Where do you find yourself in the story?

Hey Disney friends! Let’s consider some deep Disney thoughts today. Are you up for it?

Yes? Great! Let’s make some magic….

First, think of a wonderful thought: Your favorite Disney ride, movie, and character.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

No really, take your time.

Got your answers? Ok, let’s go.

What you answered reveals more about you than you know, and I’m not talking about those inconsequential “what Disney Princess are you like” personality quizzes. No, what you are drawn to explains more about you than you likely have ever realized.

The question is, where do you find yourself in the story? And why do you connect with a particular character, storyline, or idea?

Let’s take a step back for a moment and start with understanding Disney’s story writing genius. The same arc and character development are applied to every park attraction, where you become the hero and win the day. There is always a moment when all feels lost, and yet we find a way to rally and celebrate a happy ending. I wrote more about the secret pattern of Disney’s story HERE, so I won’t repeat myself, but the story remains relatively the same, ending with hope and optimism for a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

Oh, how I wish I could bottle that up for myself on days when the world doesn’t feel like Fantasyland.

But I digress.

If we are honest, the Disney stories, characters, and attractions we love speak to parts of ourselves that often get pushed to the sidelines or hidden in the shadows. Maybe it’s an adventure we are too timid to chase. Or bravery we always wish we could embody. Or a dream we’ve left just around the river bend while we sit on the shore with a sigh.

There is a reason you’ve carefully selected your favorites, and it’s not purely based on aesthetics or surface feelings. Something about that story resonates with you and your life in a way you may (or may not) have fully considered.

Let’s take Cinderella, for example. As a working mom, I often feel like my life is a never-ending list of chores and tasks. I move from demand to demand like I’m automated to do so, only falling in Tiana-like exhaustion at the end of the day in anticipation of the following day. Though I’m taking care of my family and I love them all dearly, my life often echos the Cinderella story, even with my Prince Charming already having swept me off my feet years ago.

That moment when Cinderella looks out the window and talks about dreams being a wish your heart makes, backed with the knowledge of how fully impossible those dreams feel in the moment… that is a snapshot of seeing myself in the story. I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, but I also feel the pull of where I have been placed and the people I’m called to care for.

Nothing speaks stronger to this concept of our connection with story than the Frozen Elsa obsession that swept the world (and is still going strong in our household). That moment when Elsa strides confidently on the snow-covered mountaintop and flings away her old life with abandon, that is a heart-soaring second I could watch over and over again. There is a freedom there that elevates what we’ve been holding back, releasing us into what we always could be.

We all want to have an Elsa moment.

Regardless of the brilliant musicality and songwriting by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, it wasn’t the chords and notes that brought us to belting Let it Go out repeatedly for months on end. No, it was the idea that we could actually be who we’ve always wanted to be when the world told us we couldn’t.

You could be who you’ve always wanted to be. And that dream you had once upon a time… it’s not too late to chase it.

What character, movie, and attraction are you drawn to? What has happened in your life’s story that makes you resonate with those Disney favorites?

Or, more importantly, what can those favorites teach you about pursuing who you were meant to be?

Let me know in the comments what your favorite character/ride/movie is and what you think it reveals about you!

Hey Disney friends, my name is Kate and I am committed to exploring how Disney has great personal and social value. Come along for the ride with me by subscribing!