One of the speakers at the DisMeets was Mike Scopa from Mouseplanet.com and he spoke about "Disney Magic" and what it is all about. Which got me to thinking....what does Disney Magic mean for me personally? I had always enjoyed going to the parks and seeing the sights, smelling the smells (good and bad), riding the rides, seeing the shows, etc. I liked it because it was fun and you could check your brain at the gate (a few folks seem to check a little too much brain or didnt have enough to begin with, but I digress) and just have pure childlike fun despite your age. I mean, seriously folks, here I am at almost 30 years old -with a chance I might not ever see my wife and baby again every time I go to work- getting all excited over someone in a "halloween costume"...err, Mickey costume. One of my co-workers likes to kid me about "going to Disney World AGAIN?" and reminds me over and over that "IT'S A FAKE CASTLE", among other unrepeatable barbs and jabs all made in good fun.

I came to understand the true meaning of Disney Magic at the end of June when Karen and I took our son, Billy, to the Magic Kingdom for the very first time. Here we are, 29 and 28 respectively, with this little 5 month old bundle of joy, and I can honestly tell you that walking down Main Street USA for the first time toward that "fake castle" I was absolutely overcome with joy and wonder that I was able to share this place that I love so much with this precious child that I love so much, that I thought I was going to have tears in my eyes.


Which brings me back to Mike Scopa's talk about Disney Magic. He asked if anyone ever had tears in their eyes during IllumiNations at Epcot or Wishes! at the Magic Kingdom and I raised my hand to say YES! I was not ashamed of this, but rather proud as a father to be able to have my beautiful wife and precious son in this "magicial" place that I love so much. During the fireworks that I have seen so many times, I looked over at my wife who was holding Billy and I saw this look of pure wonder and joy on Billy's face that I got this photo and the tears started welling up, in my eyes and in Karen's.

We could have seen fireworks anywhere and I am sure he would have had quite the similar look on his face, but being there near that fake castle in Fantasyland with all of the other fake things, listening to the Wishes! soundtrack among all the other "believers" made me realize the true meaning of Disney Magic. It's not what you see with your eyes; we all know that it's not real. Rather, it's what you feel with your HEART and what you allow your IMAGINATION to tell you is real and what isn't. As Jiminey Cricket tells us, "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." So the next time you go to a Disney theme park, which I hope is soon, take a second to stop and think about what Disney Magic means to you....

---

Visit The Magic in Pixels.com.
View 1,000's of Disney Theme Park Photos, read articles, participate in the TMIP Disney Photo Forum, and purchase Disney Prints for your home or office.