I’m sure everyone has a long list of things that are personally special to them about the Disney parks. Since my time as a guest blogger is winding down, I thought I would share a few of mine, and I’ll bet that each of these is on someone else’s favorites list somewhere!
– It’s fun to wave at people at Disneyland. When you’re on the Disneyland Railroad or the Mark Twain, you can wave at anyone you like, and they’ll always wave back. When’s the last time you waved to strangers at the mall? There’s just something about the parks that brings folks together.
– Watching kids interacting with the characters is priceless! I’m so envious that those little ones can actually believe that the characters are, in fact, the same ones they’ve seen animated, and they truly show their love. Some of my best memories are seeing a little girl hugging Snow White so earnestly that she wouldn’t let her go (and Snow handled it gracefully), and seeing a boy kiss Pluto right on the nose (I wonder if the cast member had any idea?).
– There are certain animatronic moments that I always look forward to seeing. I like how Lincoln checks his notes before his speech (in both Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland and in the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World). It’s also fun to look at the left Duelist portrait in the Haunted Mansion ballroom, because it’s the same animatronic face as the Auctioneer in Pirates of the Caribbean!
– Speaking of the Haunted Mansion, it almost seems like an Anaheim tradition to scream in the stretching room after the Ghost Host says, "Of course, there’s always my way…", so I always join along. This was extremely embarrassing in Tokyo Disneyland when I was the only one who screamed!
– On Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, I like to "steer" my car through the entire ride. I swear it makes the experience twice as fun, and those steering wheels really spin!