Forever Magical
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"Remember, Just Believe"

As Disneyland approaches their 45th anniversary on July 17th they invite all their guests this year to “Believe…there’s Magic in the Stars.” Not only do we look into the heavens and see the magic of the fireworks but also look to the classic Disney stars: the characters, the cast members and even the guests of the theme park.

The first time I saw the new parade I was alongside a young girl probably, five or six years old, and her mother who were visiting from Canada. Her excitement was infectious. We were seated on the curb in front of the Main Street Cinema. As the parade turned down Main Street and came into view, she began to pound on my arm letting me know the parade was coming. She enthusiastically pointed out the various characters including Donald Duck, Daisy, Flik and others. She giggled at the regular guests who were wearing animal hats and dancing alongside the Disney characters. As the princess float passed by Snow White glanced down at us and gave a small wave. The little girl and her mother were thrilled that the princess had waved at them. It reminded me of the many evenings Cinderella would wave at me as she passed in her beautifully lit coach during the Main Street Electrical Parade.

While seeing the parade another time Terk the gorilla jumped next to a family and began to pound the garbage can beside them. This scared the adults but delighted the young children with them. Once the shock wore off the adults began to laugh, too. Several of our friends had been selected to be part of the parade and we cheered them as they came marching by. They had a wonderful time and got to keep the animal hats they wore. Throughout the remainder of the day people would stop and ask if they were in the parade and did they have fun. What a fun way to meet new people and become part of the magic.

Another way that guests and cast members experience the magic is through the pin-trading program that has been so successful at Walt Disney World. While walking down Main Street our friend Kim was stopped by a Japanese guest wearing a lanyard. He proudly displayed the collection of pins asking her to pick one. He carefully looked over Kim’s eclectic collection pins and narrowed his choice. She chose a DisneyQuest Chicago pin while he chose a Friendship Day pin featuring Pooh and friends. While they exchanged pins he stated it was a symbol of their new friendship and that he looked forward to seeing her around the park again sometime. Even if you don’t end up trading simply being able to view pins from the various areas of Disney including the Disney Cruise Lines, the Disney Stores, Tokyo Disneyland, Walt Disney Art Classics and much more is enjoyable. It is a lot of fun and some of the pins bring back fond memories. I’ve seen a few Monorail Café pins floating around. The Monorail Café, which closed last year, was the restaurant my family would eat at when visiting Disneyland. I would always order a chocolate coke to go along with my meal. My sister would order the lemon coke. Sometimes when I go to the Park my taste buds still crave that delicious concoction.