In our last issue The Arts and Entertainment Magazine toured Epcot (click here to see article). We wanted to share with all our readers the thrills and magic that is Walt Disney World.

The theme park, which was a duplicate copy dreamed up by Walt Disney for his first endeavor ( the first being Disneyland in California), was his vision for families being able to enjoy quality time together. Walt wanted to build his theme parks so that family members could participate in his creations no matter what their ages were. True to his dreams the parks adhere to his golden rule.

Our second day in Florida saw us arrive at the Disney ticket center where we headed toward the Monorail for The Magic Kingdom. The ride was overflowing with passengers, so we chose the alternate route by boarding the steamboat to take us to our destination. Disney World left no stone overturned when thinking of its patrons comforts. This proved to be a good choice as the boat was not overcrowded.

From there we sailed across the lake to the park entrance. Upon touching down on the far shore we disembarked from the ship and entered the area known as Main Street. With a larger group in tow, as compared to the day before, we headed straight to Cinderella’s Castle, our first objective ( I had wanted to take the train ride as I am a railroad buff, but decided to skip it until my next visit). There was a parade gearing up, so the Castle was off limits until this performance took place. We did enjoy the music and the performance start-up, but quickly decided to make a bee line to some of the Fantasyland exhibits instead. This was another wise choice as we did not have to wait on long lines due to the parade performance.

The first exhibit we attended was Prince Charming Regal Carrousel in which several of our party’s members rode on. The ride was exquisite in its appearance and proved to be a delight for all. The second ride that we went on was the Mad Tea Party whose spinning tea cups are a long-time favorite for all those visiting the Fantasyland. From here we quickly made our way to The Haunted Mansion. This is a ‘must-see’ attraction for all the park’s visitors. The Mansion is a marvelous piece of engineering, and its use of animation and designer’s wizardry has created a visual ride surpassed by none. With pleasant thrills  of technological  visual displays that cannot be beat, this proved to be a major attraction for all . We won’t tell you fully of our experiences here, because this is one ride that you must enjoy first hand. I would love for our team to see the inner workings so that we can explore and report the way it was created, so hopefully during our next visit we can write about it even more.

Due to a late start it was near lunchtime, so we headed for the restaurant by The Enchanted Tales with Belle. The food here is quite delicious and we highly recommend it to all our readers. The costs are reasonable and the meal does not leaving you wanting for more. The atmosphere in the restaurant is also enchanting as is the entrance to it. Service is excellent as well. The wait time for the food is quite short, and the way they serve it up is quite unique.

After we were fully sated with our meal we decided to head for Jumbo the Flying Elephants to please the junior member of our troupe. Yes, ‘Elephants’ is plural as there are duplicate machines to satisfy the high numbers of visitors who attend this ride. Disney created a new idea to keep the young ones from being board while waiting to ride these by creating a circus-themed play are within a giant circus tent, complete with a climbing gym similar to those found at McDonald’s Restaurants. This ‘jungle gym’ is much larger to contain all the kids waiting for the ride to be boarded. Parents can watch and wait on circus bleachers along the tent walls and are given electronic devices similar to those at restaurants) to notify them of their turn to ride. This is quite ingenious and surely gives the parents a chance to rest up a bit.

From here we went to Tomorrowland and we all decided to ride on the ‘Indy Speedway’. This was a fun ride and did not prove to be to strenuous  for either the older or younger members of our group. For a quick learning of what it may be like to be a race driver this gave you ample, yet safe, training.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger’s Spin was also a lot of fun as we engaged monsters from outer space with laser beams for our weapons. The laughs were plentiful and you can quickly control the direction your car faces as it travels with a joy-stick. It is simply amazing how the Disney engineers develop this kind of attraction and its proven track record for amusement speaks for itself. Another pleasant ride is The Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover. I will not hesitate to point out that this should be the first ride to attend when in this section of the park, as it points out all the attractions to choose from for your consideration. The Carousel of Progress is a well known ride that dates back to Disney’s earlier days, but the animation is perfect and it gives you a respite for your feet as you will be doing much walking to cover your visit.

After a brief rest and stop for dinner we travelled to Frontiersland where some of our members rode on  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. We older members chose not to do so as the rest of our troupe rode these thrilling rides. They reported back to us afterwards to tell us about the good time that they had on them.

Our last stop for the evening took us back to Main Street to sample the shops for an evening snack and plenty of park purchases. We lamented on the fact that we needed to spend more time at this Disney theme park to cover the many parts of it that we had missed. We were not too disappointed though as we were all treated to a wondrous event that unfolded before our very eyes. It was Disney’s Electrical Parade set up against nighttime backdrop along the Main Street corridor. This was a fantastic light parade that only Disney could dream up. With its many lighted floats and performer’s costumes it was a spectacle to behold. The ending performance for us was the fantastic fireworks parade which thoroughly delighted the youngest member of our group. Even the boat ride back across the lake proved to be a treat as water born floats with choreographed light displays gave all the attendees a spectacular farewell.

The Magic Kingdom truly lived up to its name and it is no wonder that it is the most beloved theme park of all.

TAEM/TED

…..next issue : Disney’s Animal Kingdom

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 1st, 2014 at 5:50 pm and is filed under News Center, Spotlight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.