The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers!

Is Tiggers are wonderful things!  Anybody who knows anything about me knows that I am a Disney fanatic.  Anyone who knows any more about me can tell you that I collect Tiggers.  While this might appear to some to be an attempt to hold onto a piece of my childhood (which it kinda is), it is more than that.  I have explained my fascination with Disney to some people.  Here goes a better explanation, laid bare, for all to see.

Since I was very young, Disney has been a large part of my life.  I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, with my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  My legal guardian and main caretaker, Andrea (or as I called her, Annie), eats, sleeps, and breathes Disney.  We spent every school break at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  We spent every long weekend at Disney World.  We spent a good number of short weekends making day trips to Disney World.  Each time, we stayed in the Fort Wilderness Campground.

Most of the memories that one associates with early childhood are, for me, associated with Disney World.  Learning to ride a bike, learning to swim, the holidays, my first pet, my first sleepover, and various and sundry other milestones.  All associated with Disney.  I've been in the tunnels underneath the theme parks.  I know where all of the hidden Mickey Mouse heads are (at least in the Florida parks and resorts).  I've been on every single ride and attraction (save for one or two of the newest ones).  I know where the hidden and funny things in the rides are.  I know a good deal of Disney history.  I know even more random Disney trivia; when I was 8, I won a 200 dollar gift certificate for being able to stump a cast member at a Disneyanna convention by asking him to list the names of Ariel's sisters from the movie "The Little Mermaid".  I was a cast member for a short time.  I've been in the kitchen at Pioneer Hall because I told a cast member that I wanted to be a chef when I grew up.  Disney is a part of me.

Some people have asked me why I have such a devotion to Disney when I am smart enough to realize what Disney's financial strategies and ethical failings are.  My answer to that is simple.  My devotion lies not with the Disney corporation, but with the Disney ideal.  The feeling that children get when you surprise them by telling them that you're going to Disney.  The comfort and familiarity of the guests who return to the parks and resorts time and again.  The awe and wonder of the guests who are coming in for the first time.  The fact that Disney can bring people together.  These are the things about Disney that draw me in.  These are the things about Disney that keep me.

Now, the second part of the equation is that I collect Tiggers.  Well, Tigger happens to be my favorite Disney character.  He has a free spirit and a sense of childlike wonder and amusement that I try to emulate in my life. I have many different Tiggers.  I have ones that are for decoration.  I have ones that I sleep with and cuddle.  I have ones that I chew on and they squeak (hello, I'm a puppy, remember?).  Whenever I'm having a bad day, I give a Tigger a squeeze and let him take away all of the pain and stress.  That is what Tiggers do best.  Well, that and bouncing.

The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things.  Their tops are made out of rubber; their bottoms are made out of springs.  They're bouncy, pouncy, trouncy, flouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!  But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I'm the only one.  Hoo-hoo-Hoo-HOO!

TTFN, ta ta for now.