I was talking with my dad the other day, and when the subject of our upcoming DL trip came up, he said, "Why do you like to go there?" The way he said it, it was obvious that his attitude was disdainful rather than curious, and that he thought we should be spending our vacation time and money elsewhere. He knows that we've been a number of times, but it's not like we go all the time or that it's our only vacation destination.
So I've been thinking about this question and I think what I like about DL (other than it's just fun) is -- There's a concept, commonly experienced in reading books or seeing movies called the "willful suspension of disbelief," which allows you to have an experience you might not otherwise have by becoming a part of the story and "believing" it is true (or ignoring the fact that it isn't). The willful suspension of disbelief allows you to feel emotions that you don't normally feel, in addition to "experiencing" things you don't normally experience. In many ways, being at DL is like being inside a movie or a book. (Really nice hotels can also do this. They make you royalty for a day). Anyway, I think that's what I like so much about DL, it's literally being in Fantasyland *if* you will let it be that.
I don't think everyone who goes to DL gets this, or maybe they just don't experience it that way. My husband, for example. He goes with us every time, but he doesn't experience it the way I do or that my (now adult) kids do. Personally, I think it's because he never willfully suspends his disbelief. For our upcoming trip, he told me he didn't necessarily need a park ticket every day (gasp!). When he does go, he's frequently checking email or baseball scores on his phone.
Anyway, what I actually said to my dad was, "It's one of the few places we can go that nobody argues and everyone is happy most of the time." Which made it sound like we fight all the time, which isn't true, but for some reason everyone does seem to get along better at DL. It's certainly less stressful than trying to figure out a subway system or awkwardly trying to use whatever limited words we know in a foreign language.
What would you say if someone asked you this question?
I thought the line queue was going to jump him! 
I am glad you found your Disney magic. My condolences on your wife's passing too, but the trip in honor or her sounds like a great idea.
