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If I like something, I'm typically very passionate about it. The parks are no exception. Since I'm such a fan, I find myself pitching the Disney parks to many of the people that I meet from day to day. Likewise, I'm always trying to tell everyone that they have to go to the parks some time in their life. My parents have gone all over the tropics and they still contend that their favorite vacation is WDW. I feel that there's something for everyone there. For instance, if you're a fan of great food, there are the great Epcot restaurants such as Le Cellier and Italy (not sure what the new name is). If you like Broadway shows, there's Finding Nemo in the Animal Kingdom and Beauty and the Beast in Disney Studios. If you like architecture, you have to love the Magic Kingdom 'dissolves' from one land to another and Epcot's World Showcase. If you're into kiddie rides, movies (especially 3D), golf, night life, fireworks, etc. there's something for you. Typically, as I talk about the parks, these varied things get me excited.

However, there's always the odd person who you pitch the park to who comes back shrugging their shoulders when you ask them how it was, or saying that they hated it. When I hear that, I nearly take offense: "What do you mean, you didn't like it???" There are a few reasons that I commonly get as to why people didn't enjoy their Disney experience.

First, I think some people aren't cut out for the stress and exhaustion levels, especially if they have little ones. The kids are going to get tired, the lines sometimes seem to go on forever, the rides occasionally break down, etc. Additionally, there's the added complication of dealing with people that you're not used to dealing with. You may know your uncle/aunt/friend, but when you spend your whole week with these people for the first time, by the end of the week there are guaranteed to be some ruffled feathers. A week in WDW can also be exhausting because Disney is a 24-7 assault on all 5 senses. There's the visual design of the park. Then there's the smell aspect to it - the candy smell as you walk down Main Street, the orange groves in Soarin', and the popcorn and turkey legs. I think that the park's audio is the most underrated feature. Everywhere you go throughout the park there's the atmosphere music that the regular person doesn't notice, but the Disneyphiles know and love.

Second, some people just hit that certain week in the park; my frequent visitor friends are probably familiar with this. That's the week where you just happen to hit all of the wrong attractions at the wrong times. The wait times are long, the rides are broken down, and everything just seems to go awry. Some bad luck can go into a trip where everything seems to go wrong, and some people project these accidental happenings on the park as a whole.

Third, I don't think some people appreciate the little things and the attention to detail. The parks aren't something that can be fully appreciated by jetting from attraction to attraction. There are little details abound that I'm fascinated by. I love how the hinges in Liberty Square hang awkwardly because they're copied from their cheaper leather counterparts from way back in colonial times. I love how the very tall temple in Adventureland that is also visible in Frontierland has some ox-like beasts on it because it's theming is visible from both lands and it fits in perfectly in both settings simultaneously. I love how the Expedition Everest exit queue has giant masses of telephone wires strewn about to make it seem like a remote Asian village. I love how the pavement changes under your feet, because Walt thought that people can sense the changes. I really enjoy those little things, and even after 20-some times to the parks, I still pick up on a new thing just about every time I go. Some people just don't appreciate these little touches throughout the park as they race from one place to another and they really miss out.

But critics aside, it's always nice to take someone for their first trip to the parks that really 'gets it'. I was lucky enough to spent a week in Orlando for a work conference in June of this year. During this trip, a coworker and I spent a night at the Magic Kingdom after a day of the conference. I'd like to think that my excitement was really contagious. He really enjoyed himself and before the night was over, he was pointing out little details from the park that I had never considered before.

With every trip that I take to Walt Disney World, the magic seeps out a little more each time. I think that this is due to me getting older, me listening to park music daily on UAB and Subsonic and wearing it out, and partially because of some stagnation of the parks - they're losing some of that magic due to being all about the money thanks to you-know-who. It's always nice to take first-timers to the park because they help you get that excited feeling all over again as you live vicariously through them. With my first child, a boy, due later this month, I'm sure to have plenty of Disney trip excitement in my future :)