There’s no doubt about it: Disney people like weird things.
The micro-obsessions we get fixated on at the Disney parks. Something that others might find frivolous or overlook altogether.
It must have been frustrating to be so young, wanting to be heard but wondering if you had a right to do more than listen, trying to find your place at 22 in the shadow of Walt’s legacy, cobbling together a new idea from pieces of older ones, fragments from the original dream-builders of the park that you loved.
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These hitchhiking ghosts used to haunt our Magic Kingdom Doom Buggies and now they are relics of a time when we valued magic tricks over technology. Subtle over silly.
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Over the decades I’ve spent as a Disney historian, I’ve heard people say time and time again that there must be something wrong with Disney Adults. But I have historical evidence that proves that Disneyland was, in fact, created for the enjoyment of adults from the very beginning.
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Walt Disney called Ken his “Jack of All Trades,” and he truly was a Renaissance man, able to do almost anything he was tasked to and do it well. And he did.
Well, except that one time he didn’t, and Walt was horribly disappointed.
Amidst cat calls, pranks, and those who watched and waited for her to fail so they could pounce, Grace Huntington walked a daily minefield with invisible protective gear making her not as invisible as she wished she could be.
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I have always liked The Jungle Book, but it had never been a top 10 (or even 20) Disney movie for me. But after watching the creative process unfold before my eyes in a beautifully curated display of concepts to the final film, I realized I had greatly overlooked this gem
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Sometimes Disney fans, creators, and even Cast Members hear a story about something in Disney history and get so excited to hear a "secret" that they immediately pass it on as fact without tracking down the primary source.
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It occurred to me the other day that so much of what we see at Disney isn’t actually what we think it is. Or it used to be something very different, but we don’t realize it.
Let me explain.
I know that Marvel isn't traditionally Disney, and maybe you feel the same way I used to about Marvel. But bear with me, because I just realized something this week:
We are all living a Dr. Strange moment right now.
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I’ve held my babies with teary eyes during fireworks, I’ve been pixie-dusted for once-in-a-lifetime moments, and I have witnessed a gentle snow falling on Main Street USA in Disneyland Paris at Christmastime. But this moment was one that will go down in the record books as one I will likely never have again, but wish was an everyday occurrence.
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What you are drawn to explains more about you than you likely have ever realized.
The question is, where do you find yourself in the story? And why do you connect with a particular character, storyline, or idea?
I'm just going to come right out and say it... traveling to Disney with kids can be less than magical. I admit I'd gotten used to roaming without my littlest explorers due to the pandemic, and now that we are venturing out as a family, suddenly I'm having a crash course in being "mom" again in the Disney parks.
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What if I told you the most memorable part of a Disney trip is not the E-ticket rides or magical shows? Or even (gasp!) our beloved characters?
The truth is, the magic is in the pauses.
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Today, we visit the WHYs that everyone is asking us, my fellow Disney friends.
These are all legitimate questions, ones that I even questioned myself a time or two recently, especially in light of so many talented Cast Members being let go.
It's Halloween week. We've arrived! It's a bittersweet holiday for all of us Disneyphiles... with no Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties this year (and no giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street USA for all you Disneylanders), the Halloween Time magic is simply not the same.
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In an era of social distancing, suddenly I’m left with a solo trip that is truly... solo. Sure, there is the occasional banter with a Cast Member, but far less frequent are the in-line exchanges with other hot and tired Disney enthusiasts.
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