Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom, Part 1
Introduction
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| The Entrance to Magic Kingdom. Let The Memories Begin! |
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| Park maps are provided for relative location and area, not detail. Oh, original map ©Disney... |
The Most Magical Place on Earth. The Place Where Dreams Come True.
A little pixie dust, a little bother, and you can live happily ever after. Well, at least until the Visa bill comes in. You happily witness the pillage of a village, converse with monsters and welcome a ghost that follows you home.
We want the redhead and a great big beautiful tomorrow in your own happy place. We want to go to infinity and beyond, yet stay in a small world and end the day on the main street of a small town in Missouri.
This is the park Walt wanted to do right. A place where he could control everything. And I'm sure even Walt would have been surprised at just how well he succeeded. It may not be the place he was planning, but it does have the magic and spirit that built Disneyland.
In the grand scheme of Walt Disney's "Project X", his Florida Project would begin by building a theme park next to Bay Lake. Once the theme park was in operation, he would funnel the profits into his Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow.
Then Walt died, and everything planned for his 43 square miles of Florida was shelved.
Except for Magic Kingdom. The company decided that since much of the planning and surveying had already been done, it was the logical first step in developing their newly acquired land.
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| Click to go directly to the slideshow |
Today, it is the most visited park in the world, with over 17 million guests passing through the gates every year.
What Magic Kingdom is about, is Classic Disney. It is (essentially) Disneyland East, a Disneyland on a grander scale in most every way. Disneyland seemed almost clostrophobic in a way, having to stack attractions almost on top of one another. Magic Kingdom, without size restrictions, is more spread out, allowing more people in, without feeling as crowded as the less populous Disneyland.
I stayed at the Contemporary Hotel in May 2011, since WDW's 40th anniversary event was being held at the convention center there. Since it was going to be my "Monorail Hotel" stay, I got a park view room. A wise decision. I would have to recommend staying at a monorail resort with a park view room to any Disney World fan. Just once...
View of Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary Hotel
Entrance to Magic Kingdom
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The entrance is usually a busy place (as if any place in the Magic Kingdom
is not), since this is where all the different forms of transportation
converge, bags are given a cursory once over, and it seems most guests
just can't figure out the turnstiles.
I found the best transportation here is from the Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness boats, that dock right in front of the Magic Kingdom.
Main Street U.S.A - Town Square
Main Street U.S.A, is supposed to be reminiscent of Walt's childhood
home at the turn of the century (albeit the 20th century); Marceline, Missouri;
forced perspective, blah, blah, blah.
What Main Street really is, is the entrance and exit to Magic Kingdom, and in a way, the credits for the park. All along the street, in plain view but rarely noticed by the guests, are the people who made Disney famous. Almost every second story window has a name, mostly in the guise of advertising, of the Imagineers, the cartoonists and the people who made Disneyworld happen. After all, Walt was a movie maker. All of his productions had to have credits...
It is also, of course, one long store from the train station to the hub, where one can eat and buy almost anything Magic Kingdom and Disney World...
Town Square is the start of Main Street, where you'll find Guest Services, a restaurant, package
pickup, etc. It's your introduction to Disney World, and they make sure you know it.
Here's a video of the 100 Years Of Magic parade, Share A Dream Come True as it came through Town Square. Share A Dream Come True Parade (Town Square Version)
Main Street U.S.A. - Town Square
Main Street U.S.A
It may sound odd, but for me, a visit to Magic Kingdom isn't complete without a walk up Main Street. In past visits, I've hopped the Railroad to Frontierland or Toontown, and it felt like the wrong way to enter the park.So you might do a little more walking. It's not like you haven't walked enough that trip. On the other hand, if I'm leaving the park, I've got no aversion to saving a few... hundred steps.
Main Street U.S.A - The Hub
The Hub is the central location of Magic Kingdom, from which 'spokes' branch off in every direction to the different lands. In the center of the hub is the bronze 'Partners', a statue of Walt and his alter-ego Mickey. Surrounding 'Partners', are smaller bronzes of the characters that made Walt the man he was. Or at least made The Disney Company what it was...
End Magic Kingdom - Part 1 of 10.
| Jump to: | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |
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