>I’m Still Thirsty*

>*I originally wrote this article while I was in Disney World last summer. I still think it is an Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World, because many people think it is just a Coke stand, but it isn’t.

So, here in Walt Disney World yesterday, we were told it was 98 degrees and with heat index it felt like it was 105. As I am writing this, the Weather Channel is saying it is 93, but real feel is 99. It’s a little warm. We spent the day in Epcot today. Started the day on Mission Space then did Test Track. Had a twelve noon lunch reservation at the Nine Dragons, in China, then walked around the World Showcase. It was warm walking about this afternoon. It gets this way when you are in Disney World. So what do you do? You find ways to stay cool, I wrote about them back on June 8th. Today, I started to get warm, but my problem was that I was thirsty, so not only did I need to get cool, but I needed a drink. So, what do you do about that when you are in Epcot? Well, you can buy yourself a drink; bottled water or soda. You might even be able to find frozen lemonade, but all this can run into some money when you are really thirsty. Of course there are water fountains around the park, but I’ll tell you, today they seemed to be warmer than normal. It could have been the fact that most of them seemed to be in the sun, so they weren’t very refreshing.

So, what do you do? You go to today’s Unknown Magic Club Cool. Club Cool sounds like a kids’ area or a teenage hang-out or something, but it isn’t. It is a neat refreshment stand that’s like no other. Club Cool is presented by Coca-Cola. To the right of the Fountains of Nations, as you are walking toward World Showcase, next to Fountain View Ice Cream, there is a set of doors at the end of the building; this Club Cool. As you walk through the doors and down the steps you, your senses are suddenly on overload. There is music playing, lights flashing and quite a few people roaming around.

You will notice as you are walking in, that there are tasting stations throughout the shop. These tasting stations have four sides to them and each side has about eight different fountains to get the soda from. There are two things that make this refreshment stand very different. The first is that the sodas around the tasting stations are Free. The other is that the Coca-Cola products offered here are all from around the world. You can try sodas from places like Costa Rica, Germany and Japan and all of them are free; which is a good thing, because some of them you might not like. Others you might really enjoy which can lead you to a Magical tasting Experience.

There is more to this refreshment area than just the tasting stations. There are tables to stand at and taste or drink your new favorite flavors. There is a Build a Cup station where you can buy a large container and have a cast member mix different flavors of soda and slushies to make your own refreshment. The shop also has Coke and Disney merchandise for sale. Overall this is a really neat place in Epcot. Where else can you get free drinks and get to drink Krest Ginger Ale like they do in Mozambique?

So, now that you know, the next time you are in Epcot and need some liquid refreshment, head over to Club Cool, get yourself some Free Soda, and create your own Magical Experience, by trying something new and different.

>Drivin’ ’round Disney

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This past summer we drove to Walt Disney World from New Jersey with friends of ours in an RV. It was very cool, we enjoyed an easy drive down, and it was a lot of fun to have a lot of people to talk to and it was nice to be able to get up and stretch your legs without stopping. When we got to the Saratoga Springs Resort, was when it hit me how much our regular activities in Disney were going to be changed. I’ve mentioned in the past that we usually drive down, when we go to Walt Disney World. I don’t mind the drive, but I don’t

like that it takes about 19 hours, but once we get there, I’m glad we drove. Whenever we fly, we always rent a car, and it’s always worth the money, for the same reason that I like having my truck with me and why our normal activities changed this past time down, when we didn’t have any other vehicle, besides the RV. It’s all because of the Unknown Magic of Driving Around Walt Disney World.

Some people don’t enjoy Driving Around Walt Disney World, because it does get a little congested and there are quite a few out of town-ers driving around, which means there are many people on the roads and a bunch of them don’t know where they are going. For those people who don’t like driving around

Disney, I say, “Take the Bus,” it is a relaxing way to travel around Disney without the hassle needing to know your way around and dealing with the traffic. My problem with the buses is that normally, we don’t just go to and from a park. In past articles, I have talked about how we Hotel Hop and enjoy a good game of mini-golf. To be able to do these things using the buses, you need to switch buses at a park or at Downtown Disney. This is a time consuming hassle that losing can create a Magical Experience.

I know some of you are reading this are thinking, how can not taking the bus help me to have a Magical Experience? Well, let’s break it down. Let’s say you want to go to Winter Summerland to play a round of golf. If you are staying at any of the resorts, you have to catch a bus to Blizzard Beach. Busses to Blizzard Beach do not come to the resorts as frequently as the busses to the parks, so you may end up waiting for 20 -30 minutes for a bus to come, then you might make a few stops depending which resort you are at, then you

finally get there and have to walk over to the golf course. It may take you 40-50 minutes to get to Winter Summerland. Then to get back, it may take you almost as much time. This is almost 2 hours of your vacation time taken out to just get over to the mini-golf. This is two hours that you could be using for other fun family activities. So, having a car with you can make a Magical Experience in that when you drive, you can actually go places that you want to when you want to.

At Christmas they dcorate the Golf Courses, You miss this when you’re on the bus.

Other things that can create Magical Experiences are seeing things that you miss when you are rding in the bus and riding the tram cars from the parking lots, to the park entrance. some of the most comical casts members are given the job of tram car people, and after a night in the park, they make it fun to get back to your car.

Some people think that driving around the Walt Disney World Resort would be a crazy thing to do, if you didn’t have to, because of the traffic and not knowing where to go. Driving around really isn’t that bad if you know how to do it.

The first thing you need to know is that there are roadside signs for everything in Walt Disney World. Every area that you want to go to have directional signs for them; every theme park, every water park, every resort, every recreation area and even Downtown Disney are pointed out on signs all over the Disney property. So, if you are leaving your resort to get anywhere that is Disney owned, you just start driving out of the resort, get to the main road and follow the signs.

Another thing you need to know about driving around the Disney Property is that there are back roads that you can use to stay away from the traffic on the main roads. One of these, the road that leads to the Fort Wilderness campground, actually goes all the way out to the main road leading into the Magic Kingdom Resort area. We use this road any time we go to the Contemporary Resort (home to Chef Mickey) or the Polynesian (for ‘Ohana). To get to this back road, you take the road that leads to the Port Orleans Resorts or Old Key West Resort. If you turn away from Fort Wilderness on this road, you actually end up in Downtown Disney. Both of these roads are never busy like the main roads. So, two side roads that lead to the Magic Kingdom Resorts and Downtown Disney can help you to get here and there, without any of the traffic headaches that people think you will run in to.

One other thing you should know about driving around Disney, is that if you bring an automobile to the Resort, they give you a parking pass, which makes it so that you park for free at any of the theme parks. This is a nice little perk that helps out when you are trying to get to a park for the Rope Drop and it is also nice to be able to get to the park before the Extra Magic Hour in the morning, when you want to instead of waiting for a bus, this past trip we waited for a bus for the extra Magic Hour one Morning and ended up missing half of it, because the bus took that long to get us over to the Magic Kingdom. If we had driven, we actually would have been there at the beginning of the extra hour.

Please do not think I am against using the Disney Buses, I have written about them in the past and I think they are a great perk for staying on property. Disney also has a very cool thing that can help you when you fly into the

Orlando airport for your vacation. It is called the Magical Express. What the Magical Express does is get you and your luggage to your Resort form the airport free of charge. Both the Buses and the Magical Express are wonderful, but since we don’t really plan our days out in advance, having our own vehicle with us makes it easier for us to have more Magical Experiences, because we can be as unstructured as we want to be.

So, now you know, for the Magical Experience of being able to go where you want when you want, when in Disney World, take your own car. Finding the back roads and following the signs can get you around without trouble or traffic. So, take the car and enjoy the Unknown Magic of Driving around Disney.

>Unknown Magic under the Eiffel Tower

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A clarification, before we start. There are Attractions that many people that have never been to Walt Disney World have heard of or know about; attractions that neighbors and friends talk about when they come back from a Disney Vacation. These are great attractions and rides that stay with you and if you haven’t been, you think about when you are planning your trip to Disney. There are quite a few other attractions though which aren’t spoken about or that many people don’t even know exist. These are the Unknown Magical Attractions that we’re going to be talking about on Mondays. Of course we may dabble in the bigger attractions (as we have done in the last few weeks), but when we do, it will be to point out some Unknown Magic that can be found on the ride or in the attraction.

Today’s Unknown Magical Attraction is found in Epcot and to be more specific, in the France Pavilion. The France Pavilion itself is rather cool, with the Eiffel Tower above your head and surrounded by beautiful gardens, there are shops to experience and Pastries to be eaten. But the attraction we are talking about today is Impressions de France.



My wife waiting for the show to start

 Impressions de France is a film presented throughout the day in the Palais de Cinema and is about 20 minutes long. It is projected on 5 screens that almost surround you entirely and as you sit and watch the show, it feels as if you are surrounded by France. This is because the film takes you through different aspects of France, everything from people at a market to a wedding in a huge chapel. You experience the beaches, the Alps and of course the Eiffel Tower. You get to see the grand architecture and the stunning beauty that is France. You witness the grape picking in the vineyards, bicyclists and hot air balloons as well as a car race. The scenes are amazing and make you feel as if you are watching the French people in their daily lives.

According to the Disney Website the music played in the film “features the music of such famous French composers as Claude Debussy, Camille Saint Saens and Francois-Adrien Boieldieu—performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.” And it is perfect throughout the movie and adds a feeling of wonder and excitement.

Impressions de France is one of those attractions that many people skip over, because it is “just a movie” about France. It is more than that though, it lets you see onto the French lifestyle and allows you to see the beauty of France. It is one of the many Unknown Magical Attractions that Disney has to offer that you need to search for, but take my word for it; it’s worth finding these gems as they will add to your magical experiences.

>The Chameleon Castle around the Holidays

>A while back I wrote about how Cinderella Castle could be called the Chameleon Castle. How the Castle changes colors and that these wonderful views of it are all able to happen because of special LED lighting fixtures placed on different areas of the castle and surrounding it on the ground. I told how the castle is illuminated in 16.7 million colors because

of these fixtures. I told you that if you walk around the Castle, you can see the larger tubes that light the castle up, but you need to look for them as they are hidden amongst the grasses and shrubbery surrounding the castle moat. I still say that these Color Changes can create Magical Experiences for you, because as the Colors Change, you can enjoy a different Castle view all night long, without ever moving. Around Christmas it gets even more special. Although we know about the Chameleon Castle, this time of year, it becomes an Unknown Magic all over again.

As the sun goes down and the Magic Kingdom becomes a Magical Holiday Wonderland, you can see the Castle changing colors, when it does; you know that the Chameleon Castle has something special in store for you on this Holiday night.

So, as you walk up Main Street USA, with the smell of baking cookies filling the air and the music, the garland, and the colors getting you all excited, watch as the Castle lights up in ways that are different, from their normal exciting ways, to add to the special feelings and Magical Experiences of the Holidays.

And enjoy the Chameleon Castle as you can only at Christmastime.

Even during the holiday fireworks the Castle takes on a new look for your enjoyment. And all you have to do to enjoy this Unknown Magic is to get a good seat and keep watching the Chameleon Castle.

>An Explanation for Whoopie

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Click here for the Video

If you didn’t see this or hear about it, Whoopie Goldberg had a little breakdown on the view yesterday. Her tirade was about the Walt Disney World guests that visit the parks and use scooters to get around. She actually started with people that have kids in strollers and then quickly moved on to the scooter people. Back in June I had written about using a scooter in Walt Disney World. After Whoopie’s Tirade I thought I needed to reprint that article, and maybe clear up the reasons why some guests need the scooters and the Magic it adds to your visit if someone you are with needs one. No matter what Whoopie says, it made our family trip much better having a scooter. Here is that article:

I have mentioned a few times, the Family trip we took a few years, where there were three generations of us there. Well, during that trip, my father was having some health problems, but being the guy he is, he refused to go to the doctor before our trip, because he was afraid he would be given bad news and wouldn’t be able to make the trip. So instead, when we got to Walt Disney World, he couldn’t really walk too well. After a very slow morning at the Magic Kingdom, he mentioned to my Mom that he would have to stay behind the next day. That doesn’t work for a Family Vacation, so we looked into our options. Disney does rent wheelchairs by the day or for your length of stay. All of the Parks have a wheel chair rental area right near the entrance to the park. Our problem with renting a chair instead of a scooter was being able to get to the park, before all the chairs were already rented. So, the best choice for us was to rent a scooter for the rest of our visit. This was a wonderful choice, because Dad was able to go everywhere we went, and do everything we did, without missing any of the Magical Experiences we had that week. (just as an aside, Dad finally did go to the doctor when he got home and found that he had an ulcer that was causing his problems. It was taken care of and Dad is doing well.)

This story leads me into today’s Unknown Magic; using a Scooter in the most Magical Place on Earth. The scooter we rented for my Dad was from a company that was recommended by the cast members at the front desk. The company dropped the scooter off in the morning, after we called the night before and then picked it up in front of the Resort again on the day we were checking out. It was not expensive, I don’t recall the cost, but I know it was reasonable, especially when the other option was Dad missing out on everything. Using the Scooter around Walt Disney World was very easy. The Resort hallways were wide enough as was the elevator, and even the areas outside of the Resort were accessible, to the scooter. When we went to Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studios, the boat ride wasn’t a problem either and riding the Monorail was just as easy. Everywhere we went, Dad was able to go and get around just as we did. Sometimes he even made out better than us. At some attractions in the parks, they have disability sections for seating and ride entrances. The nice part of this was that the family was allowed to go to these areas or entrances along with the person in the scooter, which meant that we could all still ride together. The other nice thing about having the scooter was it had a basket where we could carry the cameras and water bottles. **

I was worried at one point, as we drove to Fort Wilderness Campground for the Hoop Dee Doo revue and when we got there, had to get on the bus to get to Pioneer Hall. The bus couldn’t have been easier to board. The driver got off, shut the front doors up, had the bus lowered, opened the back doors, let the scooter enter and then let the rest of us on. He repeated the process when we disembarked. It was just like everything else in Walt Disney World that week, when it came to the scooter, EASY. It was like the cast members knew my Dad was going to need that scooter that week (even if we didn’t) and made sure that everything that involved him and his ride were taken care of. It was a week filled with many Magical Experiences.

If anyone in your travelling party needs that extra help in getting around, even if they can probably do it themselves, but it will take them some extra time, I would recommend renting the Scooter. First of all they will feel better that they are not slowing you down and you will feel better in knowing that they aren’t missing a Magical Experience. The Other reason I would recommend it is because it does make spending Quality Family time a lot easier and Family is what Disney is all about.

So, now that you know, If you have a family member or travelling partner that needs a little help with mobility, check with the front desk and see about getting them a scooter. It’ll make your trip filled with a few more Magical Experiences.

*** If you do rent a scooter, make sure you get one with a roof/shade top. It is worth the extra $5 a day.

>For the Puckheads.

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My son fom Christmas years ago. Take note of the jersey.

 For years my wife and I have been laughing that we are bad parents. Not because of neglect or anything like that, we are bad parents because of sports. We live in the Philadelphia area. My wife is a huge Eagles Fan, I follow them, both my wife and I like the Flyers, and as a family, the Phils are our baseball team. If you noticed I said as a family we follow the Phillies. I didn’t say that about any of the other teams. This is how we are bad parents. Our son is a Kansas City Chiefs fan, which until this year was like saying he liked a high school football team, but the problem comes in with his hockey team. The young man, who claims to be our son, is a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. This does cause some problems from time to time, and it has elicited some dirty looks from people when we go to Penguins/Flyers games. But they say you should let your kids have their own thoughts and be their own people. Sometimes it is hard. Luckily, he is not just a Penguins Fan, like me, he is also a Hockey Fan. By that I mean he enjoys the game. He doesn’t only watch the Penguins, but likes to watch other teams as well (although he usually is rooting against the Flyers, no matter who is playing them- Bad parenting). For the Hockey Fans like us, Walt Disney World offers a few Unknown Magics.

The first and easiest way to get your Hockey on is to go to the Canada Pavilion in Epcot. They usually sell hockey shirts and sweaters (jerseys to us Americans) on a cart at the base of the steps that lead up to the Pavilion. I have seen team Canada Sweaters and also different NHL teams that are from Canada available here. If you are lucky enough, to get a meal in Le Cellier, you may also be lucky enough to have a server that knows some hockey players. When we were down three years ago, we started talking to our server about where she was from in Canada and she told us. Our son the Sidney Crosby fan said hey that’s where Sid is from. She then asked if he was a Crosby Fan, he said yes and the discussion turned to the Penguins. She shared with us that not only did she know Sidney Crosby, but she

was very good friends with Marc Andre Fluery the Penguins goaltender. I still don’t know how we got my son out of the restaurant that night I thought he was going to follow her home. It still ranks up there as one of his favorite Magical Experiences in Disney.

Another place where you can find some hockey is on Main Street USA. One of the shops connected to the Main Street Emporium is called the Hall of Champions. This store sells Disney themed Sports attire. They have in the past sold hockey jerseys, which had Disney Characters as the leaders of the teams; the Grumpy Miners, Donald’s Destroyers, Pluto’s Devil Dogs and Mickey’s All Stars have all been sold in the past (I know this because I have all except the Devil Dogs). They also used to sell hockey pucks with the Character teams on them also.

In Downtown Disney you may be able to find Hockey apparel, at Team Mickey. Team Mickey is a huge Disney store that sells sports Merchandise. Of course many of the items have Disney characters on them, but they also sell official team jerseys and clothing and also Official ESPN items. Most of the time, the merchandise that is on the floor goes with the sport s that are being played, so Hockey things may not be available all year around, but even in the summer I have seen a few hockey jerseys available.

To watch hockey games when you are in Walt Disney World, you can either go to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill or the ESPN Club at Disney’s Boardwalk. Both are great places to watch any sports, but on the big screens, Hockey is just that much better. And if the Boardwalk is too crowded you can walk down to the Big River Brew Pub, it is smaller and the TVs aren’t as big, but it is still available if you need to see a game.

So, now you know, if you are a Hockey fan, you can find some things to keep your hockey passion alive when you are in Walt Disney World. You might be lucky enough to find someone to talk hockey with, or just be excited to pick up an authentic Canadian hockey sweater, because there are ways for Puckheads to have Magical Experiences in Disney.

>Gettin’ ‘Round the Magic Kingdom

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Years ago I was in Walt Disney World in early December. The one day that we were there we went to the Magic Kingdom. As we walked in, there was a sign stating that the Disney Christmas Parade was being filmed that day. It was an exciting thing to be able to see, but the problem that we had was that the person I was with had called out of work, to go on a Disney Quickie (a three day Disney vacation). So, the problem we had was that we needed to get around the Magic Kingdom without taking the main thoroughfares. On that day, I found so many great ways to get around the Magic Kingdom. So, today I present Unknown Magics that are for the first timers and novice Magic Kingdom visitors, but that can also help you Magic Kingdom veterans too. These Magics are some Tips for Getting around the Magic Kingdom.

The first tips I have for you, are for getting up Main Street USA. These tips can be used when the crowds are blocking Main Street USA for a Parade or during the fireworks. They can also be used early in the morning when the gates have first opened and you are in Disney Commando mode (A Disney Commando is someone that rushes through the parks instead of enjoying the little things that Disney has to offer). If Main Street USA is packed with people, the best thing to do is to go indoors. Both sides of the street have stores that are connected to each other. If you enter the Main Street Emporium, you can walk all the way to the end of the street and come out behind Casey’s Corner, almost in front of the Crystal Palace, which faces Cinderella castle. On the other side of the street if you enter at the candy shop, you have to come out at the cross road of a back alley, which is halfway down the block, but then you can continue walking inside once you cross the alleyway. Again this will take you all the way down to the end of Main Street USA. And when you come out, it will give you a great view of the castle. If you have your camera, take a moment to get a picture of Cinderella Castle from this angle. It is an especially great shot and a Magical Experience.

If you aren’t going to be taking a picture of the Castle or watch a show in front of it, you really may not need to go all the way up to the castle itself. If this is the case, you can use the paths that lead to Tomorrowland and Adventureland. Depending on which side of the street you are on, you can go to either Tomorrowland or Adventureland, because of the path that you are standing on after you come out of the shops. If you are on the side of the street with the Crystal Palace, you can take this walk-way to Adventureland. It actually merges into the Main hub path immediately before the Adventureland Bridge. On the other side of the road,

the path leads you past the Plaza Restaurant and the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station (this is also a great place to watch the Fireworks, because Tinker Bell Flies right toward you during the show).

Once you are in Adventureland, there is a quick way to get to get to Frontierland without walking all the way around the Pirates of the Caribbean and coming to the crossover from Adventureland to Frontierland. The quick way is actually a shared “common area” if you will, that houses restrooms that you can get to from both areas. It is near the exit of the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Frontierland Shooting Gallery. There is also another quick walk-through for these two areas that goes from the Country Bear Jamboree and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

But the quick ways to get around the Magic Kingdom in Frontierland are not just for going back and forth to Adventureland. There is actually a quick way to get from the change-over between Liberty Square and Frontierland to the Splash Mountain/Big Thunder Railroad area. This quick path is right along the Rivers of America (where the River Boat is) and it is a path that looks like a wooden bridge. It hugs the waterline and then has a spot where you can go to the middle of Frontierland or you can stay on the path and you will end up over near Tom Sawyer Island.

When you are in Liberty Square, there is a cut-through to get to the front of the castle. This is a quick way to get back to Main Street USA instead of going into Fantasyland and walking through the castle. From in front of the castle on this path, if you turn to your right there is another little path that will lead you up to the side of the castle and you can get into Fantasyland from there. This path actually leads you to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the courtyard behind the castle. On the other side of the castle, there is another one of these paths that leads to the main Hub entrance to

Tomorrowland. This path will take you past the Cinderella Wishing Well and the new meet and greet area for the Tangled characters. If you take the time to use this path, it can lead to Magical Experiences for you.

If you want to get around the parks and you aren’t in a rush, but you want to get out of the crowds on the main walk-ways, a great and relaxing way to make your way from Frontierland to Tomorrowland or from Main Street USA to either of these places, you can take the train. The Walt Disney World Railroad is a Magical Experience in itself, but it is also a great way to travel around the magic Kingdom.

So, now you know, there are some quick ways to get around the Magic Kingdom. To find them, you need to be observant and not follow the crowd. These paths will not only help you to get around quicker, but can lead you to Magical Experiences along the way.

>In My Room*

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Staying in Walt Disney World is Awesome. The Resorts are all themed and worth exploring and all the rooms are very nice. I’ve talked in the past about the Disney Resort TV Channels (http://tinyurl.com/23zhtlr) but these aren’t the only Unknown Magics that can be experienced without ever leaving your room. Today’s Unknown Magic may seem like it is actually is more for the younger visitors, but it can also add a Magical Experience to anyone’s stay. Today’s Unknown Magic is waking up and going to sleep in Walt Disney World.

Before you go to bed at night, always make sure you leave a wake-up call for the next day. Even if you’re like my family and don’t get up to run for the parks, leave a wake-up call. When the call comes, just don’t pick up and hang up the phone. If you do you will miss something very Magical, because you get a very Disney wake-up. I will not tell you about the morning phone calls we have received during our different visits, but trust me it is a very magical way to wake-up. My son still seems to like getting the wake-up call even though he is definitely not a morning person. And honestly, I make sure I answer the phone at least once or twice while we are in Disney, just so I can enjoy the Magic too.

The mornings aren’t the only part of being in the room that can be magical. For the little ones especially, going to sleep in Walt Disney World can be a Magical Experience also. That’s because, every night from 7pm until 10pm, Channel 14 on the Disney Resort Television, changes from Radio Disney to Disney Bedtime Stories. The stories are audio readings, not cartoons, so you can turn the lights down, and have your little ones get quiet and listen to a story before going to sleep. The stories are Disney Classics, such as Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. They do change and they are on a rotation, so during your stay you can hear a few different stories.
So, now you know, going to bed and waking up in Walt Disney World, can be a Magical Experience. Just remember to leave a wake-up call  and then have the little ones read to while they drift off to sleep. Then in the morning, get the phone and enjoy being awakened with some more Disney Magic.

* This Post is a re-write of one that I did when I first started the website. As I looked back over it, it needed some work. So here is the re-worked article originally titled “Good Morning, Good Night.”

>Thank You and Hello

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This is the way the  site used to look in the beginning

 So, I have been writing for a little over six months. I’ve been keeping stats for the website for just over five months. In these five months, there have been over 6600 readers, with just about 4000 new visitors. Which means that 2600 of you have come back to read more than once. I’m not saying this to brag or toot my own horn; I am really telling you this to say Thank You for reading. I also want to thank those websites that have included us on their sites and have helped you to come to read what we have to say. In thinking about these numbers, I realize that with so many new readers checking out the website, I should give an explanation of what the website is about.

The Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World presents things that we have found throughout Walt Disney World during some of our many visits to the Happiest Place on Earth. These things have been found by me and my family over the course of many years. They have been found because of our philosophy of not being Disney Commandos.

A Disney Commando is the Disney guest that runs through the parks and tries to conquer as many attractions as possible. These are the people that spend 12 to 15 hours a day in the Parks. They don’t believe in taking a break and leaving the parks, because that would be a waste of Disney-time. This makes it difficult to see many of the things I write about on this website.

The things that we have found and that I write about are some of the great things that Disney Imagineers and cast members spend time making and doing, just because someone may at some point notice. These are sometimes small things and other times larger things that are just out of the sight lines or maybe in the sight line, just not noticed by people that aren’t looking for something Magical.

So, I present to you, everyday at this site, the Unknown Magics that will help you to create Magical Experiences, when you are in the Walt Disney World Resort. Come by and get some ideas of things to see and do when you go to Walt Disney World and enjoy your visit to the Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World.

>What A Surprise!

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In 2007 we took the family to Disney World for a family vacation, My mom and dad, my wife, son, and I and my sister her husband and two girls. My brother didn’t make it that year. When we were there, Disney was celebrating the Year of A Million Dreams. At one point, we got off a ride, I don’t remember what attraction it was, but a cast member pulled the woman in front of us aside and told her that her party was being given a special Year of a Million Dreams surprise. It was a Day long Fast Pass, for every attraction in the Magic Kingdom. They could use it as many times as they wanted and they could use it all day long. We were in shock, we thought it was so cool, we also wished it had been us, but just to see something like that adds to the Magical Experiences that you can have in Disney. Other times Magical Experiences happen, because of things like this that you would never expect to happen or for you to see. So, I present for you today, the Surprises that make up the Unknown Magic in Walt Disney World.

I think I created one of these Unknown Magics for someone earlier today. I called the phone booth in the Great Britain area of Epcot. A young girl, probably in her early teens answered it after a few rings. You could tell her family made her answer it. Very tentatively she said hello. After I said hello, she asked who it was and I just said, I have a question for you, looking over your right shoulder, is the Pub busy? You could tell she was looking around and then answered yes. I said okay, I’ll have to go someplace else. Then I asked if she was having a Magical Day. She got all excited and said yes. I ended the call by telling her to enjoy herself and to keep having a Magical Day, she said she would and said good bye. I know she’ll be talking about this phone call for the rest of the day, if not the rest of the trip.

We had an unexpected Magical Experience when we were down in Disney World this summer. The boys, my son and his friend, saw their assistant principal walk by them in Fantasyland. He stopped and said hello and asked if they were having a good time. And then told them to be good and off he went. It floored both of the boys. They described it later as awkward, but I could tell they were excited by it, but being teenagers, they were too cool to show it.

It reminded me of a time when I was in Walt Disney World with my parents as a kid, and I was wearing my baseball team shirt. Back then we were named after the sponsors of the team. I had a shirt on from the Buck Hotel, in Feasterville Pennsylvania, and as we were waiting to get on an attraction, someone walked over and said something about the shirt, probably asking if I was from near there. I said yes and my dad got into a conversation with the family about our baseball team and then about the restaurant that was our sponsor. Here the man knew the owner and so did my dad, and then they found out they had actually been together at a business function together. It was a neat surprise for my dad to meet someone that far away from home.

My family and I try to be very friendly to everyone and well start conversations with people, sometimes this also leads to Unknown Magical Surprises. A while back I told the story about when we were eating at Le Cellier, in Canada in Epcot. When we had gone in, the girl had mentioned that she was from Nova Scotia. My son got all excited because his favorite hockey player, Sidney Crosby is form Nova Scotia. When she came back to our table with our drinks, we mentioned it to her and she started chuckling and asked if he liked the Penguins, or just Crosby. He told her the Penguins and they started talking hockey right there in the dining room. She shared the fact that she was actually good friends with Marc-Andre Fleury the goaltender for the Penguins and that she had met Sidney once or twice. The rest of the time we were there, my son was awestruck and couldn’t get enough of her stories about Fleury and the Stanley Cup. It was a Magical Experience that we still talk about today and it was all because of the surprise comment about my son’s favorite hockey player coming from Nova Scotia, so he was happy to be sitting in that section.

So, now you know, Surprises can happen in Walt Disney World at anytime. A lot of these surprises lead to Magical Experiences and others are definitely Unknown Magics. To experience them, all you have to do is keep your eyes open and take your time exploring the Walt Disney World Resort.

The Picture of the Buck Hotel was taken from their website at:
http://www.thebuckhotel.com/ordereze/default.aspx