[Chat] Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

[TheGlassSlipper]

Hi My Wonderful Mice Chatters!!!!
Last night I went to Disneyland with a friend who just purchased his Annual Pass, and he's been going with me to Disneyland the passed few times, he asked me a question I had to ponder about it for a few minutes.
"Since you have an Annual Pass and you visit often do you find Disneyland losing it's "Magic"? For those who have an AP or visit a few time a year what are your thoughts?

[sunrider]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

it depends on your point of view...if you go quite often..yes it could because you would get used to it,and things could become lackuster..unless you take someone new all the time..to look at it through new eyes..thats where the magic truely lies,it dont matter the age...you get to relive it through them..,but to listen to alot of threads and posts here to alot of people..yes we love it, but i think in a way the magic has been lost upon us for a long time..i guess the term disenchanted fits it best

[micromind]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

Back in the late 70s to early 80s, I flew planes for a living, and had one of my own. I lived in Oregon at the time, and it was about a 4 hour ride in my plane.

I don't know how many people I flew to DL, but it was a lot. Sometimes I'd be there once or twice a week. Sometimes I'd stick with the group, and be sort of a tour guide, other times I'd be alone.

I never got tired of DL at all. Every trip I'd see something new, some little detail I'd missed before. The absolute best times though, were with people who had never been before.

I'll never forget the look in the kids' eyes when they saw all the flowers and stuff at the entrance. Their eyes got even wider once inside the park. To me, this was some of the most genuine magic ever.

The best part of all was the exact same look in Mom and Dads eyes!

I think it all depends on your outlook on life in general. If you tend to be a positive person, you'll feel the magic right away, and it'll fade very little over time. If you're constantly attending your own pity-parties though, the magic will be elusive. You'll get tired of DL quickly.

I guess the magic did sort of fade for me for a while. In 1983, one of my eyes developed a problem with the lens. To fly a plane, you need a pilots license and a medical certificate. I could no longer make the medical. 17 hours in a car vs. 4 hours in a plane made the magic seem way farther away. We drove down a couple of times, but it just wasn't the same.

The next trip was in 1997 (or so), and we had moved to Fernley Nevada. It's about a 10 hour drive, and we had 3 kids, ages 12,10, and 2. The magic certainly came back! These days I go twice a year, and the magic is still there, though the crowds tend to diminish it a bit. Huge crowds can kill it completely.

Rob

[themur]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

If you read many of the threads here the answer is a resonding yes.

For me, I have an AP but I don't get there too often as I live in Nor Cal but it is often enough that DL feels "comfortable." I find I enjoy the park is ways now that are completely different when I only visited on occassion. As much as there are things that I would like to see improved, DL and DCA are so far superior to both of the main amusement parks we have in Nor Cal.

[my7dwarves]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

My Mom asks me that all the time too... and the answer is an emphatic "No! absolutely not!"
Disneyland will never lose its magic for our family, even though we go frequently. I think that by going more we actually appreciate and enjoy the little things about the park that we wouldn't otherwise have known about or had time to see. (With such a large family, much of our time is taken up getting from place to place, eating, bathroom breaks, etc.)
Being an AP is GREAT and a HUGE blessing for us!! :yea:

[Donald1980]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

I think the "Magic" is a continuous change and as long as you are able to accept that and look for new ways to find magic, then you will never lose it. My best memories of Disneyland are when I was a kid. I'm not a kid anymore and can't expect to find the same magic in me, but I can find that magic through other people or even through kids going to Disneyland for the first time.

Magic and life are the same, it's always changing, but as long as you accept they both continue to change and look for other ways to be happy, then it will always be there.

[Bob Weaver]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

The magic is in you. Disneyland simply provides the environment where it can be expressed and enjoyed.

[SnorkletsMom]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

I intentionally do NOT go to the park if it's going to be very hot or very crowded or both (especially then) because I know that I will be miserable and not feeling the magic. Any other time then I'm still immersed in it.

However I do see some things happening that are making me wonder if the magic can survive when the park becomes just 'a disney park' and not 'Disneyland the unique'. I liked WDW, but I really felt very little magic there. I fear that making the park cheaper, cutting corners, planning for the short-term only and making it more generic is killing it.

[Datameister]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

I have never been an annual passholder, but I have recently made the switch from visiting once every two or three years to sometimes visiting as often as four to six times per year, and it's certainly contributed to a change in the way I feel in the park. There's more familiarity, which is nice, but less of that mysterious, foreign sort of magic it had when I was young, when visiting this place was a rare privilege. It's a different kind of fun.

Plenty of people have gotten burned out by going too frequently, but plenty of others have gone just as frequently and never lost their love for the place. Depends on a person's disposition, I think. I'm not sure exactly how I'd turn out if I were going every other week, but it's not practical at this point for me to spend the money and find out. I'm perfectly happy clinging to the specialness the park still has for me.

[orbitalpunk]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

Ne...ver

[Aladdin]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

Tomorrowland did from 1998 thru 2005. It's still slowly being revived.

[Sambo]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

The magic is in you. Disneyland simply provides the environment where it can be expressed and enjoyed.

:thumbup:

[Datameister]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

Tomorrowland did from 1998 thru 2005. It's still slowly being revived.

As a staunch advocate of Tomorrowland finally getting a cohesive theme and visual style that tie numerous exciting and genuinely futuristic attractions together...I nevertheless disagree. It got its magic WAY downgraded, but it still had Space Mountain (part of the time), still had Star Tours, still had an exciting nighttime look, etc. It's kinda like saying DCA is a bad park - it's nowhere near Disney quality, but that doesn't mean it's wholly without merit. IMO, Tomorrowland's the same way.

[4Apples4Disney]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

My family and I have been fortunate enough the last few years to really begin taking some vacations. We took our daughters there for the first time last December, and needless to say, it was fantastic. We are currently planning on going again in December, April 2010, Summer 2010, and December 2010. I think that attitude makes the biggest difference. We look forward to the fun we're going to have, and the new memories we will create.

Earlier this year, we visited 6 Flags for a day of family fun. (about a 2hr drive) We had a good time, the kids enjoyed it, but all day long I was telling myself, this isn't the same as Disneyland. It felt different. There was no magic. It was simply getting on a ride and that's it. We laughed and made memories of course, but bottomline....it's just not the same.

I also hope that 3 trips next year won't diminsh the magic!!.........nah!!

[Aladdin]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

As a staunch advocate of Tomorrowland finally getting a cohesive theme and visual style that tie numerous exciting and genuinely futuristic attractions together...I nevertheless disagree. It got its magic WAY downgraded, but it still had Space Mountain (part of the time), still had Star Tours, still had an exciting nighttime look, etc. It's kinda like saying DCA is a bad park - it's nowhere near Disney quality, but that doesn't mean it's wholly without merit. IMO, Tomorrowland's the same way.

Well, specifically, the downward spiral began with TL'98, and came to an alltime low when Space Mt was shut down (to the surprise of 99.9999999% of everyone). Skyway still missing, subs were closed, autopia had already lost it's post refurb magic, Innoventions was anything but, HISTA kept dragging, Buzz hadn't opened, Space Mt was shut down, Star Tours wasn't drawing anyone. Peoplemover/Rocket rods track was empty, Planets of Astro Orbitor were not rotating. Tomorrowland was a ghosttown. Even Nasa Exhibit had closed. Really, Tomorrowland was a virtual Blackhole ~ sucking all the magic and life out of the east side of the park. The short term thinking and imagineering on the cheap placed TL in a coma.

Unless you really wanted to ride Star Tours, there was no reason to go any further into TL. . . . . it was a magical sucking blackhole.

[TheGlassSlipper]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

I think it all depends on your outlook on life in general. If you tend to be a positive person, you'll feel the magic right away, and it'll fade very little over time. If you're constantly attending your own pity-parties though, the magic will be elusive. You'll get tired of DL quickly.


Rob

My Mom asks me that all the time too... and the answer is an emphatic "No! absolutely not!"
Disneyland will never lose its magic for our family, even though we go frequently. I think that by going more we actually appreciate and enjoy the little things about the park that we wouldn't otherwise have known about or had time to see. (With such a large family, much of our time is taken up getting from place to place, eating, bathroom breaks, etc.)
Being an AP is GREAT and a HUGE blessing for us!! :yea:

I think the "Magic" is a continuous change and as long as you are able to accept that and look for new ways to find magic, then you will never lose it. My best memories of Disneyland are when I was a kid. I'm not a kid anymore and can't expect to find the same magic in me, but I can find that magic through other people or even through kids going to Disneyland for the first time.

Magic and life are the same, it's always changing, but as long as you accept they both continue to change and look for other ways to be happy, then it will always be there.

You know I strongly agree with you all, it depends on your outlook on life in general. Its always changing, but as long as you accept it there always ways to find happiness! I always enjoy taking friends who havent certain things in the park, I always get excited because they look forward to it. I try my best to make it a fun trip for them, especially if they havent been there in YEARS! It all depends who you go with too. Sometimes you can be so excited and have all this energy to run around like a kid and sometimes you cant find that person who wants to "get there ears on!" and run around with you!

Ne...ver

How cute is this!!?!!! I LOVE IT!

[hurricanecolby !]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

i don't think it'll ever loose it's charm. it's one of a kind. and if you have someone that's never been, seeing their reaction can be your magic. especially little ones.

[TheGlassSlipper]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

i don't think it'll ever loose it's charm. it's one of a kind. and if you have someone that's never been, seeing their reaction can be your magic. especially little ones.

So true!!!! I love seeing my niece become SO EXCITED when we go!!!! Children in general make everything fun, (at least to me) they are always full of excitement and adventure.

[Eagleman]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

For me having my (P) annual passholder card is like a KID with a "TOY BOX"with all kinds of toys!
I like trains,ships,going to space,having that great adventure..
then when I done, I put my toys aways ( my card goes back in wallet) !

[TheGlassSlipper]

Re: Can Disneyland ever lose it's "Magic"?

For me having my (P) annual passholder card is like a KID with a "TOY BOX"with all kinds of toys!
I like trains,ships,going to space,having that great adventure..
then when I done, I put my toys aways ( my card goes back in wallet) !

I like, not bad, not bad...