Let's go back in time to when I was much younger. I am not sure of my exact age, but I was under ten years old. Our family took a trip to
Disney World. One of the rides to which I was subjected was
Space Mountain. I do remember being very frightened and trying to get out during the middle of the ride. My mom did all she could to keep me in my seat until the ride was over. I vowed then to never ride another roller coaster. As the years went on I would ride some tame rides at the county or state fair. As I got older, I realized that the "spinny rides" would make me sick. All of those years were spent in fear of roller coasters.
Finally, at 40 years old I have returned to Disney World. This time I was with my wife, our four kids, and my wife's grandmother, mother, aunt, sibling and nephews. Fifteen people total. I had told my wife, and she had heard from my parents, about my previous Disney World experience. She also knows from going to the fair with me that I do not ride the rides. My youngest son also feels the same about rides. When the time came for our first ride at
Animal Kingdom, the
Primeval Whirl, I decided it was time to face my fears. This ride was similar to a fair ride and not so much a roller coaster, thus I felt it was a good start for me. To everyones surprise, my son also decided it was time to cast his hesitancy aside and try out the ride. When we made the big climb to the top I was feeling nervous and was not sure I would be able to handle it. Luckily, this ride was quite mild and we both enjoyed ourselves.
Our next big adventure was to be
Expedition Everst. This was more of a roller coaster than the previous ride and my son opted out of this experience. Once again, the big climb, now much higher than the previous, got the butterflies in my stomach going again. Without giving away the details of the ride, this was much more intense, and for a person not accustomed to roller coasters, quite nerve racking. I survived the journey and over all it was exciting. However, when the remainder of our party went for a second ride, I stayed behind.
Our second day was spent at
Magic Kingdom. This would be the day I would return to Space Mountain. Again, we started with something a little easier,
The Barnstormer. It was a short, fun ride that allowed the older of the two nephews to get a roller coaster experience. We also rode
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Again, it was exciting and by now, my roller coaster tolerance was expanding as was my son's. After getting stuck on
The People Mover due to a mechanical failure, we made our way to my childhood nemesis, Space Mountain. After having positive experiences for the first day and a half, I decided to confront what has kept me off of rides for more than three decades. Going through the tunnel it was amazing how much I acutally remembered of my first ride years ago. Of course, after going through the tunnel on my first excursion, I closed my eyes. The ride seemed much shorter than my memories from years ago. This time my eyes were open for the entire trip and not once did I try to jump out of the car.
My only complaint from the day is that we didn't get to do as much at Magic Kingdom as I, and my wife, had hoped. Having such a large party and trying to stay together for most of the day was a hinderance.
The third day saw us visiting
Epcot. I don't remember much of my first visit to this park so it was basically all new to me, much like Animal Kingdom. Upon entering we went to
Spaceship Earth which was an interesting examination of our history and possible future. Once again, due to the expanse of people trying to remain together, we missed most of the park. The highlight for me though was tough. It was either
Test Track or
Soarin'. So, for high levels of excitement it would be Test Track. For innovation and immersive experience Soarin' wins.
Our final day at the parks took us to
Hollywood Studios. The look and feel of the park was amazing. It really did feel like a city with the streetscapes. Unfortunately, the sunshine state decided to not live up to it's moniker that day as the rain fell the entire day. My favorite of all the Disney movies has got to be the
Pixar films. I was very excited to take part in
Toy Story Midway Mania! Although it was a slow ride, it was very enjoyable, and as with everything I experienced over the four days, detailed. I decided against
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror as I know I do not like to be dropped straight down. My son on the other hand, took a ride and was literally shaking as he got off. I am glad that I did not attempt that feat. I did go on
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster even with the knowledge of inversion during the ride. I enjoyed it so much in fact, that I rode it two more times throughout the day. For adventure, nothing compared to
Star Tours. Being a fan of Star Wars I was really looking forward to this ride and it did not disappoint. It was another immersive experience and very well done with characters I have know for decades.
I am still processing this trip to Florida and I am sure I have left out many details. You can see my
Photo story here. For the geeks, architects, engineers, designers, here are a few additional pictures.
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| Even The Seven Dwarfs Have To Consider Life Safety |
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| The Seven Dwarfs Need RJ-45 Data Ports? |
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| Survey Marker |
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| Survey Marker |
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| Parking Garage Entrance With Available Space Counts Per Level |
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| Available Spaces Per Row |
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| Lights Indicate Available Spaces |
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