Hobbes
Mega Poster
^Yet Soarin' is your favorite "coaster" and DCA is your favorite park?
Anyway, I guess I might as well post my thoughts on this, given that I was in WDW about a month ago.
I'll start off by saying that I'm not really the kind of person that Disney caters to. I went to WDW when I was younger (8 or 9), and I remember having a very good time. However, at this point, I'm a coaster/thrill ride oriented teenager, and classic Disney characters/movies really weren't a major part of my childhood (The only classic Disney films I've seen are Jungle Book, Lion King, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty). So I wasn't particularly excited for Disney in the first place, and I honestly was right, at least to an extent.
So TL,DR: No, no magic here.
Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are pretty easy to knock out of the way. As far as I’m concerned, they’re both mediocre/decent parks glossed over by Disney theming. There’s definitely no magic there. I could go into much more detail about my opinions on the parks as a whole, but that would get off topic.
Magic Kingdom has the most Disney theming/rides in it compared to the other parks, and is most closely associated with the whole concept of “Disney Magic”. Because I don’t have any nostalgia or emotional connection to any Disney characters, this usually ends up being a downside for me. Where other people get to relive their childhood or see their favorite characters come to life, I just feel like I’m having things I don’t care for constantly shoved in my face. I just get constantly annoyed because I see people acting like MK is the greatest thing ever, whereas I just see it as a sub-par park. When I see crowds of people waiting for twenty minutes to get a picture with some guy in a costume, I simply can’t understand why people behave that way. I don’t get how people consider that place so special, and the “magic” seems lost on me.
This leaves Epcot, which has the least amount of Disney stuff in it out of the four parks. Ironically, despite the lack of Disney characters/movies, Epcot is the closest I’ve ever been to feeling some kind of “magic.” I was fed up with the people I was with, so I went for a walk around the park for 10-15 minutes (for those who know the park, I was in the area near Soarin and Nemo). And just being alone in that area was the most surreal experience I’ve ever had in a theme park. Epcot has this really modern atmosphere to it, with the high-tech looking buildings and the monorails running overhead, and that unique atmosphere really had an effect on me. Those 15 minutes by myself were so calming and felt so satisfying, even though I wasn't actually doing anything. I don’t really think that’s the “magic” that everyone refers to, but it’s the closest I’ve ever come to it.
Looking at the park complex as a whole, I just can’t overcome my cynicism in thinking that the whole of Disney World (at least in its modern form) seems like a massive scam. I think I’d be less hard on the parks if WDW didn’t advertise itself as “the happiest place on Earth” and the “place where dreams come true.” Other people may love the Disney characters and whatnot, but as far as I’m concerned those claims are a load of BS. With the exception of Epcot (which I consider a very cool and unique park), the parks are all mediocre, and seem to focus more on the pre-established characters and stories, and less on making quality rides. I can’t stand that it costs $90 a day to go to one of these parks. (Yes, I know that nobody at Disney pays gate price. But it still stands that a day at Disney costs $30 more than a day at Six Flags, and Six Flags has much more to offer to someone like me). I appreciate all the theming, and the parks are quality family parks I guess, but every time I see Disney rides and characters I feel like it’s a massive corporate scam to make people buy even more stuff. And at the end of all this, the most surreal and “magical” experience I had in my 5 days at WDW was at Epcot, the least Disney of the parks. The park that focused on being unique and interesting had a much larger effect on me than any of the Disney crap shoved down my throat at the other parks.
Anyway, I guess I might as well post my thoughts on this, given that I was in WDW about a month ago.
I'll start off by saying that I'm not really the kind of person that Disney caters to. I went to WDW when I was younger (8 or 9), and I remember having a very good time. However, at this point, I'm a coaster/thrill ride oriented teenager, and classic Disney characters/movies really weren't a major part of my childhood (The only classic Disney films I've seen are Jungle Book, Lion King, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty). So I wasn't particularly excited for Disney in the first place, and I honestly was right, at least to an extent.
So TL,DR: No, no magic here.
Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are pretty easy to knock out of the way. As far as I’m concerned, they’re both mediocre/decent parks glossed over by Disney theming. There’s definitely no magic there. I could go into much more detail about my opinions on the parks as a whole, but that would get off topic.
Magic Kingdom has the most Disney theming/rides in it compared to the other parks, and is most closely associated with the whole concept of “Disney Magic”. Because I don’t have any nostalgia or emotional connection to any Disney characters, this usually ends up being a downside for me. Where other people get to relive their childhood or see their favorite characters come to life, I just feel like I’m having things I don’t care for constantly shoved in my face. I just get constantly annoyed because I see people acting like MK is the greatest thing ever, whereas I just see it as a sub-par park. When I see crowds of people waiting for twenty minutes to get a picture with some guy in a costume, I simply can’t understand why people behave that way. I don’t get how people consider that place so special, and the “magic” seems lost on me.
This leaves Epcot, which has the least amount of Disney stuff in it out of the four parks. Ironically, despite the lack of Disney characters/movies, Epcot is the closest I’ve ever been to feeling some kind of “magic.” I was fed up with the people I was with, so I went for a walk around the park for 10-15 minutes (for those who know the park, I was in the area near Soarin and Nemo). And just being alone in that area was the most surreal experience I’ve ever had in a theme park. Epcot has this really modern atmosphere to it, with the high-tech looking buildings and the monorails running overhead, and that unique atmosphere really had an effect on me. Those 15 minutes by myself were so calming and felt so satisfying, even though I wasn't actually doing anything. I don’t really think that’s the “magic” that everyone refers to, but it’s the closest I’ve ever come to it.
Looking at the park complex as a whole, I just can’t overcome my cynicism in thinking that the whole of Disney World (at least in its modern form) seems like a massive scam. I think I’d be less hard on the parks if WDW didn’t advertise itself as “the happiest place on Earth” and the “place where dreams come true.” Other people may love the Disney characters and whatnot, but as far as I’m concerned those claims are a load of BS. With the exception of Epcot (which I consider a very cool and unique park), the parks are all mediocre, and seem to focus more on the pre-established characters and stories, and less on making quality rides. I can’t stand that it costs $90 a day to go to one of these parks. (Yes, I know that nobody at Disney pays gate price. But it still stands that a day at Disney costs $30 more than a day at Six Flags, and Six Flags has much more to offer to someone like me). I appreciate all the theming, and the parks are quality family parks I guess, but every time I see Disney rides and characters I feel like it’s a massive corporate scam to make people buy even more stuff. And at the end of all this, the most surreal and “magical” experience I had in my 5 days at WDW was at Epcot, the least Disney of the parks. The park that focused on being unique and interesting had a much larger effect on me than any of the Disney crap shoved down my throat at the other parks.