by Kelly Petrino, Spring 2021
While the name Mickey Mouse may first evoke images of childhood movies and shorts for most, for my mother, it brings up mostly memories of family vacations to Walt Disney World. The Disney brand is all-encompassing, spanning from movies to television to theme parks and more. Having grown up in what Wasko designates as the “Dark Age” of Disney films, it makes sense that my mom’s most meaningful memories are based in the place “Where Dreams Come True.” While we were very fortunate to have been able to visit the parks multiple times during my own childhood, this was not the case for my mom who never visited until 2003 with me and my younger sister in tow. So, her role as a Disney parent has been one she’s cherished greatly. On the next trip, we would add my brother to the mix, adding up to three toddlers in strollers that were pushed thousands of steps each day as we galivanted through the parks.
It was incredibly interesting to hear my mom talk about her favorite moments in the Disney, especially as so many revolved around me and my siblings when “everyone was in a good mood and having fun.” While I’ve reveled in the home-made scrapbooks of past trips and have some fond memories of these times myself, I was much too young to really remember the details. My favorites of her stories were about each of us meeting the Disney characters. She has vivid memories of me at four years old meeting Snow White, who was my favorite princess, for the first time in the Magic Kingdom while I was dressed up as her – how excited I was and how special she made me feel. She talked about me and my sister getting chosen to play Mrs. Potts and Chip the teacup in Enchanted Tales with Belle, my brother, who was a runner, chasing after characters in pursuit of their autographs, lunches at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh characters (a tradition we carry on to this day), and so many more experiences where the characters went out of their ways to make our days more magical.
Hearing my mom talk about her memories, I’ve found myself thinking about how my own feelings about Disney will shift as I grow older and become a Disney parent in my own right. While I’ll certainly always feel nostalgic for the memories of my visits during childhood, I am already excited to see my kids dressed up and meeting characters for the first time as I get to experience the magic from a whole new perspective.
This entry was written as a blog post for the class AMS406: The Disney Industiral Complex. The assignment was to interview a family member of a different generation about their experiences with Disney and write a 400-word reaction.