It’s been a long three months of sitting at home not knowing what the world is about to be like once everything reopens, unless you live in Orange County, Calif., where 99 percent of the population is at the beach not wearing masks.
That’s not the point of this post, though. Enough with the bad, anxiety-inducing news, am I right?
I did see some good news the other morning: Walt Disney World plans to reopen in July. In a world that seems to have flipped upside down since March, it’s nice to see some positive Disney magic grace my social media.
I just want it to be known I’m in no way advocating going to Disney once we get the OK. I’m as neurotic as ever these days, so I’ll probably hold off for at least a few weeks if not months. And of course going to Disney post-Coronavirus will not be the same as going before the earth shut down. They’ll require masks your whole stay, temperature checks upon arrival, and they’ll limit capacity to a certain percentage. If I’m being honest with you, and as an avid Disney goer, it’ll be nice to have fewer people in the parks, both in Florida and California. We’ll probably have to make reservations to go, but think about it: With less in attendance, the lines will be shorter, the crowds will be minimized, and it could truly make the experience that more enjoyable.
Oh! And maybe we’d finally be able to get on Rise of the Resistance. *screams internally and externally*
My love for Disney goes as far back as infancy. Yes, my family went to Disney World during times I was incapable of creating memories. Pretty crazy, right? We’ve had annual passes for as long as I can remember, and once I moved to Los Angeles I knew I had to get one for Disneyland to continue my Disney traditions.
One of my favorite Disney World memories is one I still bring up to my grandma (Mimi) today. So on my mom’s side of the family, we all received the same preschool graduation gift. We got to spend a weekend at Disney with Mimi and Pop (our grandpa) and stay at an amazing hotel. Ben got to stay at The Wilderness Lodge, a not-so-outdoor oasis but a stunning resort hidden in the marshes and trees of Central Florida. Daniella and Jonathan lived the royal life and stayed at The Grand Floridian, the fanciest hotel on the property and only a monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Oh, and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego inspired the hotel. Enough said. David (who was definitely the favorite — there’s really no argument there) got the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yes, the one with living animals surrounding it. And I stayed — drumroll, please — at the All Star Music/Movies/Sports resort, which if you aren’t familiar, is definitely not as high-end as the resorts my brother and cousins stayed at.
Now I know what you’re thinking. I’m being ungrateful, unappreciative. I’m not, though. At the time it was the newest property, and that’s how my grandparents decided where we stayed after our graduations. And at 6 years old I was more excited to go to Disney with my grandparents than pay any mind to the hotel. We’ve never been the family who goes to a theme park and spends a day at the hotel pool. We’re there for the thrills not a tan. In any case, it wasn’t until I got older I realized I was cheated, and honestly it makes for a hilarious story that Mimi and I can laugh at to this day.
I could go on and on with my Disney memories, like the time Daniella was convinced my mom got us lost driving back to the hotel from the park, the time peacocks scared my Aunt Ruthe onto the picnic table at the Tree Tops (now part of Saratoga Springs), or the time we sprinted to Tony’s at Magic Kingdom in the rain to have dinner only to find out it closed at 9 p.m. and we got there at 9:05. Or the many Thanksgivings we spent up there going to the Wyndham (RIP) for the ultimate Thanksgiving buffet and having the most delicious bananas foster.
Speaking of Thanksgivings, the most iconic one we spent at Disney had to be around 2001. We went over to The Boardwalk (a resort/restaurant/shopping area walking-distance to EPCOT) for dinner at Cape May’s (a seafood buffet in the Beach Club Resort), and for whatever reason we decided to rent the nine-seat bicycle after dinner because nothing goes better together than unlimited seafood and a bike ride. And looking back 20 years later, I’m glad we did. So Pop, Ben and Dad were in the back; Aunt Debbie, Mom and I were in the middle; Mimi, Daniella and Jon were in the front; and David sat in the little basket at the head of the bike. Now, Florida is not known for its hills, yet for some reason they overwhelmed the walking/bicycle trail wrapping around Crescent Lake. The ride along the Swan and Dolphin resorts to the Yacht and Beach clubs was manageable, but it wasn’t until the tail end of the ride we encountered the largest hill in the state of Florida. Maybe it was because everyone’s legs were tired, but we could not get up that hill if our lives depended on it. It got to the point where we were all hysterically laughing and completely unable to keep ourselves from stopping that it inhibited our pedaling up even more. We even ended up rolling backwards! Eventually Pop and Dad got out of their seats and literally pushed us to the top of the hill, but I do think we should’ve all gotten A’s for effort.
What’s even funnier is the hill was actually just a giant, yet weirdly steep, bridge.
In more recent times, we’ve made Disney World a destination to celebrate different occasions. We’ve celebrated my Aunt Ruthe and Uncle Tracy’s anniversary, as well as my parents’ birthdays numerous times. We kind of made it a tradition to wear this light-up Happy Birthday hat around the park the entirety of our birthdays because where else can you do something like that? It’s also become customary among Marlee, Devon and my parents to tackle the different race options through Disney’s Wide World of Sports (though my parents have since retired from them). A few years ago, we watched Marlee and Devon (and Page!) run across the finish line at the end of their half-marathons. When Marlee came out to Los Angeles for a Star-Wars-themed run a couple of years ago, I drove down to Anaheim after my shift and stayed there all weekend to cheer her on. She ran the 5K, 10K and half-marathon over a period of three days; and to celebrate, Ben and I made her get more steps in by walking around Disneyland and California Adventure. (The races were also after she hiked with us up one of the tougher trails at Griffith Park. What a trooper!)
What I think is so great about Disney is how worldly it’s become over the last several years, and just how spectacular it is to visit a park an ocean away but still experience the same — and new! — Disney magic.
In 2018 when my parents told Ben and me we were going to Paris for my dad’s birthday, the first thing they told us was they’d made reservations in our itinerary for Disneyland Paris. I’m not sure if Ben did but I know I screamed. I’d never been to a Disney outside of the States and what better way to experience it than with my family, the ones who introduced me to this magical, incredible world.
We took the first train out to Chessy and the last night train back to Paris. We started at Walt Disney Studios, where Ben and I got to ride Tower of Terror for the first time since California Adventure switched it over to Guardians of the Galaxy. We went “down under” with Crush on Crush’s Coaster, a coaster that threw us backwards and forward and spun us around in a giant tortoise shell. We even shrunk to the size of Remy from Ratatouille in Ratatouille: The Adventure, the same attraction opening in France at EPCOT. We pretty much crushed (no pun intended) that park and moved over to Disneyland for the rest of the day. Don’t worry, the Lifshitz family didn’t disappoint. We did every attraction.
What was fascinating about Disneyland Paris was so many attractions there differed from the States’ in the best ways. Big Thunder Mountain started on land, went underground, and then the entire ride was on an island in the middle of the lake. Space Mountain sprang us forward and into oblivion where we twisted and turned and loop-de-looped. Pirates of the Caribbean was not only visually appealing but was more enticing because the ride’s dialogue (among all the animatronics) was completely in French. I’ve also always thought the Pirates in California and the Pirates in Florida were very similar in terms of how each section is set up. Paris’ offered a reprieve from the day-to-day versions and offered a glance into a slightly different storyline. Plus its drops were far more exciting. But I will say this: If I never go on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril again, I’ll be OK. It was fun but I honestly thought I was going to lose a limb on it.
Of course the entire trip to Paris was truly unforgettable, but going to Disney was surely a day I’d never forget.
This is why I’m excited for Disney World (and Disneyland) to reopen. It’s my childhood, teenage years and adulthood. We’ve done cruises, day trips, holiday trips, birthday trips, all kinds of trips that will resonate with me until the end of time. And I cannot wait to continue making these magical memories with my family and friends.
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