“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”
Disney believed it. He lived it. And it’s how it all began. A kingdom...a dream...a bit of magic...and now a multi-billion dollar empire.
My two tiny people, my guy, and I recently lived a perfectly magical Disney weekend. It was a 3-day intermission of life at its most fantastic...sparkling with exquisite moments that I wished would never end.
I was crying like a schoolgirl at Pluto and Tinkerbell and Mary Poppins high-fiving my lovies and dancing in the streets just inches from their adoring faces and wide-eyed belief.
Chocolate and caramel covered Minnie apples, a singing quartet offering their own mix of “Happy Birthday” to my blonde headed baby, ridiculously yummy mouse-shaped cookies and giant mocha sundaes were ours for the taking.
The customer service may as well been hand crafted for “Stocker...party of four...please”.
Shop assistants decorated birthday pins, cut stickers to size, traded broken toys, smiled marvelous smiles, and directed us to all our most favorite and loved characters. The rules were simple: only magic...only fun...only happiness.
At around two o’clock...the Beasts castle came to life and he charmed Beauty into a fairytale romance.
Peter Pan lifted and soared us over tiny, shimmering houses, Captain Hook’s villainous crew, and even Neverland.
Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Goofy hugged us, autographed notebooks...which may as well have been signed in gold...as my 5 and 7-year old adored them and paused for pics at Chef Mickey.
No wonder, everything about this place made me feel like a kid again.
Everything I loved...all wrapped up into one historic weekend that etched itself right into our hearts.
Clearly, we can understand why Cinderella’s castle hosts over 15 million guests every year. Visitors cannot get enough of the magic of this mouse.
When Disney purchased this 28,000 acres back in 1964, he had a vision of a place where families could enjoy one-of-a-kind entertainment and a vacation getaway that would “look like nothing else in the world.” He hoped that it would be an experience that would be a “source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
Disney displayed pure genius in his creation of a magic-filled kingdom. Bringing happiness and excitement and imagination to the world were his dreams. He breathed such excellence, that it is reported that trash cans were made available in the park no less than 30 feet from a guest at any given point. Never a piece of trash in sight. Every single detail clearly thought through.
A story is told of a certain maid, Helen, who was employed in housekeeping at Disney World’s Contemporary Resort. As she was cleaning, she found several stuffed characters lying around the room. She lined them up on the bed, tucked them in, and left a note for guests, “I know you had a busy day! The characters were tired so I tucked them in for you.” It is this sort of creative magic that keeps the dream alive to every visiting family. This is the sort of “going the extra mile” thing that would have made Walt proud.
What if we did it like Disney? What if we began to put that dose of charm and special in everything we did...when we...really lost that last 30 pounds...clocked in...raised our tiny people...served at church...trained for that half marathon...changed the way we eat or think or live. What if we truly “did it like Disney?”...capturing imagination and giggles and fun everyday.
Let’s live our lives remembering, “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.” (Walt Disney) Certainly, that’s the magic Disney was hoping we would discover and that we would take with us every time we come to play at Mickey’s kingdom again...and again...and again.
