How Disney Teaches You to Persevere

The fire notices screamed from my phone this week while I dashed haphazardly around my home and debated about what I wanted to take with me as we evacuated the wildfires that have plagued our side of the nation. I picked up objects and put them back. I looked tearfully at others realizing I may never see them again. I threw odd things in my suitcase and forgot what I was doing as I was doing it. And I stood in the middle of the home our family had made and cried. 

When my 3 kids, husband, and terrified two cats arrived at a relative’s house 100 miles away, we breathed a sigh of relief, believing ourselves finally safe.

It was not to be.

The very next day, the emergency warnings tolled from our phones yet again, a cacophonous sound instantly bringing us to fight or flight mode as it echoed the trauma of the past day. Another fire was encroaching on our safe haven. We rounded up our family and belongings and piled back in our cars, deciding that the lower-level evacuation of our home near the first fire was safer than the second one.

We were literally running out of places to go that weren’t on fire.

Thanks to the work of hundreds of heroic firemen and women, I’m relieved to report that our home and family is safe, and we are more grateful than ever for the roof over our heads. But so many around us have lost all, and our community is grieving.

Throughout this experience (and, well, all of 2020), I’ve been reminded of all the ways Disney teaches us about how to persevere. The stories Disney tells us in every attraction, movie, and land remind us there is a great, big, beautiful tomorrow no matter what our circumstances, we need only look for it.

Some days it’s tough to see it. I know. This past week was especially hard, and leaves you wondering… what’s next?

I think if we turn to the popular storytelling script so commonly used by Disney, we may find ourselves a little hope.

You see, most stories use a similar plotline. Those that don’t, tend not to become beloved tales that persevere. I will mention that this is NOT something I came up with, it’s something I learned from Donald Miller (creator of Storybrand… linking because he’s brilliant not because I’m paid in any way!)

Anyway, here are the seven steps that make up any story you know and love:

1. A character
2. Has a problem
3. And meets a Guide
4. Who gives them a plan
5. And calls them to action
6. That ends in success
7. And helps them avoid failure

Simple, right? Go ahead and think about your favorite Disney movie, and how it fits in this script. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Do you see it?

Let me give some examples of how this plays out in the Disney parks. Take The Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, for example. When you walk into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, YOU are the character. You walk by relics, archeological digs, and perilous spikes. Your problem? How to get out of the temple alive. Your guide is Sallah, who warns you not to look into the eyes of Mara (which you do, because how can you resist?). The rest is history. You swerve and overcome obstacles, and, with a little help from Indy himself, win the day. You arrive back at the unloading point feeling like you are a hero who faced tribulation and triumphed.

You end in success, and never, ever fail.

Well, unless the ride breaks down. But that’s neither here nor there.

This is the story that almost every major Disney attraction tells you. That you can persevere through hard times, and it will all work out in the end.

This is true on Expedition Everest, Rise of the Resistance, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Casey Jr., Big Thunder Mountain… pick a ride, and you’ll find yourself woven into a hero story you might not have realized was there.

Now, there are some noticeable exceptions to this, and they are worth mentioning. First, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The ending? Maybe not so happily-ever-after as you end up in hell for your sins (though I treasure it in my heart and pray Disneyland never replaces it like Walt Disney World).

It’s a Small World, despite the polarizing soundtrack, also lacks this particular story device. I often wonder if that may be why some can’t get past the song… even though it’s a sweet sentiment and has incredible costuming and coloring (shout out Mary Blair!), it’s hard to put ourselves in the story beyond “we are all in this together.”

Regardless of a few aberrations, the vast majority of the attractions reiterate the theme of believing, persevering, and overcoming to win the day.

And that, my friends, is most certainly a reason why we love Disney. Because we need hope in a world that so often leaves us reeling.

So the next time you’re wrestling with the uncertainty of what’s come, mentally relive your favorite attraction and remember the exhilaration of escaping disaster and the thrill of remembering you won.

Because no matter what happens, you WILL win again. Just give it time.

Tell me… what is one of your favorite rides that fit into this story device? I’d love to hear about it!