The first time I went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida I was around five years old. I never remembered much besides meeting mickey mouse and my parents buying me a personalized magic wand. As I grew up, I had never really anticipated going back to Disney. It seemed like such a distant memory, but I was wrong. This spring break I spent a week in Disney and even as an adult it is completely magical. Walking around the park I felt like a child again. At some points the strollers and scooters running you over kills the effect for a bit, but it was still amazing. I had the chance to go to Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom which includes a small section of Belle’s world from Beauty and The Beast. This has and will always be my favorite Disney movie. I went to a tavern with all different themed drinks and their signature cinnamon buns. The entire area really did look like the France pictured in the movie. I distinctly remember the big fountain of Gaston in the middle of the square. From there I went into a shop, caving into my inner child and buying a mug that is a replica of Chip, which was probably the best twenty dollars I spent the whole trip. Unfortunately I did not get to see any of the characters, but then again I’m much older and know they are normal people dressed up.
The parks were huge, a lot bigger than I had anticipated. By the end of the week I fully understood how you can spend twelve hours in a park and still not be finished. There was so much to do and so many places to eat. It is most certainly not your average theme park by any means. I had the pleasure of staying on Disney property at one of the resorts. This made getting around so much quicker when compared to commuters. There was also some interesting late night rides on the buses which still makes me laugh. People, families in particular, are very interesting. We had park hopper passes, meaning we could go from park to park as much as we wanted in one day, so a lot of time was spent on the transportation system.
It’s tough to say which park was my favorite. Magic Kingdom definitely was the most “magical”, but then there is parks like Epcot where you can leisurely walk through the different countries. France had a topiary of Beauty and The Beast, and of course I made sure to take a picture. That country also had chocolate macaroons, which I also had to buy right away. I really did not have any expectations of Disney before I went, mainly because I remembered next to nothing and the park had changed a lot. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it. It really made me think back to when I was a child watching VHS tapes of princess movies or playing dress up. The whole week truly was magical!
