60 Years of Disneyland Magic!

Disneyland is 60 Years Old!

Yesterday Disneyland celebrated it's 60th birthday. In honor of such an incredible occasion I felt like sharing some of my love for Disneyland & it's creator, Walt Disney, and what they have done for my life.

My mom & I at Disneyland before the Partners Statue existed

Walt Disney is my biggest hero and inspiration. Disney takes up so much of my soul, I cannot fathom my life without Disney in it. Disney has influenced so much of who I am and what I've done.

Walt Disney was an innovator. He had the ability to dream and imagine a world that had yet to exist and had the determination and intelligence to turn it into reality. His imagination coming to life created pure magic. A magic that no one else has been able to come close to replicating.

 I admire Walt Disney's work ethic, morals, tradition, creativity, imagination, drive, and his ideas. He is known as "Uncle Walt" to a lot of people, but I call him "Grandpa Walt" because he feels so much like close family to me and someone who has deeply influenced me in  very profound way. I love him dearly,

 I treasure his dreams and ideas as much as my own. I believe in what he wanted for The Walt Disney Company, with every fiber of my being. He inspires me with who he was as a person, businessman, everything he imagined into reality, and everything he hoped for for our future. I cannot imagine anything better than having the legacy of giving pure joy and hope to millions of people around the world for decades.

Disneyland is Your Land.

Halloweentime with Crystal

Disneyland is my home. I feel it's a part of my DNA. I consider my first trip to Disneyland when my mom was nine months pregnant with me. Haha. "We" spent the whole day riding It's a Small World, since it was the only attraction she could go on! Since I came out of the womb, my heart has belonged to Disney and Disneyland has always been my favorite place in the world. I watched Peter Pan daily and Neverland, for me, was this magical place I desperately needed to go to. It was a place where mermaids lived, pirates roamed, and no one grew old, so no one died.
Then one day, when I was still very young, I realized Disneyland was my Neverland.
I'd go on Tom Sawyer's Island and run around climbing on rocks, going across bridges, and having adventures as a "Lost Boy"  through trees, forts, and tunnels pretending to be in Neverland. But I really was. I had pirates, indians, ships, an island, and even my magical mermaids. Most importantly, when you are at Disneyland, you never grow up. Children and adults alike can have the same amount of childlike fun.

Meeting my idol, Alice. I'm in the pink, accidental Cheshire Cat Disneybound

When I look back on my childhood my memories always include Disney in some way. My happiest moments happened at Disneyland. The park let me believe in dreams because it constantly made my dreams come true. I think a lot of adults forget what Disneyland is like through the eyes of a child. I have never forgotten what it was like for me. Some people think it's just a vacation, a fun or happy memory to give kids. But Disneyland is so much more than that. It is a huge part of my foundation, and the things that happened to me at the park when I was a child fueled parts of my personality that are major aspects of who I am now.

Tom Sawyer's Island Adventures

One memory in particular,  I was standing where the Partners Statue now is. The music was playing. but the park was empty (the good ol' days), it was around twilight and Pinocchio walked by and waved at me.Then walked up twirled me and started full on waltzing with me. I'm telling you right now... as a very young child, who completely and utterly believed in the characters, and watched all the Disney films on repeat constantly...

This was a dream come true!

I was a child dancing and twirling with Pinocchio in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland, with twinkling lights and beautiful music. My life was made. Pinocchio spent so much time with me. We had a whole dance, and I was beaming. Afterward I ran to my parents in the sublime happiness that I think only children can conjure. This is why Disney is different. Disney has always cared about quality, substance, & going the extra mile to bring MAGIC to very person's life.

Michelle, Sid, and I being silly on Main St

That magic has always stayed with me.

When I was a child, Disneyland was a lot different than what it is today. Characters walked around freely and we could just run up to them and talk, it felt more organic and real. We also wore fanny packs, neon, scrunchies, and tie dye shirts. You do not see that around the park  as much these days. Though fanny packs are coming back. Haha. When I think about when the park opened in 1955, I think about how people dressed so well compared to now, it felt like a classy time, It reminds me how different the park was in so many ways, not just in different attractions. It's really night and day to how it is now. There are so many things I wish I was alive to have experienced in Disneyland. Though, I really do feel like I grew up in the golden era of Disney and Disneyland. The thing that will always remain the same whether it's 1955 or 2015 is that feeling you get walking into the park Walt Disney built. The park Walt Disney dreamed up and turned to reality from start to finish, My favorite part of Disneyland is the intimacy of the park. It's not overwhelmingly big, it's not spread out, It feels personal, it has history, such beautiful history. I love walking where Walt walked, sitting where Walt sat, and riding attractions that he was alive to see made. It makes it so much more special for me. My favorite thing is to look up at Walt's apartment and see his light on and know, Walt is always here. Every night as I leave I always make sure to walk by his apartment, wave at the window and say, "Goodnight Walt!" It's a tradition of mine, I've never skipped.

David's Recess themed B-day. My friends and I love having themed Disney days, on birthdays and throughout the year.

Never Grow Up.

Tigger, Jessica & I many moons ago.

As a child, the moment I learned you could WORK at Disneyland, it became my biggest dream. I didn't know what it meant, what you did or how you did it but as a child I just knew I HAD to spend my life in Disneyland. As I grew that dream grew with me, turning into something real that I felt I was meant to do. I believed, if anyone is meant for Disneyland, it would be Miss Disneyland herself aka: ME. I grew up in theater. I have always loved Acting, dancing, singing. I did it all and loved it all. When I was old enough to realize that people actually do this job at Disneyland I decided I wanted to be a performer. I wanted to do for others what so many did for me as a child. Deliver that Walt Disney magic.

At sixteen I went to my first audition.  I found my people.  At sixteen I was one of the youngest to become a cast member. They waited till I turned 17 to have me actually "on stage". I wish I still had the gumption I did back then. I was too young to be scared and it worked in my favor. At sixteen I achieved my biggest dream.  I have a mom whose ideals were the same as the ideals that Walt Disney had, so she has always encouraged me to dream, believe, and achieve. I am very lucky.

I knew I could achieve a dream that a lot of people told me I couldn't because I grew up with Disney. I grew up with Walt Disney teaching me that nothing is impossible. That if you dream it you can do it. I ALWAYS believed him, and I always will.

My Alice in Wonderland themed birthday last year.

I worked for Disney on and off for many years. As a child I wanted to be president of Disneyland,which I thought meant just living IN Disneyland  and essentially being like Hagrid in Harry Potter, Being the keeper of keys and grounds haha. But as I grew up that same dream still remained, I just learned what it actually meant to me. All I really wanted and will always want is to protect Disneyland. To uphold Walt Disney's ideals, while still moving forward in a way that Walt Disney would be proud of. I wanted to cherish Disneyland for him, to make sure this place that he put so much of himself and his magic into, never lost his magical and unique heartbeat in any way.  I believe Walt Disney's magic is different than any other magic. He knew a recipe that no one else has been able to make exactly like he did.

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Spring Dapper Day 2014

The Circle of Life

Sister Day.

I'm now at the age where I have nephews, and I get so much enjoyment taking them to Disneyland and seeing their faces as they experience the magic for the first time. Disneyland is incredibly special with children. Now I see, what my parents saw when they came with me as a child.
Disneyland has been with me through every stage of my life. The good and the bad. In fact, when I first got sick, Disneyland was my fuel to get better and when I learned about my illness and the long road I had ahead of me, The Lord and Disneyland were my two sources of joy and light to keep me forever hopeful and positive that I could get better. Because of the dark days, and the ever steady crutch Disney and Disneyland has always been for me, I feel Disneyland is more important to me than ever. Which frankly says A LOT. I turn to Disneyland when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Disneyland has kept me sane, comforted me through loss, death, and heartache. Disneyland has seen me as a guest and a cast member, in relationships and single, healthy and through illness.

Disneyland sees me alone sometimes, with family a lot. I have very special mother/daughter Disney days and Sister Disney days. Disneyland sees me with friends often, beautiful wonderful friends. Friends who love Disneyland like I do, who enjoy the park like I do, Friends who are just as nerdy and passionate about Disney as I am. Friends I've been able to forget worries with, forget illness with, Forget stresses with. Friends that make me laugh hysterically and friends that add so much love and magic to my life, in and outside of Disneyland.

My closest friends I can thank Disney for.
 Disney brings people together.

                                                         

Friendship is Magic! Friends that bracelet together, stay together! 

"The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge"

There is nothing more enjoyable than being a comfort dork with your friends. Here Traci, David & I enjoy our faces.

Thank You.

Michelle and I being our alter egos, Anastasia & Drizella

Thank you Disneyland, for giving myself, and so many people I know, a place of joy and imagination. 
A place where we all can come together and go on adventures in different lands, with different themes, in different times. 
Disneyland allows us to step out of reality and into a world of fantasy and history. Disneyland encourages us all to believe in fairy tales, happily ever afters, and dreams coming true.
Disneyland has let us fly to the second star to the right, fall down the rabbit hole, go to our laughing place, sail to the Caribbean, catch flights to Endor(now flying to many other locations), meet wild animals, Pick up hitchhiking ghosts, fly through space, and go on so many other fantastical and magical adventures.

Disneyland has raised me, taught me, hired me, entertained me, and blessed me with irreplaceable friendships, deep laughter, happy thoughts, hope, love, constant comfort, and magic.

I'm wishing...

Here's to your next 60 years Disneyland! I plan on being a part of every single one of those years! Thank you for giving me a sanctuary and a place where my heart is truly "home." 

Ciao, 

Nina Grace