Walt's legacy
By Jim Tunstall and Cynthia Tunstall, special for USATODAY.com
Talk about a ruckus.
Comcast Corp. created quite a stir in February this year when it made a $54 billion bid for everything Disney. The would-be takeover quickly led to speculation the cable TV giant would shove Disney's theme parks into a backseat role, much as Vivendi did at Universal.
To date, neither the takeover nor the parks' exile has happened and Walt Disney World remains on the same track it's been on since October 1971, when Disney's heirs opened the Magic Kingdom, aka "Disneyland East," a younger sibling of the California park that opened in 1955.
In the more than three decades since Disney forever changed the face of central Florida, spin-off growth created by the Magic Mouse, Universal Orlando and other attractions has tripled the population of Orlando and the rest of Orange County and projections say it will hit 1.8 million next year.
During the same period, the number of tourists has jumped from a few hundred thousand to 43.5 million visitors who pump $20 billion into the local economy in an average year. To accommodate them, the Orlando area has 450 hotels, motels and inns (with more than 114,000 rooms), ranging from simple, low-budget drive-ups to extravagant resorts, including the posh Ritz-Carlton and the sprawling Gaylord Palms, Orlando's largest meeting and convention resort.
Hotel occupancy remains a modest 64.5%, but that's up 2.3% from 2002. The biggest void since the 2001 terrorist attacks: There are fewer visitors from outside Florida, including a 30% drop in travelers from the United Kingdom. But British visitors, as well as those from other states and countries, are beginning to return, prompting the major players to show signs of life again by rolling out new attractions. Disney recently opened Mickey's PhilharMagic, Mission: Space, and the Wishes fireworks spectacular, and it has plans for one new headline ride or show in each of its four parks between 2004 and 2006. And Universal Studios Florida opened its much hyped $40 million Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster in May.
Most visitors will spend an extra day in Orlando at one of the major theme parks, including SeaWorld. But Orlando and central Florida are home to many other diversions for traveling families as well as "snowbirds" — the name Floridians give northern retirees who escape to the area each winter. Below are a variety of suggestions for ways to spend an extra day in Orlando. (Related item: Fun on the cheap)
Walt Disney World — The world's most popular family destination is a massive complex of fantasy and fun. Even though attendance has been down since Sept. 11, 2001, the Magic Kingdom theme park alone recorded 14 million visitors in 2003, making it the most visited theme park on the planet, according to Amusement Business magazine. Disney World employs more people on one site than any other company in the USA. During peak times, as many as 53,000 "cast members" (don't call them employees) don more than 2.5 million pieces of wardrobe (don't call them uniforms) for their jobs. The entire facility covers 30,500 acres — 47 square miles — making it twice the size of Manhattan. What's filling all that space? Four theme parks, two water parks and 30 hotels that range from the spartan, cramped quarters of the All-Star and Pop Century resorts to the posh suites at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
The four theme parks of Disney World can easily take a day each to explore. So if you're only in the area for a day, select carefully.
• The original and most popular park, the Magic Kingdom, is the heart of Disney World. Cinderella Castle is the hub, with six spokes or areas of rides, shops, shows, places to eat and sights to see radiating from it. Main Street, U.S.A., a wide street lined with shops, is the boulevard that serves as the Magic Kingdom's grand entrance. It and the castle serve as a backdrop for the nighttime Wishes fireworks display. Liberty Square is dedicated to America's heritage (learn about its leaders in the Hall of Presidents) and its supernatural, à la Disney, in the Haunted Mansion. Fantasyland is the kids' (and some adults') favorite area, home to Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D show and rides such as It's a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Mad Tea Party. Frontierland is home to two thrill rides, Splash Mountain and the tamer Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. In Tomorrowland, look for futuristic shows and rides, such as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain, a lights-out roller coaster.
An interesting fact about the Magic Kingdom: It actually sits atop a vast underground network of warehouse-sized rooms, halls, offices and tunnels that are off-limits to the public (unless you pay $199 for Disney's Backstage Magic Tour (407-939-8687)). This is how cast members travel from one area of the park to another without having to battle the throngs of tourists. Go to www.disneyworld.com for details about special tours at all four parks.
A word of warning: If you drive and leave your car in the parking lots, expect the journey by tram, then ferry or monorail to take 40-60 minutes before you reach the fun.
• Epcot was the second theme park built at Disney World, debuting in 1982. Its name is an acronym: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Epcot is twice the size of the Magic Kingdom, and generally takes more than a day to fully explore. Welcoming guests with the famous geosphere (which looks like a giant silver golf ball), Future World explores the worlds of science and technology. It has eight "pavilions" that are sponsored by major corporations and consist of some type of ride, such as GM's Test Track, an exhilarating spin around a recreated vehicle proving ground, or educational exhibits, some of which are more interesting to adults than children. Epcot's newest attraction, Mission: Space, opened in August 2003. It includes a lifelike motion simulator like the ones NASA uses to train astronauts. It's so lifelike barf bags are available for guests who turn green.
The back half of Epcot, separated from the front by a 40-acre lagoon, is called the World Showcase. There you'll find pavilions of 11 countries (with rumors of Spain eventually becoming the 12th) that include shops, exhibits, restaurants and cast members who are natives of the countries they represent. Kids might find the going slow (no rides in most of these places), but there's plenty for adults to see and buy. The nightly Illuminations fireworks and light show over the World Showcase Lagoon is not to be missed.
Special events include Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival (Oct. 1-Nov. 14).
• Disney-MGM Studios is the smallest of the four theme parks, and if you're efficient you can get through it in less than a day. There are 16 attractions on MGM's 77 acres, including Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, one of Disney's few true thrill rides; Star Tours, a sometimes-stomach-churning Star Wars-themed flight simulator; and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a runaway elevator drop set inside a re-creation of an abandoned old hotel (this one may scare the kids but it's perhaps the best all-around adventure at Disney). Beyond the rides, there are numerous shows including the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and a handful of fun restaurants. At least once a night, the park's lagoon serves as the backdrop for Fantasmic! — a light-and-music show featuring Disney's most popular heroes and villains.
In the fall, syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner will bring The Tom Joyner Family Reunion back to Disney-MGM Studios and the Coronado Springs Resort over the Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-5) with performers that include Beyonce and Destiny's Child, LL Cool J, and others.
• Animal Kingdom, Disney's youngest theme park (opened in 1998), is a tribute to Mother Nature, with a safari and numerous opportunities to meet some of the world's most interesting creatures, including lions, rhinos, tigers, lowland gorillas and Galapagos tortoises. The centerpiece is the towering Tree of Life, a giant tree replica that has animals carved into its trunk and branches, and the movie It's Tough to Be a Bug showing inside. A few rides dot the park, but its specialties are the animals and shows, including the spirit-lifting Festival of the Lion King. The park is big, so be prepared for a lot of walking. Animal viewing is best early in the morning. The Kali River Rapids raft ride in the Asia area and the Dinosaur ride in Dinoland USA are the closest this park comes to thrills and chills, though Kilimanjaro Safaris can provide quite an animal-sighting thrill if you ride during the coolest times of day.
There are two water parks on Disney's grounds, and they're crowded during the heat of summer. Slides, pools and lazy rivers are the main ingredients of each, but the differences are in the details. Blizzard Beach has a winter wonderland theme and the largest number of steep slides. Typhoon Lagoon has the feel of a tropical paradise with one of the largest wave pools in the world (they offer surfing lessons there).
Lest you forget this is a "World," there's a lot more than theme parks at WDW. Downtown Disney offers shops and attractions such as Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba (www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/spectaculera/lanouba/lanouba_home.htm), a 5-year engagement that is geared more toward teens and adults, plus there is golf, fishing and other activities. Disney also has two cruise ships, the Magic and Wonder, which offer three- to seven-night sailings from Port Canaveral, about one hour east of Orlando (www.disneycruise.com). Clearly, dedicating just a single day to this place might make you crazy.
Admission to each of the theme parks runs $54.75 per day for adults and $43.75 for kids 3-9. Parking costs another $8. The theme parks are usually open at least from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., although Animal Kingdom often opens at 8 a.m. and the other parks frequently close later. The water parks cost $31 for adults and $25 for kids, and usually are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Walt Disney World is in Lake Buena Vista, 35-50 minutes south of downtown Orlando. 407-824-4321; www.disneyworld.com.
By Jim Tunstall and Cynthia Tunstall, special for USATODAY.com
Talk about a ruckus.
Comcast Corp. created quite a stir in February this year when it made a $54 billion bid for everything Disney. The would-be takeover quickly led to speculation the cable TV giant would shove Disney's theme parks into a backseat role, much as Vivendi did at Universal.
To date, neither the takeover nor the parks' exile has happened and Walt Disney World remains on the same track it's been on since October 1971, when Disney's heirs opened the Magic Kingdom, aka "Disneyland East," a younger sibling of the California park that opened in 1955.
In the more than three decades since Disney forever changed the face of central Florida, spin-off growth created by the Magic Mouse, Universal Orlando and other attractions has tripled the population of Orlando and the rest of Orange County and projections say it will hit 1.8 million next year.
During the same period, the number of tourists has jumped from a few hundred thousand to 43.5 million visitors who pump $20 billion into the local economy in an average year. To accommodate them, the Orlando area has 450 hotels, motels and inns (with more than 114,000 rooms), ranging from simple, low-budget drive-ups to extravagant resorts, including the posh Ritz-Carlton and the sprawling Gaylord Palms, Orlando's largest meeting and convention resort.
Hotel occupancy remains a modest 64.5%, but that's up 2.3% from 2002. The biggest void since the 2001 terrorist attacks: There are fewer visitors from outside Florida, including a 30% drop in travelers from the United Kingdom. But British visitors, as well as those from other states and countries, are beginning to return, prompting the major players to show signs of life again by rolling out new attractions. Disney recently opened Mickey's PhilharMagic, Mission: Space, and the Wishes fireworks spectacular, and it has plans for one new headline ride or show in each of its four parks between 2004 and 2006. And Universal Studios Florida opened its much hyped $40 million Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster in May.
Most visitors will spend an extra day in Orlando at one of the major theme parks, including SeaWorld. But Orlando and central Florida are home to many other diversions for traveling families as well as "snowbirds" — the name Floridians give northern retirees who escape to the area each winter. Below are a variety of suggestions for ways to spend an extra day in Orlando. (Related item: Fun on the cheap)
Walt Disney World — The world's most popular family destination is a massive complex of fantasy and fun. Even though attendance has been down since Sept. 11, 2001, the Magic Kingdom theme park alone recorded 14 million visitors in 2003, making it the most visited theme park on the planet, according to Amusement Business magazine. Disney World employs more people on one site than any other company in the USA. During peak times, as many as 53,000 "cast members" (don't call them employees) don more than 2.5 million pieces of wardrobe (don't call them uniforms) for their jobs. The entire facility covers 30,500 acres — 47 square miles — making it twice the size of Manhattan. What's filling all that space? Four theme parks, two water parks and 30 hotels that range from the spartan, cramped quarters of the All-Star and Pop Century resorts to the posh suites at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
The four theme parks of Disney World can easily take a day each to explore. So if you're only in the area for a day, select carefully.
• The original and most popular park, the Magic Kingdom, is the heart of Disney World. Cinderella Castle is the hub, with six spokes or areas of rides, shops, shows, places to eat and sights to see radiating from it. Main Street, U.S.A., a wide street lined with shops, is the boulevard that serves as the Magic Kingdom's grand entrance. It and the castle serve as a backdrop for the nighttime Wishes fireworks display. Liberty Square is dedicated to America's heritage (learn about its leaders in the Hall of Presidents) and its supernatural, à la Disney, in the Haunted Mansion. Fantasyland is the kids' (and some adults') favorite area, home to Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D show and rides such as It's a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Mad Tea Party. Frontierland is home to two thrill rides, Splash Mountain and the tamer Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. In Tomorrowland, look for futuristic shows and rides, such as Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain, a lights-out roller coaster.
An interesting fact about the Magic Kingdom: It actually sits atop a vast underground network of warehouse-sized rooms, halls, offices and tunnels that are off-limits to the public (unless you pay $199 for Disney's Backstage Magic Tour (407-939-8687)). This is how cast members travel from one area of the park to another without having to battle the throngs of tourists. Go to www.disneyworld.com for details about special tours at all four parks.
A word of warning: If you drive and leave your car in the parking lots, expect the journey by tram, then ferry or monorail to take 40-60 minutes before you reach the fun.
• Epcot was the second theme park built at Disney World, debuting in 1982. Its name is an acronym: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Epcot is twice the size of the Magic Kingdom, and generally takes more than a day to fully explore. Welcoming guests with the famous geosphere (which looks like a giant silver golf ball), Future World explores the worlds of science and technology. It has eight "pavilions" that are sponsored by major corporations and consist of some type of ride, such as GM's Test Track, an exhilarating spin around a recreated vehicle proving ground, or educational exhibits, some of which are more interesting to adults than children. Epcot's newest attraction, Mission: Space, opened in August 2003. It includes a lifelike motion simulator like the ones NASA uses to train astronauts. It's so lifelike barf bags are available for guests who turn green.
The back half of Epcot, separated from the front by a 40-acre lagoon, is called the World Showcase. There you'll find pavilions of 11 countries (with rumors of Spain eventually becoming the 12th) that include shops, exhibits, restaurants and cast members who are natives of the countries they represent. Kids might find the going slow (no rides in most of these places), but there's plenty for adults to see and buy. The nightly Illuminations fireworks and light show over the World Showcase Lagoon is not to be missed.
Special events include Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival (Oct. 1-Nov. 14).
• Disney-MGM Studios is the smallest of the four theme parks, and if you're efficient you can get through it in less than a day. There are 16 attractions on MGM's 77 acres, including Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, one of Disney's few true thrill rides; Star Tours, a sometimes-stomach-churning Star Wars-themed flight simulator; and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a runaway elevator drop set inside a re-creation of an abandoned old hotel (this one may scare the kids but it's perhaps the best all-around adventure at Disney). Beyond the rides, there are numerous shows including the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and a handful of fun restaurants. At least once a night, the park's lagoon serves as the backdrop for Fantasmic! — a light-and-music show featuring Disney's most popular heroes and villains.
In the fall, syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner will bring The Tom Joyner Family Reunion back to Disney-MGM Studios and the Coronado Springs Resort over the Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-5) with performers that include Beyonce and Destiny's Child, LL Cool J, and others.
• Animal Kingdom, Disney's youngest theme park (opened in 1998), is a tribute to Mother Nature, with a safari and numerous opportunities to meet some of the world's most interesting creatures, including lions, rhinos, tigers, lowland gorillas and Galapagos tortoises. The centerpiece is the towering Tree of Life, a giant tree replica that has animals carved into its trunk and branches, and the movie It's Tough to Be a Bug showing inside. A few rides dot the park, but its specialties are the animals and shows, including the spirit-lifting Festival of the Lion King. The park is big, so be prepared for a lot of walking. Animal viewing is best early in the morning. The Kali River Rapids raft ride in the Asia area and the Dinosaur ride in Dinoland USA are the closest this park comes to thrills and chills, though Kilimanjaro Safaris can provide quite an animal-sighting thrill if you ride during the coolest times of day.
There are two water parks on Disney's grounds, and they're crowded during the heat of summer. Slides, pools and lazy rivers are the main ingredients of each, but the differences are in the details. Blizzard Beach has a winter wonderland theme and the largest number of steep slides. Typhoon Lagoon has the feel of a tropical paradise with one of the largest wave pools in the world (they offer surfing lessons there).
Lest you forget this is a "World," there's a lot more than theme parks at WDW. Downtown Disney offers shops and attractions such as Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba (www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/spectaculera/lanouba/lanouba_home.htm), a 5-year engagement that is geared more toward teens and adults, plus there is golf, fishing and other activities. Disney also has two cruise ships, the Magic and Wonder, which offer three- to seven-night sailings from Port Canaveral, about one hour east of Orlando (www.disneycruise.com). Clearly, dedicating just a single day to this place might make you crazy.
Admission to each of the theme parks runs $54.75 per day for adults and $43.75 for kids 3-9. Parking costs another $8. The theme parks are usually open at least from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., although Animal Kingdom often opens at 8 a.m. and the other parks frequently close later. The water parks cost $31 for adults and $25 for kids, and usually are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Walt Disney World is in Lake Buena Vista, 35-50 minutes south of downtown Orlando. 407-824-4321; www.disneyworld.com.