Disney World: The Happiest Place on Earth?
I first went to Disney World when I was about nine years old.
From what I can remember, I loved it. I ran around getting all the characters' autographs, had breakfast with Cinderella, and spun around in a teacup. It was magical.
The next time I went back to Disney, it was in Paris, France. I had a particularly rough day and knew that if anything could cheer me up, it would be Mickey Mouse. Boy, did that work like a charm. People aren't particularly fans of the Paris Disney. "It's just not as good as the one in Florida," they say. Well, I didn't care. Once again, I spent my day running around like a giddy, albeit homesick, little girl. Yes, I even took a reminiscent spin in a teacup.
The third time I visited Walt Disney World was as a Florida resident. My parents, who had recently relocated to the sunshine state, decided that we should take advantage of our special Florida resident discount. And so to Epcot we went, eager to explore its International Food & Wine Festival.
Epcot
Epcot itself is fairly fun. It's not every day that you can skip on over to Germany for a quick beer, take a boat ride through Mexico in your sombrero, gaze into the Eiffel Tower with starry eyes... yes, Epcot is pretty awesome. Leave it to Disney to let you travel the world in a day.
The rides at Epcot are a good time as well, although less "thrilling" than what you'll find in other parks. Absolute must include Soarin', which simulates a hang gliding flight around the world. We LOVED this one. There's also Mission: Space, which simulates a spaceship launch. My dad and I were big fans and impressed by being exposed to 2.5G.
As for the Food & Wine Festival, it's not worth going out of your way for. Sure, it's fun to try small bites from every country, but the lines were long and the food wasn't anything to rave about. You're better off spending a weekend eating out in NYC, and it'll probably cost you the same thing.
Conclusion: Epcot is worth a visit. I would go back, especially considering I wasn't able to snag a spot on Test Track (another popular ride)!
Magic Kingdom
My fourth visit to Disney was during the Thanksgiving holiday. Being the child that I still am, I was adamant about going to the Magic Kingdom. What could be better?
Upon our arrival, we were immediately greeted by a parade. To my dismay, I did not recognize half of the characters in this parade, and the music broke my heart. Where were my classic Disney tunes? What was this strange modern rendition? Nevertheless, I wasn't there for the parade. I was there for the rides.
FastPass at Disney allows you to reserve spots on a maximum of three rides. Knowing this, I chose wisely, and selected three rollercoasters: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or the newest ride, wasn't an available option.
Of course, I loved them all--I can't actually decide which one I liked best. Space Mountain is a ride through pitch darkness, which makes it all the more exhilarating. Splash Mountain has a fairly steep drop (note: I am a rollercoaster wimp), and Thunder Mountain is just all in all a blast.
However, nothing in life is perfect, and neither is Disney. Although we were all happy to be there, the crowds were unbearable; it was a devastating sight to see. Was Disney always this way? I don't think so. Wherever you turned, there were swarms of people. I couldn't help but wonder why they don't cap entry when a maximum number of people enter the park... except of course we all know why. The answer resembles a green, ugly monster.
If it weren't for FastPass, I don't know how many rollercoasters we would have been willing to go on. What, with each boasting a 90+ minute wait? I couldn't even go on the classic Peter Pan ride because of its constant 120-minute wait. No, no one wants to wait in a two-hour line to go on a ride.
Conclusion: Cinderella's Castle is beautiful, and I imagine the fireworks are lovely. Disney will always be Disney, but "happiest place on earth" might be an overstatement. At the end of the day, the waits are way too long, the food is bad, the crowds are unacceptable.
Worst of all? Mickey Mouse was nowhere to be found. Shame on you Disney, shame on you.
Hollywood Studios
Our third and final visit to Disney led us to Hollywood Studios, where stormtroopers seemingly parade around every 30 minutes. Seeing that there was a short line for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, my parents and I decided to check this show out first. To my surprise, the show was actually worse than I expected; the only noteworthy part being when it “rained” inside the theater.
Disappointed with Disney’s reenactment of a classic, I dragged my dad onto The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I had dreamed about this ride since I was a little girl when I saw a great 1997 Disney movie (Tower of Terror) about, well, the tower. Since then I was pretty much terrified and fascinated by it, so there was no way I wasn’t getting on this ride despite my pretty profound fear of heights. I had missed my chance as a nine-year-old, so it was now or never. Thankfully, the ride didn’t disappoint, and the experience leading up to the actual “fall” was great — really setting up the plot and building up to the big moment with a tour of the hotel. Frankly, the ride scared the crap out of me, and I kept my eyes shut after I got a full glimpse of the park from the top of the tower right before we dropped.
That day we also checked out the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which I loved. The music was fun and the ride was a blast. It was faster than you think — my dad nearly lost his glasses the second we set off. This may have been the first roller coaster I’ve ever been upside down on, which scares me (yes, I’m a wimp), but I wasn’t too worried because of the design and dark neon lights inside of the ride, as well as the music.
The next stop was Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. This was one of the few “rides” my mom wasn’t too freaked out to go on. We were given 3D glasses and taken on a “tour” of space. Overall the experience was fun, but I wouldn’t wait two hours in line for it. There are other Star Wars rides that are much better, but this was a nice family one to go on together.
Lastly, we attended the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! and I actually ended up being in the show. My Hollywood debut! I volunteered to participate and was chosen (for once), which was pretty neat because we got to work closely with the actors and see all the stunts up close. The Indiana Jones show is INFINITELY better than the Little Mermaid one, with awesome stunts, fires, explosions, etc. I absolutely recommended checking this out, if only to get an idea of what it would be like to be on the set of a production and a really cool one for that matter.
Conclusion: Sunset Boulevard is great to stroll down, and you’ll even feel like you’re in Los Angeles for a second. Hollywood Studios is definitely worth a visit; the Tower of Terror and Aerosmith rides are probably some of Disney’s best.