Spring Break essay

Brian Ingebretsen

4/1/14

ENGL 1A

Frozen Majesty

Over Winter Break, I was offered the greatest pleasure that any child or adult would revel in; a trip to the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland. This, however, was no ordinary Disney trip; instead I was treated to the magnificence of the happiest place on Earth blanketed in snow and glad tidings and, being it the first time being to Disneyland during winter, I fell in love with the warmth that the frosted-over park exuded. Usually when I take the yearly trip to the Magic Kingdom it’s in the summer where the sun is high and there is an omnipresence of shorts and tank tops. Since I am used to the warm weather and abundance of ice cream, traversing the park in the highest point of winter really seemed like a culture shock, not just weather-wise but experience-wise too. I gaped in awe as the Disneyland I was used to transformed into a literal winter wonderland with fantastic scenery and beautiful decorations, I knew I was in a magic kingdom. Sleeping Beauty’s castle was draped in beautiful white powder and covered from top to bottom with lights that pierced through the winter chill and left a warm feeling. A giant Christmas tree overlooked the park in all of its glory and even the Disney characters, who roamed around, got into the holiday spirit, I still regret not taking a picture with Donald Duck in a sweater. The demographics included humans of all ages, races and sexes and it really brought me joy to see all of these diverse people getting along in harmony, kind of like a small bubble of frozen paradise. This is one of the main reasons why I love going to Disneyland, the kingdom is always joyful and is never plagued with such social problems that the real world faces. Everyone can enjoy all the rides, all the food, and all of the landmarks that have been made famous by the previous Disney films. During my trip I journeyed through the park locating all of the subtle differences between the winter and summer versions and I wasn’t disappointed. The differences ranged from subtle to extravagant, subtle coming in the form of differently costumed characters and extravagant being an understatement for attractions like the Haunted Mansion Christmas. The Haunted Mansion is transformed into the movie ride for Nightmare before Christmas and it is all the more wonderful, I almost wish they kept it up for the entire year but that would ruin the magic I presume. Disneyland during the winter is truly a treasure to behold but if I were given a ticket to anywhere in the world I would pick Italy for a number of cheesy romantic reasons. First off, I have never been to Europe so it would be an appropriate time to visit one of the most romantic cities in the Union where you can travel by water and gawk at all the wonderful areas around. I would also like to explore the natural meadows of the Italian landscape and look at the history as well as the old fashioned. I would love to hear the language of love being spoken, falling smoothly out of the mouths of the native speakers. I would want to sit at a café and watch as time slows and becomes a part of the rippling of the calm water. Going to Italy has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid because I always had a likeness for natural age and history. I love Venice and I would love to ride down in a boat with someone truly special while looking up into the clear sky. I would love to see the history and majesty of Rome, all of the statues and dilapidated buildings just oozing with history. I would love to take a few weeks and just explore the grand country with as much depth as I could possibly see. That being said, though, Disneyland has always been my favorite place of all time and seeing it for the first time in December cemented that fact. There will never be a place as magical as the Magic Kingdom.