Disney World, Orlando, Florida

From the Kennedy Space Center, where we were encouraged to strive for our dreams, we drove the hour or so to Disney World, whose slogan this year is ‘Where dreams come true’. We stayed in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground for the entire month of November (see the future blog site for more details on Fort Wilderness). From there, we took Disney’s free transportation (including boats, monorail trains, and buses) to the four major Disney theme parks:

1. Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is basically a twin to Disneyland in California. It has all the old classic rides and attractions, like: It’s a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, NASCAR race cars, the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Boat ride, and the Country Bear Jamboree. Cinderella’s castle is at the center of the park and makes a beautiful backdrop for photos. As with every Disney park, there are also plenty of opportunities to get your picture taken with Disney characters and to get their autographs.

2. Disney’s EPCOT

Walt Disney himself made plans for EPCOT before he died. EPCOT stands for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. This park is divided into two basic sections: a ‘world showcase’ displaying pavilions of different countries throughout the world (including one for Canada), and a scientific section with pavilions for themes like energy, the land, the sea, the human body, outer space, and imagination. Although there are some rides in this park, it is more of an educational facility, and therefore seems to be geared more for older visitors.

3. Disney’s MGM Studio

Morgan and Mason like MGM for the Tower of Terror (a drop-of –doom type of ride) and also for the Rock ‘N Rollercoaster that does corkscrews and loops. Elise, Allan, and I are more interested in going to the shows, like Beauty and the Beast. At MGM they also have an Indiana Jones Stunt Show and an Extreme Vehicle Stunt Show. There are tours of the backlot of the studio, as well as the prop warehouse and the costume design facility. We saw lots of items from Disney’s recent movies such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and Narnia. One of my favorite exhibits describes the life and achievements of Walt Disney, and his eventual plan to create Disneyland, and later, Disney World. What a fantastic man he was. Elise and I also really enjoy the tour of the animation studio, especially when they have a drawing lesson in which we learned to create some of the famous Disney characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. We spent hours drawing. It was a great experience.

4. Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is Disney's largest park. It is like a combination of zoo and rides. The African Safari ride took us right beside beautiful animals like giraffes, elephants, wildebeasts, rhinoceros, warthogs, gazelles, etc. Morgan and Mason were thrilled with a new rollercoaster ride called Expedition Everest; Allan and I even tried it out. Wow! What a thrill. We also enjoyed the river rapids ride, whose purpose it is to get the riders completely soaked. Animal Kingdom also boasts several wonderful shows: Dinosaur, Birds in Flight, Finding Nemo, It's Tough to be a Bug (3-D), the Lion King, and Pocahontas. We always do lots of walking in this park, but it's fascinating to explore all of its different treasures.