Saturday, August 10, 2002

Ah, the magic of Disney.

I haven’t been to Disneyworld (or Florida, for that matter,) for a long time, so visiting the Magic Kingdom brought back many memories; no particular undertone intended, just that many sights, sounds, and things were actually familiar to me. (I’ve probably been to Magic Kingdom at least four to five times.)

It was a better experience than I expected (so yes, Janey, I did have fun today, =P) even for a relatively “non-Disney” fan.

As soon as we got off the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, we were greeted with the principal theme and multiple variations of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” We planned out our route, and decided to circle the park in a counter-clockwise fashion, starting out with Tomorrowland.

Wow, I’ve never claimed to be a really bright kid when I was little, but it is only now that I appreciate cleverness and punniness of the park. What 10-year-old will appreciate the Shakespearean allusion in the store name: The Merchant of Venus? Or, the Geiger’s Counter, an ice cream parlour? How about the cleverness in the name of the singing alien in the Starlight Café, Sonny Eclipse? I think I *did* understand the pun (back then) in “The Lunching Pad” though! Oh, the enlightenments.

We went on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, actually a new experience for me. =P

Aside from the Buzz Lightyear ride, everything else was virtually unchanged for, perhaps, over 10 years?? I don’t remember if FedEx had such strong sponsorship of Space Mountain back then though.

Next up was Toontown Fair, where every moment is a Kodak moment.

Fantasyland followed, and of course, we *had* to go on the “It’s a Small World” ride. It practically epitomises the Magic Kingdom! Unfortunately, it wasn’t as *magical* as it felt when I was little, but alas… the only direction that innocence can go towards is being lost. =P I had really wanted to go on the Snow White ride, but there wasn’t too much time. Next time, though: I must overcome my fear. I remember being absolutely terrified of that ride. [shut up..=P] (And can you believe the lineup for the Peter Pan ride was 65 minutes??? Crazy!!)

Anyway, next to Liberty Square and Frontierland for Splash Mountain (still quite excellent after all these years) and the Haunted Mansion. After all those years of going to Disneyworld, I have never been to the Haunted Mansion, and it was a lot of fun. We were pretty scared, actually, but mainly due to self-affliction. (We were *genuinely* scared…) Anyway, I shall tell that story some other time.

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

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