Can't seem to get into "The Zone"

Mike Scopa has talked on occasion about being in what he has termed "The Disney Zone", in fact, it was a good focus of his "Why we do what we do" talk at the 2007 Magic Meets.

I'm not as seasoned of a traveler to the Disney Theme Parks as some of the more well-known members of this rich Disney community, but I typically do not have a problem getting myself into the "Disney Zone".  All I really needed to do was just think about the idea of going.

In fact, when Enchanted Rose and I went last September, we were in "The Zone" from the time we booked the trip in March 2006 until we went in September 2006.  We were able to stay in that blissful state by reading The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World <DING> (we read it from cover to cover), Cara Goldsbury's The Luxury Guide to Walt Disney World, and any and every Disney Propaganda Travel Shows we could find on the Travel Channel or the Discovery Channel (High Definition version preferred).  We even listened to the now defunct Mouse|Tunes podcast to fill in the gaps and prevent dissipation of that "Zone" feeling.

Well, this year we once again bought the 2007 Edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and this time picked up Lou Mongello's Walt Disney World Trivia Book and Steve Barrett's Hidden Mickeys:  A Field Guide to Disney's Best Kept Secrets. 

I just couldn't get into the mood to read The Unofficial Guide.  My wife has been secretly reading it while I've been asleep (she works 3rd shift so is often wired when she gets home in the late, late evening).  My doldrums about this upcoming trip is driving her nuts.  I think bodily harm has been threatened upon me a time or two if I just didn't "snap out of it".  I know I don't hide my affinity for Grumpy, but this isn't a situation where I want that trait to be coming to the surface.

As my count-down clock in my blog header indicates (courtesy of the Trip & Budget Planner tool at Michael's ExporeTheMagic web site), I have slightly less than 3 weeks to go.

We have everything planned now.  We have our ADR's, made a last minute booking of Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, booked our town car transportation to/from Orlando Airport, and booked the "hotel" for our beloved Chihuahuas children.  We are even tossing around the idea of doing that Super-Duper 8 hour backstage tour.

I think one of the biggest reasons I'm having a hard time getting into "The Zone", is because I dropped and broke the lens to my Nikon D80 digital SLR camera right before my trip to Disneyland in June.  I ended up buying a replacement lens for the trip.

It wouldn't have been a big deal if I hadn't found out how much fun it was to go on a photographic safari at a Disney theme park.  If you don't believe me, take a look at how many pictures I took during my trip to Disneyland.

Upon coming back from that trip, it took me a couple weeks to get the camera to Best Buy because I paid for the Accidental Damage policy on the camera.  Unfortunately, the policy isn't a simple swap, you have to send the camera into them for repair.  Well, I finally got some good news today that it is supposedly on it's way back to me.  I am hoping that once it's back in my hands and I can be sure the lens is truly working, I'll start getting out of this funk.

But before the good news today, I was finding that watching some classic Disney animated movies (Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Pocahontas) was helping a bit.  Additionally, reading Lou's Trivia book was helping a lot too.  I never realized how much those trivial details will help with my appreciation of the parks.  Plus, the book really opened my eyes to how little I really knew.

I know that I may be speaking blasphemy by being in the "Community" and all, but I felt my story needed to be told in case others were feeling this way and were in the belief they were alone.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure once I stepped foot on that hallowed ground and made it to my personal Mecca, my mood would've turned around (if it hadn't prior to that). 

Sometimes, the Disney Zone is easy to slide into and hard to get out of and other times it's hard to get into and hard to get out of

Here's hoping that you are all having a grumptastic day!

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