Spending a Day at the Happiest Place in the World
I am a world traveler and love discovering new people, new cuisines, new cultures but... I have to say that there is something beautiful about returning to a place you loved as a child. Invariably the scale of the destination always seem different, there is something warm and fuzzy about rediscovering what you loved and enjoyed. Returning to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando earlier this year made me realize the true genius of Walt Disney. He created a world where fantasy is real, children rule, and anything is possible. Cinderella's castle on Main Street brought back major nostalgia with its store of magic tricks, old fashioned ice cream salon, candy shops, and many boutiques focused on fun hats, masks, zany sunglasses and everything that you don't need but would love to have. I believe the true vision that Disney had when he created this haven in the 1970's was to officially bring to this world a melting pot where anyone from around the globe can come to a magical land and enjoy a day of clean entertainment. He created a destination which is happy, positive and an organized environment where each employee makes it their job to make your day effortlessly happy. I am not sure anyone since Walt Disney has managed to come close.
So, granted that you may just visit the Magic Kingdom in Orlando some day (who knows maybe this year!), here are are some must do's for your bucket list🎡:
✔ Most day tickets offer you the option to get 2 Fast Passes at a kiosk in Adventureland or Fantasyland- lines at Disney World are famously long and the FastPass will literally cut your time in half!
🚢 There is a lovely Ferry from Epcot Center to the Magic Kingdom, I would highly recommend taking this as opposed to parking at the MG, it adds to the magical experience!
🧚♀️Rides that are classic, must go rides at the Magic✨Kingdom are "It's A Small World"(pictured left), Pirates of the Caribbean, Tiki Room (the cutest singing birds), The Haunted Mansion, and Jungle Cruise. Everything else is icing on the cake but these rides have defined many Disney movies and parks around the world.
🍍Guess what had a longer line than many rides? You got it, an ice cream shop extraordinaire which served pineapple soft serve over pineapple juice! It is amazing, trust me!
🎇Whatever you do, do not miss the most breath taking, inspirational fireworks done with true Disney pizzazz against Cinderella's castle. Even the babies in the crowd were gasping! But seriously, this is the grand finale of the day and not to miss. I caught my favorite color of purple against the castle pictured below. With a mini Disney movie in the backdrop of the fireworks, the show locks your attention the whole time!
Disney is now all over the world, in Europe, Japan, and over in Anaheim, CA but if you want the original experience, the way Walt Disney created it, go to Orlando, FL! From a travel perspective, Orlando is connected to NY, LA, Europe, Asia, you name it. In my next blog post I will share a great place to stay in Orlando and some other well researched options for key cities in Europe, so stay tuned!
