I have been to Disney World—but only as a child, and the memories are vague. I remember bright colors, noise, and the endless, miserable queue for Space Moutain. And being cross about it. (Such treasured memories make it money well spent for my parents.) I, therefore, enjoy those who enter the gates with a healthy dose of cynism, and Molly Young’s analytical take is no exception. But although she approaches things with humor, she does not quite shake off the wonder altogether—finding the most surprising part of Disney World to be people’s unerring positivity. Maybe I am the exception who managed to sulk through the experience. Sorry, Mum and Dad.
Everywhere at Disney World there existed a strong sense of rising to the occasion. The grandmother in her milk-drenched slacks, the mother pursuing her demon spawn, the hour-long lines for ten-minute rides. Rising to an occasion is something we associate with scenarios of adversity, like a post-hurricane cleanup, not scenarios in which we have paid hundreds of dollars to have our pants ruined. And yet.
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