Ah, spring! Love is in the air! And on behalf of Disney Parks fans from across the world, it’s only fair to take a moment to highlight exactly why dating, living with, and / or marrying one of us isn’t just an act of tremendous karmic good… it’s a decision that can bring with it a bouquet of benefits.
It’s fair to assume that if you choose to share a part of your life with a Disney Parks afficianado, you’ll spend a good amount of time at Disney Parks… and about as much time hearing about them. Each time you get frustrated hearing about the far-flung annoyances of Pixar piers, characters coming to Epcot, and Guardians of the Galaxy Towers of Terror, just consider these eight simple benefits to be gained by dating a fan of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Have you settled down with a Disney Parks fan? If so, be sure to share and tell the world that it’s worth it… right?
1. All of the happiness; less of the homework!
Image: Disney
It’s 6:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, precisely 180 days before your visit to Disney World. Did you remember to set an alarm to book your dining reservations? Are you ready to do it again in 4 months when your FastPass+ booking window opens? If you slept in, it may already be too late – the hottest reservations in Orlando will have already been sold out.
But if you’re dating a Disney Parks fan, there’s no need to worry! Doubtlessly, your partner will dutifully (or even delightedly) leap into the increasingly complex business of planning a Disney Parks visit, securing hotel reservations, ADRs, and FastPass+ bookings without you having to lift a finger.
While Disney’s sweeping MyMagic+ system and its interconnected apps, wristbands, RFID cards, and seemingly-arbitrary advanced reservation windows theoretically make a visit to the parks more seamless, they also vastly increase the amount of time, effort, and energy you need to invest weeks and even months before you leave. With a Disney Parks boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife, you can rest easy knowing that the “magic” is happening behind-the-scenes.
2. You’ll never worry about waiting in line!
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No one likes to wait. And if you’re with a Disney Parks afficianado, you won’t have to do much of it!
While many families meander around Disney Parks, flustered and confused, Imagineering insiders have a day at the parks down to a science. At Disneyland, they can deftly leap from attraction to attraction during the calm early hours of the park’s opening grabbing FastPass tickets, or using the MaxPass up-charge version to do it without all the walking.
At Walt Disney World, count on your Disney Parks partner to save you outrageous waits. While the general public wastes their tier 1 FastPass reservations on the Epcot Character Spot or Alien Swirling Saucers, any true Disney Parks fan will set-up a skillfully designed day minimizing waits, leaving Disney’s highest capacity attractions for stand-by, and ensuring there’s at least some method to the madness of scurrying around Disney’s enormous theme parks.
Think of all the time you’ll save by not having to review the veritable textbook of FastPass+ rules!
3. Giving gifts is easy!
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Have you ever toiled over what to get a significant other for a birthday, Valentine’s Day, or Christmas? Worry no longer.
Part of the beauty of dating a Disney Parks person is that gift-giving is easy. If you can’t pry a wish list out of them, it’s easy enough to search your local bookstore for travel guides, look up “Imagineering” on Etsy, scour the “Disney Parks history” portion of Amazon, or even just buy a legendary attraction poster or park map and put it in a frame.
4. You’ll see the “big picture…” like it or not…!
Image: Disney
If you visit Disney World or Disneyland with a fan, you won’t just have a day with minimized waits and dining reservations; you’ll get a free history tour… like it or not.
Every day, people pass through Disney Parks without any understanding – much less appreciation – of the rich history that created them. Some even call Disney Parks “fake” without realizing the philosophical purpose; the intentional design elements that revolutionized urban design; the fact that the parks are literal, living, pop culture icons with complex, deeply compelling, and spectacular stories passing through eras of Americana with grace and ease. And your Disney Parks partner will make it his or her mission to help you see that by building 60 years of PhD-level history into whatever digestible form they can manage.
Disney Parks are filled with decades of history, including dozens and dozens of Lost Legends – fan-favorite, closed classics immortalized forever in our in-depth library. So if your date looks wistfully toward the abandoned, elevated tracks tracing Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, sighs at the rusting golden dome on the outskirts of Epcot, or expresses some frustration upon seeing Disney’s scariest attraction ever rotting in plain sight, you might as well settle in and get ready for the story… which probably intersects with a dozen other attractions’ stories they’ll need to mention to help you get the full picture.
But you know what? Listening, asking questions, and wanting to know more will be the greatest gift you could ever give them! And that brings us to the next reason to consider dating a Disney Parks fan…
5. There’s always something to talk about!
Image: Disney
Do you like to see your partner’s eyes light up as he or she talks about the things they love? If you’re into people who have a lot of passion for the things they care about, then you have some idea what it’s like to date a Disney Parks insider. Walt Disney was fond of saying that Disneyland would never be complete so long as there was imagination left in the world – a quote often used today to soften the blow of the announcements Disney fans find the most frustrating.
But it’s true! The beauty of the parks – to Walt’s thinking – was that unlike a movie whose production wraps and whose release date comes and goes, Disney’s theme parks continue to evolve. And for Disney Parks fans, that means daily check-ins to favorite news sites (like ours!), watching carefully as Main Street is re-laid with brick pavers, as icon castles are re-painted, and as new food stands debut. With Disney Parks, there’s always something to debate; something to complain about; something to be excited about.
That’s why – if you’re willing to dive in – you may even find yourself intrigued as the things you first saw at the parks begin to evolve and as new additions shape the parks. Give it a decade and the Tomorrowland you thought you knew will be gone forever as pop culture, intellectual properties, and Imagineering evolves around it… and c’mon… That’s interesting!
6. Romance is part of the package!
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It goes without saying that Disney’s stories are often centered around romance. And while the idea of dating a “Disney” person might conjure images of Lady and the Tramp sharing a spaghetti noodle, Ariel signing away her life for legs, or a lifesaving gesture a la Tangled, the truth is that romance is engrained in the parks in even more cinematic ways.
The incandescent glow of Main Street; night skies lit by fireworks; dinners along still wetland waters at Blue Bayou (or any waterside Disney World restaurant…); sharing a gas-guzzling Autopia car; soaring over London on Peter Pan’s Flight; screaming into the void on Space Mountain… Disney Parks are basically conduits to togetherness, allowing couples to find just the right mix of adventure, adrenaline, alone time, and atmosphere to make the memories they want.
Disney Parks are designed to bring people together. And if you’re dating a Disney Parks fan, exploring the parks together is like exploring a National Park, or a new city; trying new foods, experiencing new thrills, and uncovering tucked-away hidden gems… Which brings us to our next reason…
7. You won’t ever miss the small stuff!
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Disney Parks are packed with hidden gems. In fact, they’re one of the things we listed among our look at the kinds of attractions Universal desperately needs if it ever wants to match Disney’s quality. Disney fans don’t just know about these “hidden gems” off the beaten path – they love them!
As the general public ricochets from E-Ticket to E-Ticket, the skillful planning of Disney Parks fans will guide you to the hidden corners of the parks for set-aside adventures. At Disney California Adventure, you’ll explore the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and experience the Spirit Cave there, relax in the cool, modern interior of the Animation building and take a drawing class, ride the Red Car Trolley through a 1920s Los Angeles, explore the Blue Sky Cellar, and mill about on Pixar Pier to take in the seaside ambiance.
From Snow White’s Grotto to the Discovery Island Trails; the boutiques of New Orleans Square to Epcot’s Club Cool; discovering animatronics outside of rides; finding Easter eggs, exploring historic nooks and crannies, testing not-so-flashy snacks and desserts, taking time for walkthrough exhibits and B- and C-Ticket rides most tourists don’t prioritize… If you’re traveling with a Disney Parks fan, you can go a full day without riding a single E-Ticket and still feel like you had a good time.
8. You’ll be along for a dream ride!
Image: Disney
Have you ever wanted to visit the West Coast? Europe? Asia? Date a Disney Parks person, and they’ll make it happen.
Once your partner can get you hooked on their home resort, they’ll simply have to get you to the other stateside U.S. resort. After all, you don’t know the whole story until you see how Disneyland’s Adventureland differs from Magic Kingdom’s. (No… really.)
And once you’ve checked those off, then your Parks person can turn their attention to the real prizes: Disney’s international resorts. From Tokyo to Shanghai; Hong Kong to Paris, each and every Disney Resort has its own personality; its own style; and yes, its own exclusive, signature rides. And as wild as it sounds, most true Disney Parks fans plan to see them all.
Don’t take my word for it; take it from a skeptic partner who really did, as told in the New York Times column, “What I Discovered By Visiting Every Disney Park.”
Happily ever after
Look – spring is all about romance. And as you’re out there looking for a Valentine (or just reminding yourself why you stay with the person who checks Disney Parks fan sites before the news each morning), consider the benefits a Disney fan brings to your life.
