Firstly travel is about new experiences and a trip to Disney is a real experience.
There are many aspects that make a Disney holiday an experience that should not be missed. The first thing that hits you is the scale of the place. It is huge (47 sq miles)! But not only is it big in area, but the whole operation is phenomenally big. The first real impression of how big things are is when you first arrive at the car park for the parks. This is also where you first realise the organisation behind the enterprise. There is a whole army of parking attendants to guide you to your parking bay. The car park is so large that some of the attendants get around using Segways. There are generally "trains" then to get you from the car park to the park entrance.
The thing that you notice next is how immaculate the parks are. They are generally spotlessly clean. The planted areas are a mass of colour and manicured within an inch of their lives.
One of my dreads before visiting Disney was the though of queuing for hours to spend two minutes in a ride. With a judicious use of Fastpasses and getting to the parks early keeps queuing to a minimum. But that is only half of the story. Because of the potential length of the queues there is generally a fair trek between the ride entrance and getting on the ride, Disney has provided lots to see to on the way to build up the excitement for the attraction ahead. The amount of thought that has gone into the whole thing is amazing. At the end of each ride is a retail experience based around the ride (not to mention to see a photograph of you on the ride, which can be yours for a not too small fee). The range of the merchandise available beggars belief. It all adds to the experience.
As an engineer, I really love and appreciate the work that has gone into design, manufacture and maintenance of these rides. My favourite engineering feat is the wave machine in Typhoon Lagoon which throws out a 5 foot wave every 90 seconds.
The different themed areas of the parks are incredible and the best example of what I mean is best illustrated by Epcot - Around the World. This is a representation of the world according to Disney. It is all very twee. I have visited several of the countries (and live in one) represented and they are nothing like this Disney vision. I don't have a problem with this as I look at it as entertainment but it is interesting to see the cliched views of these countries.
The staff in the parks are, on the whole, very friendly and helpful. It is marketed after all as the happiest place on earth.
I am also impressed that there are people there from all over the world. In researching this trip I could not believe the number of people who have blogs completely dedicated to Disney World and who are making a living from it.
Disney may not be everyone's cup of tea, but an awful lot of people love it and as I started with it is a real experience.
There are many aspects that make a Disney holiday an experience that should not be missed. The first thing that hits you is the scale of the place. It is huge (47 sq miles)! But not only is it big in area, but the whole operation is phenomenally big. The first real impression of how big things are is when you first arrive at the car park for the parks. This is also where you first realise the organisation behind the enterprise. There is a whole army of parking attendants to guide you to your parking bay. The car park is so large that some of the attendants get around using Segways. There are generally "trains" then to get you from the car park to the park entrance.
The thing that you notice next is how immaculate the parks are. They are generally spotlessly clean. The planted areas are a mass of colour and manicured within an inch of their lives.
One of my dreads before visiting Disney was the though of queuing for hours to spend two minutes in a ride. With a judicious use of Fastpasses and getting to the parks early keeps queuing to a minimum. But that is only half of the story. Because of the potential length of the queues there is generally a fair trek between the ride entrance and getting on the ride, Disney has provided lots to see to on the way to build up the excitement for the attraction ahead. The amount of thought that has gone into the whole thing is amazing. At the end of each ride is a retail experience based around the ride (not to mention to see a photograph of you on the ride, which can be yours for a not too small fee). The range of the merchandise available beggars belief. It all adds to the experience.
As an engineer, I really love and appreciate the work that has gone into design, manufacture and maintenance of these rides. My favourite engineering feat is the wave machine in Typhoon Lagoon which throws out a 5 foot wave every 90 seconds.
The different themed areas of the parks are incredible and the best example of what I mean is best illustrated by Epcot - Around the World. This is a representation of the world according to Disney. It is all very twee. I have visited several of the countries (and live in one) represented and they are nothing like this Disney vision. I don't have a problem with this as I look at it as entertainment but it is interesting to see the cliched views of these countries.
The staff in the parks are, on the whole, very friendly and helpful. It is marketed after all as the happiest place on earth.
I am also impressed that there are people there from all over the world. In researching this trip I could not believe the number of people who have blogs completely dedicated to Disney World and who are making a living from it.
Disney may not be everyone's cup of tea, but an awful lot of people love it and as I started with it is a real experience.
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