Walt Disney World!

One of the nice things about blogging is that you can share your vacation pictures stress-free.  If your friends don’t want to see them/be bored by them/put up with your narration/reminiscing about something about which they couldn’t care less, then fine—they don’t have to watch.  Click on.

But anybody who wants to see your shots can!  It’s a great deal.

So, a couple of months ago, Nathan and I boarded our Southwest Airlines jet and blasted off for Walt Disney World.

I guess Walt Disney has always been one of my heroes, going way back.  We all watched him on TV, of course, but I didn’t get to experience the magic he truly made (other than the films) until adulthood.

When you walk through the gate at any Disney park, it really IS magic.  All your cares melt away, you forget about the outside world, and your primary concerns are figuring out your fastpass strategy and deciding what to eat.

The plaque over the entrance to Disneyland says, “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.”

And you really do.  It all just drops away, leaving you spellbound, enchanged, and having a wonderful time.

I have struggled with depression on and off throughout the years, but a Disney trip never fails to lift my spirits, bring a smile to my face, and just make me really happy.

If you’ve never been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, GO. 

It’s “Walt Disney World”.  Not “Disney World” as most people call it.  Walt died before it could be built.  His brother and partner, Roy O. Disney, saw it through to completion, and one of the things Roy fought for was the name—he viewed WDW as a monument to his brother and his dreams, and he wanted it to bear WALT’S name, so there would be no confusion as to whose dreams they were.  Roy died shortly after the Magic Kingdom opened, but he lived to see it become reality.  It truly is a monument to the incredible creativity, ingenuity, showmanship, and downright genius of Walter Elias Disney.  But also, had it not been for the business acumen, shrewdness, and intelligence of Roy O. Disney—who followed Walt around and somehow always managed to finagle the money to make his dreams come true—it would never have happened.

And in the immortal words of Walt himself, “I hope we never forget that it all started with a mouse.”

(some of the pictures are scaled off the page, click the picture if you want to see the full effect.