We just took our older son, Miles, to Disney World. I’m still processing everything I saw, because it was fascinating to experience Disney both through my eyes as an adult, and also to see how it was perceived by our three-year-old. Let me just share my honest, unfiltered take (and I apologize, I barely took pictures, as I tried to be in the moment, and Miles sure kept us busy)…
Why we finally took our son to Disney World
For a bit of background, I’m not sure Miles knew anything about Disney until last week, because we had never shown him anything from Disney. Of course living in Florida, we knew that eventually we should take him to Disney World, and we felt like the time is right.
He’s now at the age where he doesn’t nap (but goodness, do we need a nap), and it’s also clear that he’s “experiencing” things more, so we figured he’d actually enjoy the experience. If I’m being honest, with my mom having recently passed, I try even harder to make the childhood of our kids as good as possible, because I know how happy she would be to see it, because nothing brought her more joy than them.
So this seemed like the perfect time to go. We decided to leave our younger son, Jet, with family at home, since taking a five-month-old to Disney would just massively complicate things. For that matter, we didn’t think he’d get anything out of the experience.
Going in, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As a kid, I was of course very interested in Disney, and I remember trying to convince my parents to buy a timeshare there, because I told them there was no way I’d ever get tired of Disney. Well, I’m happy they didn’t, because with one exception (for a friend’s birthday), I hadn’t been to Disney in around 25 years.
So I was very excited about the trip. Mainly, one of the joys of being a parent is seeing the world through your kids’ eyes, and I felt like up until recently, Miles wasn’t yet at the age where he meaningfully could experience things like this…
I can’t believe how expensive and complicated Disney is
Clearly I hadn’t really considered just how involved the process of going to Disney is. I figured we’d just casually show up, buy tickets, and have a great time.
A couple of days before our trip, Ford mentioned to a friend that we were going to Disney, and she asked what we had planned so far. Ford said we hadn’t thought much about it yet. She was completely shocked, and proceeded to then share her itinerary, checklist, spreadsheet, all that stuff… oh, this is one of those experiences!
It’s funny, because it makes perfect sense, it’s just not something I had considered. Learning how to “do” Disney correctly really is almost as nuanced as learning how to get into miles & points, find award space, etc. For many people, it’s clearly a hobby that takes up a lot of their lives, and brings them joy. That made me sort of excited, since I love to see people enjoying whatever they’re passionate about.
It’s also unbelievable how expensive Disney is. Of course I realize that there are many pathways to getting access to the parks (annual passes, Florida resident discounts, multi-day passes, etc.), but a standard one-day park hopper ticket over our dates cost $264 per person. Yowzers!! And that’s just for the privilege of entering the park, and then you’re on the hook for even more money if you want to get any sort of Lightning Lane access.
People voluntarily wait this long… for fun?!?
Our first day, we went to Animal Kingdom and EPCOT, and the second day we went to Magic Kingdom. I have to be honest… when Ford and I got to Animal Kingdom on the first day, we were kind of questioning our life choices.
Despite a midweek visit between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you could barely navigate around people in the park, and it was busier than at an airport (and the lines were longer too!).
At first, we were just in complete disbelief at what a spectacle the whole thing was. People spend hundreds of dollars for the privilege of getting stuck in a sea of people and then waiting in line? Okay, I realize that’s totally cynical, and I’m also a special type of introvert (it’s not like I like live sports games, concerts, etc., either). But I’m just sharing my unfiltered take.
So I think within the first couple of hours, Ford and I both independently came to the conclusion that we didn’t need to do this again anytime soon, and we hoped Miles wouldn’t be that into it. But then…
Okay, the pure magic of Disney did rub off on us
I must admit, minute by minute, the joy of being at Disney rubbed off on us, and we really got into the spirit of things. I don’t even know where to begin.
For one, OMG, people who visit Disney parks are super fans. I figured the park would mostly be filled with adults who just love their kids, and I didn’t realize how high of a percentage of guests are adults who are huge Disney fans. The level of passion that people have for Disney can’t help but be contagious. I love people who are passionate about… well, anything… and Disney definitely fits that bill.
Related to that, everyone at Disney is just so happy and so nice. Nowadays you’ll go many places and see people acting horribly, in terms of how they treat each other, how they treat people working at an establishment, etc. And then when you add in how politically divided the country is, that takes it to the next level.
But Disney really just felt like a place free of problems, where everyone could get along. It was just so refreshing and lovely to see. Obviously I’ve been in Miami for too long, because the unpretentious kindness of everyone was delightful.
Also, we’re gay parents, so you know, sometimes we get some disapproving looks from people (whatever). But that wasn’t the case here. Everyone could just be themselves, and seemed to get along. On the monorail one day, Miles and I were separated from Ford (the monorails have really small “compartments”), and I had this lovely conversation with retirees from Mississippi (who were also very into their church), who come to Disney 10 times per year, and were decked out in head-to-toe Disney gear, including with American flags.
I don’t want to prescribe politics to them, but well, my assumption is that we might be on different pages. They asked “where’s mommy?” When I explained the “other dad” was over there, they couldn’t have been nicer or sweeter about it, and we continued our conversation as before. I know this might sound like a strange observation to some, but I felt totally comfortable sharing that without fear of judgment, because somehow Disney breaks down barriers. I dunno…
For that matter, it’s so refreshing to see what an inclusive environment Disney is in every way. They’re so good at logistics when it comes to including people with mobility challenges in rides, and making the experience seamless for them.
Disney is also so unbelievably well run. It really is like the Four Seasons of leisure activities, because every employee we interacted with just seemed like they were genuinely passionate about making sure everyone had a great visit.
And of course the best part of the experience was that Miles couldn’t have been happier. He was so, so, so excited. Before we could even finish one ride, he’d say “papa, what’s next, what’s next?”
Equally adorable was that we did a character breakfast. Miles was very excited to meet all the characters, particularly Goofy. But when Goofy came around, he was scared (hey, I get it!).
He didn’t want to say hi to him, but then when Goofy left, I could tell that Miles was upset at himself for not saying hi and for being scared. Fortunately Goofy came around again, and the second time, Miles said hi. He had the biggest smile on his face, and when I later asked him what his favorite part of everything was, he said meeting Goofy.
Bottom line
It was fascinating to visit Disney World as an adult, and see the whole experience through a three-year-old’s eyes. At first we were skeptical — Disney is outrageously expensive, very crowded, and as an introvert who hates crowds, it’s a lot to take in.
However, the magic of Disney did rub off on us, and I couldn’t help but get into the spirit of things within a few hours. Of course I was delighted to see our son so happy, but it was also just incredible to be in a place where so many people are having fun, are being kind to one another, etc. Seeing that level of widespread happiness made the experience worthwhile in and of itself.
