OK everyone, I have a confession. This weekend I did something I normally don’t: I went crazy. I screamed, spent obscene amounts of money, consumed more food than is ever OK and laughed and danced with people I’ve never even met before. No, I’m not talking about the Cal game, I’m talking about Disneyland.
That’s right. Instead of taking Sunday off to recover from the football game or actually write that paper looming overhead, a few friends and I headed down the I-5 freeway to what I still consider to be the happiest place on earth.
Allow me to pause for a moment to address any readers out there who have never been to Disneyland. What are you doing? Go now — this very instant. Put down the paper, get out of line for coffee, hop off the park bench or sneak out of the lecture hall you’re sitting in (where you were pretending to take notes while actually playing Sudoku). Get your incomplete self to Disneyland. And get me some rock candy.
For those of you still here, let’s move on. While any day at Disneyland is cause enough for pure joy for my soul, Sunday was special. Sunday was Goth Day at Disneyland.
I mean no disrespect to the Goth culture. Any group of people who are so dedicated to expressing themselves uniquely on such a daily basis must have something profound to say. I don’t know what that profound message is, but I have no doubt it is intense.
The point is when one thinks of a gathering of hundreds of men and women ranging in ages from 2 to 80, dressed in face paint, chains, lace and more black leather with safety pin accessories than Anaheim has ever known, Disneyland is probably not the meeting place that comes to mind.
And while I could not help but laugh out loud watching the Waspy Florida tourists and Japanese sightseers gawk at 200 Goths assembled in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle for a group photo, I was also a little emotionally touched by the sight. Here was a group of what many in this country and at this school would consider to be social outsiders or outcasts or weirdoes or whatever, who just wanted to have a fun day at Disneyland. If 200 Goths can release their inner child for a day, shouldn’t we all?
There is a certain social abandon that comes with Disneyland. It exists as a world of its own, a world apart from the pressures of reality, but a world that has a lot to teach you. That said, I’d like to share some truths Walt Disney bestowed on me.
First, life is just better when you have theme music. I don’t think it’s possible to walk anywhere in the Magic Kingdom without a hidden speaker blaring some wonderful song from our childhood back at us. Personally I would love to walk around the world with John Williams’ greatest hits playing in the background. Epic.
Also, never underestimate the power of mob mentality, especially if it’s a mob of tired Disney patrons waiting for Fantasmic or the fireworks.
Whether it’s our bizarre reverence for anyone wielding a name tag or one of those flashy orange sticks they use to move airplanes or our universal understanding that the ropes they use to contain crowds during an event are sacred, group thought never ceases to amaze me.
There is no better birth control than Disneyland. I, like some of my friends, think there is nothing cuter at the beginning of the day than a little toddler in a Mickey Mouse onesie. But after 12 hours of listening to junior scream in line for the Haunted Mansion or refuse to leave the man dressed in the Donald Duck costume alone, even I’m thinking that a lifetime in a convent sounds nice and quiet.
And lastly, I firmly believe that all of us — from the Midwest tourist, to the Goth, to the college student — want to believe, if just for a moment, that magic is real, that dreams really do come true, that love conquers all and that every one of us girls can grow up to be a princess, if only we find the right shoe.
So while we spend these next couple of years or months preparing ourselves to be adults in the real world, please let us not forget the little prince or princess inside us who used to scream in awe every time Tinkerbell flew during the fireworks.
Disneyland 3-Day Park Hopper Ticket: $179.
Dinner at the Hungry Bear: $12.50.
Churro: $3.
Watching a 50-year-old man dressed as Marilyn Manson scream like a little girl on the Teacups: priceless.
Brooke Bergen is a sophomore majoring in theatre. Her column, “Non SCequitur,” runs Fridays.
Even goths believe in the magic of Disney
Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008
Updated: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
2 comments
Michelle
What a fun article, so well-written, I shared with all my Disney friends! :)
Amy
Great article!
