Chance's Corner: Disney Vacation Part 1

Some of you may have noticed my absence during the Spring Break. Where was I? Well, only at "The Happiest Place on Earth" AKA Walt Disney World! I've been going to Disney World for many, many, many years and it never grows old because the parks are always evolving and changing with new rides and attractions. I never seem to grow old, either.

I could probably write an entire book about my latest Disney vacation, but I shall try to keep this post as short as possible by covering the highlights of each park. Here we go!

The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is the central park that started the Disney World empire in 1971. It's a place the young and young at heart can experience the bygone era of Main Street USA all the way to the future possibilities of Tomorowland. To some it may seem like a kiddie park, but as Mary Poppins says "pish posh!"


Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.

Big Thunder Mountain

Florida may just be a swamp, but The Magic Kingdom is home to three very famous mountains: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain. All three are very unique and very fun, but Big Thunder Mountain is perhaps my favorite of the three.

Graves at The Haunted Mansion

My other favorite attraction at The Magic Kingdom is The Haunted Mansion. It's a slow-moving tour through a home full of 999 grim-grinning ghosts... but there's room for a thousand. Bwahahahaha! The best part is meeting up with a trio of hitchhiking ghosts that promise to follow you home. You actually see them sitting right next to you! Pretty spooky, huh?

Me attempting to remove The Sword in the Stone.





EPCOT

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) was originally envisioned by Walt Disney as a progressive community of the future. Unfortunately, he died before his vision could come to life, so a theme park devoted to technology and the future was built in its place in 1982. EPCOT is by far my favorite park out of all four of them. I guess it's the nerd in me.

Spaceship Earth

My favorite ride there? Well, sure there are some pretty neat thrill rides such as Mission Space and Test Track, but I have a real sweet spot for Spaceship Earth. Known by many as "The Big Ball" or "The Golf Ball", Spaceship Earth is a slow-moving, educational ride that winds all the way up to the top of "The Big Ball". Lifelike animatronics demonstrate how art, communication and technology has developed from the time of the caveman, to the Renaissance, to the printing press, and all the way to the invention of computers and beyond.

The coolest thing about EPCOT is the prominent use of new and developing technology. Castmembers (Disney employees) ride along on Segways, robots water the plants, Roomba-like robots mow the grass, and years before it was actually a thing, I was once able to try out what would become Google Glass.


A castmember "painted" Mickey on the ground with water!

Once you're done with what's known as the Futureworld side of EPCOT, there is a whole other part of the park to tackle called The World Showcase. It could be described as a permanent world's fair. I say that it's the best (and safest) way to travel. You can travel to locals such as Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco, France, The United Kingdom and Canada to experience their culture through the local cuisine and merchandise.

For example, in Japan there is a place that has oysters guaranteed to have a pearl inside of them. You don't know what size pearl you'll get, so you just pick any oyster you want and hope for the best. I chose one of the bigger oysters and when the assistant cut it open a 7 1/4 mm sized pearl popped out. Jackpot! The girl behind me picked an oyster that had two pearls in it!

I always get a giggle when the family splits up and we have to call each other. It's usually like:

"Hey! Where are you?"

"I'm in Germany, where are you?"

"Italy. We're moving on, though. Meet us in Morocco in five minutes for a blue raspberry slushee."

Only at Disney!

A "Moroccan" blue raspberry slushee.

Grass growing on a roof in Norway.

Pearls from oysters in Japan.



Well, I tried not to gush too much, but it happened anyway. So, there will have to be a Part 2! Look forward to a trip to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom.