The Campbell family walks toward Cinderella’s Castle during a visit to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Photos courtesy of Jan Campbell
One hundred years ago this October, a man named Disney had a concept, a dream – to bring magic to life. He was an artist, a dreamer. But his sketches and ideas brought a very real whimsy into our lives that is fairly inescapable today.
My husband and I joined our son and his family on a journey to central Florida — Orlando to be precise — to experience a little of that magic for ourselves. I had never been inside the park. Darrell had been there as a teenager when the park first opened in the 70s. I wanted to see Tinkerbell and the magic Castle. He wondered if anything would be the same as he remembered. We were both excited to spend a week with our son, his wife and our two granddaughters Lily and Violet.
Daughter-in-law Beth booked a house for all of us in Davenport, Florida, just 20 minutes from Walt Disney World. This beautiful house had four bedrooms, each decorated with characters from the Disney library: Cinderella, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse and the Aristocats. The décor was subtle but very fun and we appreciated the humor of it all. There was ample living space and a dining table to accommodate all six of us. Probably most importantly there was a large, heated swimming pool and hot tub under a screened enclosure. This kept any wandering creatures from the nearby woods from invading our sanctuary. We did see some anoles (small lizard-like creatures), but insects were few and far between thanks to this screened cover. We spent quite a few hours together just relaxing in this luxurious space.
The morning came for us to visit the park. We rose before sunrise so we could be at the gates by opening time at 8 a.m.
Once inside the motor gate, we lined up to pay the $25.00 parking fee to enter. After parking, we went through lines of security to then line up to present our tickets. All ticketing is electronic. Our daughter-in-law Beth had our tickets on her phone, so we moved as a group through the gates. Then we had a choice: monorail or ferry boat? Either one would take you to the park entrance. We chose the monorail on both visit days to enter the park.
Of anything else I can say about this venue, the Disney folks certainly know how to move people! We disembarked from the monorail and entered the gates proper. We made it!
Inside the main gate you step back in time to a place with steam locomotives and store front emporiums. There, in the distance, Cinderella’s Castle. It really does kind of take your breath away.
I remember as a child watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights at my grandparents’ house. The music would rise and Tinkerbell would light the castle. For an hour we had Disney magic in our lives.
Well, today we had people in our faces. Many people. Lots and lots of people. So Many People.
As we walked through the various areas of the Kingdom, I was again impressed with the efficiency with which the park moved people along. At one point, facing a 45 minute wait in line, we were offered a chance to book a return time – which we did. They took our ticket information and we were able to come back 50 minutes later and be first in line. That really helped us.
There is a system called “lightning lane” which can be purchased for an additional $30 per ticket. Darrell and I had decided not to take advantage of that because, frankly, we did not believe we would want to ride many rides. The “lightning lane” is designed to shorten a person’s wait time in line. Sometimes, however, both lines seemed to be about the same length.
Lines could be as short as 20 minutes, but could also be as long as 2 hours and 10 minutes. Ben and family waited 90 minutes to ride Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. We all saw the Haunted Mansion after a 70 minute wait in Fantasyland. Smaller attractions move more quickly. Mickey’s Philharmagic was about 30 minutes and the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square was on a walk-in basis every 30 minutes.
Every day at 3 p.m. the main street is cleared for the Parade. We had curbside seats for the Wednesday parade. Princesses, heroes, elephants and dragons — all the fairytale and cartoon magic passed in front of us.
And of course, bringing up the rear were Mickey and Minnie Mouse — the ones who inspired Walt Disney to create this happy place.
We rode many rides, the monorail and the ferry. We even went up in a helium balloon at Disney Springs. We ate new food and wore Mouse ears. We laughed and relaxed in a lovely pool. But most of all, we spent time with family and made wonderful, lifetime memories.
Trip taken by Darrell and Jan Campbell
October 7-15, 2023
