Guest Column - Disneyland: An Outsider's Perspective
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Disneyland: An Outsider’s Perspective … by Kerryn

Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney since 1984, made the statement in his autobiographical book Work in Progress that most of the people who visit Disneyland Park are locals (from Los Angeles, Anaheim or nearby) who visit the park for one day at a time. If this is what the park is, in a way, aimed at, is the experience any different for a girl from halfway around the world (Australia, in fact) who doesn't like going for any less than five days at a time? I'm in a pretty good position to answer that - being that that describes me exactly.

I first went to Disneyland when I was only 6. My parents planned a European trip, and on the deal we were on we were basically able to get to LA for free. So my parents, my sisters (13 and 15 at the time) and I all trooped off for three fun days at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Before we left Australia, and all through my time in Europe (which I enjoyed greatly, don't get me wrong) I was more excited about seeing Disneyland than anything else we had planned. Recently I found the proof of this in eloquently-written messages to no one, scripted by a six-year-old on postcards purchased in Rome, declaring profound messages such as "we are goring to Desne ... we are goring to see Miky, Mininie, Dasey, Donold, Ploto and everone of them" (ten points if you can figure that out!) It was every kid's dream, and I was going to be living it soon!

I'll admit I can't remember too much about my time at the park, but slight memories still come back to me today, and I know that I absolutely loved every second of it. We didn't go back until I was 14, when after about a year of my incessant begging and whining, mum and dad finally took my sisters and me again. LA was our first stop on a three-week America holiday, and we spent a total of five incredible days at Disneyland. I loved the characters, the rides, the atmosphere, the shopping - everything about it. In fact I loved it so much that when we got home, I suffered serious withdrawals, the most negative part about living so far from the park … but they had a good consequence, as these withdrawals resulted in mum, dad and I planning another trip for my graduation from school, in December 2000. The trip was to WDW this time, and leaving my sisters (one of whom was married by now) at home, but it was still a really exciting prospect.

That turned out to be too long away though, so in June 1999 mum and I went off along for another five full days at Disneyland, as well as three more weeks in other places around the USA. I finally got over my withdrawals and I absorbed each magical minute of my time at the park. It was at the time that Tarzan was released, so now Tarzan's one of my favourites, loaded with memories of strolling the park, hearing the music, seeing the characters, the treehouse (which opened on our last day there) and the displays in the window of the Main Street Emporium, and of course finally watching the movie at the El Capitan theatre - just one example of the many exceptional and magical memories Disneyland has offered me! The best part was that when I returned home, I knew it would only be 18 months until out Walt Disney World trip, to celebrate my graduation.

Before we went to the USA again, in December 2000, I met a penpal who shared with me a love for Disneyland - so it seemed only natural to stop over in Anaheim for a night (well ... after all, we had to land near there anyway!), go to Disneyland and meet my penpal. We did, and I learnt a couple of things -- there's no way one day at Disneyland is enough to experience even a fraction of the things I wanted to, but it was much better than nothing, and that Disneyland is even more beautiful at Christmas time - in fact, about a million times more so. A couple of weeks after our trip to Disneyland (after visiting New Orleans, in part spurred on by our love of New Orleans Square, and Miami) we spent thirteen days at the WDW resort. I learnt something here, too - there actually is a place I love (almost) as much as Disneyland! My time at the Florida park was just amazing, and I hope that one day I can go again - maybe after 2005, when I want to go to Disneyland to celebrate its 50th birthday?

Sometimes I have people ask me if, being such a huge Disney fan, I would rather have grown up living in LA, or somewhere equally close to Disneyland - or at least in the same country as it. I've thought about it and I've honestly decided that being an 'outsider', a foreigner to the park, makes the trip even more special. True, I haven't been nearly as much as I would have if I lived near DL, but I've been a lot for someone who lives overseas, and as far as I'm concerned the distance only makes the trip more special. It's something I have to work towards getting to, and the reward is brilliant! Also, it means I could never take Disneyland for granted, or get used to it, like I might if I saw it a few times a year. From a monetary point of view it's good, too - rather than having to hold back, like I do (well ... sort of) at the Disney Store (which I visit every week or so), I can go completely crazy. True, I have to find a way to carry all of my purchases home, but that never really bothered me - my dad worried enough about that for all of us! Because I saved for a year or more before my park visits, I had enough to spend that I could buy ... well ... not everything I wanted, but a lot of stuff!

Being a foreigner at the parks also gains you a lot more attention! People - Cast Members, other visitors, everybody - always commented on my accent (although most thought I was from England). It was a great way to meet people and make friends at the park. Another advantage of living so far away is that it gives me an opportunity to spend more time there than I likely would if I lived close by and could go more often - and I'd rather experience Disneyland five days at a time (and Disney World nearly two weeks at a time!!) than one day every so often.

The final benefit I can think of to do with living so far from the park is the completion of the lack of "real world" influences while you’re in Disneyland. After all, Disneyland is designed to take you away from the world, and this is accomplished even more successfully when you know that you’re completely free to enjoy yourself. Okay, so no matter when you visit Disneyland you’re not likely to be that stressed, but I’ve been to other great places - like our local theme parks over here - and even though I’ve really enjoyed myself, thoughts about university, having to get up early the next day, or other commitments occasionally surface. When I’m at Disneyland, I know that I have no commitments in the near future - no assignments, no work to do, no reason to have to stop off at the grocery shop on the way home, no dogs to feed - all I have to do is go back to the hotel and sleep. If I lived ten minutes from the park, then I might have to face the "real world" again the next morning or even that night, and that’s not something I really want to do.

The majority of visitors to Disneyland may, indeed, be local types, but the park is in no way aimed any more to this category than to the other people who visit the park from all around the world. The point of Disneyland is to provide a world outside the "real" world; a construct of fantasy, the future and the excitement of the past, all merged together to create a whole. Disnelyand could be anywhere in the world; once you're inside the park you're not in Anaheim, California, you’re just at Disneyland. I couldn’t feel more welcome or at home at Disneyland if it existed in my own backyard (and yes, I do wish it did). It matters little your age, gender, country of origin or ethnicity; Disneyland is a place for everybody, equally.

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-- Kerryn Johns

-- Posted December 19, 2001