Sunday, January 24, 2016

How to Be Happy at Disney 101

What factors make an experience an enjoyable experience or not? Let’s look at something that happened in the park through a lens of happiness and unhappiness.
Situation A:
One afternoon in the park, after a very full and tiring morning of rides, a few friends and I went to join up with another friend. We trekked across the park to get fastpasses for the Indiana Jones ride only to have to wait for him to finish the ride he was on. While we were waiting, we decided to get snacks since we were starving. I wanted a Dole whip since it’s only found in one place in the parks but I had to walk a long way to get to the place it’s sold. Then there was a super long line that I had to wait in to get my snack, so the others left to go ride Pirates of the Caribbean while they waited for me. I ended up getting my ice cream (which was small for the amount I paid for it) and going to join them in line. But I had to climb over a rope to get to them and I ended up with sticky hands since the Dole whip stand didn’t have any napkins. Overall, it was a rough half hour.
Situation B:
One afternoon, after an exciting morning full of rides, some of my friends and I went to meet up with another friend in Disneyland. We went to get fastpasses for my favorite ride, Indiana Jones, so that we didn’t have to wait in line. My friend was on a ride, which left us time to get snacks! Dole Whip is my favorite food so I didn’t mind having to search around a bit to find the stand for it and wait in line. I sent the others ahead to get in line for Pirates of the Caribbean while I waited for my food…the anticipation made it taste even better! I was able to catch up with them and slide over a rope to join them in line in time to ride with them.

I think that while things like time of day, hours of sleep had, amount eaten, who you’re with, and weather all contribute to happiness at Disney, the biggest factor is simply your mood. Like we saw in the film Escape from Tomorrow, being at Disney World or Disneyland when you’re in a bad mood can make everything seem horrible. However, if you have a good outlook and you’re feeling fine emotionally, then you can enjoy even experiences that might not be perfect. In Situation A, I was annoyed with everything that went wrong rather than simply looking on the bright side like in Situation B.

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