Friday, October 9, 2015

Coast to Coast

Well, this past month has been a complete whirlwind.  It definitely lived up to being the most magical month Eliot and I have experienced thus far.  It's been a wild ride from Disneyland, to buying a house, to Universal, KeyCon and Walt Disney World.


I've spent the past few days reflecting upon our coast to coast adventures.  Eliot and I have been incredibly blessed to have experienced all of these things- not to mention doing it all within a one month span.  I'm aware many people don't ever get the chance to go to a Disney park once, let alone going to both parks in the United States within this timespan.  We are very fortunate.  I'm incredibly thankful to have had this opportunity.  I never thought I'd go to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World within anything short of a six month span.  Now that I have, it's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.  You see things you didn't see before.  You experience things you didn't before.  This whole month just reaffirms what I already knew, Disney magic is real.


Walking through the park Walt built, seeing his dream realized, was magical.  I was so thankful to be able to take part in Disneyland's 60th anniversary celebration.  I feel like a small piece of the park's history, and it's a great story to be a part of.  Before I even finished unpacking from California, we were whisked away to Walt's second big dream, Walt Disney World.  It's amazing to see the similarities and the differences.


Disneyland definitely has the charm.  It's like you're walking right through Walt's imagination.  It still feels like Walt is there, watching over it.  There's something special knowing he was there, that he actually rode those rides himself and that he also experienced the magic Disneyland has to offer.


Walt Disney World is another story.  It's not only enormous, but it's the realization of a different dream.  Walt set out to make another version of Disneyland, but with a lot more land.  Walt's signature isn't on most of Disney World since he wasn't alive to see it come to life.  In fact, most of what we see today was built long after Walt.  However, I still sense his influence with it's similarities to Disneyland.  Eliot and I rode the Walter E. Disney train at the Magic Kingdom the other day and it made me feel like Walt was there smiling down on us, even if we weren't walking in his actual footsteps.


The first time I went to Disneyland, it was such a whirlwind trip that I didn't fully appreciate it.  I'm grateful this past trip gave me more opportunity to explore and really discover all Disneyland has to offer that Walt Disney World cannot.  Can you compare one park to the other?  Sure, there's plenty of things to compare.  There are pluses and minuses to both and there are benefits to visiting one over the other.  But for me, both are two pieces of the complete puzzle.  Both both parks were created by the same man with a dream.  After this past month visiting both, one doesn't seem complete without the other.


Eliot and I have a dream of visiting all of the Disney parks across the world.  Someday, I hope our coast to coast adventure becomes an international one.  Walt Disney World will always be my happy place.  It's where I grew up and it's where the magic of Disney started for me.  However, I truly love Disneyland and walking through the park that Walt built.  This month long coast to coast adventure is one I won't soon forget.  °o°

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