There is a visceral experience as a day descends upon the land of Disney. A worn-out, sugar-high family staggers to the exit and stops for one last attraction. You know the scene. The hustle of Main Street USA slows as a sea of heads turn to Cinderella’s Castle. Fireworks explode over the castle as a schmaltzy When You Wish Upon a Star plays on the PA. There is oohing and ahhing, and children scan the skies for Tinkerbell—the well-branded fairy who blesses the castle and logo before every Disney film. Now she appears, dust and all, for real.

For some reason the weather is perfect. And the dimmed streetlights and gathered crowd are reminiscent of a Mayberry hometown on July 4. And in that moment, as the song builds and Tinkerbell descends, a sensation sweeps through the crowd: Yes, anything is possible. Makes no goddamn difference who you are. It passes quickly for some, brings tears for others—most likely older women clinging to giant stuffed Pooh Bears—but it is present. Magic is in the air.

A magic that crosses social, economic and ethnic boundaries is a magic that has become a genre of entertainment, produced by talented executives and governed by a massive corporation. It’s a complex magic, too, created by quintessential Disney illusions.

No doubt my own final family trip to Disney World was ripe with illusions: My parents planned that trip knowing they would separate in a few months. Looking back, I cannot but wonder what they were thinking. Did the “Happiest Place on Earth” seem appropriate for a family about to end? (It is family legend that Aunt Marsh told Uncle Cesar that it was “over” while waiting in line for Space Mountain.)

I have to believe that it was an attempt to remember the good times by visiting an environment free from trouble and strife, to feel magic—in a place where butter is cut daily into mouse ears so my mom can say, “Oh my, Brian, look at the butter. It’s mouse ears.” My Dad can answer with a smile, as if he would expect anything less, “Yup, it sure is.”

The greatest illusion of all is that this “magic” belongs to Disney. No, it is our magic. We possess it. The magic is made up of feelings of empowerment, imagination and wonder. As we experience a Disney illusion—a film, a theme park—we let loose our magic. Still, bringing out the magic in people is a noble profession regardless of its illusive pretense. People need ways to access life’s magic. But what is the limit to illusion-making?

Illusion is what the Walt Disney Company does. From Walt Disney’s creation of Mickey Mouse in 1928 to Disney/Pixar’s 2003 summer blockbuster Finding Nemo (projected to be the highest-grossing film of the summer), Disney has invited American mainstream audiences into magical worlds for 75 years. Ever-growing and changing, Disney is an empire built on one man’s dream. “A dream,” as one Disney associate once said, “of the way the world ought to be.”

To get to the heart of Disney we must look closely at Walt himself. Only a great illusionist could dream up a world in cartoons and then sell it to us ten times over in toys, books, music and theme parks. Born to poor Midwestern farmers in 1901, he epitomized the self-made man of the 20th century. An obsessive worker with a distaste for anything off-color, Disney believed in American ideals of the common man and thus made his life entertaining the common man and his family. “Good wholesome entertainment for all ages” was Disney’s motto.

Walt believed in taking well-known fairy tales and folk tales and turning them into simple stories of good triumphing over evil. He insisted upon artistic and technical innovation and was a pioneer both in color cinema and in the use of the television. According to Disney biographers Richard Schickel and Steven Watts, Walt was not a gifted animator (he almost stopped drawing completely after 1924) but he was a gifted salesman who could pull together great creative minds.

The Walt Disney Company has taken this approach to heart, and today continues to sell itself to young creative minds, going as far as investing in California Institute of Art (CAL ARTS) from which it culls a majority of its animators. (Walt founded the school in 1961.) Likewise, if a new technology in animation appears, as it did with Pixar in the late 1990s, Disney does all it can to take hold of it. Therefore when a Pixar creation is released the artistic innovation magically looks like a child of Disney.

While artistic perfection and innovation are hallmarks of Walt Disney, one of his greatest achievements was his foresight into distribution possibilities beyond existing and traditional methods. In 1950, when many filmmakers feared the advent of television, Disney embraced it, calling it “the world in your living room.” In addition to showing a favorite Disney Studios’ creation, Walt Disney’s weekly television program allowed for film and theme-park promotion, product tie-in with favorite Disney actors and publicity for the activities of the Disney Studio.

Roy Disney, Walt’s brother and business partner, explained in 1958, “Integration is the key word around here: We don’t do anything in one line without giving a thought to its likely profitability in our other lines.” In fact, Walt was linking his work with clothing and toys as far back as the 1937 release of Snow White. No doubt, a Disney film today would not be a Disney film at all if it did not permeate our culture through product tie-ins, toys, books, music and spin-off videos.

Walt Disney believed in his illusion. It was not at company headquarters where he was truly happy, but at Disneyland. In fact he kept an apartment on Main Street USA, above the fire station. He savored walking amongst the guests, observing his creation and fixing problems that arose. He once told a colleague that Disneyland was his favorite project of all: “If there’s something I don’t like at Disneyland, I can correct it. I can always change it [here], but not in the films.” Asked whether he ever thought of running for president, Disney quipped, “Why would I want to be president when I can be king of Disneyland?”

The public seemed to agree: Opened in 1955 to rave reviews, Disneyland was heralded by Popular Mechanics as “a real-life dream” and by A Woman’s Home Companion as “probably the closest yet to life-as-we-wish-it-were combined with life-as-it-is.” Even Richard Nixon said, “This place is a paradise for children and grown-ups, too.”

In the postwar/Cold War 1950s, Disneyland was a tribute not only to the power of illusion, but to American history, innovation and values. Only in a capitalist, free country could such a place exist, and only under a dictator could it thrive.

Walt insisted upon a strict code of conduct among his employees that continues today. Visitors are known as guests and always greeted with a smile. Employees are “performers,” and when they are working they are “on stage.” A former performer of Disneyland, i.e., an outdoor vendor of popcorn, soda and frozen lemonade, said, “They made sure you understood the Disney way…You should do your part.”

After Walt’s death in 1966, corporate disarray started to erode Disney’s illusion-making through the 1970s and early 1980s. But with the front office leadership of Michael Eisner, Disney regained its footing by expanding its theme parks such as MGM Studios, its media and entertainment ownership such as ABC, and by releasing animated hits one after the other beginning with The Little Mermaid.

Today, as media integration combines film studios and production companies, television stations, radio stations, magazines, record labels, theatrical productions, sport franchises, theme parks and planned communities, Disney is the largest media conglomerate in the world.

The Disney illusion permeates our world. We’ve been raised on Disney movies, theme parks and stories. We’ve been conditioned to release our imagination, empowerment and wonder when we see a Disney illusion, which experience has told us will be safe and comfortable. This is okay. Humans need illusions, they need reason to let go of innate magic. But something is lost to humanity when one corporation (a corporation with a history of obsessive control and manipulation) is producing all the products that we “magically” respond to. Disney needs boundaries—boundaries of where it can and cannot project its illusions. Lately it seems Disney knows no restraint (see sidebar) and it appears the federal government will do nothing to stop this runaway mouse in the future.

The recent deregulation of media ownership now allows Disney to own a cable provider. Such an ownership would allow Disney to control which television stations enter people’s home. Even Walt never dreamed of such a television power —the power of every station to pump Disney illusion, 24-7.

If you want this kind of Disney illusion, I recommend packing your bags and heading toward Orlando or Anaheim…even if your family situation is shaky.

Recently I spoke with my mother about the choice to visit Disney World on that final family vacation. She didn’t have an answer. But she did say: “By taking your child to Disney World you’ve been a good parent and given the ultimate gift. You’ve provided an experience that is free from worry, fun. It’s for parents as well as kids. It introduces the kids to a world of creativity.”

I’m glad Disneyland and Disney World exist. It’s when these lands and worlds sneak outside their gates that I start to worry.