Growing Up Disney | Pixie Dust Fan

11 Things You Need To Know To Be Friends With A Disney Addict

Carousel of Progress Friends I have been a Disney fan for as long as I can remember, it is who I am and my friends have accepted this about me. While my ‘non-Disney’ friends don’t share my passion, they know what to expect from me because we have known each other for years. For new people that come in to my life I have put together the top 11 things they need to know about becoming friends with a Disney addict.

1. No matter what, I will always be wearing something Disney related.

It may be as subtle as an Alex & Ani bracelet or Mickey Mouse watch, or it may be something more obvious like my Disney Dooney bag or my Mickey tattoo. If we are going somewhere in casual attire – you can safely assume that some kind of Disney t-shirt will be worn. The only acceptable comment about any of this is “that is awesome”.

2. If you visit my home, you will feel like you walked in to a place decorated by the Imagineers at Disney.

Yes my cutlery is Mickey shaped, YES those are Mickey’s hands holding the soap in the bathroom and YES I will welcome you as a foolish mortal. If you don’t know what something is, ask me! I will be more than happy to explain the small piece of metal that is directly from Walt Disney’s train tracks in his backyard. It may look like a scrap of metal to you – but it is one of my most prized possessions! Unless you’re going to say “I love it!” – I don’t want to hear from you.

3. I will manage to bring something “Disney” in to almost all of our conversations.

Somehow I will relate our inability to find a parking spot at the grocery store to how efficient the parking is at the Magic Kingdom. I will tell you about the design, why the car doors don’t get ‘dinged’ and how they locate your car if you can’t remember where you parked. It’s fascinating stuff – you should be listening!

4. You can’t be embarrassed when we’re out in public and my phone rings.

When my phone bellows ‘Do not pull down on the safety bar please, I will lower it for you’, it makes me feel like I’m in the Haunted Mansion. This is my ringtone, it makes me happy and I don’t care who hears it. This also applies to the text notification from Star Tours and the email sound of Soarin – they are my little piece of ‘home’ and I love them.

5. My news feed on Facebook and Instagram will be 90% Disney stuff.

Yes, there will be the occasional family picture or a joke, but for the most part it’s all Disney. When I’m on vacation – I’ll be posting even more and checking in at a bunch of attractions. You may not like it, but my Disney Facebook friends will love it! Scroll by if it annoys you… but don’t tell me it did!

(Find me on Faceboook and Instagram @PixieDustFan)

6. When you get in my car, chances are you will hear Disney music.

If I’m driving – I’m in charge of the tunes… so sing along and let it go…. but never roll your eyes! THIS is how I stay happy in traffic.

7. Don’t ever send me ‘dirty’ Disney jokes.

Don’t send me comics about naked princesses or Goofy doing something gross. Making fun of Disney is like making fun of my family. There’s a line – don’t cross it.

8. Don’t say to me “You’re going to Disney AGAIN? You need to see the world!”

Yes.. I am going again, and it won’t be the last time. Just an FYI – I’ve seen the world, I walk around it every time I go to Epcot. I eat in different countries, stop for drinks in each one and even do a little shopping for souvenirs. I’ve been there, done that – and I’ll do it again.

9. Asking “Isn’t Disney for kids?” is a completely unacceptable and offensive question.

Unless you want a 20-minute tirade from me and a full run down of what the Food & Wine festival is, don’t even go there. Believe me, you’ll be sorry you asked.

10. Don’t ask me how I afford it.

I don’t ask you how you pay for the car you drive, the food you eat or the clothes you wear. I prioritize my Disney trips over other things that you may find important. It’s my choice, my life, and none of your business. (I finally gave up and wrote a blog about how I afford it because I was sick of the questions!)

11. When you’re feeling down I will quote Walt Disney.

I will also send you text messages full of Disney emojis and gifs, and then tell you to watch a Disney movie. All of these things make me happy and I will assume that they will do the same for you.

There are a lot of things to consider when you’re friends with one of us, but there are some great things that come with our friendship too! Aside from the fact that we believe in magic and know what makes us happy, it’s really easy to get us to start singing! Just say to a Disney fanatic “there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” and watch what happens!

Have you shared this with the people who need to know how to be friends with YOU?

Tell us what they said!

If You Had Wings

Once upon a time Disney had a campaign called “When did it start for you?”. The campaign had asked people when they first fell in love with the magic and became a Disney fan for life. I started thinking, going back through my fondest memories to pinpoint the time that I fell in love with it. I discovered that there were too many memories that I couldn’t narrow it down! This is just one of them.

When I was young, there was at attraction at Walt Disney World called “If You Had Wings” that was sponsored by Eastern Airlines. The attraction was a slow moving vehicle that took you through a variety of ‘scenes’ showing you all of the things you could ‘see’ with them. There was a man holding a fish that would grow as his wife took the picture, sunny beaches at the ocean, people diving from cliffs, and my favorite – the policeman directing the traffic of pelicans! Looking back I guess you could say it was a little cheesy – the rolls of film being shown on screens as you passed by. So why on earth was this a great memory for me? It was an attraction I experienced so many times with my Dad.

Each time we would go to the Magic Kingdom, my Dad and I would ride this together. We’d giggle at the silly scenes and point them out to each other like it was our first time riding it. The specifics of our conversations? I can’t remember… what I can remember is that feeling of joy to get those few minutes alone with my Dad on our favorite attraction. The last scene of the attraction you would enter a huge tunnel of sorts and it would simulate an airplane taking off complete with the view of the runway and the seat moving along in time with the airplane.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin now sits where If You Had Wings once did. They have repurposed the track and it is a new favorite for my family – being competitive to see who can get the highest score.

My Dad is gone now, and I miss him every day. When I’m in the Magic Kingdom as an adult, I think about our times there and wonder what he would think of the park if he could see it now. Sometimes I feel like he’s there with me. When we get to that final scene in Buzz when you enter that very same big ‘tunnel’ – I can remember the plane taking off with my Dad’s arm around me, and I experience that feeling of happiness all over again.

Do you remember If You Had Wings??