A Farewell to Wishes

I might be in Pennsylvania today, but my heart is in Florida.  Today, after 14 years, the Wishes fireworks show in Magic Kingdom will happen for the last time.  My first visit to Disney World was in 1998, but I don’t really remember any fireworks shows.  I didn’t go back until 2004, which means that the only Magic Kingdom fireworks I’ve ever really known are Wishes.  And Wishes has enchanted me and moved me every time I’ve seen it.

I couldn’t let this day go by without saying goodbye, and sharing some sort of tribute on the blog.  I figured I’d share a little bit about what the show means to me, and the memories that I have associated with it.  I’ve never gotten a “quality” photograph of it – I always said I would do some serious studying into fireworks photography, but I never got the time.  Maybe someday I’ll get one of those amazing photos of Happily Ever After, or whatever comes next.

I’ll bet a lot of you don’t believe that, about a wish coming true, do ya? We’ll I didn’t either. ‘Course, I’m just a cricket, but lemme tell you what made me change my mind. You see, the most fantastic, magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish!

I don’t consider myself cynical by any means, but I do consider myself a realist.  I refrain from optimism unless I think there’s a legitimate chance of something good happening.  So that idea of “when you wish upon a star your dream comes true”… well, that can sound pretty silly to me.  But when I’m in Disney, watching Wishes, and I hear that… I do believe it.

I wish I could go to the ball – I’m wishing for the one I love – I wish I could be part of that world – I wish we’d never have to grow up! – I wish I could be a real boy – Genie, I wish for your freedom!

I love that Wishes truly does link so many Disney movies together.  So many of the stories are based on characters who wish for something.  You need to start with  dream or a wish before you can really achieve something, and Disney characters are the perfect example of that.  Newer movies continue the trend even if they don’t appear in Wishes, like Tiana wishing on the evening star.

Well, goes to show ya, sometimes you gotta be careful what you wish for.

Of course, no Disney show would be complete without a little appearance from the villains!  Though I like this quote too.  You do have to be careful what you wish for sometimes – many times the things that you think you want are not actually what you need.  I’ve learned that lesson a couple of times.

Wishes can come true, if you believe in them with all your heart. And the best part is, you’ll never run out of wishes. They’re shining deep down inside of you, cause that my friends…is where the magic lives.

You’ll never run out of wishes.  We keep moving forward, with new goals and things to motivate us.  I think there’s a worry sometimes that once we achieve something we’ll feel empty.  But the good news is that you can always find another wish deep down.

We’re all just children, reaching for our dreams. There shining high above us, and even though it seems, so far..We put our faith and hope on a shooting star.

Children have a much simpler believe in their wishes and achieving their dreams that we seem to lose as we get older.  In so many ways being in Disney World makes me feel like a kid again.  I can recapture some of that childhood innocence and carefree nature.  Wishes was another way to do that.

We’ll make a wish, and do as dreamers do And all our wishes, all our wishes, all our wishes, will come true.

No matter when I was at Disney or what else was going on in my life at the time, I always have some sort of wish or desire for my life.  Whether it was for good health for someone, to be able to complete the marathon, or to be able to make a living doing what I love, I always have a dream.  And just the idea that all of our wishes could possibly come true is moving enough to motivate me and make me believe.  I don’t know if I truly believe that every wish can come true.  Sometimes you can wish for something really hard but it still won’t happen.  But the hope that it can is there, and that’s what Wishes gave to me.

As sappy as it sounds, Wishes has been a very important part of my life for the past decade.  Even just writing this made me tear up a bit.  Losing it is hard, but I will always have the memories and good times that I associate with it.  And hopefully Happily Ever After can offer something just as good but unique too.

Were you a fan of Wishes?  Are you sad to see it go?