Day 1644: Change is Hard

Since Disney made more than one announcement concerning the future of more than one Disney Parks attraction the other day, the internet has been buzzing with controversy. As a Disney Blogger and YouTuber, among other things, it can sometimes be difficult to stay quiet when there's such continuous conversation abut the future of the parks - about what's right and what's wrong and what Walt would or wouldn't have wanted. But if I've learned anything in almost five years of blogging, it's that you should probably stay quiet until you've had enough time to truly come to a conclusion about how you feel, and then you should probably reexamine that feeling more than a few times over. For some, this might only take a few minutes, but I prefer to take a bit more time to sort out my thoughts, and I think I finally have.

We'll start with the first announcement, concerning the attractions currently sponsored by Siemens: Spaceship Earth, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, and it's a small world. So many seemed shocked by this development, but for me, it was just a few weeks ago that I scoffed at an article that suggested the company would obviously renew their sponsorship with Disney. It hasn't been a question in my mind for almost a year actually; Siemens wasn't going to renew and I was prepared for it.

Given the track record of sponsored attractions in the Disney Parks, the fact that these attractions have kept sponsors on board as long as they have is sort of astonishing. It wasn't until January of 2016 when I stood in the Test Track Chevrolet Lounge gazing out at the Universe of Energy that I truly realized just how important sponsors are for these attractions. There I was, standing tall and pretty in a brilliantly decorated and designed lounge at Test Track when just across the courtyard was Ellen's Energy Adventure, an attraction I've come to love and adore over the years, slowly decaying. The cast member who brought us up to the lounge caught me looking at it and began to explain the sad story of how, because it has no sponsor, the Universe of Energy is only maintained to the point where it can continuing running. They'd make those minor repairs, just enough to keep it going, but it quickly became obvious that not everything at Walt Disney World is meant to stay the same, and sometimes for more reasons than one.

Does that mean I'm terrified for the future of not only my favorite attraction, but also my favorite nighttime show? Of course. I'm always terrified for an attraction that loses a sponsor, because I've seen what they've done to attractions in the past, Maelstrom at the forefront of that list. It's not a matter of Frozen Ever After being bad, because it's not. It's more about the fact that, at some point, every single one of these attractions becomes a part of the staple, normal Disney experience. We welcome new attractions into the Disney Parks family, and we say goodbye to them too, and even after all this time, I still feel for those that have lost their favorite attraction. Sometimes I even fear of it happening to me too.

Which brings us to the second announcement from Disney Parks and Resorts: the changes to the Auction scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. To say I wasn't shocked about this announcement, unlike the sponsorship from Siemens, would be a lie. I couldn't have predicted this one in a million years, and for me, it seemed so out of the blue that I initially found myself angry. How could they take out such an iconic scene and completely change it? It seemed unnecessary, regardless of the fact that I completely and 100% agree with the reasoning for changing it.

It frustrated me, then, that I was so upset about something that I knew I shouldn't be upset about. I watched as Twitter exploded with arguments on both sides of the discussion, some calling it a necessary change, praising Disney for finally working its way out of the gutters of sex slavery and human trafficking, and others petitioning to put a stop to the changes altogether. It felt odd, to sit on the sidelines and watch as so many argued about the fate of an attraction that, for the most part, will stay the same when the fate of my own favorite attractions hangs in the balance.

So I stayed quiet, until I happened across a tweet that made a reference to the future of IllumiNations. What will happen when they likely announce the replacement for my favorite nighttime show at the D23 Expo later this month? Am I not supposed to be sad? Am I supposed to walk around praising Disney for getting rid of something that literally means the world to me simply because others can do without it and it's in need of a change anyway? Am I supposed to ignore those feelings simply because what follows IllumiNations might be better or more politically correct or in tune with the world we live in today?

Simply, the answer is no, and that's what's important here. It's ok to be sad about change, even the changes coming to Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes, Walt always intended for the parks to be continuously changing, but sometimes change comes with a forced hand, oftentimes after the departure of a long-time sponsor or a change in the social climate. Yes, it's incredible that Disney has waited until now to update the Auction scene in Pirates of the Caribbean when it should have been done years ago. And yes, perhaps if you're arguing that there's nothing wrong with the scene itself, you might want to reexamine your views.

But because these attractions, whether it be experiences as a whole or specific scenes, become a part of our Disney experience, we grow attached to them. There's something special about sailing on Pirates of the Caribbean and hearing "We wants the Redhead!" because it's something we've done for a very long time. I know it was incredibly difficult for me when they removed the smoke and distinct smell of the burning of Rome on Spaceship Earth, and while that was a much smaller change than what's coming to Pirates, it still affected me. It affected a lot of us, just as these new changes will.

And as hard as it might seem, it is time to move ahead. I'm incredibly excited about the New Auction scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, because it's obvious that Disney has already put a lot of time and thought into creating a better message while preserving some of the history and nostalgia from the attraction we grew up with. If that's what we're truly getting and that's how Disney is going to move ahead with whatever is coming next, whether it be for Pirates or Spaceship Earth, IllumiNations or the Universe of Energy, what else could we ask for?

Have a magical day!

Day 1458: Photo Spot Favorites

Disney World is a absolutely one of the best places in the world to explore photography, and so many of us do. My family has been taking pictures of Walt Disney World since...well, pretty much forever...and I've picked up on the habit. Usually you'll find me with a video camera in my hand, but I'm constantly taking pictures on my phone, and on occasion, you'll find me borrowing one of my parents' cameras as well. Plus, I love the Disney Instagram community, which has really only increased my love of photography over the past few years. 

That being said, I couldn't help but think back recently to a challenge I did in 2013. Inspired by several lists I'd seen on the internet of "Must Take Disney World Photos," I compiled a list of over 100 pictures to take on my trip in July of 2013, and so the Official July 2013 Disney Challenge began. After pinning more than a few Disney World pictures on Pinterest over the past week, I also realized that something like this would be sort of fun to do again...with a twist. 

The lists I compiled for 2013 were based on internet lists of a similar fashion, but they're all really stereotypical. We all take pictures of the castle and Spaceship Earth and the list goes on, but there are some pictures out there just waiting to be found. Take the Purple Wall for instance, which has literally been at Magic Kingdom for years but just recently (and suddenly) became an must-see for most Disney Instagrammers. Plus, I'm a big fan of really exploring the nooks and crannies of Walt Disney World - and finding the little spots that we never knew existed, so a new photo challenge seems like a great idea. 

Which is where all of my followers come in. Similar to what I did in May with my choose my adventure idea (and that video is slowly coming!), I figure the best way to find the best spots is to ask the best people I know! So in the comments below or through a tweet or something, let me know a few of the photo spots I should check out on my upcoming trip! Give me a challenging idea for how or where to take a picture (although remember that it must, in some way, be possible. I'm not about to climb to the top of Spaceship Earth, no matter how fun that sounds). Give me a suggestion for that one picture you always have to take, or one that you always forget to take! And just to make things easier, here's a Google Form you can fill out with your suggestion: https://goo.gl/forms/ZHWR97OJRJHvFSRL2

I'm pretty excited to see what you all come up with, and while I'm in Florida be sure to follow along on my Instagram to see some of the pictures! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1375: Closing Down

You'd hardly know that a Hurricane was coming while walking through the parks. Aside from the phone notifications for the watches and warnings and cast members slowly but surely tying things down and bringing tables inside, everything was normal. Showers past by as they usually do, the afternoon sun heating things up, guests filled the parks, fireworks went off, and the day went on. 

And that's exactly how the day prior to Hurricane Matthew went this past October. Usually traveling to Florida in the winter months, a hurricane had never before been a concern. There was no reason to be concerned, after all, because hurricanes don't happen in the winter, at least most of the time. But going in October, things were a little different. We haven't been to Disney in October since I was only a couple of years old, and we definitely didn't have any weather troubles then. Even traveling in the summer for the past few years nothing specific has come up aside from once being stranded back in Wisconsin because of some thunderstorms. 

So a hurricane was a new one for us, and we had no idea what to expect. Turns out, not much changed. I'll have another post about the actual hurricane experience, but there's something specific to be said about the preparations at Disney in the 38 hours leading up to the storm. 

When we left Epcot the night before, showers unrelated to the storm had just gone through, and a beautiful sunset (which you can see in the above photo) was coloring the sky above the parks. We headed out after IllumiNations to head over to Magic Kingdom to make sure we caught the Electrical Parade one last time, and at that point everything seemed pretty ordinary. In World Showcase, some of the lights were tied down or wrapped to protect them from any potential damage, and the tables and chairs that are usually sitting out were brought indoors, but that was it. 

At Magic Kingdom, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all, and as the next day went on and storm clouds rolled in, everything still seemed normal aside from a distinct lack of people and a haze of uncertainty in the air. Once it was announced that the parks would be closing in the afternoon, the reality of the situation began to set in, but everything still seemed fine. 

And that was probably the weirdest part about the whole thing - the sense that nothing was really wrong. The cast members were incredibly calm despite the fact that they had homes to worry about and a trek from the parks through the storm back to them, and that kept the sense of panic at bay. Honestly, I think the craziest it got was while we were at The Grand Floridian right before heading back to the Boardwalk, and made our way into the store, where a large hoard of guests were stocking up on absolutely everything (we were just looking for some butter). 

So was the preparation for a hurricane what I expected? No, absolutely not at all. But it felt right, and it definitely made me feel safe the whole storm through. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1345: Memento Mori

In the Victorian Era, there was a phrase, "Memento Mori," which reminded people to "live life to the fullest, as everyone is mortal." 

Of course, it's also the name of a little shop just a stone's throw from The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom, and little did I know that there's really more behind the name of this shop than we might initially realize. 

While sitting quietly in my fiction workshop course today (although, we're usually not quiet at all), I was more than a bit surprised when the term "Memento Mori" came up in discussion. The short story we'd been ready had a reference to the idea and the term, which, of course, led to further discussion, since a "Memento Mori" was also known as a photograph...of the dead. 

I won't share any specific pictures here, but if you want to check out some for yourself, you can do so HERE, and really I'm not sure you'll be able to fully grasp the concept until you check out at least a couple of the pictures. Either way, with the art of photography quickly growing, but still too expensive for most to afford, the picture of a deceased family member may be the only opportunity for them to preserve the memory. In the early days of this post-mortem photography, the deceased were often posed to look as though they were still alive, which, honestly, gives the whole idea a pretty creepy feel. 

As for the store at Magic Kingdom, you won't find any post-mortem pictures, but you can get your own photograph taken, which changes from your mortal state to the afterlife faster than you can say "Boo." The shop, according to The Disney Parks Blog, is also known as the former home of Madame Leota, who disappeared, although her belongings still reside in the shop along with a portrait of her...before death. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the shop's name was officially inspired by a gravestone found in the graveyard scene inside The Haunted Mansion...which was probably inspired by the portraits, or at least the saying, from the Victorian Era. 

So that's your weird fact for the day - that there's a shop (and a tombstone) at Magic Kingdom based off an old tradition to take pictures of people after they died. Do what you will with this information - share it with friends, dive deep into Victorian Era history, or, you know, take it to the grave. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1311: Photographic Evidence

Perhaps one of my favorite not-so-hidden secrets of Walt Disney World has to be the thousands of little pictures you can find right in front of Spaceship Earth. These pictures, a part of the Leave A Legacy campaign that began in 1999, allowed guests to put their own permanent mark on one of the most visited places in the world, and now, 17 years later, you can still see the pictures, proudly displayed at Epcot. Plus, it's photographic evidence that I was indeed at Walt Disney World all those years ago. 

I actually have two Leave A Legacy pictures, one from 1999 with my mom (which I'm pointing to in the picture above) and another of my brother and I from a few years later. I will say that it's pretty difficult to find the pictures, because their individual "addresses" are certainly something you need to decode, but nothing makes me happier than visiting these pictures, a permanent piece of me that is always there at Epcot. It's sort of like a physical part of me that's always there...despite the fact that I don't look much like I did 17 years ago. 

There's been continuous rumors over the years that the plaques will come down at some point, as obviously they're not original to the park, and I believe they were only guaranteed for 20 years, but I would hate to see this living reminder of so many taken down. Of course, there's thousands more represented near the Magic Kingdom in bricks, of which I also have one, some of which have worn down over the years to the point where they're unrecognizable, but that's what the Florida weather will do to you I suppose...if you're a brick that is. 

Do you have a Leave a Legacy photo or a brick at the Magic Kingdom? Let me know in the comments! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1309: Use and Abuse

I've been waiting for the day you can make additional fastpass reservations from your phone since the initial introduction of Fastpass+. It's one of the things I loved about the old system - the ability to have a fastpass for more than a few attractions if you planned your day right. Of course, the new system has greater benefits: the ability to schedule your day prior to entering the park, securing a morning fastpass instead of getting to the park at 9 only to have a fastpass for 8 that night, and my personal favorite, the ability to change your fastpass time at any point in the day, actually making everything more flexible than I thought it might be. 

But what was missing was the ability to make additional fastpasses, which we now can, finally, do. I tend to have a rough idea of how my day is going to go, but I also love to plan on the spot, and from the second I realized I could have additional fastpasses, I went to town...or rather, all across Magic Kingdom...using and abusing the new system. 

Since the park was open until midnight the night I was there, I spent most of the afternoon hours at The Grand Floridian for Afternoon Tea, which allowed me to get out of the heat and take a much needed break. But by the time I got back to Magic Kingdom, I was ready to go. Now, the way the system works is that if you use all three of your fastpasses earlier in the day, you can make additional fastpass selections at any point for any attraction in any park. Often times, you can snatch up a fastpass for only minutes out from the current time, which means you could be outside Pirates of the Caribbean and could probably get a fastpass to skip that half hour or 40 minute line right then and there, and the second you scan your magic band at the fastpass line entrance, you can make another fastpass selection from the app. 

And you can keep doing this for as long as there are fastpasses available. 

Once I figured all of this out, I just started making new fastpass selections while in line for the attraction I had the previous fastpass for. So I began at Pirates, and while in line I made a fastpass for another attraction, which I believe was for Big Thunder. While waiting for the fastpass, which started soon after, I took the train to Fantasyland and walked the rest of the way to Tomorrowland, where I got a phone case for a friend and headed on the PeopleMover. Then it was all the way back to Big Thunder, where I made a fastpass for the Barnstormer. While waiting for the Barnstormer I made a fastpass for Dumbo, and while waiting there I made one for Winnie the Pooh. As I waited for Winnie the Pooh I made a fastpass for the Tomorrowland Speedway, and from there I secured one for Buzz Lightyear, and then Peter Pan, and finally Splash Mountain. It brought me to a total of 12 fastpasses in one day, which I didn't think was humanly possible...but apparently is. I also had a chance to head on the Teacups, the Carrousel, Astro Orbiter and then Pirates one more time at the end, so I guess you could say that it was a wild five hours after my Afternoon Tea. 

As for how many fastpasses you could get in one day, I'm sure 12 isn't the highest you could get, and I look forward to attempting to visit all the Magic Kingdom attractions in one day in the future, even if I have to really abuse the system to get there...but for now we'll say I'm utilizing the system, because really, that's what I'm doing! I'm just utilizing it to it's fullest potential...which may be a bit more than what Disney intended. 

Next time, I estimate 16 or 17 fastpasses...but who knows how many are possible! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1271: The First Time

No, the above picture is not from my first trip to Walt Disney World, but really, at this point, I don't have a lot of pictures from that trip. I do have some video, which I'm hoping to transfer, but beyond that I don't even have any memories of my own. I mean, I was 15 months old, so I don't know how I would remember any of that, but still. 

The truth is, things were pretty different at Walt Disney World during my first trip. The first time I saw Cinderella Castle, and I love to tell this story, it wasn't blue. It was pink. For the 25th anniversary they decorated the castle as a giant pink birthday cake, and the outcome was sort of...odd. When I find the pictures of it I'll be sure to share, but in the meantime you can definitely find some on Google. Just search "Cinderella Castle 25th Anniversary." Actually, the first two trips I took, that's how the castle looked. Can you imagine if I had been older? I probably would have thought that it was supposed to look like that. 

Horizons was still there, as was the Skyway and Dreamflight. Food Rocks was the highlight of The Land, and Dreamfinder was even still hanging with Figment. World of Motion would have just closed for it's transformation into Test Track, and, at the time, a giant Toy Story Parade graced the streets of the then MGM-Studios. In the Backlot, things were drastically different, with an extended tour and residential street still intact. Oh, and Animal Kingdom didn't even exist. 

As I go through that old video I'll be sure to share some of the differences I find with you, and hopefully I'll have pictures and video clips to back myself up! But I do think that looking back to our first trips is sort of an important and fun thing to do. After all, Disney World changes quickly, and sometimes we don't realize just how quickly until we take a look back. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1242: Disney After Hours

Extra Magic Hours has been a part of Walt Disney World for almost as long as I can remember. There's something really magical about being in the parks when the crowds (and wait times) are low, and really, there are few things in this world I enjoy more than walking through an empty Magic Kingdom or deserted Epcot.

When they announced the Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom a while back, I was pretty skeptical. After all, this is literally just a paid version of Extra Magic Hours, which I could enjoy basically any other night at no expense, and so I wrote it off as something hardly worth my while. Of course, my mom realized that the final night scheduled for the event happened to be while we were in Florida, and with a discount, we managed to get our tickets at half price.

Overall, there were both pros and cons of the event. The largest, and really only disadvantage really, was the price, although I do believe it was noted that you don't need a ticket purchased prior to gain entry to the park. Since you could get in earlier in the day (7 I believe, although it may have been earlier), you could enjoy the park before closing as well. I headed over around 9 myself and spent some time in Tomorrowland enjoying the Peoplemover and the Carousel of Progress, which was a nice, easy way to start things off despite the larger crowds before park closing. Plus, both attractions weren't part of the After Hours Event, and I still wanted to make sure I hit them both.

After the fireworks, however, the park seemed to empty quickly, and within maybe a half hour, we were able to walk right onto Splash Mountain and Big Thunder, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, all attractions that usually have relatively long wait times. From there, we hit most of the park, slowly working our way from Adventureland all the way back to Tomorrowland. Personally, I was able to head on a good number of additional attractions: Peter Pan's Flight (which I went on twice with no wait), it's a small world, The Mad Tea Party, Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. There may have been a few more attractions, but I was running back and forth so much it's sort of a blur. I do know that I also made a visit to Princess Fairytale Hall to meet Cinderella, Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa, all with minimal wait!

The overall concept of Disney After Hours is sort of a narrowed down Extra Magic Hours, but you pay for it. For somewhere around $150 I believe, you can be one of no more than 3000 people in all of Magic Kingdom and experience some of the top attractions at little to absolutely no wait. In addition, the Princesses meet in Fairytale Hall, and you can enjoy complimentary ice cream treats and bottled beverages throughout the night from stands around the park.

As I'm sure we can all figure out, that's not worth $150, although it was quite the enjoyable night having no one around and walking right onto Peter Pan's Flight more than once. The trouble here is that if Disney charges much less, they'll be losing money on this endeavor. They could fix that by selling more tickets, but then you loose some of the emptiness and overall aspect of the event itself: a VIP sort of experience where you (and 3000 of your closest friends) roam Magic Kingdom without everyone else.

Then again, I don't think we'll need to be worrying much about this anymore. It sounds like tickets for the event trials didn't sell well, and I have the feeling that I attended the last ever Disney After Hours event. Still, I don't regret going, and I'm really glad I got to. I mean, after all, if for nothing else, it gave me a chance to spend some extra time in the parks when I love them most.

Would you pay to go to Disney After Hours? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

Day 1239: No So Dizzy

There are some attractions that I rarely visit. It's nothing personal, and I definitely have nothing against the attractions, but rather, my motion sickness tends to put a damper on the fun. Pretty much any sort of spinning gets me more than a little dizzy, so for years attractions such as The Carrousel, Dumbo, and The Mad Tea Party have been off limits for me. It's just easier if I avoid them, because that means avoiding feeling sick, and that's just good for everyone.

However, when I was challenged by one of my followers to sing I'm a Little Teapot on the Teacups, it was too clever a suggestion to turn down, and so, against my better judgement, I went for my first spin in the cups in what I figure has been about 10 years. Being by myself, and while too distracted by singing a children's song, I didn't actually spin all that much, which probably contributed to the fact that I ended up visiting the Teacups a second time...although it may have been mostly because I forgot the words to I'm a Little Teapot the first time...

What lesson have we learned here today? Sometimes old attractions that we haven't visited in a while can become new favorites, and I suppose the opposite can be true as well (The Great Movie Ride, for instance, is now much lower on my favorites list than it used to be), but we'll never discover these things unless we make a point to stop and try them out again. I get questioned a lot about whether or not Disney gets boring, and since it's literally impossible to do everything in one trip (unless you stay for a month or two, I suppose), the answer is no. Just because I rode the teacups years ago doesn't mean I remembered them clearly, and that means that even an old attraction that maybe you wrote off can become new and exciting again. And no, it's not always about discovering the "new" things either. It's about exploring everything the Disney Parks have to offer, and I'm fairly certain that alone would take a lifetime. 

Or at least a few more spins on the teacups. 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1238: Slowing Down

Disney trips can seem overly tiring. And they probably are. In comparison to traveling other places, where you might spend time sleeping in or slowly strolling around a city, a Disney trip forces you to keep moving most of the time, especially if it's your first time or you don't visit often. For years, it's been about seeing all the main sights within a short amount of time. After all, if you only have a few days once a year to hit your favorite attractions, sometimes more than once, you probably don't want to waste your time. So, as my best friends became quickly aware of, there is no rest at Disney World.

This past trip, however, I found myself slowing down a bit. I didn't feel the need to see all the major attractions, although there were definitely a few that are always Must Dos for me (Spaceship Earth, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story Midway Mania, and so on and so forth). I didn't really want to run back and forth the whole trip (although I definitely did some running regardless).

Instead, I found myself seeking out some of the calmer attractions, many of which are perfect for the hot summer days that Florida is so well known for. My personal favorite, of course, is the PeopleMover, which I probably ride almost as often as Spaceship Earth. It's a calming attraction, and while the lines have steadily been growing longer over the past couple of years, the breeze is nice and you do get to sit down for the entire attraction. Perfect for hot days when everything else at Magic Kingdom has a 45 minute wait.

At Epcot, I spent a lot of time walking around World Showcase, which usually ends with a lot of standing, but if you really take your time and do it right, you can try a lot of food, see a lot of sights, relish in a lot of air conditioning, and even sit down. The films in Canada and China aren't particularly popular, and while you do have to stand there, there are rather comfortable seats in the French film as well as in The American Adventure. Speaking of which, The American Adventure pavilion is perfect for hot days, since you can cool off in the waiting area to listen to the Voices of Liberty before even going into the half hour show. And then there's music groups that perform on the stage outside too, so really you could spend an hour or more there alone.

Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are harder with all the construction, but I'm positive that as the new additions to each park open that will change. Meanwhile, Disney Springs is now a spectacular spot to spend an entire evening or, as it continues to develop, an entire day. It's free to visit, which makes it even better, and there's so much to explore without constantly running here, there, and everywhere.

I guess I've realized over the past couple of trips that there's much more to Walt Disney World than meets the eye, and relaxing throughout the entire resort can be just as much fun as hitting all the E-Ticket attractions. I mean, just because Ellen's Energy Adventure is outdated and sort of long doesn't mean it's not a great place to hang out when the air gets too hot and you want a break! Sometimes a 45 minute attraction in air conditioning where you get to sit the whole time is exactly what you want!

Have a magical day!

Day 1237: A Little of This and That

It's once again time to share some of my favorite pictures from my latest Disney trip! Now, aside from those put on Instagram, none of these are edited in anyway, I just liked how they look! I'd go on to explain more, but I think I'll just let you enjoy:

Have a magical day! 

Day 1224: 100 Adventures

It's probably not a surprise to anyone that the Walt Disney World Resort is filled with different adventures, so let's do a round up of just...a few...of them! 

1. Blast off into space on Space Mountain
2. Defeat Zurg in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
3. Visit with Belle in Enchanted Tales with Belle
4. Check out an old mining town on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
5. Spin around at a Mad Tea Party
6. Take flight with Dumbo
7. Go back to the Wild West in Frontierland
8. Visit the World's Rivers on the Jungle Cruise
9. Adventure with Tom Sawyer
10. Fly with Peter Pan
11. Have a laugh with the Monsters 
12. Hang out with a Ghost Host at the Haunted Mansion
13. See Rapunzel's tower
14. Learn why it's a small world
15. Spin around on the Carrousel
16. Walk through Cinderella Castle
17. Talk with Mickey...for real!
18. Fly on a magic carpet with Aladdin
19. Listen to the sweet music of The Country Bears
20. Finish the work day on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
21. Walk straight into Beauty and the Beast at Be Our Guest
22. Be a part of the Swiss Family Robinson
23. Pull some Stunts on The Barnstormer
24. Celebrate the Festival of Fantasy
25. See all our Presidents
26. Take a Main Street Vehicle
27. Meet a Horse
28. Take a step back in time on the Liberty Square Riverboat
29. Be a part of some of your favorite films in Mickey's Philharmagic
30. Become a Real Pirate
31. Jump into a briar patch on Splash Mountain
32. Keep Stitch at bay at Stitch's Great Escape
33. Drive at car at the Tomorrowland Speedway
34. View the future from the PeopleMover
35. Journey Under the Sea with Ariel
36. See our history on the Carousel of Progress
37. Learn about Energy with Ellen
38. Learn the story of Communication on Spaceship Earth
39. Visit 11 unique nations in World Showcase
40. Go to Mars on Mission: SPACE
41. Make your own test car on Test Track
42. See the real Canada in O Canada! 
43. Make your own coaster at Sum of All Thrills
44. Taste new foods from different cultures
45. Dance along with local music
46. Explore new technology in Innoventions
47. Appreciate an invisible narrator at Impressions de France
48. Build a new vacation resort at The Circle of Life
49. See Mark Twain, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin at the American Adventure
50. Find Nemo in the Seas
51. Learn about a Stave Church
52. Journey into your Imagination with Figment
53. Mourn Maelstrom
54. Play around in ImageWorks
55. Help out Agent P in his World Showcase Adventure
56. Attend a Film Festival from Pixar and Walt Disney Animation
57. Journey across Mexico with The Three Caballeros
58. Soar across the country at Soarin' Around the World
59. Talk with Turtles at Turtle Talk
60. See the Reflections of China
61. Learn about new growing techniques in Living with the Land
62. Be in a Movie at the Great Movie Ride
63. Duck and Cover at Muppet Vision 3D
64. Rock and Roll with Aerosmith at the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
65. Head to Jakku on Star Tours
66. Take a trip to the Twilight Zone on Tower of Terror
67. Learn about the man who started it all at One Man's Dream
68. Win Big Time at Toy Story Midway Mania
69. Be a Stunt Double at Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
70. Train to be a Jedi
71. Sing along to Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
72. See Ariel and her friends at Voyage of the Little Mermaid
73. Dig up some fossils in the Boneyard
74. Get wet on Kali River Rapids
75. Go for a Two Week Safari on Kilimanjaro Safaris
76. See a vet at work at Conservation Station
77. Pet a goat in the Affection Section
78. Marvel at Dino Sue in Dinoland
79. Spin around on TriceraTop Spin
80. Take a Whirl on Primeval Whirl
81. Take a trip on the Wildlife Express
82. Sit in awe at the Festival of the Lion King
83. Find the right notes at Finding Nemo The Musical
84. Be an honorary bug at It's Tough to be a Bug
85. See new animals at the Oasis
86. Visit an Okapi on the Pangani Forest Trail
87. See Tigers on the Maharajah Jungle Trek
88. Face off against the Yeti on Expedition Everest
89. Bring back a Dinosaur
90. Visit the largest Disney Store in the World
91. Explore the new Disney Springs
92. Take a balloon ride
93. Chill on the beach
94. Meet your favorite characters
95. Sleep in a Disney Bed
96. Take a backstage tour
97. See La Nouba
98. Make another roller coaster at Cyberspace Mountain
99. Battle for Gold at DisneyQuest
100. Enjoy the time with your family and friends

These are all mostly attraction based, and I'm positive that there are hundreds of other adventures just waiting for you throughout the Walt Disney World Resort! All you have to do is find them! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1169: Photopass Extras

I was going through and downloading Photopass pictures the other day and did you know that they include a bunch of extra free professional pictures of the parks for your enjoyment? While it gets sort of annoying when downloading all your pictures from multiple trips, these are also some great pictures! 

And from time to time, especially during the Food and Wine Festival they even have recipe cards that you can get so you can try to make some of your favorite Disney dishes back home! 

Please remember that none of the above pictures are mine and belong entirely to the Walt Disney Company! 

Have a magical day!