It’s a world where you belong,
Where you can dream aloud.
Your heart will follow!
Get up, and sing along!
The moment’s here and now,
Inside we all know!
If we believe in the fantasy,
It will carry us away, carry us away.
You and me, making memories today.
She starts talking about an orange grove and then the orange grove projections appear. I’m ok for that. Then Walt Disney appears and he talks about imagination. I’m ok for that. Next Peter Pan says something and Tinkerbell flies across the sky sprinkling her pixie dust. I’m ok for that. But as soon as the music starts I lose it. Tears flood my eyes.
This is my favorite fireworks show. Disneyland forever is my favorite fireworks show.
The fireworks are beautiful. I love the Tangled lantern projections that go across the castle. Tangled is my favorite Disney movie after all. And the music that goes along with the show is fun. It’s all great stuff.
But after seeing this show many, many times- and watching it on YouTube even more times- I know it’s not just the show. It’s the song.
Live the magic has a way of encapsulating everything that Disneyland means to me.
Fantasy. Fun. Magic. Disneyland is my escape from it all. The place I go when I don’t want to feel stressed or weighed down. Yes the food is expensive and the lines can be long, but there is not a single thing at Disneyland that I can think of that could upset me or make me feel sad.
I could be on my feet all day long, and I’m fine with that. I could go a whole park day and not ride a single ride, and that doesn’t bother me either. If all I did was walk through Main Street and sit in front of the castle, that would be more than enough for me.
Disneyland doesn’t need to be this jam packed, do it all before the day ends experience for me. Most times I’d rather not rush from one side of the park to the other. I just want to be there. I just want to be where the magic is.
Because once I step outside of the parks, things get stressful. Life isn’t so glittery anymore. I’m reminded of the hurt and the sadness and the sorrow that waits for me. I’m reminded that I’m alone. That in my real life, there isn’t that much magic to be found.
And as someone who lives her life in the clouds, knowing that the fairytale that lives inside my head will never be the reality of my life is absolutely discouraging. It’s heartbreaking. I will never get that. It will always be a dream. A concoction I make up in my mind of the beautiful way things could turn out but never a testament to what my life really looks like.
Except for when I’m at Disneyland. Then the fairytale and the reality line up. The magic appears. The stories come to life.
People always tell me that if I love Disneyland so much, I should work there. But it’s not that I love it so much that I need it to be part of my life every day. It’s that I love it so much and it brings the greatest amount of happiness to my life whenever I’m there, that I need it once in a while. I need the magic when life feels too heavy- too unbearable. I need the excitement when everything around me feels broken and confusing. I need the fairytale when my life seems to be in pieces.
And after each visit, I believe just a little more that maybe it’s possible to live the magic. It’s like a life reset and instead of trudging along the way I was. There’s a pep in my step, and curve in my smile. If I can feel it and see it at Disneyland, then maybe I can make it happen in my real life as well.
I will always be searching for my fairytale. It’s an ongoing journey that I’ve yet to be successful at achieving. But when I’m at Disneyland, for a moment it feels like maybe I’ve actually done it. Maybe I’m living the magic.