Most children know the Cinderella story about a girl who starts out with a tough life as a maid and then her life transforms after going to the ball and meeting the prince.

When people grow up they forget about Cinderella. The story loses its magic to them,…but not to Shannon McLaren. Shannon is a lover of Disney movies and believes that they have a happy and magical quality to them. One of her favorite Disney movies is the classic Cinderella.

Shannon saw the Broadway production of Cinderella in 2014. Shannon and her family woke up bright and early to head to the train station to the city. When they arrived in the city Shannon’s family went to the famous Stardust diner for lunch. This is not a traditional dinner, the waiters and waitresses sing and dance on a stage and serve your food. After a good meal Shannon went to see Cinderella. Shannon’s favorite part about the production was when Cinderella’s fairy godmother changed Cinderella’s tattered dress into a beautiful gown right in front of the audience. Shannon said, “When she changed into the dress. I thought that it was cool how she was able to just spin on stage and just transform right in front of you.”

When the new 2015 Cinderella movie came out, Shannon was jumping for joy, and was so excited to see it. She saw the movie the first day it came out in movie theaters. Shannon says her favorite part of the movie was “…when Cinderella and the prince first meet. They’re a really cute couple and when they first meet it’s just adorable.”

Compared to the original 1950 version Shannon liked the new film better. She prefers more realistic movies so naturally she liked the new film. She thought it was nice to not see the film in animation, and how the story was more developed. In the new film the life of Cinderella before her parents died was shown while in the original film the parents weren’t really mentioned. The new movie also shows the loving relationship between the prince and his father.

These added features persuaded Shannon to like the new movie better than the Broadway production of Cinderella. Shannon believed that the movie had so much magic and was so well done that it triumphed over the play. She says, “It was cool to see it in Broadway in real life, but then I like the movie better. It looked more magical since they were able to use GCI, and Cinderella’s dress in the movie was stunning.”

Clearly the Disney magic never left Shannon. This goes to show that Disney magic can be in everyone if you just believe.