One evening late in 1962 my wife Ursula and I were at Disneyland just before it closed for the night. It had been a wonderful day and we were headed toward the parking area. I happened to glance behind me and saw Walt slowly walking behind us all by himself. We waited to say hello to him. (After all, he was my boss at the studio).

We had a short friendly little chat and then I said, "Walt, every time I see Tinker Bell flying across the sky at the end of the fireworks, I start to cry. It's just so beautiful." Then Walk said, "You know, I do the same thing every single time." Then he told us to drive home carefully ... What a sweet man!"

My favorite memory of Disneyland is getting over a painful loss by the Los Angeles Rams to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL playoffs by visiting the Magic Kingdom on Super Bowl Sunday and waiting in the shortest lines I ever experienced at the park.

Having lived in Southern California my entire life, I am among the lucky ones who have had the chance to frequent the park on many occasions. When I was a kid, I would get so excited about making the trek to Disneyland that I would be sick in anticipation the night before. Like many traveling south on the I-5, we’d gauge our distance to Disneyland from many of the landmarks that lined the freeway - the formerly empty Citadel castle, the old Coppertone billboard, the Nabisco plant - culminating with the "Who Sees the Matterhorn First?" game. As many times as we have gone to Disneyland, it has always remained a special treat.

Disneyland memories are ingrained in my memory. I remember walking through Injun Joe’s Cave on Tom Sawyer’s Island and warning people to not jump out at me from the many crevices where they were hiding. I remember feeling for the bottom of my feet in Adventures Through Inner Space to see if I really was shrinking. I remember my reluctance to go on the Matterhorn because I was afraid of the Abominable Snowman. I remember getting my first annual pass. I remember being among the first to go on Splash Mountain after it officially opened. I remember my uncle getting sick on the Peoplemover because he had eaten an ice cream cone and then spun too wildly on the Tea Cups shortly before. I remember how much I liked Blast to the Past.

Having worked at The Disney Store allowed me to experience some things that most people will never get a chance to experience. I have run around the Park after closing while bungee-corded to three friends answering trivia questions and solving puzzles during Minnie’s Moonlight Madness. I worked at Disneyland for a week two years in a row helping count guests and measure traffic during Summer Utilization studies, which allowed me to hang out backstage and underneath New Orleans Square. Making it to The Disney Store National Trivia Contest Showdown twice opened up Club 33, Walt’s apartment and the Lilly Belle to me.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, I proposed to my wife in Mickey’s Movie Barn and got married at the Disneyland Hotel.

But of all the memories I have of Disneyland, the one thing that I don’t remember is my first visit. I don’t remember what it was like to look in wide-eyed fascination at all the wonders that Disneyland has to offer. I don’t remember the first time I smelled the popcorn or heard the Mark Twain’s whistle blow. I don’t remember my first Mickey Mouse balloon or Mickey Mouse ears. And try as I might, I just don’t remember falling asleep in my stroller on the way out to the parking lot.

In 1996, I participated in my final Disney Store trivia contest. The other contestants and myself all piled into a van at the Disneyland Hotel to be taken across the street to the Festival of Fools stage at Disneyland where the contest would be held later in the day. Driving through the backstage area to our destination, I was trying to soak in as much as I could. We were let off and had to walk along a path between buildings to get the arena. As we walked onstage, we noticed that one our fellow cast members, Julie from Cincinnati, was crying. We were all concerned and thought that maybe she had hurt herself, twisting an ankle or something, on the walk from the van. When we asked what was wrong, she said, "This is the first time that I have ever been to Disneyland." Here was someone who knew the entire history of the park, having read about it and studied it in order to make it that far in the trivia competition, and yet hadn’t got to experience the joy of being in Disneyland that I, admittedly, took for granted.

Like many of us who are lucky enough to visit Disneyland so many times, "people watching" has long been a favorite pastime of mine. Seeing people come from the farthest points of the world to walk into a land of fantasy is always a thrill. But having experienced a first trip to Disneyland as personally as I did with Julie, I look at the park in a new way each time I visit. I’m not as quick to notice peeling paint on the second story of the Haunted Mansion, the light bulbs that are out on Main Street U.S.A. or the trash on the floor of the queue to Space Mountain. I’d much rather continue to fill my head with the beauty, the magic and the sense of wonder that Disneyland has to offer.

Happy 45th Disneyland! May you continue to provide magical memories to all of your guests - first-time or returning.

I first went to Disneyland in 1959. We had just moved to the United States from Canada and we fell in love with the place. I have gone back at least once a year since then, sometimes 2-3 times a year depending on circumstances.

One of my greatest memories was the Monsanto House of the Future. It was so amazing to think that anyone could conceive of such wonders. Lo and behold, so many of the ideas represented there have become a part of our lifestyle today. I was sure it was all a science fiction concept.

Disneyland still continues to be a place of amazement, and pure joy for me. I have my favorite rides and restaurants that I must hit each time. I love to sit and watch children find the excitement and wonder that I had as a child. A visit there grounds me and brings back the child that I so often bury away, in this hectic adult life I have.

Thank you for keeping the Magic going.