In honor of their 300th episode, The Season Pass Podcast asks several people “Why is Disneyland special?”
We all have an answer to that question, and here’s mine.
Memories. So.Many.Memories. My life as I know it began on May 25, 1996.
The second time I went to Disneyland I was 16. It was my sophomore year in high school and I had a kind of crazy crush on this guy…he was totally cute, funny, I was head over heels. Seriously. I had it bad. He didn’t know it…some guys are so totally dense. Sorry…I got caught up for a moment. Anyway, this dense boy and I spent the whole day together, having been separated from our group. Because he’d been to Disneyland so much as a kid, he took great pleasure in showing me around, enlightening me to the joys of a Gibson Girl and Goofy’s Candy Shop sour cherry balls. The highlight of the day was running through a packed crowd to get to Space Mountain before we had to get back on our bus, running and trying to dodge the Electrical Parade—but to be honest, I remember it most because he held my hand and didn’t let go even after we made it into Tomorrowland. Maybe he wasn’t quite as dense as I thought he was. Or, maybe it’s just the magic of Disneyland.
Five years later that formerly dense boy (still a bit dense, still totally cute, funny, I was still head over heels) went to Disneyland again, but this time as husband and wife on our honeymoon. We went back to where it had all begun for us, and I plan to celebrate our silver 25th anniversary there, our golden 50th anniversary there and maybe, just maybe, our own 60th Diamond anniversary there. I’ll be there, a spry 81 year old brassy broad, running through the crowd with my 82 year old formerly dense boy (who am I kidding, he’ll still be dense, but still just as cute and funny, and I’ll still be head over heels), heading to Space Mountain.
Why is Disneyland special? Because it reminds me of that Saturday in May, I was 16, when I won the love of my lifetime.
That was my answer, what’s yours? I’d love to know.