The Timeless Appeal of Disney
The magic that transcends generations
Growing up in the Middle East, a big part of my after-school activities involved watching cartoons on TV with my younger brother. Our 21” plasma screens were mostly tuned to the Loony Tunes and the ACME world of make-believe while Mickey Mouse, Goofy and the Disney Ducks made occasional appearances. To this date, Disney’s Jungle Book (1967) and Aladdin (1992) are two of my favorite animated movies. There was a purity of imagination and magic in them before our lives got entangled in a World Wide Web of information pollution.
Today, my 7-year-old nephew is glued to the 10” screen of his iPad. He enjoys watching the adventures of the PAW Patrol, and the Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, as they team up to protect their respective cartoon-land communities. These shows have taken imagination to futuristic, dystopian and supernatural heights. The simplicity of cartoons that once existed, with hand-sketched scenes1 of the plight of a cat chasing a mouse, or a diabolical Coyote trying to catch a Roadrunner, are now replaced by CGI-based animations about tales of super-heroism, adventure and even romance.
For over a century, the Walt Disney Animation Studio has transformed the art of creating animated films, bringing to life onscreen characters that we have come to know and adore.
100 Years of Disney
In the United States, I have come across many people who are awe-struck by the magic of Disney. I’ve met young adults in their 20s saving up for a long-awaited Disney vacation. For American families, taking their kids to Disney parks is a tradition tracing back to the Great Depression.
Walt Disney believed in providing a fun and engaging outlet for children, to help them to cope with the stress and anxiety of living through the Great Depression. Disney’s iconic character Mickey Mouse “became the every man, overcoming odds and prevailing” over the worst economic disaster in American history.2
In 1955, Walt supervised the design and build out of the first Disney park in California, Disneyland. He envisioned a place where families could have fun together, to escape the trials and tribulations of their daily lives, and immerse themselves in a world where all their favorite characters came to life.
Disneyland attracted national and international intrigue. Political leaders visited the park, including 9 US Presidents, Prime Minister Nehru of India, the King and Queen of Nepal, the Shah of Iran, and political leaders from Europe, Africa and South America.3 Disneyland was a window into the post WWII America or the version of it that Walt Disney wanted to showcase to the world.
In 1965, a year before Walt’s death, his 2nd and most ambitious project opened doors to the public in Florida, the Walt Disney World, which is 50 times larger than the size of Disneyland at 25000 acres. Disney World is a city of its own consisting of 4 unique theme parks4 - The Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom.
In 2022, Magic Kingdom park alone attracted 17.1 million visitors to Disneyland’s 16.9 million visitors. According to GITNUX MARKETDATA5, the average daily attendance at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando is approximately 57,000 visitors.
From 1923 to 2023, Disney completed 100 years of sprinkling magic and wonder to generations of families world-wide. From the Baby Boomer generation of Americans who persevered through the Great Depression to the families of the Gen-Alpha’s today who weathered an unprecedented pandemic, every generation has a story about their first visit to Disney parks.
The Disney Experience
Walt Disney designed his world for children. They can spend an exhilarating day of fun meeting their favorite characters. They can hop on and off the thrill rides, watch performances and parades and indulge in an exhaustive day of laughing out loud and having fun. His only expectation of grown-up visitors would have been to bring a child-like innocence to elevate the experience to heights limited only by our imagination.
As for the 46-year-old me, my plan was simply to follow my 7-year-old nephew through the gates of Walt Disney World and try to keep up with his wants and needs.
But with four theme parks, two water parks, and 461 activities6 to choose from spread across 40 square miles of land, it was overwhelming, to say the least, especially as first-time visitors.
Reaching for Magic Destinations
The Disney website has a wealth of information for first-time visitors, including a comprehensive Help Center section7 designed to answer commonly asked questions. But our questions piled on, along with an anxiety build-up.
How many days should we plan for? Should we get the Park Hopper add-on to our tickets? Which park should we visit first? Where would we stay? Where would we park?
Which activities are a must-do? Are there age or height restrictions to rides? What rides were more popular? How do we avoid wait lines? What is Genie+? Should we take the photo package? How do we use the Disney app?
What should we carry with us? Should we take a baby stroller with us or rent one? What amenities are available at the park for families with toddlers? What if we get lost at the park?
Enter Amy Crouse, someone who’s been there and done that, a certified Disney Travel Advisor who has helped many reach for the magic at Disney8. Amy was able to put our concerns to bed and designed a unique experience with our specific interests and needs in consideration.
On Apr 23rd, my brother and I walked into Walt Disney World for the first time with our families, loads of excitement, and a day-by-day game plan in our back pocket. This plan allowed us the flexibility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. We skipped long wait lines and checked off our priority list with ease. We knew how to use Disney App and Genie+ to navigate the parks, as if we were pros.
Thanks to Amy, our Disney experience can only be described as the epitome of happiness.
To discover tips and tricks, best practices and hidden secrets for your perfect Disney vacation, upgrade your subscription to receive details from my conversation with Amy, where we discuss everything there is to know before you plan a trip. Take advantage of the early adopter special below for all access to upcoming interviews, podcasts, travel tips and more.
This 10 min. short-film is a Walt Disney animation studio walkthrough from 1936.
Walt Disney’s Kindness During The Great Depression was not only a beacon of hope during the Great Depression through his films, but also through his small acts of kindness and charity. Despite the difficult economic circumstances, Disney remained committed to giving back to his community and helping those in need.
Reinventing the American Amusement Park, a PBS story.
Gitnux Metadata reports for Disney World Visitor Statistics And Trends in 2023 and Disneyland Visitor Statistics And Trends in 2023
Explore Walt Disney World Resort’s theme and water parks, resort hotels, dining and entertainment.
The Help Center at the Walt Disney World for first-time visitors.
Meet Amy Crouse, Independent Travel Advisor at Reach for the Magic Destinations.