>ONE YEAR and Counting…

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Dear Readers,

April 23, 2010 was a day like any other in most lives, it was in mine also. Until the sun went down. It was then that I started the Unknown Magic within Walt Disney World. I hadn’t really planned on it, but it just kind of happened. I read a lot that day about blogging. I was thinking about it, because I had been reading the Relocated Tourist; a great website by two very courageous people, who are living their dream, by moving to Florida to be closer to the Mouse. I thought how great that would be and then I thought I have some knowledge about Disney World I could share. So, I read and looked into a few different formats and then I started. By the time I had figured out the name of the site, (which for those of you that do not have a website, is much tougher than it seems) and bought the domain name, it was actually the next day. I posted my first article that day; on April 24th. It was a Saturday and all it really said was hi, I’m new. Actually this is the original post:

First of all,

Hello! I hope you had a Magical Day.

I am starting this blog after talking with friends about an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. As we talked I realized that we (my family and I) Do Disney our own special way. I’m not saying our way is best or even original, but it is relaxing, enjoying and memorable.

I’ve read books, magazine articles, websites, even APPS on how to plan your visit, how to maximize your trip and even how to go cheaply. These materials are out there. They all offer great advice for the first time visitor.

So how will my blog be different? I honestly don’t know, but I will share what I do know about Walt Disney World. How if you look at things from a different point of view, you can enjoy the little things most first timers (and even Disney Die-hards) miss. I hope I can help a few people enjoy their first trip to Walt Disney World, and maybe even show some people who have been there quite a few times some things they may have missed.

I hope you enjoy the Blog. I have a feeling I am going to, just because it will be about one of my favorite things in the world.

So, looking back I guess it is different enough from other websites out there; I still try to share the things that people miss when they go to Disney World. I still talk about the Unknown Magics that Disney has to offer. Over the past year, the look of the website has changed and I hope it has gotten better. I think I have grown as a writer and as a Disney community member. But that’s easy, because there are so many people that accept you into the Disney On-line Community and share your passion. One of my first contacts was JL Knopp of the Disney Driven Life. I commented on an article on her website and she responded. She was (and still is) very kind and gracious and was

very welcoming to the Disney neighborhood. With her encouragement, I knew I could write about Disney World and people would accept it.

Over the next few months I found others that I connected with. And although I haven’t actually met most of these people in person, I feel like we are friends and linked in a common purpose. I was approached to contribute an article to another site; wdwfacts. (If you don’t have this site on your daily read, you are missing out on some great stuff). That was how I met Tom Cahill, who runs the site. Tom is a very generous man who doesn’t think you should have to pay to share in the love of Disney, Disney history or Disney fun. Through this site I also met Bill Iadonisi. If you haven’t had the opportunity to talk with or interact with Bill, you should know that, although he was never a Disney cast member, he is the epitome of the Disney Spirit. He not only spends as much time as he can taking pictures in the parks and contributing to four different websites, but he is willing to share information, pictures and even a meal with the rest of us Disney people. On more than one occasion, he has given me a picture or even gone to the parks or Downtown Disney to take a picture for me (and I still haven’t met him in person; Bill I owe you a meal).

It wasn’t long after meeting these two men, that I joined Twitter and met a few other friends, who would change my writing. I was lucky enough to become friends with the writers of Growing up Disney (who also will celebrate their one year anniversary in a few days). They were kind enough to allow me to share an article about the Greatest Thing I ever saw in Walt Disney World (my son on our first trip there together). Since then, we have become close friends and they have allowed me to contribute a few more articles to their great site. Another person I met around the same time is Janine Pipe, who doesn’t have a website of her own, but contributes too many others. Just like Amy and Ridge at Growing up Disney, she is one of the people who have continued to be a supporter and a friend.

Soon after, I was approached by two different websites for contributions. I am honored to have met Stuart Sternberg (actually in person) and Lisa Battista of the wdwfanzone. I also met Bob McLain of the Disney Dispatch, who is not only a very creative person, but very driven. He has given me an outlet for some of my more creative Disney writings, which I appreciate.

I also have had the opportunity to meet some very great Disney people that read my writings and share my passion; my friend Chad and his partners write the Days in the Park website. When I first found it, I thought I could write with them, they sound like me (Which I hope they don’t take as an insult). They are a fun group that enjoys the park and the Magic that Disney has to offer, much the way my family and I do, although not in the same way, because they don’t go to Disney World, they go to Disneyland.

Which brings me to my biggest fans, my family; my wife Heather and my son John not only put up with my writing, but encourage it. They understand that I spend hours of my free time sitting at the computer writing, because I not only need to, I want to. They offer suggestions and criticisms and they also participate. John is now my co-author on Tuesdays, for those of you that don’t regularly read, and Heather proof-reads just about every article I write whether it is for my website or any of the others I am lucky enough to be contributing to. They are the unsung heroes of the website and I am very lucky to have them.

So, I think I mentioned everyone, I think I talked about everyone that have helped me throughout this past year. Everyone that is except You the reader. I need to thank you all also. My friend Chad and I have had many conversations over the last few months talking about our readership and why we do this every day. It comes down to enjoying what I do. I enjoy sharing my knowledge about Walt Disney World. I hope I am helping you to learn something about Disney World that maybe you didn’t know. Or at the least reminding you of some Magical Experience you had in Disney. Either way, Thank You for coming by the Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World. I hope I have informed, entertained and enlightened you over the last 12 months and I hope to continue to do it in the months and maybe years to come.

Thank you,
Bruce.

https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

P.S.

You can follow us on twitter @umwdw.

You can check us out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unknown-Magic-Within-Walt-Disney-World/132851053415652?ref=ts

And we now have a You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/umwdw?feature=mhum

The websites Bills Iadonisi contributes to: wdwfacts, The Disney Driven Life, The Disney Food Blog and Mickeynews.com.

Lisa Batista is also author of Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers and her own website Beyond The Attractions

Background Picture courtesy of Growing Up Disney.

Disney Animated Gifs by Disney’s World of Wonders.

>Keeping the Magic Alive

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We’ve been home now from Disney for almost a week. The after-glow is slowly leaving, and we’re getting back to our normal routine. Of course when asked what we’re going to do for dinner, the answer still comes back, a country in Epcot, Tony’s on Main Street or Mamma Melrose’s. Luckily I have my ways to get my Disney fix everyday- writing this blog helps, because I get to look at Pictures and maps and think

about great magical Experiences to share. Down the side of this page there are links to other great blogs to read from and even Radio 360 Disney Channels to

 listen to the music from Disney. Another way I get my Disney fix is from looking around the house at the different souvenirs we’ve picked up over the years. One of my favorites is an Unknown Magic that can keep a Magical Experience in your mind for years to come.

Few people know this, but on Main Street USA, in The Main Street Gallery and in the Animation Gallery in Disney HollyWood Studios, they sell prints of Attractions from the Magic Kingdom (they also sell other Disney Prints from Movies, original character prints and Disneyland attractions). These Poster sized Attraction Prints are great Unknown Magics, as you can remember a great ride or wonderful time had by your family.

So, let me tell you about this wonderful Unknown Magic. First of all it is an Unknown, because they really don’t promote this souvenir. I personally think this is a great item to have. I saw them for the first time last year, and we bought a Mickey’s Philharmagic Print. This year we got the Haunted Mansion Print. It was a toss-up both years, as my favorite attraction as a kid was The Country Bears (to the point I

have the whole show memorized to this day). But we went with a family vote on which one to get. Next trip we’ll get the Country Bears Print. It’s not that these prints are very expensive, as much as a nice Disney hoody, but we have decided we will add one a year, until we fill the wall going up our stairs.

They have many different choices for you from the Magic Kingdom Attraction Prints: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, The Tiki Room, The Walt Disney World Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and the ones I’ve already mentioned among others. Each of them are offered in different sizes for your choice and also offered on paper or canvas. When you walk into either of the stores you can purchase these posters in, it is all self serve until the last step. The first step is to find the Kiosk to look at the prints available.

When you find what you want (if you are like us, it may take a while) you pick your size, and then follow the directions on screen. You can add a frame if you so choose, or not. The really great thing I find about this process is that they will ship your print to your house. This means you don’t have to worry about travelling with it. When you are finished adding your information, you are finished, except for paying. To pay for your purchase, you go to the cash register where they confirm all your information and take your payment. The print is sent to you within the next 2-3 weeks. I believe last year ours came within 2 weeks.

So, now you know, you can enjoy your Disney Vacation for years to come by getting an Attraction Print to remind you of your Magical Experiences in the Magic Kingdom.

>Blue Roofs against the White Stone Building

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We leave for Walt Disney World in less than three days. Not that I’m excited or counting down or anything. Actually from what I have recently read on thedisneydrivenlife.com “As soon as the reservations are made, a Disney vacation countdown of some sort is required.” This is principle number five of DISNEY DRIVEN LIFE PRINCIPLES. There is a list of 25 Principles for the Disney Driven Life. The Blog itself is a pretty neat site.

Anyway, I’m excited for many reasons, one because I will be able to find more Unknown Magics to share, so that you can have more Magical Experiences, but the other is that, I’m Going to Disney World! I still get excited every time we go. I get excited about the fact that we’re going to be there, I get excited when I think about the Parks and the Attractions that I love, and I think about the things we’ve down in the past. I also look forward to new things that we haven’t done or seen. But the one thing I get goose bumps about every time I go, is today’s Unknown Magic.

This Unknown Magic is not the first thing I have to do when I get to Walt Disney World. It doesn’t matter to me when I experience this. I just have to within the first couple of days. It doesn’t have to be in the Daylight or at Night specifically. Some people say they have to do this to know they are in Disney World, I don’t. It doesn’t represent my arrival at the Happiest Place on Earth and it doesn’t really represent anything for me. It just leaves me with a feeling of Awe and Wonder, and Magic. Today’s Unknown Magic is The first view of Cinderella Castle.

Many of you might not understand. But some of you might, you may have dreamed of going to Walt Disney World as a child and you just weren’t able to and now as an adult, you are finally getting there. So, maybe you are all ready excited about seeing the Castle, and the Magic Kingdom for the first time. But you don’t know the feeling yet. You’ll feel it. A lot of people do.(Some of us still get the feeling every time we enter the Magic Kingdom). Sometimes people miss it though, because of the commotion of Main Street or the crowds. Or they are just in a rush to get to one of the attractions. But if it is your first time going to Disney World, you need to follow the advice I have given many times, look around, take your time and Don’t be a Disney Commando. I don’t believe Disney Commandos have the chance to experience today’s Unknown Magic, because to understand it, you have to let it overtake you, not run over it.

Everyone has seen pictures of Cinderella Castle. If you go to Google Images, and type in Cinderella Castle you will get 505,000 results (if you spell it Cinderella’s Castle you will get 522,000). But looking at a picture isn’t the same. As you get to the Magic Kingdom, the anticipation grows. You leave the Monorail, the Boat or Bus behind and you walk through the turnstiles. You walk under the Main Street Railroad Station, and come out onto Main Street USA. Here is where you need to go slowly. As you walk out of the train Station, you will see the Castle in its entirety for the first time (You can see the castle from the outside of the park and even from the Polynesian Resort, but not fully). From the ground up you can see everything. It is perfectly framed by the buildings on Main Street, so that this is where you have to look. With it being Florida, many times the Sky above the Castle is Blue, and perfect. It is a beautiful sight.

 If you look at the Castle as the symbol of Walt Disney World you can feel the Magic of where you are. If you’re like me as you see Cinderella Castle, you are over taken with the feeling of amazement; with a feeling that Walt Disney had his people build this Castle, as a monument to Magic and to Love and Childhood and Family and all that is good in the world. And it over takes you. It’s like the feeling you get on Christmas morning when you give the Perfect Present. The feeling you get when someone says they Love You for the first time.

It is a very Magical Experience, but one that can only be had if you don’t rush it. You can only feel this way, if you take your time and see Cinderella Castle, not just look at it, but see the beauty of it, the Blue Roofs against the White Stone Building. The Golden Spire rising high into the air. The Arched Entrance that leads into Fantasyland.

 The Magic that comes from the view from the Top of the Main Street Train Station, looking down the street at the Castle is awe inspiring; and to see Cinderella Castle at night is even more amazing. The Castle changes colors every few minutes. And it is really a spectacle to behold. And of course when the fireworks are going off above it, it’s Magical. They light up the Castle on special occasions in neat ways also. For example, around Christmas there are Snowflakes coloring it. In the night the Castle is amazing, it is really something to see.

So, now you know, one of the Unknown Magics in Walt Disney World is one that is looked at all the time, but you need to take the time to See It, to have the Magical Experience. So, slow down and take a look at Cinderella Castle.