Happiest place on Earth?

Disneyland bills itself as "the happiest place on Earth." Why does Disney think that it can make this claim? Is it because after you wait in line to buy an entrance ticket, then wait in line to enter, you are magically transported back into a state of childlike wonder once you make it past the body-counters at the gate? Or is it because when you pose with a beloved Disney character (after waiting in line), smiling wide enough to break your face, you still know at the back of your mind that underneath the guise of the happy, waving character beside you is a sweaty underpaid actor who couldn't care less about posing with you - all they can think about is the long line of people behind you and how many more damn pictures they have to pose for before the end of their shift. Perhaps the happiness comes from ten-dollar chili dogs accompanied by a three-dollar Coke, which you are able to acquire after waiting in line. Maybe the happiness spills over from the many small children, who signify their happiness by screaming and throwing hugely impressive tantrums.

Don't get me wrong - there are a few things that I really love about Disneyland. I love Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. I love the theatre of the place - all of the amazing set dressing and costuming. I love the structures - the buildings, the rides, all of it. That said, one day at Disneyland every few years is plenty of the experience for me. My love of the craft of Disneyland is outweighed by my intense dislike of people (in general). Especially lots and lots of people in cramped circumstances. It's amazing, isn't it, that Disneyland (the happiest place on Earth, in case you forgot) is a lot like a Communist state - the few who can afford it receive special treatment, and everyone else gets to wait in line. What's even more amazing is that people pay lots of money for the privilege to do so.

If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, then I have little hope for happiness. If it isn't the happiest place on Earth, is it instead the place "where dreams come true"? What kind of dreams are people having if that's true? Their dream is to herd their unhappy children through a sweltering maze of people, subject them to being held by large, frightening creatures and whirled through the air in strange machines? What sadistic people we are. Why aren't we dreaming about world peace or saving endangered species of plants and animals?

The fact is that Disneyland, while it can make for a good time, should not be an example of "the happiest place on Earth" or a place "where dreams come true." What it should be is a fun-house mirror - a distorted reflection of ourselves. Perhaps to some of us, this reflection has made us look taller, slimmer - something that we want to obtain. To others, the result of this false happiness is ugly and twisted. It may be wonderful on the surface, but the distortion, the unnaturalness of it always lurks beneath. Keep an eye to the true heart of a thing, if you want to know what it actually is.