As many of you know, guests in the Magic Kingdom are actually walking around on the second level. There is a "basement". Sorta.
If you don't know how it got started, let me give you a brief history of the Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World itself. The Disneyland Resort opened in California in 1955 with its Magic Kingdom. Walt got the idea when he was sitting on a bench at an amusement park while his kids enjoyed a merry-go-round. He thought there needs to be a place where adults and kids can spend time doing things together. So, he built his own theme park in Anaheim, Disneyland.
Walt was very particular in how he wanted his park. It was to be clean, efficient, safe, and have a sense of show. For cleaniness, Walt watched people in the park and figured the average person took 23 steps before deciding to throw something on the ground. This is why you can't go more than 23 steps in a Disney park without finding a trash can. Cleaniness is everyone's responsibility and, as Walt said, "If you keep a place clean, people will respect it. If you keep it dirty, people will make it worse." Safety goes without saying, as does efficiency.
With regards to the show: everyone was had a role in the show (there are no jobs) and everyone was a cast member (there are no employees). There were several different themed areas and Walt wanted them to be little worlds unto themselves essentially.
Well, rumor has it that one day Walt was in Tomorrowland and saw a cowboy cast member from Frontierland. He was horrified and approached the cast member. He asked why he was walking in the wrong land and the cowboy explained it was the only way to get into Frontierland. Disneyland was built in a city environment and the edges of the park where right at the edges of the property. While you were unto your own inside the park for the most part, it was hard to escape reality with it being so close.
Walt realized he needed to build an entire world unto itself. So, he began researching and decided to develop in middle Florida. Florida was not nearly the tourist destination it is now and land was cheap. To make sure it remained that way, Walt bought land under fake names. If they realized it was Walt Disney buying the land, it would surely skyrocket in cost. Eventually, the secret was out and Walt continued to build his "Florida Project".
The original idea called for The Magic Kingdom (with some modification) and Epcot. Epcot was suppose to be the vast majority of the property and truly be an Experimental Protocol Community Of Tomorrow. That's where we get the name EPCOT.
Before the completion of the building, Walt Disney past away. There was talk of shutting down the entire project, but eventually it was decided to continue in Walt's honor. His brother Roy O. Disney insisted it be named Walt Disney World and not just Disney World in honor of Walt. This is why you won't see just Disney World on any official Walt Disney World product.
The biggest change from Walt's original idea was the Epcot project. The budget was too great to overcome so it was modified into a theme park. The problem was it really wasn't big enough to be a theme park unto itself. Another project was being worked on at the same time, one of a world showcase with several different miniatures of countries for guests to visit. It too was smaller than anyone liked for a stand alone park. So they literally took they models on the tables and pushed them together and Epcot was born.
By the way, Epcot means different things to different people. It has also been called the Experimental Protocol City Of Tomorrow. To be honest, I'm not positive which is right. In the summer, Epcot could mean Every Person Comes Out Tan due to its severe lack of shade. Epcot is the biggest park guests can walk in, so Every Person Comes Out Tired is appropriate year round. One of the first things they tell you when you are a cast member is Epcot is your favorite park because it reminds you that Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday.
The Magic Kingdom opened in 1971. Epcot opened in 1982. Later, another company announced they were opening a movie theme park up the road and Disney hurrily built Disney's-MGM Studios. This is why this park is so small, kinda disorganized without a natural flow for walking, and why it had an outside sponsor when it opened. Now, it's just Disney's Hollywood Studios because the contract with MGM expired and they opted not to renew. In 1998, Disney ventured into the world of creatures with Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. The biggest thing you learn is this is not a zoo. It was designed to give a unique animal experience without the normal conventions and limitations of a zoo to both guests and animals.
Downtown Disney began as a shopping area for local residents and evolved into a shopping/dining/nightlife district with distinct Disney flavor. The popular night clubs opened up the same day as MGM; however, were closed in 2008. The official word according to Disney is that part of a refurbishment for more dining and shopping.
Here's the real story. It was getting dangerous. More and more problems were coming up due to the drinking and local gang activity. Because the is no admission fees, local hooligans were finding this an easy place to cause trouble and take advantage of tourists. Weapons were also growing in number and the decision was made to close the area before it got out of control. The expensive of securing the area was too great and even if financial achievable, it would have completely ruined the guest experience with the necessary security measures.
Resorts have opened along the way starting with the Polynesian and Contemporary resorts. The Grand Floridian came about in 1988 to complete those on the monorail line. Talks have been rumored to connect all parks and resorts with a monorail line, but this too is financially impossible. About every section of track costs an average of $1 Million. That would include development, land clearing, track construction, and so forth. This may seen a little high, but possible.
In 1971, the Fort Wilderness Campground was also opened. This was a site originally used by workers as land they had temporary homes on. This area now hosts the cabins.
Here are the rest of the resorts:
1988 Caribbean Beach
1990 Yacht & Beach Club
1991 Port Orlean French Quarter
1992 Dixie Landing (now Riverside)
1994 Wilderness Lodge
1994 All Star Music
1994 All Star Sports
1996 Boardwalk
1997 Coronado Springs
1999 All Star Movies
2001 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2003 Pop Century
COMING SOON!
Another value resort located across Hour Glass Lake by Pop Century. This will be known as "The Art of Animation Resort". You can read about it here. It will feature both suites in the Finding Nemo, Cars, and Lion King wings with themed rooms in the Little Mermaid area. This resort is set to open in 2012.
Let's get back to the Magic Kingdom. I got off on a little bit of a rant about some history. Which comes back to the Magic Kingdom. So, Walt wanted a world because of the cowboy in Tomorrowland. Well, he wanted to have underground tunnels in his new world so cast members could travel around without being seen by guests. The only problem is Florida is so swampy, it can't support basements. So, it was decided to built the tunnel system then pile dirt on top of it. The hole was filled in with water and that is the Seven Seas Lagoon you see from the monorail or cross on the ferryboats. It was about 8 million cubic yards of earth that was moved!
These tunnels are still used today. I have been in these tunnels and they are nothing spectacular to look at, but it is amazing to think of the thousands of people above you.
I would go down there only on rare occassions. When working for the monorails, I would sometimes go into the park and take a right just past Tony's (right there at the smoking area). There's a backstage entrance and just beyond a staircase into the utilidors. Down here was a small cafeteria. On the other side of the utilidors was the main cafeteria, the Mouseketeeria. This was the central eating spot for several lands.
On my last day working with the buses, we were picked up early and driven to the main tunnel entrance. Just inside was the Mouseketeeria. It was a pleasent surprise. The tunnel entrance is just behind "it's a small world". This is very close to the Judge's Tent and Hall of Fame in Toontown. Actually, there's a whole lot of stuff just behind Toontown.
You'll find Disney University, Cast Connection, Textile Services, the Monorail and Railroad House, and other buildings. It really is amazing you can't see any of this from inside the park, yet you can see the park from the outside. There is also parking and bus transportation for cast members. My roommate Harry would use this area to come into work. He worked in the food industry either in Frontierland or Adventureland. He much preferred Frontierland!
If I didn't go into the tunnels for break, I would go through security and to the far left end of the turnstiles. Here, you can see a door and behind it is a little break room. Nothing really spectacular here. Really just some tables, vending machines, microwave, and more maps in a variety of languages than you would ever think of.
I mentioned the Seven Seas Lagoon earlier. On the other side is the Ticket and Transportation Center. Well, due to the acustics with the water and the layout of the Magic Kingdom, you can hear the shows performed on the castle stage from the TTC. This is pretty neat when you are expecting to see a show, but it's really cool to hear at 5:45 in the morning when Mickey, Minnie and the gang are practicing for an upcoming show.
Once you cross over the Seven Seas Lagoon, you'll walk up a little hill and under the train station into Main Street U.S.A. This is the opening credits for the Magic Kingdom. One either side of the street you'll see windows with names of the proveyors. These are named after people that had something to do with the development of the park. You can also hear some sounds coming from some areas, like tap dancing outside the dance studio. One can also smell wonderful things, like popcorn. Well, the smells are artificial. Yep. Sure there is popcorn to be had, but these smells in the Main Street U.S.A. are created to give you a good feeling of nostaglia that appeals to four of the five senses.
If you look around, you can see some memorable sights. At least, memorable to me. There's the barbershop on the left. I got my hair cut a few times there. I mean, this is one of those things most people would not do on vacation, so it was great to have the time to experience this. The first time I did it, I had to make sure they knew I was a cast member and had to work later that day. Otherwise, they tend to put a lot of pixie dust in your hair. Other times, I did not make that distinction and, well, I got dusted a lot!
In the main circle of Main Street U.S.A. is a flag pole with a Minnie and Roy bench statue. This was the first place I had my picture made on the very first day I ventured into the parks.
Past Main Street U.S.A. is the Hub, the circle area in front of Cinderella Castle. This is where I took my last picture on my last day in the parks. Actually, this was taken by a photographer as part of my Christmas gift from Mickey. He gave every cast member one free photopass photo and I decided to have mine by the Partners Statue and Cinderella Castle.
This is the same photo I modified and, admittedly, I like the modified version a lot.
Past the Castle is Fantasyland and Toontown. Toontown is the only area that was not part of the original lands of the Magic Kingdom, and it soon will be phased out again as Fantasyland will double in size.
Here is a look at some of the plans and renderings.
As you can see, there are some massive changes. The Teacups and Carousel appear to remain in place as is the two Pooh areas and Snow White. Same thing with Philharmagic and everything west of "it's a small world". Dumbo is moving and getting sets of spining elephants. The Barnstormer is going to remain put, but will most likely be themed after the Dumbo circus theme. The Toontown Train Station is going to be renamed the Fantasyland Train Station and is near Dumbo. Very appropriate given the movie. The sad sad movie.
Here's the changes.
There will be meet and greet areas with Princess Aurora, the Fairies, Cinderella, Ariel and Princess Belle. Each will have their own themed area, be it castle, Pixie Hollow, or village. In addition, The Little Mermaid will get her own "dark ride". Not necessarily scary, but dark in that you get in a car and go around in a dark area. Similar to the Haunted Mansion with its doombuggies. There will also be new restuarants. Gaston's, a quick service establishment, and Be Our Guest, table dining.
Now, if you look at the three variations of the new Fantasyland, there is some discrepency, particulary with the blue print version. Dumbo is not as close to the Barnstormer and the train station appears to be closer to Pixie Hollow. I'd go with the sketches and model over the blue print because they appear to be consistent with each other.
But, if you look at the blueprint, you'll see the entrance to the tunnel. It's in the upper left corner. That turn around is a street that leads back out to the areas I mentioned previously, like Disney University. It's a bus lane for cast members.
Next to Fantasyland is Liberty Square. This hosts many people's favorite attraction: The Haunted Mansion. I don't really have any secrets and stories about this other than costuming as a ghost as at the last minute. Many of you know this, but some of you do not. The day we went costuming for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween was the same day I went to the specialist about my arm. He told me I was able to completely remove the cast and I did not have to wear the sling. This is the reason I wanted to costume, but there were some problems still with mobility. I couldn't hold any weight and couldn't even lift it up to my own face.
At first, I just wanted to do a little bit of a costume, like a suit. Then I decided on light make up. But the more I saw the FBO+1 getting into character, the more I wanted to do more and more elaborate.
It was a team effort. I was unable to do much of it myself, but some of it was okay. I did outline my eyelids which I'm sorta glad I did. I was not so happy when I realized after more than an hour's worth of shower would leave me still looking like Captain Jack Sparrow. I was warned, but I didn't believe. I still had some makeup in my ears that I didn't notice until the next day at work and a supervisor called me on it. Luckily, it was okay for me to wear sunglasses, so I didn't get dinged on the eyes.
Now, this is the part that some of you may not know or remember. I really REALLY have an eye thing. I don't like things near or in my eye. Washing my own face is somewhat of a chore. Well, the more I was getting into character, the more I wanted to transform. And then Jesse mentioned he brought some contact lens. I was prepared to wear them, even though it is difficult. They don't dialate or anything with the changes in light and everything has a yellow glow. Again, remember that I can't touch my own face. And I want to wear contacts. The only way I know to put them in (and I don't normally wear contacts) is to hold open the eyelid then put them in with the other hand. Problem.
But Jesse had a solution. He would put them in for me. Oh My God. I still remember the feeling of terror and anticipation and how Jesse triumpantly proclaimed victory over my eye by successfully putting them in.
"See," he said. "That wasn't bad at all."
Well, it was. It was miserable and tramatizing. I think I could put them in myself in the future, but that was one of the least fun things I think I've ever done. The anticipation was the bad part. I'm the same way with shots or giving blood. True, the actual needle rarely hurts, but the anticipation is tangibly horrifying. The same is true with Jesse's finger making a bee-line for my pupil. I'll take a closeup, shirtless, lip-licking Darrell sticking a paintbrush up my nose a hundred times before I'll consider letting someone else put contacts in my eye.
Granted, Jesse did a good job and it looked good, but still. Just the thought is vomit-inducing.
But it did look good...
This is an unedited picture. I'm grateful of the work that Liz, Darrell and (groan) Jesse did with the makeup and eyes, plus Gina with some helpful accessories. I must toot my own horn on the inner eye lining. I really like the way it came out.
Liberty Square also briefly hosted the Princess Tiana Showboat Jubilee. I liked this show. Good music, a little parade, fun colors. It took place on the Liberty Belle Steamboat. It involved regular guests as well as some large puppets and props.
Now, the Princess and the Frog debuted while I was in Walt Disney World, and Princess Tiana made her grand entrance during that time as well. I made a point of getting to the Magic Kingdom on her first day and meeting the Princess. I mean, how many times can you say you met a Disney Princess her first time in the Magic Kingdom?
To the west of Liberty Square is Frontierland. In case you don't remember, I had an interesting find in Frontierland that still baffles me.
I never did find out what Gastley Mansion was. Oh well.
Before I forget to mention it, there is a bit of a Disney secret I'll bet most of you have seen, but never picked up on. Maybe. If you ever got a piece of mail from Walt Disney World, you should notice the return address is PO Box 10000 Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Almost every single mailing address for the entire Resort is the 10000 PO Box. I got a few business cards while I was down there and all of them have that address as did the maps I recently recieved.
That has to be a tremendously large PO Box.
One more thing, while we are off topic. Did you know that Walt Disney World has an official ink color? That's right. The ink in all of the pens intended to be used by cast members is black ink. Any pen you use to sign a some Disney paperwork is done in black if the pen was provided by a cast member. If you are a cast member, it HAS to be done in black ink or you do it over again. No blue ink allowed!
Back to the Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite areas in all of Walt Disney World was Adventureland. The singing tikis, the spitting camel, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Tiki Room, and the Jungle Cruise. Pirates is a favorite of many who venture to this blog. I had the great fortune of riding this attraction one day not only in a boat by myself, but there was no one in the three boats in front of me and at least two behind me.
If you enter Pirates, you have the option of going right or left. I always went right because it seems shorter (and most often has less of a wait), but you can see some skeletons playing chess. If you look closely, you'll notice the game is at a stalemate.
Not a lot of people are fans of the Tiki Room, especially since it went into new management. I still like it for symbolic reasons. It was one of the only things I remember from my childhood and going to Walt Disney World. Yes, the show has changed. No, it's not as good. But those singing totem poles are still one of my favorite things along with the rain. I specifically remember thoses totems and the rain from my childhood, so it is a must for me.
The Jungle Cruise is another favorite by many, but not my current Stephanie girlfriend. I say my current Stephanie girlfriend because I have dated another Stephanie in the past. Ironically, during one of our family trips with current Stephanie, we decided to do the Jungle Cruise and guess who was working the docks. Yep. Old Stephanie I haven't seen in a while. Now, we ended on good terms, but it was quite a shock because this was the last place I'd expect to see her. Turns out she was a CP at the time. Later, when I was a CP, I went on the Jungle Cruise and she was my skipper! She had come back and was working part-time hoping for a full time gig. I occassionally ran into her whenever I ventured into the Jungle, but later she was transfered to Tomorrowland and I didn't see her again. Probably much to the delight of now Stephanie. In fact, I told her about this blog entry with old Stephanie and she said it was a transfer not to Tomorrowland, but Loserland because that's where losers go. I'm glad to see there are no issues with old flames still looming in our relationship!
Let's go ahead an move on into Tomorrowland. This is home to my current favorite Walt Disney World attraction, Space Mountain. It also houses Stitch's Great Escape (which I also love), Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, the Carousel of Progress, and Sonny Eclipse. Who? Sonny Eclipse. He is a lounge singer in Cosmic Ray's Cafe. I love Cosmic Ray's and Pecos Bills because of the bacon double cheeseburgers with fries. But more than the burgers is the cheese pump. All that hot gooey lovely nacho cheese. Yummy goodness! Sonny Eclipse would perform daily in the main dining area and I always chose a seat near him simply because it's nice to have some music to listen to if you are eating by yourself.
Okay, that's a little sad, but moving on.
I have a little bit of beef with folks about Stitch's Great Escape. Apparently, this is not a popular show. I still really like it. One big reason is because it was one of the few times I was surprised at Walt Disney World upon my return trip during an attraction I had done before. SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't already been on the ride, you might not know the premise is you are recruited as a guard and in comes Stitch. He breaks free and causes all sorts of chaos, much of it in pitch black. This includes stealing someone's chili dog, eating it, and burping. It was the burp that got me. I completely forgot about it and how absolutely horrible it smells! I mean, you can really sense the chili and the stomach acid.
My favorite, as I said, is Space Mountain. One huge reason I love Space Mountain is because it was one of the few attractions I had to wait on. It was under refurbishment when I arrived and did not open until November. It did what is called a soft opening. Essentially, they do not advertise it is open to avoid mass crowds, but do allow people on the attraction. This allows cast members the option of seeing how to manage the guests.
We were all riding back on the van one day when suddenly Rickey's phone got a message. Nothing new, but this was a unique message that got everyone excited. Space Mountain was open for soft openings. This was an amazing revelation. A real reason to get excited. It was immediately decided amoung many of us that we would go to the park immediately and ride Space Mountain. If it was not working, we would go and do some other attractions and try again. Chris, Ahixa, Julian, and myself along with Rickey and Michael ventured into the Magic Kingdom via monorail. There was only a few problems...
First of all, none of us had brought a change of clothes. Most people did not go to the parks after work anyway. This was one of the few days I originally planned on returning home (perhaps to do laundry or something) and did not bring a change. All we had were our costumes. Luckily, the bus greeter costume is pretty none Disney. It's a white button up shirt with black pants. Really dull. The only thing that makes it look like a costume is the padded area where the name tag goes. That and six people all wearing the same thing. We get to Space Mountain to find out it is temporarily closed but will likely reopen. We wait about 20 minutes before Rickey got way too annoying (normal for him). Michael couldn't stand it and left. The rest of us decided to split and go on some other attractions. We grabbed a quick snack and went to the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Philharmagic. Then, it was time to go back to see if Space Mountain was open. If so, great. If not, home again. To our luck, it was open with a 20 minute wait.
While waiting, we found out that this was to be Ahixa's first roller coaster ever. She was preciously scared about the experience. She is also from Puerto Rico and English is not her first language. She speaks it well enough, but she still struggles with some words and phrases. This will come back later in the story.
So, we board our rocket and away we go. Chris is a fun guy, I consider myself a fun guy. Julian is known for being quiet and sticks to himself. And Ahixa. It's the four of us in this six person rocket. We make our way up the chain hill and stare into the black and stars. Then, we make the turn down into the universe. Wow! I can still remember the feeling of awe and excitement. And Ahixa screaming in both English and Spanish. It was hilarious. We got off so energized, so pumped. There is a photo taken on the ride now and the looks on all our faces is sheer enjoyment. This feeling happens every time I ride it and no other attraction duplicates this.
I looked at my watch and noticed that it was time for my favorite show on property, the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It, Street Party in the Hub by Cinderella Castle. Almost every time I went to the Magic Kingdom, I would plan my schedule to end seeing this show. I've spoke on it before, but basically there are a bunch of huge presents that come out with a lot of characters and you can dance with them. Today was no exception as the three of us chose a spot near Chip and Dale and just danced danced danced. After the party, the presents make their way back down Main Street U.S.A. towards the exit. What better way to leave than following Lumiere to the sounds of the song Celebrate You!, I ask? I can't think of a better way.
I certainly hope you've enjoyed it all.
TTFN
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