Hopes. Dreams. Great big beautiful tomorrows, shining at the end of every day. These have long been the hallmarks, not only of The Walt Disney Company, but also of its fans. We don’t just love Disney. We live it. We believe to our core that elephants can fly, bunnies can be cops and that there’s a place called Never Land, where we never have to grow up.

But even in our favorite Disney stories, dreams are tested. For every wish upon a star, there’s a villain vowing – usually with a surprisingly good singing voice – to keep that wish from coming true.

Over the past few months, our own Disney dreams have been just as rudely interrupted, not by a shadow man or sea witch, but by a health crisis that temporarily closed our parks, shuttered our resorts, docked our ships and tested our spirit in ways most of us have never experienced.

For me personally, this time apart has been as challenging as any I can remember. Since I wrote to you last, I’ve turned my living room into a newsroom, isolated myself from places and people I love and, most painful of all, lost my father – an extraordinary man who will always be my hero – after an all-too-brief battle with cancer. If ever there was a time for me to stop believing in happily ever after, this was it.

Fortunately, I suffer from what could only be described as an incurable case of optimism. Call it having my head in the clouds or having taken one too many walks “right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A.,” but I refuse to stop believing that better days are ahead. I heard once that “no matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.” And really, who am I to argue with Cinderella? 

Sure, my dreams have refocused a bit during our time apart. Where once I dreamed of soarin’ around the world or rising with the resistance, I found myself dreaming instead of streets lined with people and shelves lined with toilet paper. But soon, my dreams will be fully back in their natural habitat – where railroads run amok (pages 17-18), rats run restaurants (pages 19-20) and brothers can bring back their father with a bit of magic (page 23).

So that’s what the pages ahead are all about: bringing the hope of fantasy to a world sometimes challenged by reality. It’s not just what we do. It’s who we are.

To better days ahead,

Ryan March
Disney Files Editor

The Disney Files staff kindly asks that you read the pages ahead with forgiving eyes, as information that was accurate – or deliberately vague – at press time may have changed by the time this magazine arrives in your mailbox. Thank you for understanding.

Important Information: Theme Park admission is not part of the ownership interest and is sold separately. Some elements depicted in the pages ahead are part of Membership Extras, which is an incidental benefit. These offers are subject to availability, change or termination, and may require a fee. To receive any Membership Extras, purchasers must present a valid Disney Vacation Club Membership Card, along with a corresponding valid photo ID. Membership Extras are available for use with eligible Vacation Points. Visit DisneyVacationClub.com/MemExtrasPolicy for more information.