FOR THE LOVE OF DISNEY

I wanted to write about Walt Disney World Resort - in general.  Despite what you may think, Walt Disney World is not an amusement park and it's even more than a theme park - it is an entertainment resort complex located in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista Florida, which is near the Greater Orlando Area.

The resort opened on October 1, 1971 and the entire property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which only half is even developed for usage. To give you a better idea, Walt Disney World’s 25,000 acres is roughly the size of San Francisco or twice the size of Manhattan.  The property contains four separate theme parks - Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom - there are two water parks - Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach - there are two mini golf courses - Winter/Summerland and Fantasia Gardens, four golf courses - Disney’s Palm Golf Course, Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course, Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course & Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course as well as a competitive sports complex - ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex which hosts several tournaments and competitions throughout the year.  There are also shopping, dining and entertainment areas; The West Side, The Landing, The Marketplace and Town Center all located in Disney Springs and don’t forget the 25+ Disney operated resort hotels and one camping resort - all ready to welcome you, your friends and family into the magical Disney World bubble.  

Walt Disney designed Walt Disney World in the 1960’s as a supplement to Disneyland in Anaheim California which opened in 1955.  Because the land surrounding the California park was limited, due to the expanding establishments around the area.  “The Florida Project” as it was known originally was intended to present a distinct vision with its own attractions. Walt’s original plans called for a planned community - The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), which was intended to serve as a testbed for city living innovations.  Unfortunately Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, during the initial planning of the complex - but his brother Roy O Disney came out of retirement to make sure that his brother’s dream remained alive.  Construction started in 1967 - and to make things happen, the ideas Walt originally had to change a bit.  Magic Kingdom was the first park to open the complex in 1971  followed by EPCOT Centre in 1982 (the park now goes by the name EPCOT, Disney’s MGM Studios opened in 1989 (now called Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998.  It was Roy who insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World , ensuring that people would remember that the project started with Walt’s dream.  

There is so much history I could share about the resort itself, but really I just want to share about why I love the parks and what I love about them. The most Magical Place in the World, really is just that - the most magical place in the world.  When you see Cinderella’s castle for the first time, or even the hundredth time, it takes your breath away.  The excitement of coming around the corner on Main Street USA and seeing her castle in the distance is unlike anything.  And trust me - I’ve seen some amazing sights in the lifetime - the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe, The Colosseum, The Acropolis, The Grand Palace in Bangkok, The Petronas Twin Towers, Mount Fuji - I’ve seen all those and as amazing as those all were, seeing Cinderella’s give me a feeling like no other site in the world I’ve yet to experience.  Try to look at other people's faces when they also enter the Magic Kingdom, you can tell the people who are entering for the first time - the glow in their eyes, their shoulders relax as that pixie dust takes over each and every person that walks up Main Street USA toward the hub.

I have such a love of Magic Kingdom, but a different appreciation for it than the other parks because  - even though he wasn’t alive to bring it to fruition - this is Walt’s park.  His visions are here - his conceptualizations (some from Disneyland) - in the Jungle Cruise,  the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Carousel of Progress, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean.  Today, attractions like this aren’t ride or die for me - but I love them because he loved them.  These attractions are remnants for all of us to remember that your dreams can come true -  with a great idea, with hard work, a belief in yourself, dedication and a few monetary loans - your dreams - your big dreams can come true.  I’m not a jaded person, do I really believe that everyone’s dreams can come true - unfortunately, no I don’t but it's nice to maybe feel for a moment or two that it could happen.  “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy” - this quote encapsulates Magic Kingdom perfectly - with its themed lands and how you can’t sense one land from the other - like you can’t see of get a taste of Tomorrowland when you’re in fantasy land and from fantasyland you can’t get a sense of frontier land - that is imagination, that is creativity, that is immersion, that is magic and this kind of magic is only done in Walt Disney World, specifically done the best in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney World’s second park, I call it the second, because it was the second park that opened in 1982 - EPCOT - is my favourite and it has been since I was a kid, but the reasons why I’ve loved from from then until now have changed over time, because I’ve changed over time and thankfully the park has so much going on in it, that its evolved over time just like I have.  A lot of first timers think this is a park worth skipping especially for tiny humans, and I really beg to differ - because EPCOT has so much to offer.  Growing up EPCOT was a very hands-on place for me, reminiscent of a science center or children’s museum (if you’re fortunate enough to have either of those places where you live), a place where I was having fun - but jokes on me as a kid - I was actually learning.  From the still in existence Image Works or The Advanced Training Lab to the now extinct Innovations - there was a lot for little me to take in aside for the actual rides. And now going from The Seas with Nemo and Friends to the Sea Base and from Test Track to the Test Track SIMporium - there’s still so much to see and do, but I do find the activities are more geared to younger guests, but they’re still fun and they hold such a nostalgic feeling for me that I still love them.  As I’ve gotten older my appreciation for World Showcase has grown immensely.  As a kid I only really cared about Mexico and Norway - as the only two pavilions that housed attractions - now we have The Gran Fiesta Tour, which used to be El Rio del Tiempo and Frozen Ever After which used to be one of my all time favourite attractions Maelstrom - and of course I like perusing through Canada, because that’s home.  

Now, I’m all about the shopping and seeing the authentic souvenirs and seeing some of the international talent that is available - I’m all about the countries and the food and the drinks and I love the festivals. So many people say that Magic Kingdom is the the only for sure two day park - but EPCOT, for me even due to its sheer size, and two very distinct areas - the back of the park is The World Showcase and the front with the different neighborhoods - World Celebration, World Discovery and World Nature  - definitely deserves as much time as you can when you visit the park.

Hollywood Studios for me has always been my second favourite because I’m a lover of all things TV and movies and when this park was MGM Studios, it was just that - more of a studio atmosphere, and I relished in that excitement, in the streetmosphere, in the sets and cameras - I loved that.  The park isn’t the same, it had quite the evolution and don’t get me wrong, it's not a bad evolution - it's just not the same park it used to be.  It's so much so not a studio that I really wish they would consider renaming Hollywood Studios to something else actually.  Something else more fitting, maybe something that still has to do with Hollywood, because there is a lot of focus still on different IP’s and movies, but there’s nothing really Studio-esque happening here anymore.  Once upon a time this was a functioning studio, but it's not anymore, so they should honestly ditch the name.  I love that there are exclusive lands to Star Wars and Toy Story - I wish there could be more dedicated lands to very popular franchises that people could immerse themselves in.  Like Avengers Campus in Disneyland or Zootopia Land in Shanghai or World of Frozen in Hong Kong - nothing beats the excitement of being a place that is 100% something you love.  I love the Hollywood feel of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard; that old Hollywood feel for me is something that will never get old and seeing Tower of Terror at the end of Sunset, in its own haunted yet Hollywood Glamour-esque opulence towering over the entire area, is something special.  I love seeing the Chinese Theater, that screams Hollywood to me, because that’s where the original is and as much as I love that there is finally a ride or even an attraction dedicated to Mickey and Minnie Mouse, I really miss the Great Movie Ride that was once upon a time in its place.  I want to love this park the way I used to, but it really needs some TLC and I hope Disney has some big plans for it, although - can’t say there’s much gossip going on about the future of this park - so fingers crossed we hear or see about some changes in the next 10-20 years.  

Disney’s newest park, opening in 1998 is Animal Kingdom and you can argue with me, but this is the most beautifully stunning of the parks and I’m not even a big nature-y person.  I just find the foliage, flora and fauna that encompasses the lands here so stunning and so immersive that you can forget you’re in Florida sometimes. I especially love Africa and Asia, probably because those are actual real places that have been re-imagined by Disney, with as much realism as they could muster.  I love Kilimanjaro Safaris, it just may be the closest I get to an actual safari if I never make it out to the continent of Africa to experience the real thing.  Pandora is stunningly beautiful and a big step up from the former Camp Minnie-Mickey that used to utilize that space.  I’m by no means an Avatar fan, I haven’t even seen the second movie, but I do think that what they’ve done with space is absolutely stunning.  And I can’t not mention the beauty that is the Tree of Life with its exquisite animal carvings along the trunk of the tree. The tree really is a sight to behold - it takes my breath away, each and every time and it's the perfect park icon to really tie all the lands together. While I do feel that this land is lacking in attractions and offerings for the sheer quantity of space they do have - I love the park because it's beautiful and that Finding Nemo Show - Finding Nemo - The Big Blue and Beyond! That is on the path between Asia and what at the moment is still Dinoland USA (which is also soon to be extinct) is my absolute favourite live Disney Stage Production out of all the live shows in any of the parks.  And Expedition is definitely in my Top 5 attractions out of all the attractions available throughout the entire resort.  I love this coaster and the theme of the attraction.  From the moment you step into the queue until you get off your car from the Himalayas it's an experience unlike anything else anywhere else I’ve ever been.  And of course food - aside from World Showcase in Epcot - Animal Kingdom is the place to be for amazing food and snacks.          

As for the other things that are in the Disney bubble - Wide World of Sports - I’ve had to the privilege to see these facilities first hand when a family member of mine, a girls high school soccer coach, was there with this team for a tournament - its a lovely facility that any sports team would be fortunate enough to play, practice or compete in.  

Disney’s Water Parks are also both lovely and although I’ve been to both in the past - I haven’t been to either in the past 10 years and don’t feel like I can give a proper assessment of how the facilities or attractions are presently.  I know that I did love the theming at both, fully immersive experiences as Disney is known to do so well.  Especially Typhoon Lagoon, which is more up my alley of theming anyway - and that wave pool, it's huge and it's super fun.   

Disney Springs is a place I love too.  It’s gone though what I consider to be one of the biggest changes - like overall atmospheric changes in all of the places on Resort property.  As a kid I loved Pleasure Island, which as we know is no longer around - why as a kid did I love Pleasure Island - they celebrated NYE, every night, and who doesn’t think that’s fun?  I still love Disney Springs as it is now, but I do miss the Downtown Disney era even though many of the establishments that were once there are kind of still around in one way or another with a lot of new spaces taking up shop as well.  My favourite area, still is the Marketplace, because that area still holds the most nostalgia for me.  I love ‘World of Disney’ and ‘Goofy’s Candy Company’ and the ‘Christmas Shop’, three places I am sure to visit each and every trip we go on.  And can we talk about the food options - too many to mention for this entry anyway, but there is so much to choose from and so many favourites that it can be hard to pick locations to eat. But you can be confident that everyone in your party will be able to find something they love.  

In conclusion - no other place on this planet makes me feel as excited as a trip to Walt Disney World.  My wallet and credit cards probably don’t feel the same way, but the way I look at it is - that I’ll always get more money - but special moments and good memories are hard to come by and should be made and cherished every chance you can get.  Every time I get back from Disney I’m a little thrown by bills and the sheer lack of disposable income that remains in my accounts - but it feels so worth it to have those moments.  I can distinctly remember something from each and every Disney trip I’ve been on, 16 trips and counting at the time of recording and hopefully many more to come.  

Thanks for taking the time to read my very first entry and remember visit us on Instagram @ mousekathings, we’d love to hear from you.  Have a magical day or night friends - until next time - bye bye!

-Written April 2024