Part III - Four Days, Four Parks

[CONTINUED FROM PART II]

The thirty minutes from airport to hotel was nothing short of surreal. A singing bus driver, live gators stirring along roadside ponds, and my first glimpse of WDW. The bus deposited vacationers at the Disney-owned Caribbean Beach Resort and then Coronado Springs before delivering us to the All Star Resort. The diversity of both guests and cast members at the check-in counter added a refreshing international flavor to the scene as the French national smiled and handed us our room keys and park tickets.

Pixar's Bug's Life was playing behind us on the lobby big screen. We would come back to enjoy it later in the week, marking the start of my submersion into Disney animated films--both old and new. My wife, having visited the World prior, was thoroughly prepared to be my guide...and what a tour it would be. Four parks in four days with a couple late night excursions to the Downtown Disney Market Place where even the bushes were singing.

Day One: Disney's Hollywood Studios (back then called MGM Studios). First ever Disney ride--Tower of Terror. Will never forget it. Waiting in line at the park entrance before opening, we watched the soda fountain jerk happily wiping the glasses and preparing for the crowds. Then at the allotted hour, gates opened, and we ran to reach the Tower. First guests to arrive. In fact we had it all to ourselves. As the warm morning sun rose in the eastern sky, a thick waist-high misty fog clung to the walkway leading up to the entry. It was an effect I absolutely love in movies and something that was perfect for the entrance to the Twilight Zone, but this was no effect!. Even the natural elements were getting into the act, creating a dreamlike world as introduction to the Disney parks. The Tower ride was beyond belief. The elevator drop scared the crap out of me. I was terrified! But oh what fun!

A Park Hopper is a special ticket that allows you to visit more than just one park in a single day. We had 'em. So each late afternoon, Ti would pull me away (literally) from the park we were in to take a sneak peak at where we'd be going tomorrow. Around mid-afternoon, we headed over to the Animal Kingdom. I was not prepared for what we were about to experience. Notazoo!


Day Two: Disney's Animal Kingdom. DINOSAUR! Guests board vehicles called Time Rovers and are sent back in time to the late Cretaceous period. The mission? To rescue an iguanadon from extinction before the meteor hits that caused the dinosaur extinction. WOW! What a ride! I was like a kid again, mesmerized by the excitement and realism of all the audio-animatronics and the extraordinary effects.

Day Three: Epcot's Future World & World Showcase. The diversity of rides, performances and architecture is astonishing. It's near impossible to take it all in on a single day. The giant geodesic ball Spaceship Earth. Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Ellen's Energy Adventure. The world showcase Norway, Mexico, Japan, Morocco...

I particularly enjoyed the Living with the Land attraction--a relaxing boat ride that takes guests through a tropical rain forest, an African desert sandstorm, and a turn-of-the-century family farm. The ride also includes a demonstration greenhouse utilizing "futuristic" farming techniques including hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaculture.

Day Four: The Magic Kingdom. We were having so much fun, I'd completely forgotten how resistant I'd originally been towards this Disney vacation. And now the real enchantment was about to begin with Snow White's Scary Adventures.

[MORE IN PART IV]

Part II - Cobra at MCO

[CONTINUED FROM PART I]

So we flew out of Denver to Orlando via a connecting flight at Midway Airport and a one night stay in Chicago. Windy City weather proved exceeding uninviting that December of 2000--grey, snowy, bone-chilling cold--making the contrast with the next day's arrival at Orlando International Airport (MCO) all the more striking.

I'm usually fairly charged to be out on vacation so as the plane touched down, it was no surprise that my senses were suddenly perked. A heightened inner excitement was beginning to bubble up.

As I rode the people mover from concourse to terminal, then strolled out through automated doors to the awaiting Mears bus, I was most suddenly and unexpectedly swooped up in a transcendent wave of warmth, sunshine, palm trees, and public transportation. Even the ordinary somehow seemed extraordinary. Raised hairs vibrated upon the back of the neck as something long subdued was beginning to surface. Like some benevolent invisible cobra gliding upward over my upper vertebrae and then spilling into consciousness, I was feeling a euphoric epiphany of bliss.

I was happy--and surprised--by my escalating enthusiasm to actually experience Walt Disney World. But I had no clue as to what was in store, especially when it came to a ride called Snow White's Scary Adventures.

[MORE IN PART III].

Part I - The Rekindling of the Snow White Archetype

The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs speaks on a very real and archetypal level--particularly in the way Walt Disney presented it in the 1937 animation classic.

Snow White on VHS. Copyright 1994 Disney.

I have no memory of seeing the film as a child, and when it was finally introduced to me on VHS video as an adult, it had no effect. The year was 1994, and my future wife was facilitating the Snow White introductions. But I felt nothing from the movie except that the songs struck me as old, from an era long passed. In fact, sleep overtook me during large portions of the film, and I was simply glad to go to bed when it was finally finished.

Fast forward to the year 2000. Ti, my wife of five years has been trying to convince me to take a vacation with her to Walt Disney World in Orlando. She'd visited the park three times prior, but I had never been. A trip to Disney was not for me. I did, however, perk up at the thought of leaving behind the cold and snow of the Colorado Front Range for a bit of Florida sun, but my idea of a good time would have been to explore the Everglades and wander the Keys.

In the end, finances dictated. We couldn't afford a trip to both WDW and southern Florida. I agreed to Orlando for no other reason than to get it over and done with. Then when we took our next vacation, we could finally focus on a more interesting destination than Disney.

Boy was I in for a surprise.

[MORE IN PART II]

Authenticity and Accuracy

Truth should be the very breath of our life. Mohandas K. Gandhi







Walt Disney's Snow White character is the perfect embodiment of truth, beauty, kindness, and above all, innocence.

Cynicism is easy--especially in today's world. Accessible are the myriad nooks and crannies it offers from which to hide one's true self from society. I am not a cynic. And yet a life half-lived has imposed it's levy upon my temperament --and my temper. Not following the inner knowing of my heart has resulted in pretense and pain.

So it is with authenticity that I wish to start this blog. In a medium that is anything but private, I will strive to be as authentic as I can possibly stand and in a manner that would make Miss White proud. In so doing, I hope to record as accurately as possible the historical documentation of the phenomenon that was and still is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.