Disneyland: A Magical World
- navakallc
- Jul 7, 2024
- 4 min read
Just as summer break starts, a world of vacations commences too, where people drift off as if in dreams, and take a breath that they’ve held in for far too long. And just like that, I was transported to a world where dreamers dream, and anything is possible if you believe. A world called Disneyland.
The very first time you walk through those gates is a time you’ll never forget. It’s like you step into a new world, a world full of Mickey Mouse and princesses. The big beautiful castle is the first thing you see, looming over all the other attractions at the park. It’s royal blue and gold coloring glints in the morning light as it happily puts a smile on my face. The park is allocated into different sections, with each section having a specific theme, such as Fantasy Land, Frontier Land, Tomorrow Land and more. All of these different sections contain various rides based on the theme.
My very first trip to Disney Land was in Hong Kong, when I was 7 years old, and my only aspirations were Fantasy Land at the park. They had rides about Winnie the Pooh, The Princesses, and Peter Pan. It feels like you’re part of the story, when you sit on the cart that takes you on a ride inside the world of the character. I sat on the edge of my seat as we passed the first doors, the cart riding its course around the track. Through the course of our journey, multiple characters popped up, the room dimly lit and full of things from the story, the audio of music and dialogue in the background. It felt surreal to almost see your favorite characters come to life. Soon after, we went to the Disneyland in California, where I progressed from Fantasy Land to more thrilling or adventurous rides. This allowed me to finally experience all the thrills in my most recent trip.
On my trip to the Florida Disneyland this year, there was something new I wanted to achieve. This time, I wanted to try all the rollercoasters in Disneyland, and it was amazing. Instead of going to Fantasy Land the most, I ventured out to newer sections of the park. My heartbeat thundering in my chest as I waited in line, I could hear the screams of the people on the rollercoasters, my eyes darting towards the speed of the vehicle, everything slowing down around me as I sat in the seat and buckled myself in.
Once I sat in my seat though, all thoughts disappeared, and the rush of the wind in my hair left all my apprehensiveness on the platform. The speed of the ride left me exhilarated, the adrenaline kicking in, the smile plastered on my face, and my mouth the shape of an o as I screamed at the sudden drop. The rides were only a few minutes long, but it gave me an experience of a lifetime. I was ready to take on the challenge, and was glad to experience my growth through the park.
The rides are so magical that you don’t mind waiting in line, even if they get as far as 45 to 60 minutes. It’s a norm at any theme park to wait in line for your favorite ride, and continuously track the park’s app to see which rides have a shorter waiting time at any given point of time. They also have the option of a lightning lane, which was super useful for me this trip because if you purchase that, you can book timings for when you want to do a certain ride and get to skip the lines.
I loved going up to the scanner and scanning my Disney card, a bright green one to represent the Princess and the Frog drawn boldly on top.
As you enter the park, you also get a map, which is how you can make your way around the park, and spot the sections you want to go in. Soon, I started venturing off to more of the sections, covering the more thrilling rides and rollercoasters. In between lines I would also make sure to meet my favorite characters in costume, where they do a meet and greet every few hours.
While all of these rides melt my heart every time, my favorite moments of Disney Land are always in the evening, an hour before the park is about to close. As a special send off to all the visitors, they do a fireworks show, and project characters and Disney movie scenes onto the castle. The fireworks and projections are in tune with the music playing in the background, and the fake fireflies lighting up on the trees. It’s a magical sight as I watch the bright gold, blue, and red sparkles in the night sky, my eyes shining as I sing along to the music, swaying with the tune.
I try to capture the moment in my phone, but it’s incomparable to the joy residing in my heart. These fireworks are my childhood, something I was mesmerized by since a very young age. I’m glad to be able to continue the tradition and have a magical end to a magical day.