Dictionary.com defines the word "wrap" as a verb meaning: to surround, envelop, shroud, or hide. The phrase came to me this morning as I grabbed a sweatshirt to keep me warm against the rain falling outside. It was the that I realized that the retro style Walt Disney World zip-up hooded sweatshirt my mom and sister got for me earlier this year on their Disney trip didn't just keep me warm and dry. It also made me feel good. It was fuzzy and warm inside, it had a nice hood, but it also had His Mouseness on the front breast and splayed across my back. And there was a good feeling that I got when I zipped the sweatshirt up. It was that Disney feeling, only in miniature. Just seeing Mickey Mouse reminded me of how I feel at Disney. Not many icons make a person feel that way, but Disney can touch a person in ways beyond their comprehension if people are open to it.
A lot of people visit Disney. A lot of people visit Disney a lot more often that I do, and I'm a self professed Disney dork. Less people, however, really let themselves get wrapped up in Disney. There's a huge, but subtle, difference. It's the difference between getting your picture taken in front of the castle and sprinting and lining up behind a queue of 6-year-olds to get your picture taken with Jafar. Between sleeping on the taxi to the parts and dancing in your seat on the Magical Express. Between acting your age and letting yourself go.
It's a special feeling when you're at Disney. And it's not just because Disney engineers itself to look and feel like the happiest place on Earth (and it does, just try to buy a newpaper inside any of the parks). You can relax, you can enjoy yourself, and you do not have to worry for a few days. Disney takes care of everything for you, and it's not very often that the ordinary person can not worry about things. You feel warm and welcomed. People go out of their way to make things easier. You're smiling a lot. You think you know a lot about where you are, and then a Cast Member tells you or your kids about Hidden Mickeys and suddenly there's another layer to the onion.
Take Disney at it's face value and you can have a good, fun vacation. Take Disney like a blanket and let yourself be wrapped up in it and you'll have the time of your life every minute you spend in the parks. I learned that between my 2004 and my 2008 trips. In 2004, I was taking Disney at face value. I had fun, but honestly, I don't have many memories about it. In 2008, I grabbed my camera, I grabbed my Hidden Mickeys Guide, and I had a blast. I had my picture taken with Jedi Mickey (a picture I happily waited 45 minutes for), I found a hidden Jafar, I tried to find a Captain Jack Sparrow to have my picture taken with. I was having a blast. I have so many memories, and I ended up taking far more pictures. I find these came hand-in-hand. When I look at my pictures, remember my memories, I start feeling warm like I did at Disney.
There's a reason, after all, that my computer wallpaper is all Disney.
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