The Disney ghost rules you didn’t know you had

There is a rhythm to planning a Disney parks trip.

If you’re a seasoned Disney veteran, you know what I’m talking about. You know what to book, in what order, at what time. It becomes as easy as breathing after a while, with comfort in the routine that brings as much happiness as walking through the main gates themselves.

You may even delight in this routine so much that you get a wee bit giddy when helping others plan their Disney adventures, as it’s an excuse to mentally escape to the parks, if only in your mind for a few moments.

So here’s the thing… we are creatures of habit. We like turning right (or left, or heading straight to Fantasyland) when we hit the hub. We don’t eat at some restaurants because of horrifying food moments that happened to us there and haven’t explored some parts of the parks due to our perceptions of it not reflecting our personal interests. (*cough* DinoLand USA *cough*) Some snacks find their way into our hearts and hands every time, while others we’ll try “next time”… and never do.

There’s comfort in the familiar. We love the nostalgia of doing what we’ve done before, and it’s not only beloved but also safe. No disappointment is possible in the already-explored wilderness.

But.

What if we ventured beyond our comfort zone? Took a path we never bothered with before? (I’m looking at you, secret temporarily-closed stroll from Tomorrowland to Storybook circus!) Ate a snack others rave about but we’ve always passed over?

What if we broke the ghost rules we’ve set for ourselves for our Disney vacations?

This is where I will pause, because, undoubtedly, many of you are wondering what “ghost rules” are. No, they’re not any of the 999 Happy Haunts in residence at the Haunted Mansion. Simply put, ghost rules are expectations we’ve designed for ourselves that we must adhere to, even though no one ever told us to do so.

This idea of ghost rules is not my own, it’s a leadership concept I learned from Todd Henry of Accidental Creative. He states ghost rules are “invisible limitations that people… place upon themselves for no good reason. Sometimes these rules become baked-in… assumptions about what is and isn’t possible.”

My question to you is… what would it look like if you didn’t stay at your favorite resort? Or didn’t rope drop one day (the HORROR!)? Or had a coconut dole whip instead of a pineapple one? Would your trip truly be ruined, or would you, perhaps, find an element of freedom and inspiration in rediscovering Disney through a different-colored lens?

I remember the first time I ever had a solo Disney trip. My husband had a conference to attend, so I was on my own for a day. At first, I did what we usually do… ticked the “done!” boxes on my touring plan, one after another, as I moved through my Disneyland day with military precision. But then, on a whim, I hopped aboard the classic Mark Twain because I realized I’d never taken a trip around the Rivers of America by boat. And that, for any well-respecting Disnerd, was unacceptable.

The ride was life-changing! I watched the paddlewheels splash happily in the water, marveled at the historic photos, climbed the decks, and sat in blissful peace as we chugged along past gnawing beavers, burning houses, and, to my utter surprise, abandoned TRACKS from the original Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland!

That ride on the Mark Twain was an awakening for me. The rest of the day I determined to do things I’d never done, breaking the ghost rules I’d set in place about how to tour the parks “properly”. I grabbed some powdered sugar beignets and tapped my toes to the jazz music in New Orleans Square. I wandered around the Disney Gallery and explored every single historic Disney artifact I could find. I finally (FINALLY!) gasped in awe as an animatronic President Lincoln stood up on stage (I’d had small children at the time and could never imagine keeping them quiet long enough for any great moments with Mr. Lincoln to occur). And, to end the day, I sat in a rocking chair on Main Street USA and people-watched for a full half-hour, simply enjoying the act of just being in a place so many love, and watching them delight in it thoroughly.

Disney friends, I know you may need some familiar magic right now. You may be desperate for a Dole Whip after months of deprivation and too many days at home. Certainly, we must not throw ALL our beloved Disney rituals out with the bathwater.

But what if we tried a few new ways to discover the magic?

Something I have continued to tell my children during this pandemic (especially when they complain about… well… anything) is that this experience is making them resilient and resourceful. It’s made us all resilient and resourceful, really. We’ve had to learn how to adapt our everyday lives to that which is available and shift our routines to live in a new way we never could have imagined before.

Shouldn’t that translate to our Disney Park adventures, too?

Maybe we can see the changes in the parks as an opportunity to change our minds about the assumptions we’ve made. A chance to find new ways to explore and love the parks we know so well.

So this is my challenge to you. Eat at a new restaurant. Wear a different set of Mickey ears or a Disney bounding outfit you’ve believed was too impractical for a Disney day. Seek out parts of the parks you’ve never bothered with and discover new favorites.

Break your ghost rules.

Because life isn’t about comfort or the familiar, it’s about venturing into the unknown, and finding it has more for us than we ever expected.

What are some of the “ghost rules” that you follow every time you travel to Disney? What is something you’ve always wondered about doing, or put on the shelf for “someday”? What’s keeping you from pursuing that dream?

Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! ?