This past February 29, marketed as One More Disney Day, got me thinking. Just what is a Disney day?
There’s no simple answer, of course. I suppose it’s a number of things to a great many people. Is it a heightened sense of awareness? Nostalgia? Optimism? A state of mind? A combination of all of the above?
I do know that it is not a marketing slogan.
Despite my undying love for Walt Disney World, I am not an easy target when it comes to the never-ending onslaught of catchy slogans that roll trippingly off of the tongues of marketing executives.
Here is a Wordle* made from recent Walt Disney World marketing slogans. Note that repeated words are indicated by bold print.
A wordle shows the relative frequency of use of words in recent Disney marketing slogans.
Here they are unscrambled: Remember the Magic; Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand; What Will You Celebrate; Walt Disney World—Where Dreams Come True; The Year of a Million Dreams; Magic, Memories and You; 100 Years of Magic.
In theory, there’s nothing wrong with repeating a similar theme or idea. After all, those of us who visit and/or write for MousePlanet.com do dream about visiting Walt Disney World. We expect that we will, indeed, soak up some of that magic of Disney imagination. And any vacation is a form of celebration, right? But there’s a great danger in cramming these magical celebratory dreams down the public’s collective throat. What if, through no fault of our own, our Disney Day does not live up to—or in classic Disney terminology exceed—our expectations?
Despite my sentimental attachment to all things Disney, insincere saccharine-infused demands that I must “have a magical day” bring out the cynic in me. I long to shout to those clever marketers: show me the magic. Just please stop telling me about it.
Defining a Disney Day
A true Disney day is “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” It is a delicate thing with many intricate strands woven together for a truly memorable experience. What are some of the essential components in that elusive recipe for a Disney day?
When visiting a Disney park, there’s a tangible sense of being alive. Experiences seem heightened at Disney’s wondrous realms. It’s easy to be cynical and argue that people feel this way because they are subliminally programmed to feel this way by the evil machinations of the Disney empire. But I don’t think that’s true. Guests experience elevated feelings of contentment at Disney parks as the result of carefully constructed environments. The art of the Imagineer is not a random one. In the words of Disney Legend John Hench, “Imagineers carefully select images essential to each story [they] want to tell in a Disney park.”
It is this artful combination of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences that makes the impact of Disney parks so endearing and enduring.
There is another important factor in a true Disney day: nostalgia. It’s comforting to revisit places that hold memories of happy times with family and friends. There’s also comfort in the nostalgic themes presented at the parks, particularly the Magic Kingdom. Cozy Victorian Main Street, well-loved childhood characters and stories, exciting historic adventures in the Old West, the mystic draw in the deepest jungles, and an optimistic look towards a “great big beautiful tomorrow” tap into powerful emotions.
Some part of a true “Disney day” reminds us of our past and looks toward a hopeful future.
Another essential element in any Disney day involves interaction with others, be they family, friends, fellow guests, or cast members. This human component is key, for no matter how dear a place may be, its worth is exponentially stronger when we share it with someone we love.
The great English poet Wordsworth captured this feeling when describing the natural landscape around the ruins of Tintern Abbey, a place very near and dear to his heart. After revisiting the area with his sister, he wrote that the “green pastoral landscape” was to him “more dear” because of the memory of sharing it with his beloved sister. In David Copperfield, Charles Dickens’ titular character describes his first days as a young adult in London this way: “I felt so fresh and lively myself, in the pleasure of being there, that I could have stopped the people in the streets and shaken hands with them.” These feelings of connectivity cannot be absent from a true Disney day.
Disney cast members are another vital link in this process, for as Walt himself so famously noted, “You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make it a reality.”
The human component is definitely part of a Disney day.
The Disney Zone
Beautiful, stimulating surroundings, nostalgic feelings, and a sense of connection to our fellow man combined with a sense of optimistic hopefulness create a state of mind that can only be described as pure Disney.
This leads to an important question: Must one be physically located in a park to experience this?
Years ago, I could have answered this question with a resounding yes.
Now, I’m not so sure.
My family and friends often chide me for saving my best attitude, my most cheerful outlook, and my most buoyant mood for two times of the year: Christmas and vacation. They say that “Disney Tom” is hopeful, positive, energetic, and enthusiastic. Since the birth of my sons, however, I have to admit that a little bit of Disney Tom has begun to permeate my everyday life. It makes sense, after all. My boys have a heightened awareness, noticing all the little wonders of the world around them; they love when we read together, so there’s a nostalgic return to childhood stories; they embody the hope for a better tomorrow and for “tomorrow’s child”.
That said, there’s still nothing quite like sitting on Main Street with the warm sun on your back, listening to some of those wonderful Sherman Brothers Summer Magic tunes, and enjoying a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar.
*A Wordle is an image cloud of words that forms a visual representation of a collection of words, with those words used most often being represented with larger text. “Wordle” itself was created by IBM researcher Jonathan Feinberg in 2008, and allows anyone to create their own tag cloud using his Wordle.net website.
Tom Richards is a life-long admirer of Walt Disney, something of a Disney historian, and a free-lance writer. His Disney interests include—but are not limited to—Walt Disney World, classic Disney animation, live-action films made during Walt's lifetime, and Disney-related music and art.
