I saw The Little Mermaid over Thanksgiving break in 1989. A month later, I asked to see it again for Christmas. I owned the VHS the day it was released, and watched it every single day for over a year. Within three years, the VHS was actually destroyed from overuse. I got another copy, and easily have over 200 viewings on that one.
Fast forward to just after high school. After insisting I didn't need a DVD player for years, a friend gifted me a copy of my favorite anime (Please Save My Earth), which did not get a VHS release. So I bought a DVD player. The first DVD I bought for myself? The Little Mermaid. I have two copies of it on DVD now. I have four snowglobes from that movie. Seven Ariel dolls. Enough t-shirts that I could wear a different one each day and not need to do laundry for nearly a month. I have the soundtrack, the soundtrack from the Broadway version, a book telling me all about the Broadway production (since I couldn't afford to go to New York to see it), the DS game, and both sequels. I have statues, paintings, Christmas ornaments, and if I ever get married, I fully intend to do it in a recreation of Ariel's wedding dress. My local Disney Store has me on speed dial, and call to let me know anytime something new comes in.
I've seen the movie over 1,000 times. I have wanted to BE Ariel since that Wednesday afternoon when I was 7 years old.