Disney Breakdown Pt. 2: The Dark Side

The fact is, while I was at Disney World, I loved it. I was able to look the other way, suspend judgment and pretend that the evil empire of Disney was not at odds with my personal philosophy. Maybe that is why it took me 4 days to recover from my own personal Disney hangover. I was detoxing from the Kool-Aid. Recovering from Disney's constant self-promotion. Rehabilitating from the overwhelming stimulation of the environment.

Because Jason and I grew up in very modest households that could never have afforded us a family trip to Disney World, we were constantly reminding our children about how fortunate they were to be a part of our recent family vacation. Of course, Eamon is two and has no understanding of "gratitude." Sawyer was able to understand that this trip was a treat, but may have only been taking cues from her older sister. Madeline was a model citizen at Disney. She seemed to appreciate (in her 7-yr old way) her good fortune in visiting "the happiest place on earth" and was grateful for all of her experiences and the few things she was able to bring home (most of it free junk).

Interestingly, Madeline repeatedly commented that she wished it were free for everyone to go to Disney World. Let's be honest folks, Disney is not in the business of losing money. They are raking cash in HAND OVER FIST. All day, there were opportunities to buy, buy, buy and BUY. Putting your wallet away at Disney is an act of futility. The only reason to put your wallet back in your purse is for the arm exercise involved in once again extracting it to purchase more self promotion.

I can't stop thinking about the environmental impact of an operation like Disney World. While at Epcot and The Animal Kingdom (AK), I was impressed with some of the efforts to minimize the carbon mouseprint and educate the public on ways to do the same. Unfortunately, many of the practices at ALL of the parks are so inconsistent with the message of conservation and sustainability that I continue to be sick to my stomach. I appreciated the fact that Disney offers carrots and grapes as side dishes with all of their kids meals. Unfortunately, all of those carrots and grapes are prepackaged in a small plastic bag (and have been sprayed with who know what to maximize freshness). Multiply the number of those bags used on any given day by 365 and you have a major problem. At Epcot and AK, you can easily find a recycling bin for your Dasani and Coke bottles (which Disney provides at meals). At The Magic Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS), you might have to walk across the park. Seriously, is it that hard to strategically place recycling cans? Additionally, I have to wonder about the fireworks display that Disney presents each and every night of the year. Maybe Disney uses eco-friendly fireworks. If they do, I commend them. If not, we have another disaster on our hands. The fact is, I haven't even started on the sheer volume of buses, trams, boats, and rides that are sure to make the carbon mouseprint of Disney World the greatest I have ever witnessed. I have to believe that Disney has it's own landfill...and that it is close to full. As I said, Disney doesn't scrimp and they are not in the business of losing money.

As I stood in various lines during our trip, I had to stop myself from thinking about the economics of Disney World. I wondered how much they pay the ride operators, the dancers or the housekeeping staff. I had to wonder what it must cost to run the place each day. For that matter, how much must it cost to run per year? On the flip side, I was even more curious about the profit of such a place. Leave it to me to google these numbers. They are out there. I will leave it to you to check out. The numbers are astounding. If it gives you any insight into my findings, I am shocked at how pleasant and helpful the "cast members" are.

So there I go again, ruining a perfectly good time. I know. I should just take it at face value and appreciate the fact that I was fortunate enough to take my family to Disney World. I wish I could glaze over when I see that a college educated 20-something is working the Dumbo ride in Fantasyland (and making 7-something per hour). I wish that $3.95 seemed reasonable for a Mickey-shaped ice cream full of preservatives, that was made by people making minimum wage. I wish I was philosophically able to pay $50.00 to let my girls get their hair "done" like a princess. The fact is, I can't contribute because it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Disney is magical. Our family bonded, laughed, gawked, smiled and cried at the amazing moments we encountered. We all loved the place. For us however, it a sometimes thing (a DeWitt-ism). We will probably visit Disney again. In about 10 years. There is no doubt that we will all experience the magic again. We will bond over new, more grown-up experiences when we take our children there as tweens and teens. The fact is, I will have to suspend judgment again. I will come home and need to detox again. I will still have moral objections. Still, I will return. I'm not so integrity driven that I will refuse to set foot in the place! Come on. See you in 2021 Mickey!