infographic by Alice Yu
The beauty of Disney isn’t always as obvious as the glitter of Magic Kingdom
Magic naturally dissipates as people age, some say. Ola High School chaperon Courtnay Beckham sees where this tale comes from, but she disagrees that it ever completely leaves.
“There are a lot of things that are very magical, but when you get to be my age you want to be away from crowds, not go to them,” Beckham said. “If you can find different things to do in Disney it can be really cool, but it is directed more for little kids a lot of the time. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t magical moments for me when I am here.”
She said her daughter in particular is living a fairy tale at this Disney-themed convention. Not only is the magic from Disney impacting her, but also the magic of learning and growing as a journalist.
“This convention has been magical for my daughter though,” Beckham said. “She gets to go to Disney today to do a behind the scenes photography competition. She is so excited to learn about things that she is really interested in, and for her that is magical.”
For eighth grader Erin Clark, coming to Disney is like reliving the magic of her childhood.
“I just thought that Space Mountain was so cool when I was a little kid. The way that they did the stars was magical,” Clark said. “It was really fun going back and going through it again because I had forgotten all the magic. It is just always really fun to go back and be like ‘I loved to do that as a little kid.'”
Her friend, seventh grader Sophie Gorecki, also feels like a kid again surrounded by the glisten and gleam of Disney, proving that magic truly doesn’t ever leave, it simply transforms.
“Being at Disney brings me back to being younger. I basically act like a little kid when I am here because there is just so much magic everywhere, so much happiness,” Gorecki said. “I am really happy and I saw the old Mickey Mouse ears I used to wear when I was a little kid. It has just been really cool .”
