I went to Walt Disney World once as a kid. I was seven years old, and we did one day at Magic Kingdom and one day at what was then MGM Studios. I remember lots of standing in line, getting stamps from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in my autograph book, and bits and pieces of the Main Street Electrical Parade. I was allowed to choose one souvenir, and I picked The Lion King soundtrack. Oh, I treasured that green cassette tape, and of course I still know every single word to every single song (what 90’s kid doesn’t?). 

But after a while, Disney World became just another vacation destination to me. I didn’t remember enough of it to recall that magical Disney feeling anymore. I knew plenty of people that went to Disney World every year, and I always thought, “Why would they want to go back to the same place over and over again?” I didn’t get it. At all. Sure, I loved Disney movies just as much as the next person, and I would have loved to go to Disney World someday, but I in no way, shape, or form considered myself one of those “Disney people.” 

Then, on a whim, we decided to take a trip to Disney World. Just a few days. Just to take our son while he would still think it was magical. So I did a little research and learned from those “Disney people” all the things I needed to do to get ready for our trip. I booked a few dining reservations and snagged some fast passes. I studied the park maps so we’d know where we were going. I even let my sister give me her Minnie ear headband, though I was sure I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing it.

The day we arrived at Walt Disney World Resort, we weren’t planning to go to any parks, but we did have a brunch reservation at Chef Mickey’s (my husband’s childhood favorite). We hopped on the bus from Pop Century to Magic Kingdom, where we would catch the monorail to the Contemporary. As we walked from the bus drop off up toward the entrance to Magic Kingdom, classic Disney music was playing and I swear the air was practically shimmering (oh wait, maybe that was the humidity). Tears came into my eyes so unexpectedly and this feeling filled me up—like happy and hopeful, magic and nostalgia all at the same time. And right then, I was hooked for life. That’s when I became a Disney person. 

I didn’t have to walk into the Contemporary or see my kiddo’s face light up when he met Mickey to become a Disney person. I didn’t even have to enter a park or ride the best ride or have a cast member go out of his or her way to make our experience magical (though that really does happen). All those things are wonderful parts of the Disney Parks. But it turns out, being a Disney person is more than just loving Disney movies or Walt Disney World or Disneyland. It’s being addicted to that feeling—the magic and the hope and the happy and the nostalgia—that comes with Disney. And that’s what made me a Disney person.