Searching for Meaning at Disney World

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As I have become older, I have become more deliberate in choosing enriching life experiences. Thus, when I recently celebrated my 65^th birthday, I chose to invite my adult children and their spouses to spend several days with my wife and I at an Orlando timeshare. I suggested that we visit Disney’s Magic Kingdom for a day because I recalled how much fun I had as a young person at that theme park. I was looking forward to sharing similar joy with my children as well as introducing the park to my son-in-law, who had never been there.

It had been 18 years since I had last visited the Magic Kingdom with four young children in tow. I remembered trying to get on as many rides as possible, running around the park (sometimes in the rain), and the amazing fireworks. However, as I thought about visiting again, I wondered about what meaning, if any, I would find for myself in this repeat experience. Would it be possible for me to be enriched with spiritual growth at Disney?

Perspective of Memories

The first spiritual moment during this vacation came to mind before we arrived at the theme park. I recalled memories from the last two times I visited Orlando. The first memory occurred in the middle of winter when our arrival was delayed 12 hours because of a massive snowstorm that had hit where we lived in the northeast. We arrived at our rented minivan at midnight, when my exhausted 3-year-old daughter decided that under no circumstances would she sit in the green rental car seat.

After my daughter threw a loud tantrum for a few moments, I bent down close to her face and softly said, “Do you know who owns that car seat?” She quieted down for a moment to listen and looked at me through reddened eyes with tear-stained cheeks. “That’s Mickey Mouse’s seat!” I exclaimed. In no time, my daughter got into the seat and actually had to be coaxed to leave it behind when we left a week later.

Six years later at the Magic Kingdom, when my youngest son was five years old, I told each of my children that I would purchase them one souvenir at the end of the day. That evening, as we were finishing up for the day, my young son announced that as his souvenir he wanted the pirate ship that he had seen next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I asked him about the size of the ship. “It was this big,” he said, as he held his index fingers three inches apart.

I walked rapidly across the park to the Pirates gift shop and looked for a three-inch ship. There was none to be found. I tried to figure out what my son had meant, and decided to go to the exit from the Pirates ride and bent down to the height of a 5-year-old. I looked around the gift shop and spotted a pirate ship at the other end of the store that appeared to fit within the three-inch space between my fingers. Except that the actual length of the ship was three feet. I bought it, and when I showed it to my son he said, “That’s exactly what I wanted!”

Both these memories illustrate how a change in perspective can affect our lives. This reminded me why patients often improve after learning to look differently at life challenges, such as through cognitive behavioral therapy or by developing a spiritual perspective.

It's a Small World

When we got to the Magic Kingdom early in the day during my birthday celebration, many of the rides already had long lines. However, the classic ride, “It’s a Small World,” had a short line. Since my son-in-law had never been to the park, we decided to make this our first ride. I expected to be bored, as I had been on this ride on multiple occasions, and it has a very repetitive song that can be annoying. (Aficionados of the Lion King animated movie will recall that the evil lion Scar became extremely irritated when his captive African red-billed hornbill bird Zazu sang “It’s a small world.”)

However, a spiritual moment occurred as soon as we boarded the boat for this ride. One of my sons required the use of a wheelchair and I was overtaken with poignant emotion by seeing how deftly and seamlessly the Disney staff accommodated his needs by placing the wheelchair into a specialized boat. In fact, throughout our visit, I was so heartened to see how my son’s disability was handled with grace and ease. Our world would be a much better place if people of different abilities could always be treated with kindness, and as a matter of course.

A second spiritual moment occurred on this ride in which the boats float past colorful animatronic dolls that are arranged in elaborate scenes showing aspects of different cultures, including music, dance, and daily life. As I was looking about and listening to the repetitive song, I started thinking about how small our world truly is. I remembered with some dismay how we are all suffering as inhabitants of this world because of climate change, which has been driven at least in a very significant part by human industrial activities.

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Thinking About the Future

As we traversed through the park, I asked myself why I chose to return to the Magic Kingdom on my birthday, even though I was no longer as thrilled by the rides as I had been when I was younger. I noticed that the park seemed smaller than I remembered it, perhaps related to the change of perspective that arises from familiarity. Further, I was annoyed by the current requirement to only purchase tickets online and the complexity of the ride and restaurant reservation system.

At first, I thought that since I was so irritated this might be my last visit to the Magic Kingdom. Then I thought that if I am ever lucky enough to have grandchildren, I would enjoy taking them to this park and seeing it freshly again through their eyes. This change in perspective helped me identify yet another spiritual lesson related to my return to Disney. This park is remarkable enough that it has served as an anchor for many of my memorable experiences. A return to the Magic Kingdom would help etch yet another signpost in my life.

Takeaway

My search for spiritual meaning at Disney World helped make this year’s visit even more memorable. I believe that thinking about meaning and being open to spiritual insights as we approach various life experiences can enrich each of us.