When I was a kid, there was a scene near the end of Spaceship Earth with a mother, I believe, more or less facetiming her child a bedtime story. I've actually talked about that scene before, and now that Facetime and Skype have basically become a part of our everyday life, it no longer seems so impossible. But 20 years ago, it was a distant dream that was far from being perfected.
Tonight, on the other hand, anyone from anywhere in the world could watch the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Disney Resort. For me, it's an 13 hour time difference, making us almost exactly on the other side of the world, and yet I was lucky enough to witness a spectacular historic event for both the United States and China.
It's been months since I visited the D23 Expo show floor, where an entire section was carved out to display upcoming attractions to the newest Disney Park, but I can definitely still recall the amazement of myself and those around me as we discovered some of the experiences for the first time, even if they weren't actually in front of us. You could tell immediately that immense thought was put into every element of this resort, and the tagline of "Authentically Disney and Distinctly Chinese" fits perfectly. Of course, I'm still 13 hours away from the actual resort and have pretty much no hope to traveling there anytime soon, but the love and dedication and inspiration that every Disney park, this one included, is made of has been apparent every step of the way.
I'll also be watching the TV special tomorrow on the grand opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort, but for now I'm happy with the presentation, Iger's speech, the beautiful dedication, the culturally enlightening and equally beautiful introductions by Chinese officials, and the delightful performances by some of Shanghai's cast members.
I will say though that the comment about rain on the opening day being a good omen according to Chinese culture kind of gave me hope. I'm positive I'll keep that in mind in the future when it rains on an important day in my life.
And just for the record, it rained here today too.
Have a magical day!
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