I never traveled to Disney World as a kid. The truth is as much as I loved Mickey and crew, I grew up in that odd time period where the newer movies were not as epic as they are now and the classics could only be seen in the theater, so I wasn’t inundated with Disney Mania as we know it today. I am sure I wanted to go, but it wasn’t something that was a must, and it wasn’t happening. Seeing Lady and the Tramp in the Bronx when I was kid was unforgettable and a little traumatizing, until the dawn of VHS and I finally realized the movie didn’t end with Trusty saving the day (I hope that is not too much of a spoiler, my apologies if it is, but seriously you should have seen the movie already). Not sure if it was seeing it on the big screen or if it was just one of the first full length features I saw, but it has always been one of my favorites. It would be many years before I ever stepped foot onto Disney land, and I have forever been altered by the experience. It is one of the few places where if you let it, and it is tough not to, reality and fantasy disappear and it is just Disney. I have been many times since and quite honestly, on each visit I find it harder to get beyond Main Street USA. I don’t long for days-gone-by nor do I think I was born in the wrong era but stepping out from under the train station—all the people, all the sounds, all the smells—slows time down and that moment becomes all that you need. Nothing is missing, short of a few dogs running at your feet causing a little mischief. —Dominick
