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Life’s awaiting you out there, and if you sail true,
You may find a priceless treasure out there too!

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Waiting is a necessary evil at theme parks. Sure, websites like this one might say how much we love the queue of certain rides, they might even make countdowns of their favorite ones. I’m not speaking from experience or anything. But for as lovely as some queues are, we’re still waiting for the action and that’s not generally the highlight of anyone’s trip.

On a crisp early December day at Tokyo DisneySea, we found ourselves in a pretty dull line. The morning had been exceptional, as most mornings are when you’re wandering one of your favorite places in the world. Then hunger comes and, on that day, we wanted to try out a table-service restaurant where we didn’t have reservations. We got in line for what we were told would be about a 45 minute wait. Not bad but not ideal. Our party of four took turns waiting while the others would look around, maybe browse some shops.

After a few minutes of waiting in line and making small talk with the group next to us, a Cast Member working at Restaurant Sakura came over and took our name down along with a few other details. I would guess that she was in her 50’s or so. With Japanese being her first language, she asked both Melissa and I to spell out our names in English. We obliged and I noticed she translated the names in her notes. In what was possibly an ignorant and obvious question I asked, “Is that how you write Melissa in Japanese?” She excitedly nodded yes and we commented on how beautiful it looked, before she hurried off.

Not a moment later, she returned with Tokyo Disney Resort stickers that she had handwritten out both of our names in Japanese on. We thanked her and were both touched by how delighted she was to deliver these.

After a moment she returned again, asking if it was our first visit to Tokyo Disney Resort. We said no but it was the first time for our friends, who had gone to a shop at the moment. Her eyes lit up and she quickly grabbed a first visit sticker and asked for their names before carefully transcribing them into Japanese on a sticker.

It was a small moment in a theme park full of grand sights. Maybe she does that every day, it wouldn’t surprise me. But her excitement over our interest in how to write our own names in Japanese is etched into my mind, a slightly older woman wanting to share a bit of her culture with us in a way that we could physically keep. Waiting was worth it that day.

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Come one, come all
Let’s light up the sky now
You feel the magic
Happening right now

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During the spring of 2023, walking over to watch Disneyland’s daytime parade was pretty commonplace for us. We’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of the resort and Magic Happens brings us joy. Shortly before the pandemic, we were able to be there for the parade’s debut and it was a lasting memory during the isolation of the country’s lockdown. So, getting to go see it every week or two felt therapeutic in a way.

Our routine was pretty simple, we’d stroll down the parade route about half an hour before it started and tried to find a spot in the front row to sit. Usually we were pretty successful and more often than not we ended up on the little path in between the castle hub and the Matterhorn. There’s a surprising amount of seating there!

One April afternoon, we found our usual spot and waited for the parade to start. On that particular day we sat down by a young girl, maybe 10 or 12, with down syndrome. She was bundled up in a big coat and had a cute Dale beanie on. Her mom sat behind her, checking and double checking that her child had a great view of the cavalcade of characters coming her way.

I’m generally pretty lucky when it comes to parades because the characters in them like to pose for the camera. That gives us a fun view! On that day, we experienced something completely different but even better than usual. Within a few characters passing by, it was clear that just about every performer was going to interact with this girl on our left. I’ve photographed Magic Happens plenty, I took a couple pictures that day but watching her experience is one of my favorite moments with the parade.

Mickey and Minnie made sure they waved. Many of the dancers knelt down and talked to her. You should have seen how excited she was when Chip & Dale came down the path. Near the end, with most of us around her wiping away tears, Pinocchio stopped and knelt down getting eye to eye with her. He put his hands on her hat and sides of her face and, after a second of that touched his nose to her Dale hat.

I don’t know what it’s like to be in any of those positions. The young girl was floored with excitement. Her mom was emotional and clearly touched by all of the moments. Then there are the performers in the parade that do this every day, but show no signs of one day being less special than the next.

Disney Magic is a phrase I try to stay away from on this site. It’s overused and a little undefined at this point. But if I’ve ever seen whatever it is, it was that moment between the young girl and all of those performers.

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In a loving, warm embrace
You’re the pride of my heart, e ‘Aulani ē

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If you’ve ever been to Aulani then chances are high that you’ve seen Uncle. He jokes about being the guy who changes the lightbulbs, or maybe it’s not a joke. He does seem to appear nearly everywhere at the Hawaiian resort – in the lobby, giving tours or telling stories by the fire. You could be snorkeling or going down a waterslide and it wouldn’t totally surprise me if he popped up next to you, offering helpfulness and relaxation at once. Island living.

We were lucky enough to visit Aulani twice this year, once as the destination and once as an extended layover on our way home from Japan. The first time we were there we had a great time, enjoying the pool and various happy hours around the area with family. Even so, I was totally blown away by the place relative to others in Hawaii.

Then, on our last night, we went on a nature tour of Aulani. The information was interesting and well worth your time for the complimentary tour, but that’s where we met Uncle. It felt like we discovered the heartbeat of the resort. He asked all of our names and where we were from, knowing them all without looking by the end of the tour. Uncle fielded any questions we had with ease, making the tour personal to us and not just information. Not only did he seem extremely knowledgeable about Aulani but he seemed proud to show off the place to people he was interested in. We showed up to the fireside stories later that night and guess who was there, telling stories significant from Hawaii’s culture.

On our subsequent trip, we showed up for a different tour and Uncle was there again. He learned everyone’s name and asked for questions again. I wasn’t concerned about it the first time, but the second time showed how genuine each task was for him. He spoke about being at Aulani when it opened 12 years ago and effortlessly talked about local artists who contributed to the resort. Unsurprisingly, he seemed to have a relationship with all of them.

We wait for the thrill rides and the fireworks and will continue to do so. They will remain one of my favorite things and part of the reason this blog exists. But what keeps the places fresh are people like I’ve written about – they keep us coming back and make our experiences beautiful.

Thank you to those people and everyone we’ve encountered in our travels this year. You have made our travels personal, beautiful, and purposeful. More importantly, you have made our love for humanity grow. We hope you get to have similar experiences in your life and are honored that you read Wandering in Disney! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!