16 Things We’d Totally Miss If Disney Didn’t Exist

All of us have lived in a world surrounded by Disney. The company was started in 1923 so it is closely approaching its centennial in 2023, and there are very few people left who lived in the pre-Disney era. Disney has simply been all around us. We’ve always had Mickey Mouse and Snow White. Later on, Disneyland and Disney World were constructed and the hands of Disney spread rapidly. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without Disney. Here’s what the world would look like if Walt’s dream never became a reality.

1. No Mickey Mouse Club Without the Mickey Mouse Club, who knows if Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake would have become famous. That also means no Mickey Mouse March, essentially the national anthem of Disney.

2. No Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. Everyone knows Mickey Mouse shaped waffles are superior to all other waffles because everything tastes better shaped like that adorable mouse.

3. And no Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars either. Yep, no Mickey waffles and now no Mickey Ice Cream Bars. In fact, no Mickey Mouse shaped foods at all because Mickey Mouse doesn’t exist in this forsaken, dark Disneyless World.

4. No World Showcase. That means we actually have to plan expensive trips to visit other countries rather than peruse eleven in one day. There’s no way I could hit all eleven countries featured in the World Showcase in a lifetime. Perhaps if I was a millionaire I could, but that is highly unlikely.

5. No Finding Nemo. When I was still in grade school, Finding Nemo was the go-to movie when the teachers didn’t feel like teaching. Without little Nemo, what will those kids in class do now? Learn? The kids in this Disneyless world will never know the joy of having an easy day just watching colorful animated fish.

6. No more arguments over the best princess. In this Disneyless world, there’s no need for us Disney fans to profess our love for our favorite princesses anymore. I will argue all day long that Belle is the best princess and anyone who says otherwise will be getting an earful from yours truly. I guess it might be a good thing we don’t have those arguments anymore. Now we have to argue over the best princess in the real world. So I guess that would be Kate Middleton? Are there any other princesses out there? Well find out since our fictional princesses never existed.

7. Rain all the time. I feel like this world without Disney would just be bleak and depressing. There would be no sun, no warmth. It would be cold and it would rain every day, putting us all in a sour mood. I won’t say Disney is the reason the sun shines, but I’m pretty sure there is a correlation there.

8. What would Alan Menken do? This man is responsible for the most iconic of the Disney songs. Just think of The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, etc. Without Disney giving him these opportunities to create beautiful music, where would he be? Would he still be creating music or would he just be a boring accountant? We need Menken’s musical talents. I don’t want to live in a world without “The Circle of Life.”

9. Morbid Fairytales no one reads. You know most of the animated Disney films are adapted from fairytales that all have very morbid endings. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Frozen are just a few that have really graphic or shocking endings in the real world. Who would honestly take time to read these stories without Disney’s movie adaptations making them palatable for all audiences? I owe a Disney a big thank you for sheltering my childhood from the graphic realities of these iconic stories.

10. No Lizzie McGuire. Or Even Stevens, PB&J Otter, Bear in the Big Blue House and That’s So Raven. In fact, let’s just say no Disney Channel at all. All those shows we loved growing up never happened. We’re stuck with the mediocre Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network shows.

11. No “I’m going to Disney World!” It’s tradition when someone wins, especially in sports to proclaim “I’m going to Disney World!” but now there is no Disney World, so where are you going to go? I can assure you, “I’m going to the dentist!” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

12. No fancy mouse ear hats outside Halloween. Mouse ears will only be worn on one day a year because it would be socially acceptable only on Halloween. I love Halloween, but I love my mouse ears more. It pains me that this world without Disney would be so judgmental of our unconventional headwear.

13. Stuck with Universal Studios. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Universal Studios as much as the next girl. But it is not Disney and it never will be. So what if you guys have Harry Potter? We have Fantasyland, Epcot and Toy Story Mania. Oh wait. Without Disney, we have no other choice but to stand in ridiculously long lines to get a Butter Beer.

14. No Dole Whip! I think I just heard the sound of a million hearts breaking. Sadly, if the world didn’t have Disney, the world would not have Dole Whip. It’s okay to shed a tear. Just let it out.

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15. No Prince Phillip. Growing up, Prince Phillip was always the man I modeled my perfect husband after because he slays a fire-breathing dragon for his true love. He’s amazing. And yes, there are many princes named Phillip throughout history in the real world, but did any of them slay a dragon? Nope. A Disneyless world sets my standards drastically lower. Thank you Disney. You gave me unrealistic expectations for my own prince, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

16. No Magic Kingdom. The entire Disney complex in Orlando would be swampland filled with alligators that would take over the area. Who knows, maybe the alligators would become super intelligent and enslave the native Floridians who reside in Orlando. Okay, that part might be a little far-fetched but anything could happen in a Disneyless world. You get the idea; a world without Disney would be awful.

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