New Years' Day found us driving towards Orlando for my first visit to Disney's Magic Kingdom. After checking & rechecking maps and last minute instructions from Aniruddha, Aarti was all set to drive the huge rental mini-van all the way to Orlando. Since both of us were new to the area, I took my role as the navigator quite seriously. Fortunately, the road from Tampa to Orlando is well marked and Aarti was totally confident at the wheel. Aadit was all charged up to meet Mickey Mouse and all his friends too. As we neared Orlando, I could hardly sit still in my seat - and I could see an expression on Aarti's face that wondered if she would have to deal with two kids in Magic Kingdom!
My first glimpse of Magic Kingdom was the huge arch that welcomes you to Disneyworld. The parking lot to Magic Kingdom is simply huge. We parked in the Minnie Parking lot 40, about 1.5 miles from the entrance to Magic Kingdom. An open bus took us from the parking lot to the ticket center. A monorail brought us to the gates of the Magic Kingdom. It was amazing. It felt like I was transported into Fairyland. The quaint looking shops, the stone houses, and the entire setup felt straight out of a fairytale. As we walked down Main Street, there was a show in progress at Cinderella's castle. This show was called 'Believe in your dreams' and had most of the Disney characters in it. It was a well synchronized skit that was enjoyed not only by us, but also by 2 year old Aadit.
After the show, we walked to the Mad Tea Party ride. This ride consists of spinning tea cups that move. I am not too fond of spinning rides since they make me dizzy, but this ride had a controlling steering wheel - which let you control how fast you want your tea cup to spin. (I thought this was a really neat feature.)
After this ride, we went into a 3D show called Mickey's PhilharMagic orchestra. This was my first taste of the real 3D effects .... for example... when Donald fell into the water - the audience also felt droplets of water on them. Aadit loved all the musical instruments flying at him, and all the effects too.
Magic Kingdom has places marked Pinocchio's house, Toontown (where Mickey lives) and other setups from Disney stories. After waiting in a rather long line, we also met Winnie the Pooh & Tigger. Meeting Mickey was the highlight of my visit. To meet a character who I've known since I was about a year old - made me feel like I was child again.
We also saw the Disney day parade. This parade has floats with most of the Disney characters. I had always heard that the cast members at Disney(no, they are not called staff) go out of their way to make the experience memorable for the visitors. I had an opportunity to witness this first hand. During the parade, I was clicking pictures. One of the people I was clicking was a cast member dressed as Walt Disney riding a bicycle while drawing a cartoon. When he realized I was trying to get a picture - he came right by where I was standing - posed for a picture perfect photograph, and moved away only when I had acknowledged that I got the picture. It might have been a small gesture on his part, but it made me feel a part of the Disney magic.
After a lot more rides, it was time for the night parade - this has lit up floats and the procession dances with glowing lights and waers lit up costumes. As usual, Mickey gets pride of place in this parade and has his own float too. Everyone else shares their floats with other characters. The lights and music only add to the magic.
This feeling stayed with me throughout the visit - I did not feel like I was in a park for kids. Instead, it felt like I was a part of the magic, the enchantment and was sorry when it was time to head home for the night.
What better way than this to spend New Years' Day !!!
My first glimpse of Magic Kingdom was the huge arch that welcomes you to Disneyworld. The parking lot to Magic Kingdom is simply huge. We parked in the Minnie Parking lot 40, about 1.5 miles from the entrance to Magic Kingdom. An open bus took us from the parking lot to the ticket center. A monorail brought us to the gates of the Magic Kingdom. It was amazing. It felt like I was transported into Fairyland. The quaint looking shops, the stone houses, and the entire setup felt straight out of a fairytale. As we walked down Main Street, there was a show in progress at Cinderella's castle. This show was called 'Believe in your dreams' and had most of the Disney characters in it. It was a well synchronized skit that was enjoyed not only by us, but also by 2 year old Aadit.
After the show, we walked to the Mad Tea Party ride. This ride consists of spinning tea cups that move. I am not too fond of spinning rides since they make me dizzy, but this ride had a controlling steering wheel - which let you control how fast you want your tea cup to spin. (I thought this was a really neat feature.)
After this ride, we went into a 3D show called Mickey's PhilharMagic orchestra. This was my first taste of the real 3D effects .... for example... when Donald fell into the water - the audience also felt droplets of water on them. Aadit loved all the musical instruments flying at him, and all the effects too.Magic Kingdom has places marked Pinocchio's house, Toontown (where Mickey lives) and other setups from Disney stories. After waiting in a rather long line, we also met Winnie the Pooh & Tigger. Meeting Mickey was the highlight of my visit. To meet a character who I've known since I was about a year old - made me feel like I was child again.
We also saw the Disney day parade. This parade has floats with most of the Disney characters. I had always heard that the cast members at Disney(no, they are not called staff) go out of their way to make the experience memorable for the visitors. I had an opportunity to witness this first hand. During the parade, I was clicking pictures. One of the people I was clicking was a cast member dressed as Walt Disney riding a bicycle while drawing a cartoon. When he realized I was trying to get a picture - he came right by where I was standing - posed for a picture perfect photograph, and moved away only when I had acknowledged that I got the picture. It might have been a small gesture on his part, but it made me feel a part of the Disney magic.
After a lot more rides, it was time for the night parade - this has lit up floats and the procession dances with glowing lights and waers lit up costumes. As usual, Mickey gets pride of place in this parade and has his own float too. Everyone else shares their floats with other characters. The lights and music only add to the magic.
This feeling stayed with me throughout the visit - I did not feel like I was in a park for kids. Instead, it felt like I was a part of the magic, the enchantment and was sorry when it was time to head home for the night.
What better way than this to spend New Years' Day !!!
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