As a kid I could spend all day in the MK, 8.30am for opening and staying till 12 midnight in the Summer no problem at all. In fact I even remember passing through the Contemporary in the monorail and looking down at the pool outside and wondering why the hell all those people were in the pool instead of in the park. For me it was bewildering as to why and how anyone in a hotel with access to the MK just a walk away would want to be in a pool instead, it made no sense and even verged on angering me! Going to Epcot also seemed just a day away froo the MK, sure it was Disney but at the back of my mind was the thought that I could be on Space Mountain or Pirates rather than 'learning stuff' albeit in a fun way. Even eating in Disney seemed like time away from the magic, the food tasted good but it was a 'necessity' more than anything else.
As a late teen I still loved the MK but Epcot had grown on me more. I guess it was partly because I'd done all the MK stuff but also I appreciated stuff there in ways my younger self hadn't. I would happily sacrifice at least a day of my trip to Epcot every visit, sometimes even more than a day. I'd turned twenty when Disney MGM Studios opened and I've got to say those first few years it had a kind of magic and uniqueness to it that was difficult to surpass. Man I'll never forget that early 90's era when MGM was possibly at it's best, what a buzz with everything new and three parks to enjoy over my trips instead of two.
And I've visited annually virtually every year since then. Seen the AK open along with the water parks etc and still love the place like a second home. But certainly as an older person now than then,.I realise how I do things quite differently and see it in a different way. Rather than getting a four or five day pass and cramming everything in with long 'full days' in the parks, we (I'm no longer single) get Annual Passes and visit for three weeks at a time and have more partial days there. Sometimes we'll go out for a trip to the shops and decide to just drop into Disney Studios on the way back for an ice cream. That's it, just walk in get an ice cream and enjoy the atmosphere without even riding anything. As a kid that would have been torture to me and unthinkable, I'd rather not have gone than been tormented like that.
I appreciate meals much more now also, there's nothing like sitting in the fast food area in the China pavilion in Epcot and looking out over the gardens and people watching whilst slowly eating. Sometimes we'll spend nearly an hour there just enjoying the feeling of it and relaxing whilst everyone else rushes around. Likewise at the Sci-fi dine in theatre we'll just sit in those little cars watching those silly little movies whilst having a meal and sharing a desert. Not worrying about rushing to get to an attraction but instead just relaxing and taking our time, enjoying things on a different level to that as a kid. And those people I used to look at in the pool at the Contemporary or on the boats in the lake and wonder why they were wasting their time by not being in the MK. Well now I'm one of them as every year we rent a boat for an hour or more and just pootle about on that lake thinking just how wonderful life is doing just that.
Sorry to ramble on but I just thought I'd share (or bore you with) my thoughts on how my enjoyment of Disney has evolved over the years and yet still there's one constant, I still love visiting the place.
As a late teen I still loved the MK but Epcot had grown on me more. I guess it was partly because I'd done all the MK stuff but also I appreciated stuff there in ways my younger self hadn't. I would happily sacrifice at least a day of my trip to Epcot every visit, sometimes even more than a day. I'd turned twenty when Disney MGM Studios opened and I've got to say those first few years it had a kind of magic and uniqueness to it that was difficult to surpass. Man I'll never forget that early 90's era when MGM was possibly at it's best, what a buzz with everything new and three parks to enjoy over my trips instead of two.
And I've visited annually virtually every year since then. Seen the AK open along with the water parks etc and still love the place like a second home. But certainly as an older person now than then,.I realise how I do things quite differently and see it in a different way. Rather than getting a four or five day pass and cramming everything in with long 'full days' in the parks, we (I'm no longer single) get Annual Passes and visit for three weeks at a time and have more partial days there. Sometimes we'll go out for a trip to the shops and decide to just drop into Disney Studios on the way back for an ice cream. That's it, just walk in get an ice cream and enjoy the atmosphere without even riding anything. As a kid that would have been torture to me and unthinkable, I'd rather not have gone than been tormented like that.
I appreciate meals much more now also, there's nothing like sitting in the fast food area in the China pavilion in Epcot and looking out over the gardens and people watching whilst slowly eating. Sometimes we'll spend nearly an hour there just enjoying the feeling of it and relaxing whilst everyone else rushes around. Likewise at the Sci-fi dine in theatre we'll just sit in those little cars watching those silly little movies whilst having a meal and sharing a desert. Not worrying about rushing to get to an attraction but instead just relaxing and taking our time, enjoying things on a different level to that as a kid. And those people I used to look at in the pool at the Contemporary or on the boats in the lake and wonder why they were wasting their time by not being in the MK. Well now I'm one of them as every year we rent a boat for an hour or more and just pootle about on that lake thinking just how wonderful life is doing just that.
Sorry to ramble on but I just thought I'd share (or bore you with) my thoughts on how my enjoyment of Disney has evolved over the years and yet still there's one constant, I still love visiting the place.