Why do I go to WDW? A Place Where People Look Out for Each Other

People often ask me why I go to Disney World so frequently and I've never been satisfied with the answers I've been able to articulate. It is a comfortable place, with a variety of fun activities, I know my way around, there is great food on property along with excellent cocktails served in beautiful seeings, and there are ample opportunities to practice different photographic techniques. So, the Disney parks and resorts fit well with some of my favorite hobbies and there's even a part of me that likes trying to outsmart the crowds and figure out how see and do more in a single day than most other guests would think possible. However, I could accomplish much of this without straying far from where I live, so there's more to why I choose to spend so much time in Central Florida and I will endeavor to answer that question for myself and for curious friends and readers in this series of blog posts.

Before leaving Disney's Hollywood Studios this past Tuesday I saw a sweet moment that I was able to capture with my camera. Goofy had just finished meeting with guests and was setting off on a break, when he looked over and saw a little girl with her father. I did not observe whether the little girl may have been agitated with someone that went wrong in her day or really excited to see Goofy walking past, but I did see that Goofy took her hand and started walking with her on his way to his break.

There are a couple ways to look at this. The most common is to say this was a moment of Disney "magic." However, I don't buy that explanation. What I do believe is that the environment inside the Disney World "bubble" is one where everyone is expected to behave differently than in other places. It is a world in which everyone is expected to be courteous and to look out for each other's safety and well-being. Those expectations are explicitly stated to Disney Cast Member's and [Spoiler Alert] there is an actual human being inside that Goofy costume who not only has been trained to try to make other people's days a little better, but has also been surrounded by other people trying to make other people happy. This Cast Member, who just spent half an hour picked kicked, grabbed, pushed, and shoved in 90 degree heat and humidity, while wearing an unwieldy costume he can barely see out of, could easily have rushed off for his air conditioned break and few people would have faulted him for doing so, but he instead chose to create a moment that this little girl and many of her family and friends will remember for a lifetime.






For the most part Disney Cast Members take great pride in fostering an environment where people look for ways to create joy and inspiration for each other, but it is not Cast Members alone that may Disney parks that happy places that they are. I can't claim to be an expert on human behavior, but it seems that we generally understand that there are different expectations for us in different places. I'm not talking about a set of rules posted on a wall someone, but rather that when we see other people giving gifts to other guests, checking to see if we can help a stranger who looks distraught, or just striking up a conversation with people we've never met before, then we seem more likely to emulate that behavior. We don't do this because someone said we would be thrown out of the park for failing to comply with a rule, but because we feel safe to do so and maybe because we think that if other guests are treated each other with this sort of kindness and respect that we should do the same.

I've experienced many examples of special guest behavior over the years, but one that stood out from my most recent trip was this past Monday night standing near the Partners statue in the Magic Kingdom Hub, waiting for the new Once Upon a Time fireworks show to start. Shortly before the show was scheduled to begin we heard a P.A. announcement that the evening's show was delayed. During the delay, a couple guests and I started talking about how the show wasn't likely to be canceled and speculating why the show wasn't starting when it appeared that rainstorms from earlier in the evening had passed out of the area. A little bit after the show's scheduled 9:00 PM start we found out why we were waiting for the show to start, when the skies opened up and rain began pouring down on us. I had my camera setup on a tripod to photograph the show and a couple thousand people stood between me and the nearest shelter, so there wasn't much choice other than to ride out the storm in place. I had ponchos for me and for my camera, but didn't have time to take either of those out of my backpack before this particular storm arrived. While I was scrambling to keep my camera (and eventually, myself) dry two people who I had never met before decided they needed to protect my camera and hold their umbrellas over top of it. I didn't ask them to do this, but I didn't need to. They understood that in Disney World we look out for each other.

Some people dismiss Disney parks as "fake" and contrived environments. Buildings are, indeed, often just facades and I realize I'm not seeing the original Eiffel Tower when I visit Epcot, but the parks are more than just buildings and attractions. The real Disney "world" is one in which people want to make a little girl's day better or where they don't want to see a stranger lose his camera to a surprise rain shower. We can do these things in the "real" world, too, but too often we don't, so until the rest of the world catches up, I'll still spend some of my time in Disney World.

Warming Up to the New Magic Kingdom Hub

When reports started to filter out that the Hub in Disney World's Magic Kingdom was set to be remodeled I reacted with mixed emotions, or perhaps more precisely, a mix and emotion and logic. Logically, I understood the need to move more people more quickly through that area of the park, but emotionally I immediately feared the loss of some of the most scenic vistas in the park. Disney is eager to explain that they prioritize "Show" over "Efficiency" when they talk about the Keys to success of their theme parks, but they recognize both are important and at some point efficiency can no longer be ignored. Those who have been stuck in a mass of humanity during a Disney parade or fireworks show, or just trying to get out of the park at closing time, recognized the need to address crowd movement in the Magic Kingdom. Sadly, the Swan Boats were never destined to return, so we would have to accept some changing views in the central hub of the park. (Those not familiar with the Hub reconstruction project may wish to view this video Disney posted when the construction project was announced last year)

While some construction remains closer to Cinderella Castle I saw most of the newly remodeled Hub unveiled in early March, 2015. I also watched Wishes and Celebrate the Magic from the new FastPass+ fireworks viewing area, near Casey's Corner, so I got a pretty good look and feel of how the new area works. We'll know more when larger summer crowds start to offer a better stress test, but for now I like the look better than I thought I would. You can see for yourself with these images.






This is the sort of image that we'll never see again with the new Hub, as the old docks/load/unload areas for the Swan Boats are gone.

Seeing a view like this made me feel a little better that there are still attractive water vistas to be found

One benefit of the new construction is a larger seating area outside the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor

A look into the new fireworks FastPass+ viewing area

A similar fenced in area to what is currently being used for FastPass+ viewing is also present on the opposite side of Main Street (near the Plaza Restaurant), though at the time of my visit it was not being used for FastPass+ fireworks viewing

New fountains have appeared

The mini statues that used to surround Partners have been moved (out of arms length)

Walt is still around to watch over the park

The fireworks viewing area drew crowds, but not nearly as densely packed as those elsewhere in the park. On the night I attended, most guest chose to sit on the fake grass (I setup my tripod in front of a tree, so as not to block anyone's view of the show).

I saw more of Celebrate the Magic than I ever have farther back on Main Street, managing to find a spot with no heads blocking my view

Wishes looked good, too, though I'll note there are quite a few lighting fixtures blocking many of the views in the FastPass+ viewing area. I arrived early and made a point to station myself somewhere that offered an unobstructed view of Cinderella Castle

This should give guests an idea what the expect next time you visit the new Magic Kingdom Hub, but let me know if you have any questions.

What's So Special About Wishes?

At some point in the past year I've become a convert.  Fireworks shows are fun, but for quite a while I preferred to use the time when most Disney World guests gather for fireworks to take advantage of the shorter lines for attractions.  After all, there's nothing all that special about watching flashes of light in the air, right?  I figured I've already seen the evening shows, so why waste time fighting the crowds to see them again?  Besides, you can still sorta watch the fireworks while you're walking around the park.  Turned out I didn't realize what I was missing.

So what changed?  Why so many questions at the start of this article?  The answer begins last April, one evening after my cousin and his family decided to head off to bed after dinner and I decided it was too early for me to turn in.  I jumped aboard a boat from Disney's Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom and arrived just as Wishes was beginning.  Rather than fight my way through the crowds on Main Street or sneak through the gift shops, I decided to stop and watch the show.  When I walked through the turnstiles I headed straight up to the stairs to the train station on Main Street in time to see the last five minutes of the show.  The following evening, I returned to the Magic Kingdom with my cousin, his wife, and their five year old son.  All of us ended the evening watching the fireworks together, this time from the middle of Main Street, standing among the crowd, hearing the oohs and ahs from people around, including those in my family, who had never seen the show before.  So, maybe there was a little more to Disney World fireworks than I remembered.

Fast forward to late June when my sister and I returned to Disney World and she and I stopped and watched Wishes twice.  In between park visits I had purchased and read How to Photograph Fireworks, an ebook from the some of the contributors to the Disney Photography Blog, so I was eager to try out what I learned.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my tripod to the park the first night we visited the Magic Kingdom.  Fortunately, that meant we watched Wishes again the second night we were in the park.  Watching the show with my sister added another layer of sentimentality to the show, as two years before her now-husband proposed to her during a fireworks cruise on Seven Seas Lagoon.

My initial foray into fireworks photography was fun, but left plenty of room for improvement.  Thus, still not completely satisfied with the images from June (the first tripod I brought along was too short and I wanted to try shooting the show through a neutral density filter), I returned to the Magic Kingdom in late January of this year.  I had a day in the parks alone after watching a hockey game in Tampa the night before, and with no one else's schedule to keep but my own, I setup for the show well ahead of time, which meant I found a location with an unobstructed view of Cinderella Castle and also gave me a chance to setup a video camera.  The visuals I captured don't do Wishes justice, but the audio is pretty remarkable.

I setup my cameras (video and still) among one of the stroller parking areas facing the Magic Kingdom's castle.  After I scoped out my great location for the Celebrate the Magic projection show and Wishes a number of people came and went, some of whom picked up their strollers, which made more room along the rail where I was stationed.  A young family soon joined me in the same location, politely asking if they would be blocking my cameras.  They weren't, and I figured that even if they were that it was more important that the kids enjoyed the show than whether or not my pictures and video turned out the way I hoped.  As Magic Kingdom cast members moved everyone out of the nearby walkway, across the masking tape line they created, I urged the family to let their kids sit at the railing next to my cameras.  The family settled in, and it must have been instant karma that my video camera recorded their joy as they were amazed by what they saw.  It's pretty easy for regular visitors to Walt Disney World to take for granted some of the amazing spectacular shows the park offers, but spend a little time with some people who haven't been there before or who don't see the shows very often and it's pretty easy to remember some of what Disney does best.

Illuminations Celebrates 25 Years

Last week, Illuminations celebrated 25 years of entertaining Epcot visitors.  While the show has changed over the years it continues to provide a dramatic and sometimes poignant end to the day of anyone who finds a reasonable viewing spot around World Showcase Lagoon.  D23 recently published one cast member's reflections on the show along with some statistics about the spectacle, past and present (Illuminations: 1988 from D23).  I'll share some recent photos from the current incarnation of the show, Reflections of Earth.