The Essence of the Disney Parks’ Magic
Now that I’ve “Aired My Disney Parks Grievances,” I figure it’s time to show the other side of the coin and share why I enjoy the Disney theme parks so much. Frankly, there’s a lot more that makes Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the other parks special places imbued with a sense of magic than there are mild annoyances.
Most of the time, the little pet peeves I mentioned don’t even phase me; they’re just little, fleeting moments. I’m guessing this is true for most people. While America’s national pastime is complaining (sorry, baseball), I think we all mostly enjoy life or, in this case, the Disney theme parks.
For the most part, what I’m going to list here as the “essence” of what I find endearing about the parks is what makes the experience something more than the sum of its parts. Sure, the parks wouldn’t be what they are without amazing E-Tickets like Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror, but rides alone are not what makes the Disney Parks special.
There are literally hundreds of different things about the parks that put a smile on my face and make me a hopeless Disney “addict,” but instead of simply posting a laundry-list without much explanation for each, I want to focus on a select few, saving the two most important things for last…
Quiet Places
I am a huge advocate of the Disney theme parks as holistic experiences. I don’t mean that in the hippy-dippy, new-age medical sense (although if some crackpot wants to assert that the parks are beneficial to my health, I’ll totally buy that and use it as an excuse to visit more). Rather, that the parks are so much more than a collection of attractions.
This will be borne out throughout this post, but what I mean as a general matter is that to me the parks are much more than racing from E-Ticket to E-Ticket, experiencing attractions as if I’m scratching items off of a checklist. For me, part of drinking-in the parks is taking quiet moments for relaxation, to soak up the ambiance, and to reflect upon the experience.
Whether this means quietly sitting on a bench at park closing in Tomorrowland as the neon and background music assault my senses (totally in a good way) or watching the sunset along the Rivers of America at a tucked-away table in Hungry Bear Restaurant, these moments are as paramount to the park experience for me as doing Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean.
Lighting
Have you ever noticed that the parks have a totally different vibe and look at night? That they have a certain texture and color not seen during the day? This is the result of meticulously arranged lighting schemes, and when you think about it, it makes perfect sense that the parks would have a better visual storytelling quality to them at night.
One thing at which the Imagineers excel is perfectly controlling environments to evoke certain thoughts and emotions, but this really isn’t possible in terms of outdoor lighting during the day, because of that pesky “sun.” Night provides a blank canvas for lighting, and the Imagineers largely use this to great success via hidden show lighting and visible light fixtures.
Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of the lighting of the Disney theme parks, and view it as a big deal in the parks. Lighting might seem like an insignificant detail that many people take for granted, but without this attention to detail in terms of lighting, instead of the great kinetic energy and beauty the parks have at night, they would instead feel dark and empty.
Background Music
Continuing on the topic of things that many guests don’t notice, but that they would definitely notice if it were missing is background music. A lot of effort goes into creating the music heard in the parks, and while the songs from ‘it’s a small world’ and Haunted Mansion have permeated pop culture, most music in parks isn’t so prominent.
Off the top of your head, you may not have any idea what music plays in the ‘background’ of Tomorrowland or the Innoventions breezeways. If you’re a regular guest, though, and you were to download and play those tracks, I’ll bet not only would you instantly recognize them, but you’d be transported to those places, or memories of being in the parks. You know music is pretty powerful if it has an evocative quality like that despite you having no explicit memory of it!
The Cast Members
This really should be its own article, and at some point soon, it probably will be. I guarantee any of you who have been to a Disney theme park can think back to a moment when a Cast Member put a smile on your face. Whether it be someone in Guest Relations fixing a frustrating problem with a MagicBand or the custodial artist painting Donald Duck with a mop, every Disney Cast Member has the capacity to make the guest experience special.
For me, this is embodied by two things: the regular and consistent hard work that the Cast Members put into the regular aspects of their jobs, and those small moments when they do something that leaves a lasting impact upon a guest. Of these two things, the former is what I feel is the bulk of what makes Disney Cast Members so amazing–and also where they are most under-appreciated.
Anyone who has been to Walt Disney World or Disneyland enough times has likely seen a guest meltdown directed at a Cast Member. These meltdowns happen for any number of reasons, but the underlying reasons mostly relate back to the sense of entitlement at the core of the Disney Parks Pet Peeves article, or the stresses and pressures that many adults feel when going on a Disney vacation.
With rare exception, in my experience, these meltdowns are not the fault of the Cast Member who catches the ire of the guest, but are caused by the guest themselves or decisions made by Disney management that are out of the hands of the front-of-the-line Cast Member.
It is thus no small miracle that Cast Members are able to deal with belligerent guests while essentially becoming a punching bag. Not only that, but once the unpleasant interaction is over, the Cast Member resumes their normal role as if nothing happened, putting on a smile and going out of their way to be pleasant to other guests. These Cast Members are typically not especially well paid, and yet they are verbally abused by guests and then can quickly set aside those emotions so it doesn’t negatively affect the experiences of other guests.
Let the incredible fortitude and positive attitude that requires sink in for a moment. I’d like to think I’m a pretty level-headed person, but based on some of the guest horror stories I’ve heard from my Cast Member friends, I doubt I would last a week as a Cast Member. I simply don’t have the incredible level of restraint to ‘smile and bear it’ that it takes to handle some of these situations. How many of you do? Can you honestly say that a negative interaction with a coworker hasn’t soured the rest of your workday before?
The role of the Cast Member as “magic maker” is that which is more commonly lauded, and probably what is brings the sense of satisfaction and joy that keeps them going through those unpleasant encounters. I’m sure this role is no easy task, either, as you never know what will trigger a special moment for each individual guest.
For some people, it’s a Cast Member telling them “happy birthday” or “have a magical day”, for others, it’s being given a sticker or a surprise snack on their honeymoon. The list of potential examples goes on and on. Most of these things are not major in the grand scheme of things, and could just as easily be ‘throwaway moments’, but end up being things that stick with guests for years after the trip.
One of my fondest memories from our engagement trip to Walt Disney World some 8-years ago was being congratulated by the Cast Members at Crystal Palace and being presented with a certificate signed by Pooh and friends. We still have this certificate and whenever I look at it, it brings a smile to my face.
The Children
Children have a sense of wonder and innocence about them that is amplified by the Disney theme parks, and seeing the parks reflected in their sense of wide-eyed mysticism is truly something to behold. Whether they are running around swinging around light sabers or watching in awe as they witness a giant talking Mr. Potato Head, there is a sense of life that kids breathe into the Disney theme parks.
What, exactly, that means is impossible to articulate. It’s one of those things I know when I see, and it brings a smile to my face, every time. If I had to try to pinpoint it, I think it’s probably equal parts envy and nostalgia. Even as adults, many of us are entranced as we watch Mickey Mouse fight a huge dragon in Fantasmic. There are many jaw-dropping moments that are impressive to kids and adults alike.
However, some of that mysticism wears off as we get older. Whether it’s a result of the natural cynicism everyone grows to various degrees as our lives wear on, or due to simply being “wiser” and understanding more about how things work, or something else entirely, adults tend to see less magic in the world than children.
While this blindness exists in every adult to varying degrees, one thing we all can see, if we look for it, is that sense of mysticism reflected in the eyes of children. The things we can’t see directly, we can see through them. For parents, this ability to experience the parks vicariously through children must be truly amazing. For non-parents like me, it’s not quite the same, although as someone who has been going to the parks since I was in diapers, it brings back fond memories of those simpler days when everything at Walt Disney World was magical.
I am loath to quote Walt Disney as I think his quotes are over and misused, but I think this quote is apt here: “you can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Those words ring as true today as when he uttered them five-plus decades ago.
Other guests may do things that irritate us and it’s easy to fixate on that, but I think it’s critical to remember that people–all people–make the parks what they are, and usually our fellow guests have no malicious intent in what they do; even if misguided, they are just trying to have their own little slices of the magic.
For Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide. For those headed to the West Coast, check out our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts…
What do you love most about the Disney Parks? Think the magic is in the details, Cast Members, fellow guests, a combination of the above, or something else entirely? Do you agree or disagree with our list of what makes the parks special? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I love the bubble. I love how once you are onsite you are surrounded. The CMs make a lot of that happen but everything contributes to it – lights, sounds – smells! It envelopes you. My husband, who dragged his feet about going and then fell in love with Disney, would say his favorite is the CMs waving goodbye with Mickey hands. He just loved that!
Tom
Fantastic post. I love the background music. I downloaded the official Disneyworld album from I tunes and I listen to it often. The one thing that the albumreally lacks is the Innoventions music. That is the best and I make it a point to sit and listen to the whole track every time I go to EPCOT. If you or anyone knows of a way to get that particular track into a downloadable form that I can put together with the rest of the Disneyworld music in ITunes then I would be eternally grateful.
I was almost brought to tears at what I saw when my sister, at 20 years old, begged the group to go with her to meet Anna and Elsa in DL. The way it was set up, you went into the room with them, as the group in front of you was meeting them and, oh lord, the little girls in front of us were so cute. The older, probably 7, was dressed as Anna and the younger, around 5, was Elsa. They split off to talk to their counterparts and while little Anna was very emotional at meeting her favorite princess, little Elsa was the best. When Elsa asked, “How long have you had your ice powers?” little Elsa replied, confused and concerned, “I’m not the REAL Elsa, YOU are!” It was the most adorable thing I have ever seen.
Mine was getting off a transatlantic flight and making it to the Magic Kingdom in time for the fireworks, unfortunately they’re not scheduled on our arrival day this year but we’ll probably still head to the Magic Kingdom.
You said…
“These Cast Members are typically not especially well paid, and yet they are verbally abused by guests and then can quickly set aside those emotions so it doesn’t negatively affect the experiences of other guests.”
And I completely agree, I maintain the executives deserve a big pay cut while the CM’s deserve a big, big raise!
I’m always amazed at how well they handle irate and just plain rude guests. I think the CM’s are the secret sauce that makes the park a fun experience for many, many people.
This post made me tear up! (Dang pregnancy hormones!).
I haven’t been to Disney in years but I certainly remember just the magical feeling of being at Disney, meeting characters, and just the amazing detail that goes into the rides, parks and hotels. My clearest memory of Disney is the beautiful, heartwarming music from Illuminations.
I can’t wait to return with my children & see the excitement on their faces as they meet favorite Disney characters.
Can I also add how much I love the foliage — the trees, topiaries, flowers, etc.? Especially at Disneyland. I think that’s why I’m always so hot and tired at Epcot — it’s not just the mileage, it’s the acres of cement. While I may spend more time outside at Animal Kingdom, I rarely feel so drained, even if we spend the same amount to of time in the park.
On our second trip as a family, we blazed right into Magic Kingdom fresh off Magical Express from the airport. It was 11:00ish, and they were just beginning Dream Along with Mickey. We rolled up the right side of the hub, trying to catch a glimpse through the trees before making a mad dash to get lunch. I didn’t expect what happened next. My son, 2 at the time, LEAPT from his stroller, waving and screaming at the top of his lungs, “MICKEY! HEY! MICKEY!” Tears filled my eyes, and I knew at that moment, we would be coming back, A LOT. People ask me all the time why I take a child so young, as they can’t ride the “E-ticket” rides, and I feel so sorry for them. They just don’t understand the magic, and how to my baby, Mickey is a magical reality.
I was at WDW for 9 days last fall with my parents and my 2 kids (almost 6 and almost 2). The Cast Members were the part that I really felt separated good from great for me. And it was dozens of small moments — the guy who was sweeping up at Captain Cooks the first night we were there, and took the time to show my older son where the straws were, as though it made his evening to do that. The monorail attendant who showed my kids a large frog one morning on the Epcot. The countless other small kind acts that made my kids feel as though they were the only kids those cast members had seen that day.
This may be unpopular, but I also really felt overall that the crowds and other customers were pretty great. Absolutely, I saw bad behavior. But more often, I saw parents asking their kids to stand on transportation so adults could sit. I had other parents help me when I was struggling with a stroller and a sleeping 2 year old. For the most part, I found enjoyment in seeing all sorts of people enjoying what I was enjoying.
I didn’t comment on the pet peeves, but laughed my way through them! So here is my comment on this post: The cast members were definitely the biggest part of the magic we felt taking our kids there. Everyone was so nice to them and to us, but the Cast Members looked our kids in the eyes as they spoke to them and listened to their response. Most people don’t understand how important that is even to children. No one claimed to not understand them, and ask me what they said. And that was huge to them, because it showed they were taking their time and that they were important to the Cast Member. Every Cast Member seemed to be focused on making this the best possible trip for us, including giving us a free upgrade to a theme park view at the Poly just because it was our first trip to WDW. They are the magic. All the rest was icing.
Love this article. One thing to think about is that if a cast member really makes your day, you can leave a compliment for them at Guest Services. It goes in their file and helps them when it’s promotion time. That is a way to be sure that magical moment is a lasting one for the cast member as well.
You always hit the nail on the head, its the little things that make Disney such a magical place. One of my memories was actually at downtown Disney, we were taking the little ferry boat to the opposite side to save our feet from too much walking and the “captain” of the boat pulled a coin out of my ear and then gave me the coin, it was a cute plastic gold coin with a skull and cross bones on it. Still have it and it makes me feel happy every time i see it. I also love how Disney includes guests in some of the shows (goodbye backlot studio tours) I was picked for flights of wonder and afterwards they gave me a certificate of my experience (i got to film the owl flying above my head, it was SO cool)…I could go on and on about other things i love (and i’ve only gone twice!!!) Disney is the first thing that comes to mind when im sad or upset and trying to “think happy thoughts” I wish more people could slow down and realize just how magical it really is.
I ranted in the Comments section to the “Pet Peeves” post, too, so I also owe you a positive thought. 🙂
As a kid, the only vacation we ever took was a single trip to Walt Disney World. My Dad had a newspaper convention at the Contemporary, and it was the grandest week of my young life. After that trip, my Disney Parks enthusiasm was dormant for a long while. But my husband and I had a chance to bring our two young boys to WDW last May (along with my whole immediate family), and everything was rekindled! (Hence the January ’15 trip and the October ’15 trip… and then hoping for a 24-hour day in ’16…eek!)
For me, WDW feels at once ever-new and totally familiar… a feeling I’ve never experienced anywhere else.
Great article Tom!
I guess for me, the thing that I find most endearing about Disney is it gives my family a chance to all be together in the same place at the same time. My kids are now 10 and 13 and are usually going different directions all the time – sports, dance, school activities, doing stuff with friends. My wife works a couple of jobs and rarely has more than one day off in a row most weeks. Disney allows us to be together with very few other outside distractions. The immersive nature of Disney keeps that other stuff at bay for the week we are there. I appreciate that more than they’ll (Disney & my kids) will ever know.
Oh…and when the Main Street Bakery was still around, I felt like I was finally on vacation once I could smell the cinnamon rolls as I walked down Main Street.
I agree. Somehow, despite being crammed into tiny hotel rooms, and forced to be together all the time, my kids get along better at WDW and DLR! There’s magic right there.
You hit my thoughts exactly! My girls are now 7 and 12, but we have grown up as a family going to Disneyland and Disney World. They were infants on their first trips. There are many things that I can think of that signify the Disney magic for me, but the real magic of these trips is the time with my family.
It is rare to get to eat together, laugh together, escape reality together, spend every waking moment together for a week. It is during these trips that I am reminded how lucky I am to have to wonderful daughters, a wonderful wife and daily access to Mickey premium Bars!
When my husband and I celebrated our honeymoon at Disneyland Paris last summer, we ate one of our meals at Cafe Mickey to get our character fix without having to wait in line at the parks. When Eeyore came around to our table for me to have my picture taken with him, Mickey photobombed it! I thought it was the coolest thing to get two characters at once seeing as we were there just as adults and no one else I saw had this happen.
Later when we were leaving, my husband asked a cast member to take a picture of both of us with Mickey so we could get a picture together. This time both Eeyore and Goofy joined as well!
It was something so simple, but it definitely made a cool, lasting memory of our trip to get three characters in one photo with us. It’s things like this that make me love Disney!
Love the mention of the background music, especially the Innoventions area music. I listen to that frequently on my iPod, and it always puts me in the right frame of mind. The quiet places are also a good call, though I found fewer of them in my last visit. They’re still there if you look for them, though.
Yes! I love the background music! Especially the music as you head into Epcot from the back entrance by the Boardwalk/Beach Club. It’s just the best!
So, so true! The music during early mornings and late evenings in Epcot and over the bridge to the Beach Club has always been inspiring and full of optimism. I do yearn for the previous soundtracks, though, that used to follow the end of the IllumiNations fireworks. They made you happy to be alive, and ready to conquer the next day. Disney does this type of thing so well!
Loved this! Frequent reader, never commented. My dad left my mom and my brothers and I when were really young. To distract us from the reality of the situation, my mom made sure we had heaps of Disney happiness – Disney movies, Disney books, Disney games, the Disney channel (back when you had to pay for it!), and Disney vacations that my mom worked really, really hard for. We would watch the Main Street Electrical parade, and later SpectroMagic, no less than four times each week-long vacation we took. My mom was one of those people who would stake out a place two hours before the parade started and sit there waiting for it to begin with Casey’s hotdogs in hand. No matter how many times we saw that parade, she always would start crying the minute the music started. As a kid, I always wondered what it was about that music that made her cry, we were on vacation for goodness’ sake! My husband and I took my sons, then 3 and 1, for the first time two years ago. The first night we watched the parade, the music started and BAM!, I started crying. Like, streaming, embarrassing tears rolling down my face. Those tears my mom cried finally made sense! The sacrifices she made to make sure we had a really happy childhood were all summed up once that music started and I’m sure she couldn’t help but cry in knowing that she was doing a really good job despite her circumstances.
…and the cycle continues, as your comment made me misty-eyed. Thanks for sharing.
Love this story so much! It also made me tear up! Thanks for sharing!
Now I’m crying, too. Beautifully said.
Same here (sniff, sniff…).
Yep tearing up too! Great story. I know that I work very hard and save like crazy so that once every 2 years our family can make the trip to Disney. It is our happiest place as a family and it means everything to me that I can make those memories for my kids.
Lovely story! Thank you for sharing it
Yes, crying now just hearing your story!
Oh, me too. What a bittersweet story. Your description was so detailed, it felt like I was standing there with you.
Great, now we’re all crying, thanks!! :p It’s families like yours that really appreciate and soak in the pleasure of how special WDW is, that make it such a wonderful place to be. Thank you for not feeling “entitled”. I would much rather see someone crying (even ugly crying) from pure joy, than shoving their way to the front of the crowd because they “deserve” it or because their vacation was expensive (and ours was apparently free……??). If the parks could be filled with families like yours, we would enjoy it even more!
Great post. Prior to this last trip (first with my kids, 5 and almost 3), my favorite part was the nostalgia a trip to WDW evoked, both for my many prior visits and for my childhood in general. Now, having seen how my kids reacted to meeting the characters, seeing the castle, etc etc, I have a whole new and amazing appreciation for the “essence” as you call it. My lasting memory of this trip will, no doubt, be watching my 5 year old girl waving to each and every character during the Festival of Fantasy parade and her feeling like they were waving only at her. It was amazing, heart warming, and pretty cool!
I was one of the curmudgeon who posted on the Pet Peeve post, so I will counteract that with a nice comment. 🙂 My favorite part is the excitement of coming down Main Street and seeing the castle for the first time of the trip. The sounds of Main Street and finally seeing the castle after months and months of planning…nothing like it. Also, the cast members! When we were on our honeymoon, we would just be walking and would hear “Congratulations!” from all around us. Even if you just call to ask a question about your reservation, they’re always nice and helpful.
Ahh, I need to go back to WDW. 184 days and counting!
That’s my favorite part too, going down Main Street, seeing the castle for the first time of the trip. That when it really hits me and the emotions start pouring in and I get excited like a kid again. It just never gets old, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. Last year we got to go to Disneyland for the first time and it was even more magical.
157 days for me 🙂
For me, It’s the smell inside Pirates of the Caribbean that truly makes me feel like i’m in Disneyland again. It’s the 1st thing we do every trip. That’s the moment I smile and all the memories come back!
Great post, articulates well what makes Disney parks special. Are you so loath to quote Walt Disney that even saying you are quoting him you couldn’t bring yourself to include the quote. “XXX” is not a very inspiring statement, even from Walt Disney. 🙂
Haha, oops! That’s my ‘code’ for “fill this in later” when I’m in the middle of writing and don’t want to lose my train of thought. Clearly I didn’t proofread this post!
Fixed it now, so thanks for the heads up!