drew covers over the park. Bedtime for Chloe meant the end of a terrific day; one to be remembered.
We slept in the next day, Jen and I. Okay, I slept in. Jen was up EARLY with me. We went to breakfast at our hotel. It was an unplanned character breakfast with Chip, Dale, Goofy, and Pluto. Over eggs, bacon and coffee I found myself thankful that the effects of the 4 year-old's perspective had not yet worn off. Time enough for that later. We checked out and hit the road for home. Happy. I couldn't have wiped the smile off my face if I had wanted to. And as I proofread and edit this post I am given pause to smile and imagine looking up at the face of my parents when I first stepped foot in Disney World. That was 1975. Right now, it's time for dinner. I guess I should wipe this grin off my face....
