MY GREATEST PLACE - PART 3

“A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me”

This last place is really going to throw a curveball at you. In October 1^st, 1971 a dream was realized and the gates were open. This dream essentially became the development of a city and really an empire. A well known animator with big dreams saw an opportunity to purchase 27,000 acres of swamp land 20 miles southwest of the city of Orlando. That’s over 42 square miles. To put that land acquisition in perspective, its half the size of the island of Honolulu, nearly the size of the city of San Francisco and double the size of the island of Manhattan. It was some serious land purchasing.

This animator wanted to build a park that would raise the bar on a previous project he began in Anaheim, California. The animator said, “There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine.” That animator was Walt Disney and this land became his world.

For anyone who has NOT been to Disneyworld, this blog will seem trite and inane. To visit this wonderland will open your eyes to amazement and bewilderment. To me it’s a fascinating study on how one man can stare at 27,000 acres and vision its eventual mystique. Walt Disney dropped nearly 400 million dollars on the land and subsequent development. His hope was that it would be a worthy investment. In a business sense, Walt Disney World now has a net worth of $54 billion today. So as Howie Mandel would say, Disney “made a great deal.”

I have travelled to Disney World a total of 7 times in my lifetime. I’ve realized that people my age like to claim passion to certain musicians by counting how many times they saw them in concert. My favorite performers are Ben Folds and Meatloaf. Together I have seen them 6 times. Disney has become more than a passion to me. It’s been my escape from the trivial nuances of everyday life.

Disneyworld now consists of 4 major parks, each with its unique thematic explorations. The pseudo city also contains over 24 on site hotels, a downtown nightclub and 2 major waterparks. My first trip there was in 1983. I was just shy of my 5^th birthday when mom and dad took us. At the time, Disney had two theme parks, Magic Kingdom and Epcot. In 1991, my family went once again. This time, another park, MGM Studios (Now called Hollywood Studios) existed. Then in 1994 and 1996, I went to Disney World as part of my high schools music program. In 2005, I went with my girlfriend (now wife) and experienced the 4^th major park, Animal Kingdom. In 2007, I returned to Disney with my then fiancée (now wife) and our friends, Seth and Lauren Pollock. My most recent trip was in 2009 with my NOW wife.

Each trip added new experiences and new appreciations. To illustrate this aforementioned sentence, I will admit that Disney World was not impressive to me until trip number 5. At that point of my life it had been 9 years in between trips and I didn’t feel like I was really missing out on anything. It was my first vacation with Pamela and I settled on Disney as a destination out of not ruffling the early dating feathers. It’s really hard to describe the euphoria of the Disney experience but I will now attempt to paint the picture.

When you get off the plane in Orlando, you are greeted by Cast Members who orderly get you into your Magical Express Bus. This is when the true Disney journey begins. No need to pick up luggage. They have people there to do that for you. As you board the bus, there is a fun and entertaining video that explains everything you need to know about your vacation. It includes all the characters we’re familiar with. This trip is like a cheap drug that somehow messes with your head and instead fills it the thoughts of “who cares about what’s happening at home.” The bus takes you to your themed resort and your luggage comes shortly thereafter. Now it’s time to explore.

Every vacationer is different. I believe the biggest misperception is that Disney is mainly for children. I would say that Disney is for every generation but I’d go a step further and say that’s even better for couples. As cliché as it may sound, the reality is Disney brings out the kid out of all of us. I dare you to bring a, dopey, sleepy or bashful individual and watch turn Happy.

I recognize this blog comes across as an advertisement but I don’t work for Disney nor do I have any stock in Disney. I just respect and admire their ability to create an environment that turns ordinary folks into starry-eyed children. Each Disney-goer has personal preferences on hotels, parks and attractions that they enjoy. Lately we’ve stayed in moderate resorts and enjoy experiencing each of the 4 main parks. If time allows, we’ll hit up a waterpark too. Each park takes the mind into a world of fantasy and imagination. The logistics of how the parks are laid out are a blog within themselves. There are private tunnels, backlots and underground cities under the parks, which the 66,000 Cast Members (employees) utilize to get around. Every attraction has its own theme with each cast member having specific costumes. You feel like its Halloween and instead of candy you are treated to various rides, attractions and shows.

The Magic Kingdom is an American treasure, with the Cinderella castle as its centerpiece. The castle is 199 feet tall (Anything taller would require FAA to insert a beacon light for planes, which would have ruined the Disney effect.). The castle was carefully constructed with forced perspective to make the castle seem taller then 199 feet. Forced perspective is a technique that employs an optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. The castle centerpiece spokes out into various park subcategories. Each having attractions that fit into that category. Frontierland, having Wild West/ Country attractions. Fantasyland, having Disney character rides, Tomorrowland, having futuristic attractions..

Epcot, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, was to be the innovations of future discoveries. With loads on hands on educational activities, you could classify this as the worlds most innovative science theme park. It encompasses 600 Cast Members alone maintaining the horticulture and organic wings of the Disney majesty. The parks centerpiece is a globe, which is affectionately known as the giant golf ball. It has 11,324 sides and it doubles as a futuristic ride called, Spaceship Earth. The charm of Epcot is that its two parks in one. After visiting the various scientific shows and attractions, you can walk to the other side of the park and visit 11 different countries. Each country sporting buildings and events reflecting that respective culture. It is an absolutely insane feeling to spend 2-3 hours and literally feel that you’ve been to 11 different countries. Some of these countries having rides and dazzling restaurants to boot.

Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM) helps you to recreate movie magic. Most of the rides and events are somehow associated with the great movies and shows of the time. Including a new area called Pixar studios. The last major park in Animal Kingdom. The name says it all and one its charms are the real life animals that can be seen on a realistic Safari adventure.

To compact the magic of these parks in these last few paragraphs doesn’t do it justice. Disney is inclusive in many aspects. Besides the obvious one that you can prepay for everything and rarely have to pull your wallet out during the entire trip. The hotels, the meals and the ticket admissions can be purchased together. Souvenirs are sold separate. But the cleverness is that Disney finds ways to cultivate all audiences. They are infant friendly, handicap friendly and overall so darn friendly to everyone. You can’t go anywhere in those 27,000 acres without a cast member wishing you a magical day. No one seems grumpy (except the dwarf) and everyone is cheerful.

It’s more than a vacation. You completely forget about bills and in-laws. Unless you bring your in-laws and owe them money. I put Disney is one of my favorite places for several reasons. Firstly, they are always reinventing themselves and adding new features to their parks. Right when I believe they can’t exceed my expectations, they always find new ways to recapture my imagination. Secondly, I value an American institutions that employ so many people and spends over 1.6 billion dollars on salary and payroll. Thirdly, I love innovation. Whether it’s the monorail that creates a mode of transportation between 3 resorts and 2 parks or whether it creates a night time area (Downtown Disney) to enjoy the nightlife of Florida.

Over 17 million people visit Magic Kingdom alone each year. Add another 30 million visitors if you include the other 3 major parks and tack on another 5 million to include the other attractions in the Disney area. Lets face it, Disney is soaking in money but they also preach the voices of social responsibility, green technology, enticing volunteerism and promoting family fun. Its where kids and be kids and parents can be kids. It’s where people bond, relationships are formed and magic really does come to life. It puts me into a frame of mind, which can not be replicated or imitated anywhere else in the world. It is my own planet where dreams can come true. This is why DisneyWorld is part of my 3 greatest places in life.

***A friend of mine said I should follow-up my three greatest places with my 3 least favorite places. I did think long and hard about this kind of blog and realized that I didn't want depress the readers or myself by going into the details. So to spare the negativity, I'll simply list the 3 least favorite places in my life...

1. Working in the Social Security Administration building is far away number 1 on this list.

2. My awful 4 years of high school is an easy number two.

3. Any foot doctor getting my ingrown toe nail removed is a solid number 3.