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fjhuerta
06-07-2005, 04:45 PM
...so, I was discussing the trip with my wife, and she said... "don't be surprised if I'm not as excited about Disneyland as you will be".

Hmm. Interesting. Last time I heard something like that, it was a friend of mine telling us how "fake" and "corny" everything was. That is, for the first hour. After the second one, he was a kid again.

I can't imagine anyone not liking the park, but I was wondering... what are your experiences with people who had a very different (read: European) upbringing, and whose childhood ideals are a lot more practical and grounded in reality than those of us who grew up with The Wonderful World of Color...?

OCCOBRA
06-07-2005, 04:47 PM
eventually they will get sucked in. It is the happiest place on earth...

schmuzX2
06-07-2005, 05:07 PM
My husband doesn't really get it either. Once he gets into the park, he has fun with the kids, but I think he'd really rather be somewhere else. I am lucky though...he does it without complaining. I even made him go to WDW on our honeymoon.

Now, I just go with my cousin. She loves it as much as I do. But alas, I'm moving to New Jersey next week. <sigh> So my little jaunts down to the happiest place on earth have come to an end.

I will be living vicariously through the rest of you, reading all the trip reports and crying myself to sleep.

cstephens
06-07-2005, 05:10 PM
I know a lot of people who don't "get" Disneyland, and I've even been made fun of because of how often I go. But I don't feel the need to convert them. There are things I don't "get" either. I just go and have a good time. Luckily, my husband feels the same way, and we have friends who do "get" it that we can share it with.

SCUBAbe
06-07-2005, 05:50 PM
my bf doesn't like it....he will not go at all...I don't buy into the marketing of happiest place on earth...full of magic..blah..blah..blah...but I go because it's fun and clean and it attracts a nicer crowd than some other amusement parks

Normouse
06-07-2005, 06:23 PM
I have found that many people who experienced Disneyland first as an adult don't understand those of us who would have sleepless nights as children waiting for that magic day when we would visit Disneyland again. For a kid, it was more exciting than Christmas or my birthday. And as an adult, I have a special fondness for the place, and find myself wanting to go there whenever I feel stressed out or depressed. Those other people who just don't understand think that it's something I should have grown out of a long time ago. But I think it's a reliving of happy memories and the need to escape the real world for awhile and to be in a happy place that's both familiar and full of new discoveries. I love to go with someone who has never been before to show them the ropes, and I can also enjoy myself there completely alone.
I don't even necessarily need to go ride-hopping every moment. I have spent pleasant times sitting on a bench overlooking the water on Tom Sawyer's Island, just reading a book and peoplewatching. But I can't enter Disneyland without hitting Pirates at least once. And as I have seen the park change over the years, I have disagreed with some of the decisions to take out rides or add new ones, but I have always retained an affection toward Disneyland with a feeling of loyalty that I have never had toward any other amusement park in Southern California, or anywhere else.

Earkid
06-07-2005, 06:32 PM
I'm not out to convert anyone. I think of it as one less person in line.

mkcbunny
06-07-2005, 06:54 PM
My husband didn't get it for years and watched as I happily went off to enjoy DL with a friend every year. This year, I arranged a special trip for him to go, and he had a GREAT time. He's not obsessed, but he had a blast, and he said that he could go again.

I told him that if he bought mouse ears, I'd eat my shoe. I never had to do that, but he did try on some ears in the store. And then he actually wore the golden ears we bought his mom when we were at the airport. If you'd asked him a month before that whether he'd be seen dead in mouse ears, let alone at the airport, he would have laughed at you.

All that said, I wouldn't have taken him if I didn't know that there were so many things there that he would enjoy. And I planned a lot of breaks and down time. But I was pretty nervous until we actually got there and he seemed to enjoy it.

momtotwins
06-07-2005, 07:38 PM
My husband could take or leave DL and WDW, preferably "leave." ;)

He tolerates my desire to go, and we went 1/2 dozen times before we had kids, and we're about to go for the third time with our twins (in November!). It's not that he "hates" it, it's just that he'd rather be hiking Yosemite or windsurfing. I don't care. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. If everyone was a total Disney geek, the lines would be intolerable. :)

momtotwins
06-07-2005, 07:39 PM
I'm not out to convert anyone. I think of it as one less person in line.

Amen. :D

rentayenta
06-07-2005, 07:44 PM
My DH didn't remotely get it until our trip last December. We had taken the kids many times before and he would have fun, but didn't get it. I don't know if it was the holiday spirit or the magic of Disney, or both, but he has come around and is looking forward to our trip this year.

ILoveChurros
06-07-2005, 08:15 PM
I think it depends on the people they went or go with. For me, I LOVE Disneyland and everything about it. Why else am I on mouseplanet? So I find that people I go with who are less enthusiastic get amped from my energy and child-like enthusiasm for the park.

biolabetty
06-07-2005, 08:18 PM
My husband didn't like going because it was so draining to try and hit all of the rides we wanted to in one day. Since we have gotten our APs, he enjoys it sooo much more, and feels more relaxed when we go. Sometimes he even suggests that we go for just a couple of hours, and that is just fine with me.

fjhuerta
06-08-2005, 07:55 AM
I have found that many people who experienced Disneyland first as an adult don't understand those of us who would have sleepless nights as children waiting for that magic day when we would visit Disneyland again.

I think you have a very valid point. My wife never thought about Disneyland, since her mother never let her watch TV when she was a kid. My father had a rough childhood, and really, Disneyland was the least of his priorities. Both of them don't "get" Disneyland.

My friend (the one I was talking about in the first post) admitted later he dreamed of visiting Disneyland when he was a kid, but then "he grew up" :D

CrazyTrain
06-08-2005, 08:06 AM
I'd never been to DL with anyone who wasn't at least into DL somewhat, until I met up with a friend last week. She goes when she has company who wants to - she's been three or 4 times in 2 years. She's of the "been there, done that" mentality. She's already been - why should she keep going? She didn't even think (or realize?) they'd changed things a bit for the 50th.

Eh, oh well.

HydroGuy
06-08-2005, 08:19 AM
I think it has a lot to do with connecting as children. I agree with the previous post, that a day at Disneyland was equivalent to Christmas Day. I remember watching the "Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday evenings, which helped create anticipation for the next visit. As we approached DL, it was always a game to see who would be the first one to catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn. We lived 45 minutes away and went for day trips about once a year.

When I take my kids to DL, I see the same magical connection in their faces, and I feel like I am 10 years old again.

I can easily see how people never got to go to DL as a child would have a hard time connecting with it as an adult.

Anyone out there who loves DL but never got to go until adulthood wish to comment?

GrowupDisney
06-08-2005, 08:45 AM
I took my boyfriend on his very first trip to Disneyland when he was 23. He had a blast and we've been one more time since and are planning another trip for next month. He loves it, but I don't think he "gets it" like I do - when I go, I'm partly reliving childhood memories and remembering those sleepless night-befores of childhood. He enjoys it because it's all new and he never got to do kid stuff when he was a kid. Plus I think he enjoys my enthusiasm for it. It's a different kind of enjoyment for him than it is for me.

Hakuna Makarla
06-08-2005, 08:47 AM
every time I tell some one, I am planning another trip to disneyland they roll thre eyes, gee why not go some place with less people and not so well disney? OH I get so mad!!!
even my mom looks at me and says, hum aren't you tired of that place yet?

Tutter
06-08-2005, 09:00 AM
Anyone out there who loves DL but never got to go until adulthood wish to comment?

When I was growing up it simply wasn't something anyone I knew had ever done. Foreign travel wasn't as common as it is today, and even for those who did go abroad it would be to Spain or France, but certainly not America unless you were rich, or visiting relations.

There would be programmes on the telly at Christmas where kids with cancer would get taken to Disneyland or WDW and I actually remember asking my parents if I could get cancer so I could go (obviously not realising the ramifications of what I was asking).

I always wanted to go. As I became an adult Florida was the obvious choice, but lack of money always stopped me. When Disneyland paris was built I never went initially assuming it to be a small imitation - not the real thing.

Eventually in my early 30s I went to Disneyland Paris and it not only lived up to what I had always hoped Disneyland might be, it surpassed every expectation.

When i first went to Disneyland, Anaheim, I was actually shaking with anticipation and my first night standing watching fireworks, I could not believe I was actually there, and had tears streaming down my face, much to the amusement of my friends with me who were locals.

And now I am a Premium AP holder. So I think it is less about those who went in their childhood, as actually the type of personality that wants to suspend disbelief, wants it to be the perfect place, wants everyone to be happy, wants to believe in a special place where dreams come true. Because those of us who feel that, believe in the magic, because we want it to be true.

hlbtimes2
06-08-2005, 09:07 AM
Anyone out there who loves DL but never got to go until adulthood wish to comment?

My first trip was when I was 17, and it was a one day trip. Our time in the park was great, but the trip itself was not. I've posted about it before- my uncle sold our tickets for day 2 before we got up in the morning. I didnt feel like I really got to experience the park. I didnt go back until I was in my mid- 20's. Dh and I used to make yearly trips. It was just our place to vacation. We both love it there.

My MIL took dh to the park a few times as a child. It was always the two of them, FIL never went. He was to busy working. In March 95 we took him for the first time. He loved it. He loved how well things were done there- everything from the parade to the fruit plate at breakfast to how clean everything seemed to be. He was so impressed by the quaility everywhere he looked. In Oct. he'll be making his 3rd trip to the park, the second trip with our children. Seeing the park through the eyes of the kids is really special to him.

crazi4dlr
06-08-2005, 09:12 AM
So I think it is less about those who went in their childhood, as actually the type of personality that wants to suspend disbelief, wants it to be the perfect place, wants everyone to be happy, wants to believe in a special place where dreams come true. Because those of us who feel that, believe in the magic, because we want it to be true.

Very Well Put. Thank you for putting into words so wonderfully what I believe every "Disney Fanatic" feels in their hearts. I do believe in magic, I do.

The old man
06-08-2005, 09:13 AM
I have found that many people who experienced Disneyland first as an adult don't understand those of us who would have sleepless nights as children waiting for that magic day when we would visit Disneyland again...
My first experience with DL was when I was 25. My 50 year old mother, who had moved a couple of years earlier to Costa Mesa, took me. For the first hour I thought how fake everything looked--then I got sucked in and here I am 25 years later in love with DL and making my yearly pilgrimage with my wife and 7 year old daughter.
David

olegc
06-08-2005, 09:47 AM
My wife and I are born and raised in So Cal and lived here all of our lives. I have gone to the park at least once a year since I was 5. I have had an AP for the last 4 years but I am the only one. My wife likes to go with the family but that's the reason - not because it's disneyland. To her - it should be consider a once-in-a-great-while trip that is used for special occasions. The thought of an AP is totally foreign to her - she believes it's a waste of money and you'd get easily bored...

To tell you the truth - I bet my kids would be the same way after some point. The difference I feel is if a person can make strong emotional connections with memories they have of previous trips. Things that happened while you were at the park (or on the way there or coming home) that you clearly see in your mind and make you warm and fuzzy all over.

If you happen to combine that with a strong appreciation of why Walt built the place and what his ideals were around the concepts and experiences then this is a double bonus. You really feel connected when you are at the park and no matter if you go on one attraction or all of them, or just sit and have a snack, you know you're home. It sounds corny - but it's how I feel about the place.

PragmaticIdealist
06-08-2005, 09:48 AM
Many people I know have visited Disneyland and do not like it, but, when I take them, they uniformly find themselves loving it.

Part of the reason is that I know what I am doing. (I do not visit during the summertime, for example, and I take a very civilized approach to touring The Magic Kingdom.) And, the other part is that appreciating the imagination that is invested in Disneyland takes some initiative, sometimes.

That creativity, more than anything else, is the thing, which makes the place a source of joy and inspiration for me, and most people I know cannot help but to appreciate Disneyland on that level, especially when they have me as a tour guide. :)

This talk about Disneyland having anything to do with children bothers me, though. Walt Disney said that he never made any films for children or, at least, just for children. So, I would imagine that statement also applies to the other works he and his associates created, including Disneyland. To discuss Disneyland as if it is juvenilia is not correct and does not honor the talents of the creators of Disneyland.

Many people on MousePad seem to be especially preoccupied with the quotation that is presented on the "Partners" statue. But, that statue was erected within the last decade or so, and the quotation is taken totally out of context. The statue, itself, is inappropriate since Mickey is presented almost as if he is a child, which he most definitely is not. The conceptual miniature of the statue even had Mickey holding an ice cream cone in his other hand.

There were several contributing factors to Walt Disney's idea for Disneyland. The dissatisfaction he would experience on "Daddy's day" when he would devote a full day of his week to his daughters was just one of them. He had a point, though. He simply felt the caroussel in Griffith Park was not a very good way to spend time with his daughters because he was not sharing the experience with them.

That fact does not mean that Walt Disney intended Disneyland only for children and their parents. More than half the adult Guests who visit Disneyland do not even have children.

Similarly, in 1955, all the adult Guests to Disneyland had never visited before, and they "got it".

Perhaps, in the 1950's, Guests were able to suspend their disbelief a little more easily, or, perhaps, Disneyland was just more convincing to them. I really do not know. But, I do know that when I am in the middle of the jungle on the Rivers of the World, the thought that I am anywhere near Anaheim, California never occurs to me. When I am in the bowels of a temple dodging fireballs, I believe it. When I find myself caught in an aerial dogfight with Imperial forces, I believe it. And, when I walk across the drawbridge of a storybook castle and into an imagining Walt Disney and his associates were good enough to share with me, I believe it.

Perhaps, I do so because I want to.

PragmaticIdealist
06-08-2005, 09:55 AM
Great minds think alike alike, Tutter. I composed my entry to the thread at the same time you were submitting yours.

:)