Disney World

Magic Kingdom - Part One

On Sunday we were welcomed to Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom with songs and dance from Disney's Main Street Singers. Judy and I love it that here are so many wonderful shows going on at each park.



The Castle is a great structure. Made of bricks and mortar - not so! It is actually constructed of fiberglass. The Disney construction folks do an amazing job.





Our first stop was the Hall of Presidents, an attraction in Liberty Square. It is a multi-media presentation featuring audio-animatronic figures of all 44 U.S. Presidents. It opened on October 1, 1971 with the rest of the Magic Kingdom. President Obama is the primary narrator.

I think it is interesting that Walt Disney wanted to exhibit Lincoln in his animatronic glory at the New York World Fair in 1964. Lincoln was controlled by a series of tubes carrying hydraulic fluid. Seems that the fluid was red and a problem occurred during his initial performance for the VIP's. The hydraulic fluid leaked and appeared as a massive red stain on his shirt and then he collapsed! Many thought this was a inappropriate reenactment of the assasination, when, of course, it was not. The Disney folks changed quickly to clear hydraulic fluid. I can imagine the horrified look on Walt Disney's face when that incident happened.

Around every bend are familiar Disney characters from our childhoods. It is such a joy to see kids and their families experiencing the magic of Disney.

Judy and I watched the show in front of The Pirates of The Caribbean. The reenactor looked so much like Johnny Depp. We rode the boat through the pirate adventure. I do not know what we did, but as we left the ride, we noticed that it was closed for repairs!

Pirates of the Caribbean features a 14-foot drop over a waterfall into pirate caves. The boat then floats through a town where pirates are pillaging and Captain Jack Sparrow is hiding.



We saw the Bear Country Jamboree which is a musical revue performed by a jolly band of backwoods bears in Grizzly Hall theater in Fontierland. This was OK, but it is obvious that it is one ofto Disney's early animatronic shows.

We were off tto the Enchanted Tiki Room. The Enchanted Tiki Room - a Polynesian musical revue starring singing birds, flowers and tiki idols, performed inside the Sunshine Pavilion in the Adventureland area.

It is so much fun to see what is around the next corner in the Magic Kingdom.



Judy and I encountered a fantastic group of saxophonists playing in front of Sir Mickey's.

We rode the Jungle Cruise, a 1930s-style safari boat through the world's most exotic, untamed rivers. Wild animals and zany goings-on in Asia, Africa and South America on this charming riverboat classic.

One of our favorite attractions was The Haunted Mansion. We boarded the Doom Buggy and rode through this ominous haunted house where a supernatural Ghost Host introduces you to his closest 999 dearly departed friends. We had to watch out for harrowing hitchhikers!



I love a graveyard that has a pet cemetary section of strange beasts. There was even a crypt conaining my reptilian friends - the snakes!

Tomorrow - More Magic Kingdom.