[Question] What does Disneyland mean to you?

[Walt's Ghost]

We have a huge community here, but a question I have never seen posed is "What does Disneyland mean to you?" Why do we all love the park so much? Is there a story of why Disneyland means something to you, or do you just love it because it's a cool place? I'd love to hear your stories and/or answers!

[Grin Without a Cat]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

I love Disneyland because I take this statement to heart:

Nobody else but Disney even comes close to making me feel this way.

[Stormy]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

You know, that's a surprisingly hard question to answer. So much of what Disneyland means to me is really intangible. The feeling upon entry, the smells, the taste, the memories, the lightheartedness. Maybe the best way to put it is to paraphrase Walt: "Here a married-Mom-of-2-adult-sons leaves the world of today and regresses to the world of her childhood".

[Bongo]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Spending money. Lot's and lot's of money. And being happy, but mostly spending.

[Walt's Ghost]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Anyone meet a significant other at the park? Or have a good story about the park?

[alphabassetgrrl]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

It's a lot of escapism for me. It's a place to take pictures, both big shots and details. It's admiring the artistry of the place. Sometimes I'll ride rides, and I have my favorites for lunch, and I love watching people.

[sbk1234]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Someone already quoted the entry plaque. So I'll sum it up as being "better than real."
Here, people are nicer, it's clean, safe, fun, and beautiful. I can be anyone I want to imagine I am.
Although it is impossible to keep the real world from encroaching in completely, Disney manages this better than anywhere else I've seen.

[Quentin]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Why do I love Disneyland so much?

This is a hard one. Disneyland is a theme park. It is the best theme park.
There is so much more to it than that, but I can't explain it.

[DisneyResurrection]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Disneyland is the Fountain of Youth.

[brenden]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

All of my day to day stress instantly melts away when Disneyland is involved. Honestly, it's just a great place to 'escape,' where the real world and all of it's problems are put on the back burner. Nothing puts me in a better mood than a day at Disneyland with some of my best friends.

[Dillamond]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

To me, Disneyland is more important than air. 'nuff said. :love:

[Wild Ol' Dan]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Howdy Pards,

What does Disneyland mean to me? Well, long, long years ago it meant that Walt Disney was actually building a Magic Kingdom…a place filled with amazing adventures…a place of incredible beauty…a place filled with happy music and magic…a place where dreams come true. On his Disneyland television show he often gave us updates…showed us amazing and incredible details that were going in…talked to us about the
wonders that we could actually see and do. Imagine boarding a boat that would take us off into the deepest, darkest jungles of the world…Imagine flying off to Neverland with Peter Pan…Imagine boarding a beautiful steamboat for a trip down the rivers of America…Imagine boarding a rocket to the moon…

The very idea was exciting…and Walt Disney’s enthusiasm was contagious…it became like a magnet drawing people to this happy place far, far away.

And one magical day long, long ago my Mom and Dad told me that we were gonna get in the car and travel all the way across country, along a magical road known as Route 66, to visit Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The happiness in a small boy’s heart on that day was truly overwhelming…a dream he had thought to be totally impossible was about to come true…

With each mile we traveled the excitement grew…it was a long, long trail filled with adventures along the way…filled with excitement, wonder, and magic…filled with the beauty of America… including the real, honest to gosh American West…and then, at long last there it was…that glorious sign…huge…along Harbor Blvd…we had arrived at Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Disneyland!

Oh, the excitement, the joy, the magic we felt as we walked through those gates and then those tunnels for the very first time…Town Square was filled with horse drawn vehicles, wonderful aromas, and the most amazing, delightful discovery of all…Disneyland was not black and white…it was in full glorious color!

We explored every incredible inch of the place! Around every corner new magic unfolded…just like Walt had promised. We saw the Golden Horseshoe Revue…oh, talk about magic…our sides ached from laughter…

As morning turned to afternoon we started eagerly anticipating the magic of those fireworks over the castle…the iconic thing…the symbol of this magical place. And, it came…far, far better than we ever imagined, beautiful beyond words. We were kinda sad to have to leave that first visit…not knowing when or whether ever we would be able to return…it had truly been a day we would never ever forget.

Well, we did return, many times in the years that followed…and each time the sights, the sounds, the aromas brought back happy, joy filled, memories…

Disneyland is truly a thing of the heart…truly a place to laugh and learn and play together…and, for me, it is a place of wonderful, happy memories that have stretched across an entire lifetime…for me…Walt Disney’s Disneyland truly was, is, and always will be, a Magic Kingdom.

Adios for now. Talk to ya on down the trail.

Wild Ol’ Dan

[Mom kissed Walt]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Disneyland to me is the promise of a better America, heck, a better world.

A place where things are clean and people are having a good time.

A place where I can let go and just be a kid.

A place that holds good and dear memories. When I was little and we lived in LA my parents nonchalantly said we would visit "Uncle Walter". He will always be that to me and Disneyland will always make me smile and remind me of the love of my parents.

A place where my otherwise shy and tongue tied Mom went over to a man named Walt as a small child, tugged on his coat tails, signaled him to bend down and gave him a very grateful kiss, to which he said "When I woke up this morning I had no idea something that nice would happen"

A place that inspires my creativity, both personally and in business. I admire it as one of the most successful and fun business models in the world.

A place were a mouse is boss

[calsig31]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

It means seeing the joy on my kids faces as we walk in the entry gates.

[ducktalesfan5555]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

It's my home away from home!

[SoCal Wifey]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

I don't have many wonderful memories of Disneyland growing up; I probably only went twice when I was a kid (despite living a little over an hour away).

But now that I am getting older (just turned the big 3-0 on the 5th), I have realized that nothing is better than happiness and creating memories. My husband and I are childfree but we are young at heart and love to have fun, creating memories together is our priority. I've always loved Disney movies and I think it may stem from that...

... to sum it up: when we are at Disneyland my heart is happy!! I feel like a kid again and love to soak it all in and feel the magic. The smile I see on his face when we ride his favorite ride, POTC, makes me feel so happy and complete. Disneyland transport me into a fantasy land where I can be a kid again and forgot the days troubles

[SeptemberJoy]

[bayouguy]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

Disneyland and I were born in the same year. We're growing older at the same time, except Disneyland is definitely looking better than me.

[logicspeaks]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

It's a place to escape, a place to explore. A place full of adventures for me to embark upon with my loved ones. It's a place to create memories that last a lifetime.

[bwillard]

Re: What does Disneyland mean to you?

The first time I visited Disneyland was back in 1977. My dad was in the military and was in California for two weeks. On his time off he took us to see all of the attractions in the area. One of the stops was Disneyland. It was in July so it was REALLY hot. I remember being completely underwhelmed with the park. There weren't too may thrill rides for an 8 year old boy. I do remember standing in line for the Matterhorn for about 3 hours in the hot sun. It was a bit anti-climatic. We went to Knott's Berry Farm shortly after that and I thought that Knott's Berry Farm was light years ahead of Disneyland as far as the rides went.

When I was a bit older (in the late '80s) I was dating a girl that moved from Salt Lake City to Irvine. I travelled out to see her about once a month. She was a true Disneyland nut! She insisted that I go to the park with her when I visited. Again I wasn't impressed with the park. I thought the coolest part was Videopolis (anyone remember that?) Other than that, I still thought the park was pretty boring. I actually dreaded spending the day there (other than I got to spend time with my girlfriend).

Years went by, I got married, and had a daughter. In 2004 we thought that it might be fun to take her to Disneyland. I still wasn't too excited about going, but you do a lot of things that you normally wouldn't do for your kids. We walked in proceeded down Main Street to Fantasyland. She was 4 years old at the time so I thought that she would enjoy Fantasyland more than any other area of the park. We walked around the castle and I remembered that the Alice In Wonderland ride was just on the other side of the castle. When we walked around the corner we saw Alice, the White Rabbit, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and the Queen. This was before I knew anything about autograph books so we just got in line thinking that it was a chance to get our picture taken.

When we got near the front of the line all of the characters started leaving. Alice asked my daughter if she had an autograph book that she could sign. My daughter also had no idea how the autographs worked. Alice grabbed her hand and said "Would you like to go on an adventure with me?". The two of them took off leaving my wife and I staring in disbelief. Alice took my daughter over to see Monstro. She sat and talked to her but my wife and I couldn't hear what she was saying. Every time we got close Alice would take off with my daughter and go somewhere else. She took her to the Mad Hatter shop and they tried on hats and sunglasses. We were able to get some great pictures. She took her to the little door outside the shop and had her knock on the door to see if the White Rabbit was home. They ended up on one side of the Tea Cups yelling back and forth with the Mad Hatter. My daughter was having a blast! Alice probably spent around 45 minutes with my daughter.

At that moment my view of Disneyland COMPLETELY changed. We had a wonderful trip. We figured out the autograph books. Something changed about me too. I LOVE Disneyland now. We try to make the trip at least once a year. My wife and I have even made a couple of trips without our kids! It is a very special place to me and my family. We talk about it all of the time and I spend a lot of time reading about it on Micechat!