Thursday, April 24, 2014

My CONSTANT endeavor to go to Disneyland!

My entire life I only had two reoccurring dreams: when I was seven years old and younger I kept dreaming about a buff man chasing me through a forest and only when I saw my mother I knew I was save. Nowadays I only have one nightmare that keeps coming back, and it’s worse than anything else. In the dream I’m in Disneyland but there’s always a catch. At first I’m super happy to finally be back. Sometimes I know I have all day and my worst decision to make is what to ride first. Then, however, I realize I either lost my group and it will take me the entire day to find them again, or I want to run and can’t, or I only have one hour and 45 minutes left but the queue for Space Mountain will take one hour and 50 minutes. It’s an absolute nightmare! In the last 10 years I’ve been to Disneyland in my dreams about 30 times but my subconscious never grants me a carefree visit. Evidently being denied Disneyland bothers me more than anything else…

I’ve been to Eurodisney three times and to Disneyland twice but it’s been 8 years next month since I visited either one the last time. 8 years is way to freaking long! The first time I went to Paris I had begged my Mom for two years to take me before she gave in when my parents separated. The year after my Dad had to catch up and take me. The last time I went to Eurodisney then was when I was 14 which was more than a decade ago. Jesus! While living in California I went twice, once on Christmas Day which wasn’t even a nice experience because I went with my host family as I was still an exchange student and they tortured me, and once with my graduating class. After eight years my memories of events is usually not the best but I remember almost every little, wonderful moment in Disneyland. Why? Because it’s the happiest place on Earth, and I love it extensively.
As a result to my yearlong absence I have spent the last eight years trying to recruit almost everyone I know to go to Disneyland with me. The only thing you really need is more than one person in case you’re not going with your partner in which case you’ll probably come back a married couple because it’s so enchanting. However, every time I had successfully persuaded one person a follow-up was impossible to come by. Genuinely every guy I was ever romantically involved with also agreed to go to Disneyland with me, however, my romances tend to be too short for substantial planning. It very much feels like the universe is keeping me away from Disneyland. Or may I say happiness? In times where Disneyland could have been my natural opiate I was denied the pleasure, and I have no idea why it’s so difficult to convince people to go to a place commonly known as “the happiest place on earth”. Do people not like happiness?
Now I know Disneyland is not the cheapest and convenient pleasure but as someone who’s been and can assess the performance in relation to its price I’d say it’s worth every penny. It’s not just the rides. Star Tours only takes about 10 minutes but even the queuing is super fun because you feel like you’re on freaking Endor. I’m a Star Wars fan, I love this stuff! I love Aerosmith as well and part of the reason I went on Rock’n Roller Coaster so much was to see Steven Tyler speak to me at the entrance. When I think of Disneyland it’s not the thrill of the rides that make me want to go. I can jump off a cliff if I want a thrill. The magic of Disneyland I can’t recreate though. Few places could make you feel like a child although you’re a grown ass adult. In Disneyland worlds that don’t even exist become real. When I was little I was disappointed they only existed in movies only to be in Disneyland and realize they do exist in a way. So of course I know Mickey Mouse is just a short, underpaid actor but it’s still really exciting to meet him.  
Maybe it’s hanging on to childhood to want to go to Disneyland more than anything else. I’m reminded of childhood not just by visiting Sleeping Beauty’s castle or riding a boat through singing puppets but also because I went with my Mom and my Dad when I was still pretty little myself. I was too old to freak out about meeting Cinderella but I had dream about it for all of my childhood. Disneyland is a pretty special status symbol for me and I’m more than willing to pay whatever it takes to go back there. Unfortunately I’m surrounded by people who claim to be grown-up children for all the wrong reasons, not a desire to meet some pirates or see fireworks. Speaking of fireworks, Disneyland has fireworks which are my favorite things besides Disneyland! I need to go back, and I will not rest, or stop dreaming (or should I say have nightmares) before I go!

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