How do YOU explain the Disney "magic"?

[kid@heartforever]

My Husband, my two daughters and I have all been bitten by the Disney Bug ( as I know most people on here have been!!!)! Ever since our first trip in 1999 we barely make a year before we just can't stand it anymore and just have to go back! It's really like a homesick feeling in the pit of your stomach! I have a few friends and family that just don't get it! They just can't understand why we want to vacation at the same place every year! Does anyone else know people like this? And if so, how do you explain the "magic"???!!!:mickey:

[Tink#64]

I just laugh & tell people that it's our Happy Place! I've tried to explain the Magic, and how we're all so totally relaxed and at peace with the world & each other. I think my DS's (13 & 11) love it becuase DH & myself are so carefree & act like kids ourselves. But, unfortunately, there are more people that don't get it I think, than those that do. I've given up trying to explain why we go back year after year, to those that go to the same resort at the same beach year after year. I think those people are just not magical people, and that 's kind of sad for them. But it just leaves all the magic for us! :yay:

[BMan62]

We have friends and relatives that do the same thing year after year - Ocean City, Williamsburg, Raystown Lake, etc. - yet they question our trips to Disney. For some strange reason they just don't get that, for us, WDW is where we can relax and enjoy our vacation time. The last thing I want, on vacation, is to sit and wait for the sun to broil me on the beach, or just sit - period. I'm the kind of person, and DW has picked up on this, that needs to be doing something. Disney provides plenty of 'something' to keep me going and stimulated on my vacation.

And I hope that never changes!

[disneycharm]

Disney magic to me is a mixture of peace and excitement that can bring tears to my eyes when seeing the castle! :cloud9: I try to go every other year although I might make it two years in a row. I want to surprise my son, who is also hooked, for his 12th birthday. People at work and even my own family can't understand this feeling or why I want to go to the same place for vacation. All I know is that a Disney vacation brings joy and happiness.:mickey:

[hardingella]

My parents got me hooked in the early 90s. I got my husband hooked a few years later.Got the kids hooked as soon as they could talk.
People dont understand the Disney Magic, and if they dont then i just think that my life is so much richer that theirs, you cant explain it, just like you cant explain child birth to a man!
I often get from friends, "oh i couldnt think of anything worse, give me a beach any day":shrug:
Dreaming and planning our vacations to Disney is all part of the experience. Leave them on the beach to fry, and leave the parks to the happy fun people:mickey:

[gueli]

To me- its the childlike joy that I get just knowing that our vacation is booked. All my memories about the kingdom and the thoughts of the new adventures and things that I/we will do.
When you get there it is part the feeling that you are at a very special place, part the feeling of being welcomed by the CMs, part the idea of going 'home' (perhaps a more fanciful place than where one grew up, but the familiarity of Disney), and partially because 9 times out of ten - to quote the DW- "Disney just does it right". And also because being a kid, no matter your age, at disney is something special in and of itself.
I do not worry about what people say about our trips to Disney. I am the type of parent who will (and does) get down on the ground and play with my dd & her friends, who does not hesitate to slide on a slide, or build a sandcastle, or make sure I am home to walk my dd to the bus stop (I work overnights). I like being responsible and caring and showing my dd the right way to behave. In the end, if people think less of me because I will do these things for my child, than their thoughts will never impact how I make decisions. Like going to Disney.

To explain the magic- if it could be explained than it would not be magic.:)

Many smiles be upon you to brighten your day.
:mickey:

[Goes4FastPass]

We have friends and relatives that do the same thing year after year...

I think to a lot of Disney Fans WDW feels very safe, comfortable, familiar and nostalgic. At WDW only animatronic pirates have facial hair. You can still get a carmel apple at the candy store on the coner (even if they take it off the DDP :rolleyes:).

I grew up with Dumbo and Zipadee Do Dah but my son who now has son grew up with, "Let's listen to the land we all love" and was aggravated when some blockhead decided that song had to be replaced.

I have more than a few friends who are at best neutral but often anti-WDW. "You can have it!" I sortof try to explain it ain't just the Dumbo Ride but then I have to let them be... so they can plan their next trip to the same beach they visit the same week every year... where they're safe, comfortable and nostalgic.

[johnO]

I don't think there is a good way to explain the 'Magic'. I try by illustrating the seclusion and complete immursion into this place called WDW, where you forget about the rest of the 'real world', where I don't have to shave, don't have to answer a phone, don't have to drive a car, don't watch T.V. A place where you can experience so many unique things. WDW became more than just a place which I wanted to revisit. It becomes an experience burned into your memory. As someone else mentioned there is a certin nostalgia that becomes a very big part of ones WDW experience.

Perhaps the very definition of 'Nostalgia' describes it best. But it doesn't answer the question of 'WHY' so much nostalgia for WDW.......

nos-tal-gia 
–noun 1. a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.
2. something that elicits or displays nostalgia.
3. A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.
4. The condition of being homesick; homesickness.

:mickey:

[Tinkerbelly84]

Some people just don't get it. I tell them that I would rather go to Disney then anywhere else in the world.

[Dopey's Girl]

I have given up trying to explain to the non believers. I work with a woman who gets so disgusted when she hears I'm off to WDW again. She said to me the other day that she went once with her kids and that was enough.

My standard answer is that it is the only place someone of my age (over 30, under 40) can act like a kid, and no one cares! Plus it's like I drive under the weclome sign, and it is like the rest of the crazy world doesn't even matter. There are no newspapers, nothing more serious than the wait time for ToT!

[hope23]

For us, part of the "magic" is just stepping outside of the distractions of life and focusing on having fun together. You get to be wrapped up in an overwhelming shared experience that is bigger than yourselves. Number 1 focus... have fun together... laugh... play... eat yummy food. I think it hints at the fact that so many of us just deeply long for that, but are deprived. So... embrace the opportunity to PLAY TOGETHER!

[Pagan]

Disney magic is the ability to turn a chest-length haired, heavily tattooed, maniacal heavy metal bassist into a wide-eyed 8 year old again. :mickey:

[danimator]

It's magical to me, because it's a monument. It's a monument to a single man's obsession with achieving a massive-scale work of pure aesthetic delight, unlike any achievement in modern art, architecture, commerce, entrepeneurship, vision, urban design, or entertainment. Walt didn't want a 'theme park', he wanted a microcosm of a completely enveloping world perfected to his specifications; and he built it.

I walk through WDW, and I marvel at the meticulous care put into everything seen, heard, and smelled at all times. It's a triumph of visual design, architecture, of pure logistics and human organization. Everything about it humbles with its scale, and invites with its carefully drawn lines, vibrant yet comforting colors, perfect shapes, and sweet smells.

It's a place that reflects Walt's own boundless sense of uniquely American optimism. That with hard work, confidence, and determination, amazing things are possible - and yes, 'Dreams can come true'. Not as a fantastical abstraction to tell your kids, but that in America, yes, they really can; as the existence of the entire park testifies. I leave WDW believing I can accomplish anything; because one doggedly courageous and optimistic man (and his big brother who took care of him) built all this.

The first time I arrived and set foot on Main Street USA was a moment that will live in my memory forever. I had no idea such a place existed; a place that felt like it had been made solely for me. Beautiful, charming, unapologetic in its mix of nostalgia and futurism.

For the people who don't understand, or say they 'went once and that was enough', there's nothing to say to them. If you can go to WDW and not be awed, humbled, amazed at the scope of what you're experiencing, then you're not just lacking a sense of wonder; you've lost all the basic tools for even looking at the world around you.

[goofy78]

it is a nostalgic comfort zone that never ceases to satisfy. people either get it or they don't. i don't explain to those who don't because it just doesn't get through. i enjoy the planning of the trip as much as getting there. right now we are planning a trip for next year with our DD (will be 5 and her first trip ever!) this is why i enjoy intercot, everyone here understands and every time i read these posts it takes me back. :rocks:

i do enjoy getting out and doing other things, however, if you ask me what my :number1: most favorite vacation place is............... WDW takes the cake!

[kemps@wdw]

Explaining the magic to "muggles" (non-magic folk) is challenging at best. If they visit once or twice and don't "get it", then it's likely that they never will. I knew, when as a kid we drove thru the WDW gate for the first time, and I got goosebumps just anticipating my 1st magical journey! And I get that exact same feeling knowing that I'll be there again this year for my 30th anniversary! We also have friends that don't understand our attraction to the World. And sometimes, I admit, I myself cannot explain why I feel as I do...I just...do! I find myself comparing all other vacays to WDW and find them all lacking. Not that they weren't nice, they just weren't Disney!:wave: Besides...magic doesn't need an explaination...it simply...is!

[tinksmom02]

I tried to have this discussion with my DH's family this evening. I got the eye rolls and most of them said, "Why would you want to go AGAIN?" I can't even explain it to them--they just think it's a one-time deal. They don't understand that every trip is different, and even though we may do many of the same attractions each trip, our perceptions of them change each time. Or that even after 4 trips we haven't seen/experienced everything. I think most of them think it's like 6 flags, and one day (or trip) should be enough.

The worst part is that they don't even want to hear my explanations. And we're not really a sit around and bake in the sun kind of family. We like to do things. And Disney is a place where we can all enjoy ourselves (and if you knew my DH, you would understand what a BIG DEAL that is LOL).

Yes, there are parts of the world that I'd like to see, and have my daughter experience, but right now we're all about Disney. I'm sure you guys can understand, why can't they?

[Soul_Power]

Disney is just one of those things.. it's either you get it or you don't. I know that people don't understand why we're going back "so soon," but I also don't feel the need to explain anything! My boyfriend isn't as Disney crazy as I am, but he finds ways to enjoy himself when we're there because he knows how much I love it.
It's a special feeling! I bet that many people don't feel about anything what we feel about Disney! It's a gift! :mickey:

[Figaro]

I've had the chance to make that Disney magic, and it's an incredible feeling. I don't think the magic lies in the attractions at the parks, but it's just the whole all around experience. I know when I'd go to work, I'd walk in and catch that magic. That's my addiction and my drug... the Disney magic. :secret: :cloud9: :D Magic for me lies in watching that little 4 year old girl dance with the lady playing the guitar playing her favorite Disney tune totally star struck, Disney magic for me lies in giving a birthday girl to a lil girl who has just turned 5, Disney magic for me is watching as a little boy meets his hero....Dale....Disney magic for me is walking up to a family and offering them an incredible Disney experience that evening... a magical moment fireworks cruise. :magic:

[minnie-mouse]

To me, it is the magical feeling that you get when you step through the gates of the magic kingdom and feel like you are "home". You feel a great familiarity, like it is a place where you belong, yet also feel a wonderful sense of excitement that keeps you guessing each and every day. It is the way it makes you feel a little bit like a child again and allows you to let loose, laugh, and enjoy all the little moments in life. It is pure magic and those who don't understand it need to open their hearts and embrace their child within.

[kaylamag]

I took my family to disney world last year and we all loved it. Now that we are back home i can't wait to go back, i get teary eyed watching the planning dvd. Here is the problem my husband is one of those people who just doen't get it. Everytime i mention going back he shoots me down. He doesn't understand that now that i've been there i'm addicted! To him it was a once in a lifetime thing and he can't justify spending that kind of money on a vacation. I can't seem to make him understand why i want to go back so badly. To me disney is a place that makes me so happy i could cry (and i do). It's an escape from the real world!

[mouseketeer mom]

In years past, I've tried to "explain" the magic. I tried really hard. I used to feel like it was really important that those around me and I cared about knew what WDW meant to me. I finally learned that I was tired of the blank stares and sometimes the eye rolling!! I've come to the conclusion that it just can't be explained to those who just don't get it, who just don't feel it. I've stopped trying to explain it. I just tell people now that its my "happy place". I smile like I have a wonderful secret and there is no more explaining from me!! My DH, My kids, and my Mom all get it. They understand my love for WDW. Other than that, no one. Thats ok with me.

[amd780]

My family understands why I love Disney so much, but my coworkers are a different story. I have a picture of Cinderella Castle as my wallpaper, and it's quite a conversation starter :mickey: . No one seems to understand why I've felt the need to go so often. I always explain that WDW offers a complete escape from the real world that I have not found anywhere else. There's nothing quite like being immersed in the magic for a week and forgetting all your troubles! :cloud9:

[IloveDisney71]

I think you hit it on the head when you said it's like being homesick. I grew up very close to Disney so I got to go a lot. I had to move right before I turned 12. I go back as often as I can and it's never often enough. I have so many wonderful, magical memories with family and friends at Disney so when I go back I get to relive all of those memories.