What is dopamine? Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for firing signals between nerve cells (neurons) and the brain – a chemical messenger of some sort. Dopamine is associated with good feelings, pleasure, and excitement. It goes hand in hand with our motivation and moods. When you experience something pleasurable, your brain releases dopamine. The more pleasurable something is, the more dopamine your body releases.
I came across this article from the Scientific American blog after my sister and I coined the term “Disney Dopamine” for ourselves. We first started using the term Disney Dopamine to express our feelings of thrill and excitement when visiting Disneyland. My sister and I love to get hype! We like stimulation and lots of it – We are like children with the worst ADD.
Put us in Disneyland and the amount of visual, audio, and sensory stimulation is just off the charts! We are completely ecstatic. It’s like being high but your drug is your entire atmosphere and you get to stay high ALL DAY. From food, to rides, to shopping, to shows, to parades, to character greetings…I mean it’s all stimulation! It doesn’t just stop at the parks, you can take Disney Dopamine home with you! The Disney Store, the Disney Outlets, New Disney Movies, ShopDisney, Disney Instagrams, New Disney Merch…and the list goes on and on and on.
Happiness is the richest thing you’ll ever own.”
Donald Duck
If you think about Disney and their motto, they embody everything happy. Happy endings, happy stories, family-oriented, friendly animation, and so forth. Since the beginning of time, their brand has been associated with making magic happen. This kind of happiness stimulation has been pumped into our brains since Mickey Mouse’s birthdate!
Disney has been winning over our hearts since we were children. I grew up watching the classics and while my brain was most ripe, it was pumped up with the Disney Renaissance Era (1989-1999). Walt Disney Pictures was knocking out movies that were extremely successful. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are some of the MOST notable to me when I was growing up.
It’s no surprise that being an adult, Disney recalls feel-good feelings for me. They really hit the family marketing on the nose and draw up all sorts of good nostalgia. It’s familiar, it’s cute, you know there will be good messages and most importantly a happy ending. I know one thing as I’ve been getting older – anything having to do with my childhood I hold extra dear to me. It’s like perseverance of my innocence and true self.
So, when we refer to Disney Dopamine – it’s the feeling of excitement when you first walk into the gates, that surge of almost nervous-ness when you’re about to get on that ride, the rush you get going from store to store trying to find that one piece of merchandise you’re looking for, the happy tears you shed when you watch World of Color or Fantasmic! You get the drift?
What gets your Disney Dopamine going? How do you get your fix? Comment below! We’d love to know.