I hate Disney. That is an opinion I have never been afraid to express. I haven’t loved an in house animated movie they’ve put out in the last decade, Pixar has been diminishing since the release of Coco, Marvel gets more oppressive and mediocre with each passing year, and public discourse leans more and more on the shoulders of The Mouse seemingly every day. But last week, I went to Disney World in Florida. I had a pretty good time. To briefly overshare, my partner has a friend down in Orlando who works for the company, thus they can get guests in for no charge. Thanks to one of us needing a disability access pass we were also able to use the lightning lane queue/return time system that I still don’t understand, and I got to see a lot of things I was familiar with when I was a child along with new things I haven’t seen since New Years 2010/11. I marveled at Galaxy’s Edge, started the trip with the exhilarating Guardians of the Galaxy ride, and drank halfway around Epcot before seeing Smash Mouth perform at the amphitheater across from the American exhibit. I geeked out at antiques in Hollywood Studios and reminisced over Tower of Terror while rolling my eyes as a swiped my credit card shaped magical roller coaster key again and again and again. We even took some time away from the park to see the new Shazam in Disney Springs. My idea, I love going to the theater while traveling.

After splitting the 14 hour drive home and taking a day to rest, my partner asked if we were Disney Adults now. In a moment of shock, I answered that I think what constitutes a Disney Adult is the percentage of occupation of your time/thoughts that The Mouse has managed to capture. I wasn’t sure of my answer though, so I texted a friend asking the same question, who suggested that the call might be coming from inside the house if I had just left Disney World. They have a point, I suppose. I was a bit unnerved that I had actually enjoyed myself in the most magical place on earth, not just because I had time off work with people that I loved, but I actually had a good time at Disney World. I don’t exactly consider myself a pessimist, but I’ve never exactly been an enthusiast for the park. I think it was a lot of little things. Not having to wait in lines for very long certainly helped. Being able to decide what I wanted to do in a setting like this for the first time felt good. We weren’t staying in the most lavish resort, but the room was comfortable in the little time we spent there. I think I’m just grateful I had a vacation go without a hitch.

Sometimes I get in my own head about how well I’m doing. This year is gonna be my year, right? I’m in a new relationship that’s great, I’m starting work on my master’s degree in the fall with a scholarship backing me, I’ve found a satisfying output for my writing (though I wish I was doing more with bigger projects, this column is doing wonders for my at-present stunted creative drive).

What was I talking about?

I’ll likely go back to Disney World sooner rather than later if things between my partner and I, Lord willing, continue in the direction they’re going. I didn’t even get to do everything there is to do on this trip, which is a tantalizing thing. Apologies for the lack of Big Conclusions here, but really I just want to put something out there after two weeks of barely writing a word. Thanks again for reading.