Common Treasures: LEVELS OF FANTASY & REALITY

Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA.
MAGIC KINGDOM

This time the post was written by my daughter, Luzia. She wrote it about one year ago. Though this post was meant to speak mostly about Magic Kingdom and its lands, it also mentions other kingdoms of Walt Disney World, Orlando. Though the video contains images from all the lands of Magic Kingdom (Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland) the photography albuns shown here are only about Fantasyland (daylight, dusk and night). The other lands will appear in other albuns.

Magic Kingdom

Oh, God. I need to be careful not to let myself get caught up while talking about Magic Kingdom. I spent some of the happiest days of my life so far there, during that couple of weeks. The first time I turned around Main Street USA’s corner and saw Cinderella's Castle towering in the distance will stay in my heart forever.

I loved each and every park area, from Liberty Square to Tomorrowland. But I have to stress Fantasyland (and New Fantasyland, at that), as I spent some of my favorite moments there. For instance, my first time meeting a character was there (Ariel in her Grotto), and she was super nice! I spent the whole day here during my birthday: first, we had lunch at Be Our Guest, the restaurant inside the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast, and it was absolutely magical! That day, I also waited in line for about one hour in order to meet Rapunzel, and she was nicer than I could ever ask for. We talked like friends, she complimented me and wished me a happy birthday and gave me two hugs! She was lovely. I also met Cinderella, at that time, and I met her again that night when we had dinner – guess where – at her very castle itself! Not only were the food and the waiters lovely, there were also characters flushing in and out all the time – I was lucky not to chuck in my food from excitement. I met Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel (again); they were all amazing, gave me their autographs and took a picture with me! Moreover, for desert, I got a delicious surprise cupcake! Afterwards, we watched “Wishes”, the nightly firework display, which was, unsurprisingly, utterly magical.

I get a little emotional talking about the wonderful time I had at MK (and not just MK, of course)… I just wish to be able to go back soon. It is one of my favorite places in the world.

Epcot

The time we spent at Epcot was pure bliss. We spent our first full day in a park there, from morning to evening, and still couldn’t see everything we wanted to, so we had to go back the day before leaving. Epcot has a peaceful and warm aura which is hard to describe. The park’s theme is, to put it quite simply, the Earth – and all that it gives life to. There were attractions showing the Mankind’s History – inside the majestic Spaceship Earth –, buildings displaying the wonders of the Land, Sea and Sky, as well as those presenting technological progress phenomena. And, last but not least, the World Showcase: 11 countries’ pavilions surrounding a lake which light up at night with light, fire and color. Epcot has the power to make you feel one with the world – I went a thousand places on Earth and out just walking around the park. Spaceship Earth will be forever, in my mind, a symbol of peace and happiness.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was the park I spent less time in, probably because I went there on my own and it felt kind of awkward. I had a nice time skipping around the park and just taking in the spirit of the whole thing; I think each Disney park has a very unique and magical atmosphere of its own, and stopping for a while to take notice of the sheer wonder of just being there is what makes it really hit you. As for specifics, I watched a "The Little Mermaid" reenactment and found it adorable, and I had my very first Mickey Ice Cream Bar!

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is calmer than most of the other parks, and I enjoyed that a lot! I kind of feels like a zoo taken up to theme park level. And I love zoos. And I love theme parks. We went both on thrill-worthy attractions, watched performances (based on Disney movies involving animals) and enjoyed animal-spotting walks and safaris. The streets had an exhilarating African vibe about them - and the Florida weather helped set the ambience too, of course. As an animal-lover and Africa-lover, I found AK to be quite suited to my fancy!

Besides the four main theme parks, we also visited one water park (Typhoon Lagoon) and Downtown Disney, the commercial area. TL was thrilling and relaxing at the same time, but fun in every way – even when it started pouring like the sky was crumbling down so everyone had to either take cover or get a rain poncho. In Downtown Disney, we window-shopped and actually-shopped; we got ourselves some ice-cream (despite the fact it was yet again rainy) and got to visit the largest Disney Store in the world, which had ceiling decorations like a baroque palace’s.