Happy 55th anniversary, Walt Disney World

Celebrating 55 years of a place where the young and young at heart can laugh, play, learn, imagine, and experience something together.

And I have been lucky enough to experience it as several different versions of myself.

The kid who loved Disney enough that as a senior my classmates voted me “Most Likely to Reside in Disney World.”

The college student who actually did move there for a while.

The Cast Member who discovered that the magic happening around me was teaching me about people, connection, learning, and the incredible power of experiences.

The adult who still throws her hands in the air on the Astro Orbiter.

And the granddaughter who savors the memories of her grandma’s giggle on Dumbo, perhaps even more than her grandchild.

It’s fair to say that last one is what has shaped me more than anything. What makes this place so special to bring out the kid in my grandma, parents, uncle, cousins, and beyond? Now I get it.

As we get older, the magic is still there. It just has a way of changing.

When Wonder Comes Naturally

Kids don't need much convincing to wonder. They will stare at something simply because it is interesting. Make something without first asking whether they are any good at it. Ask a question because they genuinely want to know the answer. They aren’t afraid to ask “Why?” Why? But whyyyy?

They play because playing is fun.

Then we grow up.

Suddenly we want our curiosity to be productive. Our creativity needs a purpose. Our interests need to make sense. We become more aware of how we look to the people around us.

Somewhere along the way, many of us get very good at being compliant adults and a little rusty at being amazed.

That's a big reason I am constantly drawn to Walt Disney World. It has always meant more to me than rides and characters.

There is this collective energy of people choosing wonder.

Adults notice tiny details. Families wear ridiculous matching shirts. People sing along. Grown adults wave their hands in the air on rides like they just don't care.

For a little while, nobody needs to justify why something makes them happy.

I think there is something incredibly valuable about that.

The Place That Became Part of My Story

There were a number of reasons I connect with this place, many of which I couldn't have understood during those childhood visits. But then I became a Cast Member. First, I worked at The Disney Store, creating magical moments with the BEST cast.

Then 2005, I participated in the Disney College Program. It worked in merchandise at what was then Disney-MGM Studios.

One of my roles was at Oscar's, near the front of the park. That meant I sometimes encountered families as they arrived and then saw them again as they were leaving.

They would come back excited to tell us what they had done.

For a place visited by millions of people, those moments could make it feel surprisingly small. It was a huge eye opener on the importance of those seemingly small interactions. They are ways of building connections that can help people feel seen and heard in ways they never had.

An experience isn't only made by the big thing someone came to see. It's made through dozens of little interactions along the way. Sometimes the person who plays a seemingly tiny role in someone else's day becomes part of the memory. Believe it or not, I have been asked to sign autograph books and been in family vacation pictures. And it’s simply because I found ways to make sure they knew they were a guest, not just a customer. They where there to make memories, and I knew I had the opportunity to help make them.

Twenty years later, that idea still shows up in how I think about experiences, education, leadership, and belonging.

In fact, I still have the binder from one of the most eye opening opportunities I took advantage of while on the Disney College Program. It was an experiential learning course.

At the time, I couldn't have known how much that class would influence the educator and facilitator I would eventually become.

We weren't simply learning concepts. We were surrounded by a place where we could watch those concepts come alive.

Learn something.

See it.

Experience it.

Connect it to something bigger.

Years later, after becoming a working in education, business, and designing professional development for adults, I’ve made sure to use much of what I learned in that class.

I may have been a college student having a Disney adventure, but I was also collecting experiences that were shaping the person I still am today.

The Things We Shouldn't Outgrow

Maybe my experiences there are why I don't think childlike wonder and adult aspirations belong on opposite sides of some imaginary line.

The qualities we celebrate in children still matter when we grow up.

Curiosity helps us discover possibilities.

Imagination helps us see what could be.

Play helps us create.

Connection makes it meaningful.

Wonder lets us appreciate something simply for existing.

Those aren't qualities we should leave behind when we become professionals, parents, leaders, educators, or responsible adults.

They're qualities worth protecting. And sometimes we need places, people, stories, or experiences that remind us they are still there. For me, Walt Disney World has repeatedly been one of those places.

It has been part of my childhood, my career, my family memories, and ultimately the way I think about learning and experiences.

That's quite a legacy for a place celebrating its 55th birthday.

55 Years Young

When Roy Disney dedicated Walt Disney World in 1971, he described Magic Kingdom as a place “where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.”

Fifty-five years later, that line might be the part of the dedication that resonates with me most. Young at heart.

Growing older is inevitable.

Outgrowing curiosity, imagination, play, connection, and wonder isn't.

So here's to the wide-eyed kids. The adults taking solo adventures. The grandparents giggling on Dumbo. The people noticing the details. The ones asking questions. The ones still playing.

And every adult willing to throw their hands in the air like they just don't care.

Here's to the kids we were, the adults we became, and the joy of never becoming too grown up to see the magic.

Happy 55th anniversary, Walt Disney World.

You really are the most magical place on Earth.