I’m Going to Disney World: Me at the Magic Kingdom

“Please Stand Clear of the Doors.  Por Favor Mantengase alejado de las puertas.”

Is there any other bilingual phrase in the human world that evokes such wonderful memories?  From the second you hear that, you know you are off on an adventure to a far-away place.  Ok, so it’s a few minutes away by monorail, but should that deter anyone?  Since 1971, the Magic Kingdom has been delighting children both young and old as well as kids at heart for generations.  You can act all tough and macho, but you cannot resist the allure of this place.  For me, it was my first time here in years and I noticed how so much of it has changed.

Now, I have many mixed feelings about my years of absence from the Magic Kingdom.  I am still operating on the same ambiance and nostalgia that I had when I was in elementary school (ages 6-11).  It was the era during the last years when Disney World still had the same old-fashioned look from when Walt Disney debuted a handful of his attractions at the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows.  The Skyride was still humming, the StarJets ride still had it’s USA decal, the WEDWay PeopleMover was cruisng high above Tomorrowland, and Mickey’s Birthday Land was still celebrating Mickey’s 60th birthday from 1988.  It was the era whenThe Disney Afternoon ruled TV and Epcot Center was the only place outside school and PBS where kids could actually dig learning about science, history, and geography.  I still look back on those halcyon days of childhood with much fondness.  Alas, you can never go home twice; many of those attractions and shows have gone the way of dodo.  Had it not been for YouTube and iTunes that have thankfully salvaged most of my memories of this park.

From the moment I stepped off the monorail and down the ramp from the olive green station, I felt so nervous; would it still be the same place as it was from whence I was younger?  Well, one thing sure felt familiar: the combination of humidity and parents fumbling with their tickets and strollers.  Yup, I was certainly in the right place!  As I passed through the turnstiles and under the Main Street Railroad Station, there it was: Main Street U.S.A.  Gone were the double-decker buses, horse-drawn trolleys, and the titular penny arcade (good luck finding any sort of arcade in the 21st century).  The circa-1900 street, to which Main Street U.S.A. was modeled on, specifically after Walt Disney’s boyhood home in Marceline, Missouri, may not look exactly as it did when the park opened in 1971, much less a hundred years ago.  It did, however, feel pretty good to stroll down this street with my camera in one hand and a Mickey Mouse pretzel in the other!

Right away, I knew I had to hit up the thrill rides with the longest wait time since I was without a FastPass; the process of obtaining one has gotten so complicated nowadays.  I made a bee-line for Tomorrowland.  I can still remember when it looked like something out of the old 1964 World’s Fair; a vision of space travel that was somewhere between far-fetched fiction and slightly realistic.  Then again, that was the era when NASA was in its infancy and people took shows like The Jetsons and Lost in Space seriously.  Would it look dated by today’s standards?  Of course.  I wouldn’t care, as I still remember the far-flung world of rockets and planets of our youth.  Today’s kids, however, would’ve looked at the StarJets ride and asked what a rocketship is.  Geez, listen to me.  I can’t believe I’m going all Grandpa Gen-X on my readers.

My first stop was Space Mountain.  Opened in 1975, this became Walt Disney World’s first indoor roller coaster, much less one of the world’s first indoor thrill rides.  Part of the fun was waiting in line at this somewhat futuristic venue.  Yes, you heard right.  The vibe inside Space Mountain is so surreal, ethereal, and cool.  It falls somewhere between a planetarium and some futuristic hub where space travel to other planets is the new norm.  Someday.  After spacey synth music and watching nervous passengers board, it was my turn.  I would only settle for the front seat.  The blue strobe lights, the noisy lift to the top of the hill, the glow0-in-the-dark rockets, the twinkling stars, the brisk speed, and not being able to see a thing in front of you all brought me back!

After a zip around Tomorrowland on the PeopleMover (aka Tomorrowland Transit Authority aka WEDWay PeopleMover), it was on to the Tomorrowland Speedway.  Frankly, I still call it the Grand Prix; I still miss the murals featuring all the most prominent racecar venues like Indianapolis, Daytona, Monaco, Charlotte, and Poconos.  I needed something stimulating, and I got it at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.  What is so awesome about this ride is that it combines the thrill of a video game, or rather a carnival game, with an interactive ride.  Aiming at those tiny little laser bullseyes are hard enough, but add in the spin factor and it makes for something both fun but really frustrating.  After netting 100,000 points, it was time to make Tomorrowland be a part of yesterday.

It was off to Adventureland.  As a kid, naturally, I thought it was all about Africa; it was the home of the Jungle Cruise.  Being older and knowing a little bit more about different cultures and the works of Rudyard Kipling, it really more of an amalgam of Balinese temples, South Asian flora, African animals, all with a slight North African vibe.  In short, combining a little bit of everything from places that are deemed “exotic.”