WHY I LOVE DISNEY WORLD

I mentioned in my tidbits last week that London is one of
my favorite places in the world, but that it wasn’t necessarily
my favorite city. That title goes to Orlando, Florida.
More specifically, Walt Disney World. But fun fact—WDW
isn’t located directly in Orlando. It’s actually located in a
city near Orlando, called Lake Buena Vista. But regardless
of where it’s located, WDW is my favorite place in the
entire world. And let me tell you why.
I would dare anyone to go to WDW and not get sucked
into an atmosphere of complete happiness that it puts
out. I mean, it’s practically impossible to be miserable
at WDW. In fact, when I visit, I find myself forgetting the
outside world. Who’s President? What is my upcoming
task at work? What is the next assignment I have due
for class? Have I paid my credit card bill for the month?
Have I paid off my loans? These are all the questions
that I would have temporarily forgotten the answers too,
because I would have forgotten about anything that takes
place in the “regular” world. All my mind would be focused
on is WDW and all of its exciting components. And I
know this to be a fact because, when I went to WDW in
2012, it was during the Christmas vacation of my second
semester of college. During that semester I lived in a terrible
dorm—old, depressing and, quite frankly, not visually
appealing. But when I was on my vacation, I forgot about
all that. Being in WDW helped to forget how miserable
I was in college that particular semester. It was a nice
break from the mundane situation I had found myself in
for the past few months before the visit. And I think that’s
something all of us could use, once in a while. We all
need a break from day to day life and time to just get away
from everything and remind ourselves of what it feels like
to be in a state of complete bliss. I’m not saying ignore
everything that’s happening in the world and I’m not saying
to neglect your responsibilities—but taking one or two
weeks a year to just unwind is really helpful. Now, I’m not
saying you have to go to WDW to accomplish this, but it
is my number one recommendation.
In my 25 years of life, I have been fortunate enough
to have visited WDW six times. And each time I have
gone, has been just as good—if not better—compared to
the last time. You would think that, having been there so
many times, that I’d get bored of it? Nope! In fact, each
subsequent visit was more exciting than the previous
because I was older and was more appreciative of all the
parks had to offer.
One of my favorite home videos to watch is of my very
first trip to WDW—taken when I was two-years-old. During
that trip, there was a particular moment where there were
hardly any other visitors around and I was able to spend
a lot of one-on-one time with the characters. Being twoyears-
old I was completely obsessed with Disney (I still
am, but not to such an extent) and being able to spend
at least half an hour with my favorite characters was a
two-year-old Trishna’s dream come true. And no matter
my age, I always get a sense of joy when I step into
the grounds of any of the parks and see those characters
walking by and/or see the well-known monuments
(like the Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom or the
Spaceship Earth at EPCOT or the Tree of Life at Animal
Kingdom). In fact, even before entering the parks, the
giant sign that says “Walt Disney World, Where Dreams
Come True” which one sees on the freeway, on their drive
in, is enough to get me riled up with excitement. Now that
I’m older, the only thing that has changed, in terms of my
excitement, is that I don’t really care to meet and take pictures
with the characters anymore. But I can’t deny that I
get excited when I see them around the parks and every
other aspect of WDW still provides me with joy.
Now I can’t talk about WDW without talking about all
the rides. I think one of the hardest questions for me to
answer is “what is your favorite ride at WDW?” Because
there is no single answer to that question. Now I’m not
a fan of “scary” rides. And by scary I mean rides that
go upside down and/or have prolonged moments of
darkness. So certain rides at WDW—like the Tower Of
Terror or the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster—are ones that I will
never go on. But this is not to say that I don’t enjoy roller
coasters. In fact, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one
of my favorite WDW rides; one that I could ride over and
over and over. Other rides that I could go on over and
over? Expedition Everest, Splash Mountain, Test Track,
Soarin’, and so much more. Plus, I’m not embarrassed to
admit that I enjoy the “kiddie” rides, especially the ones
in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland. Those rides bring me
back to my childhood. It helps me remember the simplicity
and joy I had when I was a child, before the stresses
of the adult world took over. We all have the capability to
go back to those blissful days of childhood, but we have
trouble doing so because adult life is constantly needing
your attention. But being at WDW helps you with this and
is proof that “growing old is mandatory, growing up is
optional.” So yes, I do enjoy going on some of the rides at
WDW that are geared towards children. I’m not ashamed.
A few years ago I watched a YouTube video in which
a girl did a Question and Answer session and someone
asked “what would your perfect day look like?” For the
longest time I pondered on that question. What would my
perfect day look like? And now I finally have the answer.
It would be as follows: I would wake up leisurely at around
10:00am. After having a nice breakfast—preferably one
that consists of eggs, fruit and coffee—I would go to
Magic Kingdom (my favorite WDW park) with my parents
and sister. I would go on all of my favorite rides, take a
break for a nice lunch, go on some more rides (and repeat
some of the ones I’ve already been on), before taking
another break to enjoy a Mickey shaped ice cream bar.
I’d end the day with a few more rides and a delicious dinner
before watching the parade and fireworks and going
home—only to do it all again the next day because I’m
on vacation ☺
WDW is a beautiful, wonderful and magical place. It’s a
place that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. You don’t
have to be a child to enjoy WDW. In fact, like I said earlier
in the column, I found myself enjoying it more the older
I got. Therefore, sorry London. You are not my favorite
place in the world. That title goes to WDW.
Oh, but you know what is located very close to WDW?
Universal Studios. And you know what Universal has?
The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. But that’s a topic
for another tidbits. Stay tuned!
PHOTO SOURCE: TRIP ADVISOR AND WIKIPEDIA