The Magic of Disney

A long time overdue, but the fact that our trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) in January is still present in my RAM is a pretty good indication that it's worth writing about.

The adjective that keeps coming to mind that best describes WDW is magical. Disney delivers the experience so well that you can actually forget where you are. A true cure for the constant nag of your Blackberry, the water damage in your 70 year old house, or the untastly thought of facing the Amex bill on your return. This is all possible of course if you can find your inner child and let your imagination have a little bit of an unbridled vacation too.

I'm sure most of you have heard how well designed and managed WDW is. The fact you don't see Disney employees loitering around or moving to and from their stations, how clean the place is, the impeccable timing and ways to make the best of your time, like FastPass. All this contributes to keeping the magic alive. My only complaint really was the difficulty in finding good mid priced grub and perhaps a lack of any convenient nosh when you most need it (which was only really noticeable in the Magic Kingdom). Very good food if you're willing to step up a notch.

You walk around the parks, transplanted into whatever magical fantasy world the Disney imagineers have concocted. Whether it be a western town with an seemingly impromptu sing along with Woody from Toy Story or stepping into 1950's Hollywood at Disney MGM Studios. The atmosphere is also appropriately staged with music and "cast members" who are always in character. The whole meet-your-favourite-character was something quite new for me. I remember having my picture taken with a few classic Disney characters when I visited WDW when I was a child, but timed character appearances, photograph and autograph sessions are now a major feature for young visitors (and some older big kids). The characters now extend to all the classic princesses which of course was a major attraction for my little girl, some of the Pixar creations (you gotta see the green soldiers from Toy Story) and even live-action heroes and villains like Luke and Darth Vader (as Stars Wars is a Disney MGM movie). Part of the game is putting a name to the more unusual characters and finding out that Mary Poppins is quite strict with all little boys and girls. (Even writing this now and stepping into the Disney web site for a few references I can easily get swept away into the magic - it's like a some intoxicating drug without a Jim Morrison soundtrack).

If you just have a brief browse through the Disney web site (if you're patient enough to get some of the latest plug-ins) you'll get a good impression on how good Disney are at creating a magical, imaginary world.

Of course Magic Kingdom was, well, magical, but my movie fan side really liked Disney MGM Studios and the live stunt show was superb. This park has a the full spectrum of old Hollywood with the latest in animation and CG. The park actually hosts active studios and a few animators we met had recently worked on Meet the Robinsons. Sidenote: the new Pixar movie Ratatouille looks a winner for grown ups with all the fine dining references, looking forward to seeing this one. One of the attractions at MGM has to be the quietest place in WDW - a learn to draw studio. We sat thru 3 simultaneous sesssions, luckily getting the chance to draw 3 different classic characters. The sessions were ran by Disney animators - great stuff, my Donald effort is above.

It's easy to pick on the money grabbing big business side of Disney, but seeing some of that old video of Walt and his dream, being entertained by Capt'n Jack (the third Pirates movie is coming out next month), watching your daughter pretend feed spaghetti to her toy Lady at Tony's, coaxing your son on to the fastest ride of his life (Epcot Test Track), giving Baloo a big hug, or being enchanted by Belle, it's a lovely feeling to have. Simply magical.