Day 5

Today was one more of those early wake-ups, but it was going to be worth it. I slouched around the resort for a few minutes slowly reviving myself; there’s nothing like being a walking zombie in the morning while getting passed by up and alert joggers. [img]graemlins/ack.gif[/img] They are just rubbing it in that they were awake and I was struggling to survive.

I eventually woke up and grabbed a bus to the Magic Kingdom for an extra magic hour. I arrived before the gates opened and there was a surprisingly low amount of people waiting! When the turnstiles opened I made my way to Fantasyland since I had yet to experience any of the attractions there. First, of course, was Peter Pan that had been having 70-minute waits all week. [img]graemlins/shakehead.gif[/img] Is it really worth a 70-minute wait? I don’t think so. It is worth a 0 minute wait as I was the first guest on Peter Pan for the day. My flight to Neverland ended and I made my way to Snow White’s Scary Adventures followed by It’s a Small World (I know, I know). Winnie the Pooh wasn’t open so that was out of the question, but there was plenty to do in Tomorrowland. I was able to get in a spin on Buzz Lightyear and Astro Orbiter before having to head up to City Hall.

It was time. [img]graemlins/silly.gif[/img] My Keys to the Kingdom tour was about to start. It was a small group, only five others besides me. Our tour guide was Mary, and she was the best I could have asked for. Now, I’m going to go in depth about the tour and what we did so if you don’t want to read, finish this paragraph and scroll way down to the stars. I must say, though, that this is a very personal tour and I highly doubt my experience will match what people have done in the past and what you will do if you take it in the future. As I learned from Mary, the tour guide gets to decide what to talk about, really, as they have very loose guidelines. Therefore, I would definitely not consider my report a “spoiler” seeing as I do not intend to spoil anything – it was a unique experience that will differ from yours. On top of that I don’t want to spend more hours writing this report. [img]graemlins/sleepin.gif[/img]

That being said (or preached, however you perceived it), we started down Main Street after introducing ourselves. Mary explained to us the four keys, if you will: Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency (in that order). These are the keys that Disney uses for creating and operating their theme parks. While on Main Street we took the time to point out examples of each. My favorite was that Main Street is really a very long but slight incline uphill to the castle. She explained that this was an intentional design for courtesy; when guests arrive they are so excited to get to the castle and the hub that they don’t realize they are walking uphill. However, at night, when they are tired and sore, it is a courtesy to them to be walking downhill. [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img] Also, how all of the Main Street doors are open for guests to enter. This proves that courtesy is above efficiency, since air conditioning is being wasted for the convenience of the guests.

From Main Street we walked to Adventureland and Mary explained “ticklers” to us. These are techniques used to make a smooth transition from one land to another. Landscaping design, the positioning of the music, coloring on adjacent buildings…etc. We sat in Adventureland for a while and she talked about Walt’s life, dream, and ambitions for the park. Following that we proceeded to the Jungle Cruise where we skipped the line and got our own boat. This was a very unique experience since the Skipper didn’t say anything the entire boat ride! Our tour guide was pointing things out and showing us secrets about the attraction and why Walt loved it. When we entered the cave she popped the lights on to show details and particulars, and a hidden Mickey or two.