9/26/22

The Walt Disney World Fandom... buncha' weirdos..

September 26, 2022

The Disney fandom. We are a wildly complex and unique bunch. Some of us have been reared and nurtured as fans. Some of us only became weird (yes, we ARE weird, don’t lie to yourself) after having children and seeing Disney through their eyes. And for a select few of us, Disney wasn’t even on our radar until we were adults and we tripped and fell into it. I am the latter type of fan. Sure, I watched the movies and I enjoyed them, but as a Midwesterner, I had no interest in driving fourteen hours to hug Mickey. My mom took my sister and I to Walt Disney World when I was twelve. We spent one day there. Half a day at Magic Kingdom and half a day at EPCOT (those were the only two parks at that time). I had a good time I guess, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. We had a Six Flags two hours away and it was pretty much the same thing right?

When I got married in 2015, my wife told me that she was a WDW fan and that we should start planning a trip. I wasn’t excited, but I also wasn’t opposed. I was pretty meh about the whole thing. So in late July of 2016 I went to Disney World for the first time in 30 years.

Mind.

Blown.

That was when I recognized the difference between an amusement park and a theme park. I saw the striving for excellence by every cast member. I noticed the attention to detail that perhaps one out of every fifty people would notice, but was added anyway. I was immersed into different lands, different nations, and even different worlds. While in World Showcase, I observed architecture and theming that wasn’t a stereotype or caricature of each country’s construction and design, but was authentic and true to form in every way. I took in nighttime spectacular shows that were able to evoke an emotional response through the seemingly simple use of music, projections, and pyrotechnics. I enjoyed meals at restaurants that had equally terrific food and ambiance. The entire trip was sensory overload but in the best possible way.

Upon returning home, I started doing research. Yes, I wanted to go back. However, I wanted so much more than a repeat trip. I wanted to know more about this place. What made WDW tick? How were they able to transport me to different times, different places, even different planets so efficiently? Who were the people (later I found out they were called Imagineers) responsible for the creative and innovative experiences I enjoyed? I discovered Disney blogs (what a rabbit hole that is) and then I discovered Disney podcasts (deeper and deeper into the abyss). It illuminated the fact that I was not alone in my fascination with the Disney parks. There were more fellow weirdos out there than I would have believed.

All this research and investigation was enlightening and somewhat slaked my thirst for WDW knowledge. However, it wasn’t until I started interacting with the Disney fan communities on various social media platforms that I blossomed into a full zealot. I should warn you though, not all online Disney communities are created equal. There are some places (looking at you DisTwitter) that are mostly cesspools of negativity and one-upmanship. It seems that the larger the group, the more odious and catty the participants. But there are some real quality groups out there if you’re willing to sort through the chaff to find the wheat. The friendships I have developed with these like-minded Disney addicts are shockingly intense. The camaraderie was instant and powerful. It jumped from occasional comments on a Facebook post to texts and Zoom calls in short order.

Do we sit around and talk about the Tiki Room and which breakfasts have bottomless mimosas when we talk? Of course not… well sometimes we do, but not often. We talk about our jobs. We talk about our kids. We do life. We may have been brought together by our love for Walt Disney World, but our relationships flourished into so much more. We make pilgrimages to Orlando to see each other and make memories. Is it weird? Yes. We’ve already established that the Disney fandom is weird. Fly that flag proudly. But is it also amazing and marvelous?

It is.

It really is.