Why the Mouse?

     For as long as I can remember Disney has always been a part of my life. My first and only Christmas stocking has Mickey Mouse and the gang on it. I still have that stocking and use it every year. I had Disney characters on my walls and Disney characters on my first birthday cake. I have so many memories tied up in trips to Disneyland as well. With Disneyland about to celebrate an anniversary -- on the 17th of July-- it has made me think about some of those memories.   

    One such memory was when I was five I think…. five or six maybe. My mom put me in my church cloth to go to Disneyland. I was not a happy camper. I’m mean who wears a tie, as a six year old, to Disneyland. But there was good reason, that my small child’s brain didn’t understand. You see my parents were attending a birthday party at Club 33. I had no concept of what that even was. All I knew was I had to where church cloth to Disneyland. However I was promised a treat if I was good. I don't remember much els of that night. Some flashes of images here and there. I do remember my reward for being good. At the time Disneyland sold toy pistol and rifles in Frontierland and Adventureland. They were wood handled and metal barreled with a mechanical hammer that you could cock back and then squeeze the trigger and it would snapback. If my memory isn’t faulty I believe I chose a pistol that hand two barrels. After acquiring my reward, we rode the Jungle Cruise. I remember holding on to my new treasure so tightly as so I didn’t accidentally drop it in the mercy waters of the jungle. Never to be see it again. 

    That is just one of many I can recall. Another story I tell I’m sure some have heard before. It would have accrued about the same time as the story above. At that time my father was employed by Disneyland in their warehouses. The parks marketing department sent out a call to its “cast members” looking for a family they could use in a new print ad for an airline partner. Our family was selected! Now I don’t remember much, but I do remember the park being empty. We took our photos early in the morning before park opening right in front of the castle. Not only was it our family my two older sisters my parents and myself, it was also Mickey, Minnie and Goofy (see photo). I remember trying to take off one of Mickey’s buttons. Unfortunately, the airline partner was not a fan of the castle cake. They felt it didn’t look like a cake. But Disney not letting the photos go to waist, decided to use the photos them self. So my claim to fame is being on the cover of a Disneyland Magazine. Funny part is they cut my father out of the photo. Oops. 

    Now those as just some fun stories. I could go on and on. All this to say my “fandom” goes deep. However my fandom isn’t only rooted in my memories but also in my love for creativity, the artistry, talent, and vision to do what Walt did. I have ready many books about the talented people who made Disney what it was. I don’t get into the mass produced merchandise, the food blogs, or pin trading. Any and all Disney paraphernalia has to have history tied to it. I need a compelling story.  Usually if it doesn’t tie back to Walt I’m not interested. 

Walt is my hero. I have seen his office. I have toured his studio and also been to the sight of the first studio. It’s a grocery store now. I have held one of his Oscars. I have been in his apartment on Main Street. His story is one of perseverance. He was a visionary man and a storyteller. He saw talent in others and knew how to get the best out of them. Even when they didn’t see it in themselves. He was also a family man who loved his two daughters very much. Two of his greatest accomplishments were inspired by time with his daughter, Mary Poppins and Disneyland. 

    Disneyland I would say holds the top spot just after Walt. I would think Walt may say the same, after Mickey and Snow White of course. To think that there is a place where you can have an experience. One that is all around you. One that you can touch, hear, smell, and taste. Something that hand never been done on such a scale in the mid 1950s. Storytelling in three dimensions. It’s tangible and yet removed from the outside world. Many said he would fail. But even today many are trying to emulate what many would call the Disney magic or a Disney difference. I think even Disney is trying to get back to that place. 

    The park has changed a lot over the years. New attraction come and go, others stand the test of time. Small things change all the time in the park. Many never notices, unless you are crazy like me. A sign of this is, I like to collect the free souvenir maps you get, when you first pass through the front gate turnstiles. They are like snapshots of the park in the moment I time. I have many that document key events in the park’s history. From opening day to movie premieres. I even have maps that have Covid guidelines printed on them. With the digital world we live in I wonder when the day will be they stop printing the free maps. 

    All this to say Disney and Disneyland hold a special place in my heart. I have many stories I could share. I have any chores a few. Because July 17th is Disneyland’s 69th birthday I stop and wonder what the future hold. Will I see it reach 100 years? That’s 31 years from now! Crazy to think. But really I think about what’s at the core of my love. Maybe it became we had fun at the park as a family. Maybe it’s because my mom bought us The Little Mermaid on VHS when we had chickenpox. Or maybe it was that it was ether a Disney movie or a musicale we watch on Sundays. Or maybe in the early years that’s when Are family was whole. And maybe that little boy attempting to steel Mickey’s buttons is trying to repair something that missing. Don’t get me wrong, there are far more good memories after the divorce then before and I think that plays a part in my fandom as well.

Walt’s dream live on in some capacity. Though things have changed, the core is still there. 

“To all who come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age can relive fond memories of the past — And here youth can savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals the dreams and the hard facts that have created America—In the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” (Walt E. Disney, July 17, 1955)