Disney Finale

The Happiest Place on Earth

Walt Disney World has been nothing if not ambitious, billing itself as the happiest place on earth. It does, however, have the goods to back up this claim. The experiences you have in Disney will stick with you, especially when you are there with loved ones. I am so glad that I was able to go to Disney on vacation with my family (last year I had an obligation with school that prevented me from going on the family vacation to Washington, D.C.). I wouldn’t trade the time spent in Disney with my family for anything.

Where else could you “visit” different countries in the morning, eat at a 50’s diner, and then watch a fireworks and laser light show? While this in and of itself is rather mind-blowing, it is even better when shared with your family. With everyone always running around doing something at home (and with me 350 miles away at college), it is really hard to find time for all of us to do things together. Our trip to Disney enabled us to spend time as a family, and while at times I could no longer handle them and had to run off on my own to Epcot, the majority of our time was spent with each other. How else would I have learned that my Dad is an adventurer at heart had I not seen him plummet 350 ft. on Summit Plummet?

The guests alone, however, cannot make Disney the happiest place on Earth. The thousands of cast members working at Disney to make us, as guests, have an enjoyable stay, are a major part of the happiness. The fact that they enjoy what they do ensures that a positive vibe is constantly maintained throughout the parks. When the street performers, working in 90+ degree heat, constantly have smiles on their faces, you know that you are in a very special place. Disney World has been so well executed that all the elements, from the attractions to the hotels that might as well be attractions, blend together in a seamless, wonderful experience. This is the type of trip that you will remember for life, and even if you have a bad memory, there are plenty of photographers throughout the park to document the experience so you will never forget. The magic of Disney truly has made this the happiest place on Earth.

Works Cited
“2008 Attraction Attendance Report.” 2009. TEA/ERA. 21 Jul 2009.

Birnbaum Travel Guides. Walt Disney World: Expert Advice from the Inside Source.
New York: Disney Editions, 2008.

Fritscher, Lisa. “History of Epcot.” 1997. Orlando Vacations. 21 Jul 2009.

“In Depth Planning Topics.” Disneyworld.disney.go.com. Walt Disney World. 21 Jul
2009

“Visions of the Past: A comprehensive Epcot Timeline.” 2009. Orlando-Florida.net. 21
Jul 2009

“Walt Disney World Dining and Reservations.” Disneyworld.disney.go.com. Walt
Disney World. 21 Jul 2009

Disney pt. 12

Epcot

When you venture to Disney World, it’s only natural to end up choosing a favorite park. It’s nothing against the other parks. One just always seems better than the rest. For me, this park happens to be Epcot. Epcot began as Prototype City, a dream of Walt Disney’s to create a city of the future that would be the model for all future cities that would be built. It was to be called EPCOT, an acronym standing for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. EPCOT was opened on October 1, 1982 as the second park in the Walt Disney World Complex (Fritscher).

Epcot is split into two separate areas (Future World and the World Showcase), and while Future World is quite enjoyable with attractions such as Test Track and Mission: Space, the World Showcase is where I could go for days and be content. When the World Showcase was first built, it held only nine countries (USA, Canada, Japan, China, Germany, Italy, France, Mexico, and China). Two years later, in 1984, the Morocco pavilion was opened, and four years after that Norway was added to bring the total number of countries to eleven. (Visions) Each country has been meticulously researched and designed with so much care that when I walked into the Japanese pavilion, I actually felt like I had been transported across the ocean, and when I walked into the The American Adventure (the name for the USA pavilion), well, I still felt like I was in the United States.

All of these pavilions are built surrounding the World Showcase Lagoon, “a body of water that is about the size of 40 football fields, with a perimeter of 1.2 miles.” (Birnbaum 141) This makes it quite the expedition to see all the countries in one day, and I deeply regretted wearing flip flops for the occasion. The first country that I visited, the United Kingdom, also happens to be one of my favorites. I’ve always wanted to travel over to England, and this is about as close as I will get for quite a while. The English pavilion is quite impressive, featuring a pub serving fish and chips (the fish and chips here happens to be fantastic and I would highly recommend it), a tea shop, and two of the iconic, red phone booths that are immediately associated with the UK.

One of my favorite parts of the UK, however, is the street performers that set up shop by the pub throughout the day. The three performers start by pulling a couple people out of the audience to help them with their show. Whoever is selected is given some prop to signify their character (Lancelot gets to wear a nice vest with a big “L” on it) and then the show begins. This particular show involved the telling of the tale of King Arthur, whose role was played by an older, bald man with a beer in his hand that had taken a seat on the wall to watch. It is through the audience participation that this show becomes great. The performers tell the tale, and as they go they come up with certain things for the audience members to say or act out. For example, the story often called for Lancelot to act excited, so one of the performers, during his narration, said, “…And Lancelot was quite excited to return to Camelot” and then looked at Lancelot, clearly expecting him to act excited. Lancelot, after a brief, confused pause, simply said “Yay”, and this rather unenthusiastic response became the standard for every time Lancelot had to be excited. It is through the ridiculous responses that come from audience members trying to improvise that this show becomes hilarious.

The performers also did a great job of getting the entire audience involved in the show. We were given a few phrases that we had to say when certain keywords were mentioned. For instance, every time King Arthur’s name was mentioned, we all had to yell “Long live the king!” If we didn’t get it right, the performers would let us know about it too, poking fun at us for struggling on such a simple task. When the story finally wound to a close, I was sad to see them pack up and leave, and resolved to try to catch a show again if I could somehow find the time.

Disney pt. 11

Fantasmic!

Stage performances are a big part of the Disney experience. One of the most impressive is Fantasmic! in Hollywood Studios. This show involves a dream-turned-nightmare of the magician’s apprentice Mickey. It is shown intermittently throughout the week, and since space is limited (the amphitheater is huge, but it’s a popular attraction) a line forms well before showtime, quickly making its way down the street. It is quite the display, featuring an array of fireworks and lasers, as well as many familiar Disney characters. The Little Mermaid and Eric, Belle and the Beast, and Cinderella and the Prince all have their own floats that drift around the main stage during the performance.

Other characters wind up making guest appearances through clips from their various Disney movies. This is one of the most intriguing parts of the show, because the clips are viewed on water. Three fountains, angled for the different sections of the amphitheater, create screens of water that the movie clips are then projected onto. The constantly changing screen creates a dynamic and intriguing experience, making it unlike any movie you’ve ever experienced. The climax has Mickey dueling a giant, red dragon to defeat the Disney villains and their evil plot. This is quite an impressive pyrotechnic battle, during which part of the lake is set ablaze by the dragon’s breath.

Finally, the show ends with the entire Disney cast riding out on the steamboat from the original Steamboat Willy cartoon, a nice homage to Mickey’s humble beginnings. Then, the true challenge begins: getting out. With thousands of people all trying to get out of one opening at the same time, a bottleneck quickly forms, and if you are caught in the back you can easily wait 15 minutes before you can get out. Since the show lets out after the park has already closed, there is also a stampede to the bus stops and ferry landing, which can mean even more waiting if your slow. Sadly, my family tends toward the slow side, and since we sat on the opposite side of the theater from the exit, it was a long trip back to the Yacht Club.

Disney pt. 10

Street Performers

When it comes down to it, any company is only as good as the people that make it up. Walt Disney World is no different, and the “cast” as they are called ensure that you will have a fantastic Disney experience. Some of the most dedicated workers I found were the performers in the street parades, like the one I witnessed in Hollywood Studios. Here, one of the army men from Toy Story was directing the performers as they set up shop in the middle of the street. Directly in front of me were four acrobats performing on trampolines and singing along. What amazed me most about them was their energy. It must have been 95 degrees outside and they were running all over the place. The performance lasted for 15 minutes of constant motion, and then they packed everything up and moved down the street just to do it again. This dedication brought me to admire the performers. They put everything they had into performing again and again throughout the day out in the scorching heat. It was easy to tell that everyone in the cast loved their jobs and truly enjoyed providing entertainment for the guests. Anything less and they would have quit. This dedication ensured that when we my dad and I stopped to see what was going on, we were not disappointed.

Disney pt. 9

Transportation

One of Disney’s greatest strengths lies in its extensive transportation network. Every park is connected to each resort by at least one, and often two, means of free, simple transportation. When families journey to Disney, they don’t go to wait for a bus for hours, and Disney World knows that. That is why Disney operates its own fleet of buses. These buses run about every 15-20 minutes (Birnbaum 57) with separate routes for each of the parks. In addition to the bus service, there are multiple other transportation options including boats and the monorail. Multiple methods of transit to the various parks serves to ease congestion in the system and takes some of the monotony out of traveling (things are always more interesting when you get to choose).

With the bar set so high, any hiccups in the system tend to cause frustration, and in some cases an uproar. Take, for example, my return from Blizzard Beach. I was headed back to the hotel a bit early because I was tired (I’m turning into an old man early, I know), and when I reached the bus stop there was a sizable crowd. I stood toward the outskirts and began the wait, thinking with all the people there the bus should be coming sometime in the near future. Ten minutes passed with no bus. It was then that I started hearing the conversation of a very outspoken woman. She was complaining, saying this was getting ridiculous, and while it had been a surprisingly long time I was content to sit and wait it out. She, on the other hand, would have none of it. She was loud, impatient, and rather rude really, and while she had been there a lot longer than I, I found it hard to find any sympathy. A couple more minutes went by, and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked to the stop next to us and began harassing the driver in an impressively forceful voice that carried over to our stop.

“Where’s our bus? We’ve been waiting here for 30 minutes. This is ridiculous. I’m not paying all this money to wait at a bus stop all day. Can’t you just do something about it?” She finished with guttural an “Ugh!” and stormed back to our stop. While I found this all very amusing, I also felt a pang of sympathy for the driver. It wasn’t his fault our bus hadn’t shown up, but he was taking the brunt of the backlash, and it wasn’t even his route. About five minutes after her show concluded, two buses rolled up to our stop. I suppose the squeaky wheel really does get the grease, but it’s a shame when the squeak comes from someone so abrasive (not my first choice of words, but we’ll keep the paper PG).

Disney pt. 8

The Ferry

Disney is a strange land for the twenty-something crowd. Everywhere you look there are parents toting around their kids, the old and the young blending to form a very alien sea for those of us caught in-between. Thus, the rare moment of spotting someone even remotely your own age is one to be treasured. Find two or more, and you’ve hit the jackpot.

Already worn out by the intense heat of late morning/early afternoon in Disney World during June, it was time to reunite with my family for lupper (Due to the intense popularity of Disney restaurants, dinner was frequently early during our trip. Today happened to be our earliest dinner, scheduled for 3:00 p.m., and as such qualified for the dining abomination: lupper) after a morning by myself in Epcot.

Boarding the boat on my own offered many options not afforded when traveling with the family, most obvious of which was the freedom to choose any space I wanted to sit. While surveying the boat for open seats, I stumbled upon a rare treasure in the Disney ecosystem: two incredible blondes that appeared to be in their early twenties. When opportunity knocks, it is of course wise to answer, so I proceeded to sit in front of them. Immediately as I sat down Swedish accents washed over me, and I knew I had made an excellent seating choice. Sure, eavesdropping is wrong, but it’s not eavesdropping when half the conversation is in a language you don’t understand, right?

It is here that, I’m sad to admit, I blew my golden opportunity. I chickened-out. I froze. I clammed up. I got cold feet. I just couldn’t bring myself to turn around and strike up a conversation. This simple act, to me, seemed to require a Herculean effort I was simply incapable of producing. Instead, I merely sat there against the window, resigned to my fate. Resigned as I was, I couldn’t help but listen to the conversation drifting to me over the seats. It was as if as long as I kept listening, I could convince myself that I was merely waiting for the right moment to arrive. It gave me hope when clearly all of it should have faded away.

What I heard was surprisingly ordinary. They talked about their flight down (it was delayed for two hours in Chicago), where they were heading next (Magic Kingdom happened to be on the agenda for the next day), and how god-awful hot it was (it was). “Could it be that these two mythical beings were in reality just like the rest of us?” I wondered. No! That had to be impossible. I am perfectly able to hold a conversation with ordinary people. No, something about them had to be different. And then, as three strange words reached my ears, the clouds of confusion parted and a ray of enlightenment shone upon me: language! They spoke one that I could not, and as such were elevated to a completely different playing field. Rejection is bad enough, but if it was in English at least I could understand it. This way I might not even know. Just like that, all hope was shattered. Any chance I originally had disappeared during my over-analyzation of the situation. Shortly after this thought, tired from the oppressive heat of mid-afternoon and depressed by my inaction, I was lulled by their musical accents into a dream-like state as we drifted down the water toward Hollywood Studios.

Disney pt. 7

Magic Kingdom

They built this Kingdom… They built this Kingdom on hopes and dreams. The Magic Kingdom was the first park built in Disney World, and is the most popular theme park in the world. With 17,063,000 visitors in 2008, Disney has clearly discovered the formula for a successful theme park. (Attraction 6) This formula involves having something for everyone. Children happen to have the biggest “something”, and rightly so, with most of the attractions, the characters, and many of the live shows created expressly with them in mind. Even the dining, with various options to dine with the characters throughout the park, is aimed toward providing a good experience for the kids. The Crystal Palace is a great example of this, with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger roaming the dining room to sign autographs and take pictures. Every hour or so, the characters grab their signs and lead the kids in a parade around the dining room. The kids even have their own buffet that serves kid favorites such as macaroni and cheese. If you’re under 11, you’re set in Disney World.

The 11-16 crowd is well looked after as well. Some of the more thrilling attractions such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are aimed their way. The parents, arguably the most important aspect as they pay the bills, are also well taken care of. There are plenty of indoor, air-conditioned rides to ensure the kids are kept happy and the parents can escape from the scorching sun.

However, there is one group that seems to have been left out, and lucky me, I just happen to fall into it. This group encompasses those in their late teens and twenties. The Magic Kingdom just doesn’t have attractions geared toward this age group. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is well and good, but it still feels like it was designed for someone younger. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself wholeheartedly when we visited the Magic Kingdom for the first time. It’s just that while there, I couldn’t help but feel a little out of place, which is why, when the family ventured back to The Magic Kingdom for a second day, I had to pass and head for Epcot instead.

Disney pt. 6

Blizzard Beach

Disney World has two water parks that complement the four main parks in the complex: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Both, in true Disney fashion, were designed entirely from a single theme. Typhoon Lagoon is designed to look like a village that was hit by a typhoon and then rebuilt around the aftermath.

Blizzard Beach, the water park my brother, dad, and I chose to go to, is modeled after a ski resort built after a freak snowstorm covered the Orlando area in snow. It is an impressive creation, featuring a chairlift that is used to transport guests to the top of the mountain to access the park’s three biggest attractions: Teamboat Springs, Summit Plummet, and Slush Gusher.

Now, to understand my Dad’s triumph on this hot Florida day, a little background is in order. My dad is not a thrill-ride kind of guy. He hates anything that spins or goes upside down, and isn’t the biggest fan of heights either. Nowhere was this more evident than on our vacation to the Grand Canyon. When I was seven, we took a trip out west for our vacation and visited the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon, where the most commonly repeated phrase was “Steve! Get away from the edge.” When walking one of the numerous trails that lead into the Grand Canyon, my dad was constantly freaking out, even if I was nowhere near the edge.

“Dad, I’m fine. I’m in the middle of the path,” was my consistent retort, but he wouldn’t be satisfied unless I was pressed against the canyon wall. Some would chalk this up to being a protective parent, but I think it was his aversion to heights that was then projected onto me.

Now, back in Blizzard Beach, my brother was lobbying to go on Summit Plummet for our first ride. Summit Plummet happens to be a 350 ft. water-slide (the biggest in the park), and my dad dodged his suggestion by giving one of his own: Teamboat Springs (this is a raft ride for 4-6 people that, while still fairly intense, isn’t in the same league as Summit Plummet). However, as the day wore on, my brother persisted, constantly repeating the phrase “Let’s go on Summit Plummet” when we were trying to decide what to do next.

The oft-repeated reply from my dad: “I’ve got to work up to these things, Brian.” I never thought he would “work up to it.” I figured he was just attempting to stall until it was too late in the day and we had to leave the park, thus escaping the “plummet.” Surprisingly, about midday, he relented. I thought he was just planning on waiting at the bottom and sending Brian up with me, but he got in line with us. As we moved through the line, I could tell he was getting nervous. He kept looking up to where the line stopped and the ride began above us, and he started mumbling “I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into this.” I kept waiting for him to back out, but he stayed the course. When we reached the top, my brother wanted to go first, and with the fearlessness of a little daredevil hopped right up and plummeted. This was the point of no return, and since he’d made it this far, I wasn’t planning on giving my dad a choice in the matter. I said, “Your turn Dad. I’m going last.”

He gave me a resigned look and replied “Not gonna let me chicken out, huh?”
“Nope.”

And with that he was off. I was impressed. He barely even put up a fight. It was this that convinced me that somewhere deep down in places he doesn’t like to talk about my dad was a thrill-seeker.

Disney pt. 5

The Perfect Gift

A trip to Disney World comes with its own unique challenges, one of the biggest being the quest to find the perfect gift to bring home. It may be for a family member that you actually like, a close friend, or even a significant other (The “apology for the significant other not getting to go to Disney with you” gift is arguably the hardest gift to buy, and the one that can get you in the most trouble). For this search for the mythical perfect Disney gift to succeed, it must commence the moment you set foot on Disney property. The gift is out there hidden in the myriad of Walt Disney World paraphernalia, and this treasure hunt happens to have a very tight schedule. Luckily, Disney goes to great lengths to ensure you have a plethora of opportunities to find said gift. There are souvenir stands scattered throughout all of the parks and many of the attractions have you exit through gift shops (a time-honored and brilliant selling tradition). Merchandise is everywhere, and while there are some common items (key-chain kiosks abound and are stocked with a couple of key-chains unique to that area and the rest found throughout the parks) most of the items for sale is unique to that particular park, and sometimes even that certain area of the park.

This giant selection of merchandise means that there is something for everyone. The only problem is finding it. With such a large selection, finding the perfect gift is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. This is why the search must begin at the start of your trip: there’s a whole lot of stuff to sift through. However, this doesn’t require “shopping” for the gift from the moment you get there. Rather, as I slowly came to realize during my first day in Disney, the hunt should blend seamlessly with the rest of your trip as an integral part of the Disney experience. For instance, after getting off of the new roller coaster, Expedition Everest, I was immediately dumped into a rather spacious gift shop full of themed goodies. Instead of blowing by everything on my quest to ride Kali River Rapids as soon as humanly possible, I took five minutes to peruse their selection. Instead of examining every item in the store, which would have eaten up a good chunk of time, I just wandered and waited for something to catch my eye. If I had a rock-climbing relative or a yeti lover in the family, this would have been the perfect place to find a gift for them. So, if you ever venture to Walt Disney World and follow in my footsteps, you should have no problem discovering that perfect teddy bear in a remote corner of the Animal Kingdom, or anything else for that matter.

This strategy, however, is not a perfect one, and so it came to be that I found myself nearing the end of my Disney excursion and still lacking the perfect gift. These desperate times called for desperate measures, and a trip to Downtown Disney for some marathon shopping was in order. While there are plenty of shops in the area, which is modeled off the center of a bustling metropolis complete with multiple neighborhoods, (Birnbaum 190) including a Lego store and a Harley Davidson, the one store that rules them all happens to be World of Disney in the Marketplace section of Downtown Disney. This is the mecca of all things Disney. Looking for a Mickey cookbook? It’s here. Pins? Cinderella tiara? Goofy golf balls? All here. There was so much Disney merchandise under one roof that my head started spinning. Fear not, though, for the store is separated into 12 rooms that feature different themes, which makes things slightly easier to process. There’s a room for kitchen/dining supplies, dads, and little princesses, as well as many more. If you can’t find the perfect gift here, well, you’re just not looking hard enough.

But how was I to narrow it down from all the choices? The first thing I had to do was to narrow the gift choice down by choosing a category. In this case, I happened to pick Disney Princesses as the category for the gift for my dear friend Jori. Other ways to categorize include by type of gift (coffee mug for the uncle that can’t go without it in the morning, for example) or by theme park (perhaps an Animal Kingdom gift for the zoologist in the family). After I had limited my choices to something revolving around Disney Princesses, my next move was to find something specifically relating to Jori. This could be anything from an inside joke involving pins to a favorite colour. In this case, since I was in the dark on most of Jori’s Disney preferences, I chose the straightforward approach: I simply asked her who her favorite Disney Princess was and why. She responded with “Belle because she has that beautiful, yellow dress.” And there it was. Now, instead of looking aimlessly, I had a purpose: I had to find Belle in her yellow dress. Looking through World of Disney, I found there was a surprisingly small selection. Most of the merchandise had all the Disney Princesses on it, and I just wanted Belle. Finally, after 30 minutes or so of searching, I found it: a little snow globe with Belle in her dress. It was perfect, and better yet, it was in my price range. The quest was over, and I had triumphed.

Disney pt. 4

Hotel or Attraction?

The bus dropped us off just outside the Yacht Club (The vast majority of Disney hotels are themed, but more on that shortly) and we were immediately greeted by Jenny. Jenny happens to be one of three personal greeters at the Yacht club and is there to ensure that you make it the twenty steps into the lobby and to the front desk with no trouble, all while ensuring that everything has been to your satisfaction. This job, while seeming superfluous at first glance, actually serves a very important purpose for the Disney ecosystem: it makes the guests feel welcome. It was very nice to step off the bus and hear “And you must be the Davis family. Right this way please.” Jenny made us feel like we were important, and that the Disney corporation was working hard to make our stay a happy and enjoyable one.

Stepping into the Yacht club produces an immediate sensory overload in the nautical department. Everything from the staff’s outfits and the boat paintings on the walls to the giant globe in the middle of the lobby with the old, weathered-looking staff member playing to perfection the part of a ship captain screams yacht club. When Disney decides on a certain theme, they don’t hold back. The three restaurants located within our hotel were all of a seafaring nature (The Captains Grill, Beaches and Cream, and The Yachtman’s Steakhouse), the lighthouse on the pier is in the same colour scheme as the Yacht Club, and everything in the room was bolted to the floor so when the hotel rocked back and forth at night to mimic a ship’s motion nothing would shift (So I completely made that last part up, but how awesome would that be?). The point being, if the place were anymore “yachty” it would be an actual yacht club and, lacking a water craft of our own, I fear we would not have been welcome.