On the one hand I feel like I should give these people a secretive smile, knowing that we share a love for all things Disney. On the other hand I feel like they are merely jumping on the band-wagon—only sporting Disney-wear because the media and television commercials tell us that it's "cool" to go to Disneyland. This unfounded jealously probably comes from the fact that I have loved Disneyland (and, for that matter, all things Disney) since I was a wee little girl.

My infatuation with Disneyland began even before I was out of my mother's womb. I have heard (and told) the story of how I was almost born in Disneyland many times, when my very pregnant mother did the splits getting off of the King Arthur Carrousel in Fantasyland. And every year when my family drove the eight hours from Northern to Southern California to visit The Happiest Place on Earth, I wished that I actually had been born in the park. How neat would it be, I thought, to be able to say that I was born in Disneyland?!

This infatuation only grew with time, fueled by my father's love for, and our frequent visits to, the Disneyland Resort; and in college I bloomed into a full-fledged Disney fanatic. Freshman year of college I met my boyfriend, Ryan, who just happened to live a convenient forty-five minutes from Disneyland. So, of course, on our first Winter Break as a couple we got in his car and drove down to his house for a trip to the park together. It was magic…I felt like I had met my Disney soul mate. I had found someone who, even though he hadn't been to the park in at least ten years, didn't find it the least bit crazy to go to Disneyland on New Year's Eve and stay until midnight so we could watch the fireworks and kiss when the countdown to the New Year ended.

Sophomore year my obsession with Disneyland grew even more when my boyfriend, being the wonderful Disney soul mate that he was, went online and found me a Disneyland forum to participate in. Months before we would have a summer, winter, or spring break, I would be eagerly awaiting and planning a trip to Disneyland. From the people on the forum I picked up "insider" tips on how to get around the park, and soon Ryan and I had improved on these tips, making sure that we utilized our time in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventures to the max. It was around then that my relatives and friends started to realize what a Disney fanatic I was, and they began clipping out newspaper articles on the park and sending them to me. I was hooked. I felt the way sport fanatics must feel when they watch the Super Bowl on TV.

Then the biggest event in the history of my Disneyland lifetime hit: July 17th, 2005, Disneyland's official 50th anniversary celebration. Ryan and I knew we had to be there so we saved and scrounged, and through a few acts of serendipity we ended up with the thousands of other people outside the security check point at six a.m. on July 17th. Now, normally college students aren't really known for their ability to wake up early. In fact, for the past two years I had scheduled my classes so that I wouldn't have to get up before ten a.m. if I could help it. So I think it says a lot about my love for Disneyland that I woke up at four a.m. just to be there when the gates opened on Disneyland's 50th anniversary.

After being at Disneyland on such a milestone occasion I suppose it was only natural that I would be jealous of all those other students who wore their Disneyland sweatshirts with pride. I felt like I owned a piece of the park, but then again, so did they. Recently I began to look for ways to turn this jealousy into thinking about Disneyland in a happily-ever-after way again. One Disneyland forum turned out not to be satisfying me, so I went on a Google searching spree to find a Disneyland fan site that would meet my needs.

That is how I came across Mickey News. At first I just bookmarked the site under my favorites with the rest of my search results, but when I actually went to the website and began browsing around I knew that it was something I wanted to see more of. I signed up for the daily newsletter and began checking the site everyday. That was when I saw the "Help Wanted" sign on the front page.

If I had to pick only two passions in life they would be Disneyland and writing. As a Creative Writing major I couldn't imagine anything better to write about than Disneyland, but I was having a hard time incorporating Disney themes into my school papers. Non-Disney fanatics just don't seem to understand why we Disney fans have such a love for, as one professor put it, "just another theme park." But when I look at the Disneyland paraphernalia I have collected over the past twenty years—maps of Disneyland from before I was born, hundreds upon hundreds of pictures I have taken (from July 17th and other trips), my July 17th golden Mickey ears, the fantastic hour-long video my boyfriend made from our trip last July—I know that Disneyland is not "just another theme park," but it is a place made magical by fifty years of sweat and pixie dust, and one that will continue to be a magical place for at least another fifty years to come. And knowing this, I realize that I don't need to be jealous when I see others sporting Disneyland sweatshirts or Sleeping Beauty purses, because there will always be enough Disney spirit to go around.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Gavin and Mickey News for allowing me to stretch my writing muscles and write about one of my very favorite things…Disneyland.

(And I would also like to thank all those people who have inspired my love for Disneyland over the years, including my wonderful boyfriend and parents.)