Tag Archives: disneyworld

When will Disney World reopen?

Disneyland and Cinderella's castle

I can’t wait for Disney World to reopen. Once it does, it will feel as some normalcy will have returned to our nation, not ignoring what has gone on these past 3 months or even the past several weeks. I know that there are angry people everywhere, some rightfully so. Even when visiting the happiest place on earth people get cranky, but it does seem that we all get along or try to get along when visiting Disney World. I am so excited, that I have created a countdown clock below for when the parks reopen. Enjoy!

Disney Countdown Clock

Why is everyone chomping at the bit for the Disney parks to reopen?

When are Disney parks going to reopen?

Cinderella's castle with Disney characters standing in front. Taken at Disneyland Resort.
(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

This seems to be a headline no matter what news source you open. The Disney parks are not like your local pub or restaurant that you are eagerly awaiting to open. For all of these people chomping at the bit for the Disney parks to reopen, it has to be something more. I mean, why does it really matter when Disney parks will reopen? When it comes to Disney theme parks, you either love them or you hate them. Personally, I was just reintroduced to them about ten years ago. We don’t live close to any of the parks so it had to be something that we planned and saved money to do. The last time that I had been there was probably 10 or more years ago and before that, I was 14. For me, the resurging interest is all of the memories that flooded back. Those memories from my visit when I was 14, visiting with my parents, but was it only memories that drew me back? No, for me, it is more.

The real reason we can’t wait for Disneyland to reopen

I think the real reason why I can’t wait for Disney parks to reopen along with many others is for the following reason. Disney does such a great job at making your visit feel as if the world is standing still. They have made sure to create barriers to keep the view of the outside world hidden. This helps to keep distance between the visitor and the real world. For those of us that go to the parks to find that experience, we know that our troubles will be waiting for us once we return home. Yet for a few days, we at least can ignore them.

We are all feeling stressed

Let’s face it, we are all feeling a good amount of stress during this Pandemic. Many people are concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones. We also know that there are so many businesses that are struggling. Many of these businesses will be unable to go back to business as normal. Disney itself is losing $30 million per DAY. For those of us that love Disney, we aren’t sure what the future holds for our escape from reality. We want some normalcy in our lives and until Disney opens its parks, the world just won’t seem normal to many of us.

The happiest place on earth

Riding in a boat through Disney's ride titled It's a Small World

It’s no reason that Disney parks are called the happiest place on earth. I think that many of us that frequent the parks want to return to a familiar place. We know exactly what to expect when we return, we want that familiar smell when we walk into the Polynesian Resort. We don’t want them to change the song during our ride through ‘It’s a Small World’ or ‘The Tiki Room’. Many would ask, “Why do you go back to the same attractions each time you go to the park?”. My answer is, “Disney and the Imagineers have done such a fantastic job at creating each attraction, I see something new each time I go.” I hate to compare it to home, but in a way, it’s like returning home. There are familiar sites and sounds and almost always smiling faces to welcome you back. Disney, we miss you. Hurry back!

New Project to Highlight Disney Imagineers

the sorcerer's apprentice mickey mouse
Disney Imagineering

Have you had a chance to watch ‘The Imagineering Story‘ on Disney + directed and produced by Leslie Iwerks?
I don’t know about you, but I love how Leslie has tapped into the mind and heart of the Disney Imagineers.
At Unlimited Ideas, we are taking the stories of the Disney creatives and building something that while you are in the parks, will bring you the details of what they have created in the past, present and future.
Stay tuned!

I hated history class!

As a baby boomer, I often wonder why I’m suddenly interested in history. I hated history class in both high school and college. Now, I can’t wait to go to Colonial Williamsburg, watch the history channel or visit Monticello. Anything nostalgic or retro is in. The 50’s furniture we grew to hate as teenagers is now affectionately called “mid century” style and very popular. Talk to any Baby Boomer guy and they will tell you they love to watch ‘American Pickers’ on the history channel.
The two guys on this show, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are the epitome of our generation. They look for anything old and nostalgic. When we watch this show, we see things from our childhood that flood our memories with an easier time, at least in our own mind.  Maybe this is why I enjoy renovating things, be it an old home, car or old piece of machinery. Don’t get me wrong, I also love thinking about the future and all of the inventions that people are coming up with. It’s as if I have one hand in the past and one hand in the future with my body in the present. My two favorite places in Disneyworld are Epcot, where you can learn about nation’s history and Tomorrowland, where a child could dream of going into space and learning about all of the technologies that were emerging.

I’ve often threatened to buy a “mid century” home and totally furnish and decorate it in “mid century” style; I mean down to the old black and white TV’s with reruns of ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘Leave it to Beaver’. Somehow, even though there were a lot of scary things going on in the 50’s like the cold war, as youngsters, we felt insulated. There weren’t reality TV shows and continuous news networks that bombarded us with more than we could handle. There were only 3 channels and the quality of the video wasn’t that good so that reality and fiction weren’t blurred as they are today.

We were told as kids that we could do anything. We were trying to figure out how to get men to the moon.  Buck Rogers was the precursor to Star Trek. We were thinking of the future.  That future included leaving our past behind. People were moving out of the city into the suburbs. We wanted the new ranch style homes. We didn’t want to live on the farm or in a row house. We wanted a 100 x 100 lot with an attached garage. Most families had only one car, a modest home and making a living wasn’t as hard. We were a more formal nation. We wore a coat and tie to the movies as well as on an “air”plane. I know there was social unrest and the past wasn’t as kind to many, but the present isn’t exactly kind to all of us either.

There is a saying that if we don’t remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it, both good and bad. Many of the books that my teachers tried to get me to read while I was in school, I now actually buy and read in my spare time! Talking to many of my peers, they say the same thing, they became interested in history over the past 10-15 years.  Colonial Williamsburg is having a hard time staying afloat due to their attendance waning. The Rockefellers  felt that our nation’s history was important enough to save, so they funded the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.

I don’t know why I have become so nostalgic about the past. Maybe I see the unrest in our nation and the uncertainty of the present, wishing that I could somehow go back to what seemed like a more calmer period in our history. I know that I’m probably looking back through rose colored glasses, but let me continue to live in my memories, as memories can be changed to fit whatever we want to remember.

I’m interested to know if you find yourself more interested in history as you get older or is it just me and those in my circle.