Walt Disney World

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Walt Disney World is the largest amusement park/resort in the world, and I got to experience it first hand to see why. Although I was only there for two days, it was quite the adventure and I didn’t even get to see half of the attractions. This was the first trip I have ever made to a Disney park, so I had to take lots and lots of pictures.

Spaceship Earth
Spaceship Earth with flowers

Epcot

My first day started when we arrived at Epcot, and was greeted with the large geometric patterned dome of Spaceship Earth. I was told that despite the massive size of the parking lot at Epcot, Disney had the parking down to a science so that at the end of the day, everyone can leave quickly and easily without any bottlenecks. There’s always someone directing you down an aisle and into a stall. Getting into the actual park was equally as easy as my cousin had provided complimentary passes, with the added bonus of “park hopping” to explore the other parts of the resort without having to purchase additional tickets.

Epcot is a unique experience with the future, the past and the world all in one area. I really enjoyed the World Showcase where pavilions of select countries encircle a central lake. Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, France, Morocco, China, Japan, Norway, Germany, Italy and the United States all have structures built in their respective style and staffed with people from their home nations.

My first stop was the Test Track, at the recommendation of my cousin, which had a bit of a wait. The neat thing about Walt Disney World is that the major attractions come with what’s called Fast Pass – just insert your park admission card into the machine and a ticket pops out with your card. The ticket has a time when you can return to the attraction and by pass the line using the Fast Pass lane. Really neat. Test Track is sort of like a lab at a car manufacturing facility where different vehicle components are subject to strenuous tests to ensure their strength and rigidity will protect motorists in an accident. The biggest area of Test Track is for the ride itself: cars go through different environments to give visitors a feel of what it’s like to be a crash test dummy. I’m not a fan of rides, especially after trying out the wooden roller coaster at PlayLand, but I had to give it a shot anyways.

Spaceship Earth is another must see. While there was a line up, I didn’t see if there was a Fast Pass option available. Nevertheless, the line moved inside fairly quickly. Once inside the giant sphere, it was into a car and then up and back through time to learn about the history of the written word and where we’re going into the future. The ride is a little jerky at times.

China's Temple of Heaven
China’s Temple of Heaven

Afterwards we checked out the World Showcase, having lunch in China before walking around and peeking into the various stores and snapping photos. There’s just so much unique architecture and displays that I couldn’t help but stop and stare and snap away with my camera. The Japan pavilion has a smaller version of the Mitsukoshi department store with all sorts of goods from toys to candy, robes and swords. Of course, right inside of the doors are the displays of Pokemon, anime and Hello Kitty merchandise. It’s no surprise that I was in the anime section perusing all the t-shirts and figures before breaking down and buying a Naruto mini figure with a random character inside, alongside a few bottles of Calpico.

After perusing some of the other countries (France and Great Britain), we arrived in Canada and moseyed into the shop. I wasn’t expecting to see t-shirts from Canadian NHL teams in there, but after the impressive selection in Mitsukoshi, I wasn’t really surprised. Among the maple syrup was a selection of chocolate bars that you can’t readily find in the US, including Coffee Crisp (which my friend enjoyed). The pavilion also hosts a theatre with a 360° screen for the film O Canada! – a visual tribute to our great home, narrated by Martin Short.

Staying late at Epcot for the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show is a great way to end the day. Epcot closes at 9:00 PM EDT, so find a spot before the lake lights up.

Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse
A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of the Cinderella Castle.

With Cinderella’s Castle in the middle of the park, Magic Kingdom is Disney. A functional narrow-gauge steam railway, the Walt Disney World Railroad, rings multiple themed lands around the castle. Main Street U.S.A. is at the entrance with the station for the Walt Disney World Railroad. A neat little tip was given to me by the security guard at the entrance: if you’re carrying in bags, make a left at the entrance towards City Hall and you can check them for free. Even better is if you’re staying at a resort hotel within Walt Disney World, they can deliver the bags to your room at the end of the day, or, mail them out to you. I opted to come back and claim mine at the end of the day.

There’s a selection of restaurants, bakeries and one of the larger Disney merchandise stores called the Emporium located in Main Street U.S.A. Always busy and well stocked, hit up Emporium at the end of the day so you’re not lugging bags around (or use the bag check as mentioned above).

The Cinderella Castle is the most recognized landmark in the park. Inside there are a few murals and a hair studio for young girls; the outside is used as a stage for performances with Mickey Mouse and friends. I caught one of these performances on my second day, but my camera cut out just before Captain Hook and Peter Pan raced out.

The castle is part of Fantasyland, designed to look like a medieval town which goes hand in hand with several fairy tales as told by Disney (e.g. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty). While I was there, Fantasyland was undergoing an expansion to include some new attractions, including the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast. I wasn’t able to catch a showing of Mickey’s PhilharMagic, but maybe next time. That and It’s a Small World.

Adventureland is a mixture of Agrabah from Aladdin, Port Royal in Pirates of the Caribbean, along with a tropical feel with South American and Asian influenced jungles. The Jungle Cruise was a riot as the cast member (what Disney refers to as an employee) provided hilarious commentary through the steamy jungle with animatronic hippos, elephants and head hunters! Don’t forget to watch Captain Jack Sparrow make you into an honorary pirate!

Country Bear Jamboree
Country Bear Jamboree

Venturing into Frontierland, it gave me the vision I was in a dusty town in the Old West, with the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad next to the river where a replica steamboat, the Liberty Belle, reminisces of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Of course, no trip to Frontierland is complete without stopping in and listening to the Country Bear Jamboree.

In Liberty Square, the time of the American Revolution comes back to life with the original Thirteen Colonies along with the Haunted Mansion and Hall of Presidents. While waiting in line for the next showing at the Hall of Presidents, Mickey Mouse made an appearance in revolutionary outfit and even posed with me for a picture. Before the doors opened, a cast member in period dress doled out American trivia; I even answered correctly to “which president did not speak English as his first language?” The answer? Martin Van Buren, who spoke Dutch. It’s also a great place to take a break when walking as the seats are comfortable and air conditioned (plus brush up on your American presidents).

Cinderella and Prince Charming
Cinderella and Prince Charming share a dance.

Tomorrowland is where the future becomes today. Home to the epic Space Mountain ride (too scary for me!), the speedway, Astro Orbiter and a few other attractions reside here. Getting around is the business of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which operates the PeopleMover, a ride that winds throughout Tomorrowland.

I stayed late to take in Disney’s Electrical Parade, which unfortunately had the same looping song throughout its duration. Although being very colourful, that song would not leave my head for the next few days. I wonder if the cast members wear earplugs or something.

There’s quite a large selection of restaurants and snack bars throughout Magic Kingdom. Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland serves burritos and taco salads. Casey’s Corner in Main Street U.S.A. is home to hot dogs and other ballpark favourites. There’s also The Crystal Palace for those looking to dine with Disney characters in a buffet-style restaurant. When I checked it out, the average price ranges between $30-$40 USD.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

African elephant at Kilimanjaro Safaris
African elephant at Kilimanjaro Safaris

My second day started off with an early trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was told to visit this park first and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris because the animals would be out and about before the heat would force them to retire. There was no need to use Fast Pass on Kilimanjaro Safaris as the wait was only 20 minutes and the line was moving very quickly. Unlike most of the attractions in Magic Kingdom, these were real animals, and not animatronic, so there were plenty of warnings about keeping body parts inside the safari vehicle and not throwing food or other objects into to the animals habitats. The safari vehicles are large open trucks with benches that traverse very unfinished dirt roads through ponds, open fields, forest groves and other terrain where the animals resided. I’d recommend the Kilimanjaro Safaris in the early morning while the temperature is still bearable for best viewing.

After taking the safari and catching some poachers (all part of the experience), I took the time to wander through the fictional African village of Harambe before moving into Asia which strongly resembles a town set in the middle of the Indian jungle. The Maharajah Jungle Trek was really cool, walking through a ruined palace with tigers, bats, Komodo dragons and various other birds.  It’s just outside of the Kali River Rapids and not far from the screaming from the Expedition Everest ride. It’s easy to get lost in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but I found that if I looked for the Tree of Life, I could easily guide my way back to the Oasis, which is the centre of the park.

Lilo from Lilo and Stitch
Lilo from Lilo and Stitch.

Instead of touring DinoLand U.S.A., I took a break to watch Finding Nemo – the Musical which is a shortened version of the film. Performed by actual people with handheld puppets, Finding Nemo – the Musical is lots of fun watching their actions on stage with all the vocals done by the puppeteers themselves.

I wasn’t too impressed with the selection of food in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the food seemed to be tailored towards kids with finicky taste buds and there were lineups at many of the stands. So, back to Magic Kingdom it was!

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit, even though it was just limited to two days. There’s always something happening and lots to see and do, that two days doesn’t give you the entire experience. The cast members were friendly and helpful and many were willing to strike up an amicable conversation. The stores were well stocked with mostly reasonable prices, but lacked selection on a number of movies (e.g. Tron). Each park has plenty of choices for dining, but Epcot has a great selection of world cuisine.  Wear a good pair of shoes with socks and make use of the water fountains and you’ll have lots of fun. I really must thank my cousin for the invitation down to Florida and my first visit to a Disney theme park.

All photographs are available for public viewing on Gallery.

 

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