M-I-C-K-E-Y The D-A-R-K S-I-D-E

"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney

I am only one of millions who enjoy things created by the Company of the Mouse. I subscribe to the channels, frequent the parks, and purchase their merchandise. I often get asked, "What is up with you and that mouse?" Well, the answer is simple. I grew up surrounded by the vision of a man who died early but has influenced me in so many different ways. I guess the story begins with my grandmother. She sold Avon for a living, and one of her accounts was with several people at the studios. She also knew an editor who worked in the animation component. She was able to make friendships with many who worked there, and that was cool!

As a byproduct of these close connections, she would often receive some pretty good discounts on ticket books, and those were the keys to the kingdom. For those who have no idea of what I am talking about, here is the short version. From its grand opening until the latter part of the 1970s, When you entered Disneyland, you purchased a ticket book that rated rides based on a coolness factor. The higher on the alphabet, the more the attraction cost you. So, a ride on a horse-drawn trolly might be worth a $.10 ticket, an E-ticket cruise on the Pirates of the Caribbean would be $.80. Needless to say, most ticket books had a TON of "A" tickets and little of the C-E ones. Of course, now, with general admission, a ticket to get in one park can vary between $109.00 - $154.00 depending on the day or season.

Regardless, we would gather up loose tickets and try to use those up before getting on the big ones. It was a blast trying to see if we could hold on to enough E-Tickets to hit the Haunted Mansion more than once! The one memory I do have was my grandmother sitting by the "Partners Statue" and telling me what a great man he was and how he understands regular people. Having never met the man, I just nodded and wondered what she meant by that. 

Since that time, I have done a lot of digging around trying to unravel the mystery of how a Hollywood entertainer and creator would have such an impact on my grandmother. So as I continued down the timeline of life, reading books, watching documentaries, and digging in primary documents that told a story. What I found out was a man who was not afraid to fail, loved his country and wanted to find new ways to bring family entertainment to the forefront. Yes, there were dark areas in how he thought and things he said, but at his core, he had a vision of what families should be able to do together.

Another thing that I found out is his philosophies regarding pursuing one's dreams and passions. Here are some of my favorites:

• The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.
• When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.
• When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
• It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
• All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
• 
  

So, with that in mind, maybe you can begin to see why I love the man behind the mouse and what he was able to accomplish over time. He stood by his vision, and his vision has inspired so many. 

Here is my question, does the company reflect its founder? Here is where I sometimes balk at the continuation of my association with the company. I am not saying that all who work at the upper level are soulless, but taking a hard look at certain moves and controversies, I find it challenging to see the Walt within the company. For example, Google Disney holdings, and you find an almost monopolistic media and entertainment company. The current thing in my craw is the lessening amount of original content they are creating and the more partnering of high-end designers they are creating. Billions spent on a franchise to construct ride systems and merchandise that was purchased for another few billions. 

These new attractions have created over-crowding in the parks. So much, that a family of four can now spend over $4000.00 for a five-day vacation and not get on the rides they came to see. They can find themselves in a line that has a wait time of over four hours, especially if they didn't know about the fast-pass systems. Their best and newest attraction, you have to get to the park right when it opens to book a special pass, and even then, you might never get on. The Florida Park is a continuum of new resort areas to stay, but there are more rooms apparently than the parks can handle during peak season. Then, there are the food prices and the cost of keepsakes to remember your vacation. Is this truly the vision of a man who wanted a place where families could play together? 

So, when people now ask me, I tell them that I love the mouse because he is what truly represents the man over my love of what the company has become.