Disney World Exceeded Expectations

I visited Disney World in Orlando for the first time in late January, early February to celebrate my 40th birthday. (I purposely went in the off season because I don’t like crowds. What a perfect time to visit. It wasn’t crowded at all!) I was expecting Disney to be filled with kids and everything would be focused on kids and I would be annoyed beyond belief.

Sure, I heard a few unexpected screams from a “wild child” in the park that made me jump out of my skin but overall I felt the park was very accommodating to adults. I went with my mother to celebrate my 40th birthday and when we bought our ticket they gave us a button that said it was our first time there. The staff members, when they noticed the button, made a fuss over us and we felt so important and WE LOVED IT! Then I found out that if you are celebrating a birthday at the park they give you a birthday button and everyone says happy birthday to you and sometimes you get a special treat.

At first I thought only the little kids get all the treats but they do special things for the adults too. I got a free ice cream sundae, a special pin, a certificate with Tinkerbelle on it (I never told anyone this but I always liked Tinkerbelle when I was a kid so that was a nice treat.) and I got another certificate too.

I’m used to visiting Cedar Pointe in Ohio and that was what I was expecting at Disney and it was SO much better than that. All the rides accommodated any purse or small pack that you were carrying in a secured compartment so you never had to be parted from your bag or worrying that it would fly off the ride. They also offered FRESH FRUIT in the park and other healthy items and at a reasonable price too. I thought you needed to have lots and lots of money to really enjoy Disney but I found that the ticket price was the most expensive thing and it isn’t too hard to find good quality food at a very reasonable price. I had a fresh fruit and cheese plate, a carrot sticks and celery stick with ranch dipping sauce, pretzels (only 80 cents!) and a later in the day I had a wonderful baked potato. It sure beats the expensive fried food I was expecting in at regular amusement parks.

O.k. I confess I did have one downfall while I was there. My mom loves ice cream and ended up trying her Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bar on a stick. I normally don’t like ice cream but I got hooked on that ice cream bar and I had to have one each day I was there. If I could find them in Michigan I would buy a whole box because the ice cream was so creamy and the chocolate covering was dark chocolate and it was a bit whimsical too. I’ve included a picture of me with “the mouse”. It was only $2.50 too.

Again the prices were reasonable and it actually touched my heart in a way. I know there are families in that park that might be sacrificing in a big way to give their kid the Disney dream and it was good to see gift items, food and snacks that were reasonably priced. Even souvenirs were varied in price so you could spend a lot, if you like, or get a small inexpensive treat that a child could treasure. No one has to walk away from Disney without a little affordable treasure to remember their special time. I suppose I feel this way because my parents were never really wealthy and I know that it means something to have a great experience AND have enough money left over to afford a treat to take home.

To be honest, Disney is all about the experience. I felt confident in paying the big ticket price to get in the parks because it was an experience unlike any other and I really didn’t spend much on food. I might have spent a little more than expected on souvenirs but it wasn’t excessive.

We only had a two day pass and to really enjoy Disney’s four parks you need at least four days. If you really, really want to enjoy it and move at a leisurely pace I say stay a whole week, but four days should be the minimum anyone stays.

I was surprised with how much I loved the Magic Kingdom. I only saw Main Street, The Castle and The Haunted Mansion but it was all very magical and the funny thing is that I’m really not into all that fluff. However, they capture my imagination and I very much want to go back. They had a really fun live show on a stage outside the castle and it was such fun to watch. We had no plans to stay and watch the parade but as the sun started to go down we thought “We’ll just watch a minute or two and then go.” We were SO wrong! This was the most magical parade I’ve ever seen. Every float was lit up with colorful lights that changed colors and it was the prettiest parade I’ve ever seen. We couldn’t wait to see the next float and we ended up staying until the end and then we saw the fireworks over The Castle. It was such more amazing than expected. We liked it so much we tried to see it again the next night but they didn’t do a parade that night. Bummer!
Epcot was amazing and was the park I wanted to see the most. I love things from around the world so the World Showcase was great. I felt like I traveled to many countries in one day. I saw a great film about China and France. The film about China was projected 360 degrees so it was a big circle around you, no matter where you turned you saw everything they shot. It was like being there! The film on France was projected 180 degrees and captured you into the piece completely.
I also like outer space so I HAD to ride on Mission: SPACE. I felt like I was being rocketed to Mars! Very realistic and it is the closest I will ever be to my childhood dream of traveling in space. Then there was the best ride of all: Soarin’. You actually felt like you were hang gliding. I always thought it would be fun to hang glide but I am too afraid to take that risk but at Disney they give you this experience and you are totally safe. They even put scents of the images you are seeing on the screen in this ride. We flew over pine trees and you feel the wind and smell the pine! I like rides that touch all the senses. They do that at Disney for almost every ride.

We visited MGM and we thought we wouldn’t like it but I fell in love with it. I love the 1940’s so I felt like I went back in time to a place I always wanted to visit but knew I couldn’t. What a treat. There were many movie sets all over the park and we saw a 3-D movie with the Muppets in it. I loved the Muppets when I was a kid. As usual Disney touched all the senses in this particular show and there was a time that real characters came out of the movie screen and interacted with the audience. What a fun treat! We ate lunch at a 1950’s drive-in that was inside but it felt like it was outside and watched Sci-Fi flicks on the movie screen. I didn’t spend enough time in this park. I want to go back to the 1940’s again!

We also visited Animal Kingdom but the park felt small and crowded. We did like the Bugs Life 3-D show very much. That show was full of fun surprises.

We enjoyed the shopping very much and suggest that anyone that enjoys shopping to take a full day at Downtown Disney. It is the best shopping I’ve seen with many creative items to buy or to just look at.

I hope I can visit Disney again BEFORE I have kids of my own. Disney should be experienced by adults without kids so they can fully enjoy all Disney has to offer.