Disney cast perform a daily show at the Magic Kingdom, in front of Cinderella’s Palace
They say Dubai, the Middle Eastern playground, is Disney World for adults, so perhaps that makes Disney World — in Florida’s Orlando — Dubai for children. And at 39 square miles, covering an area almost twice the landmass of New York’s Manhattan Island, there’s plenty of room to play in.
Our visit coincided with a wintry blast across North America, but despite the frost and the low season, with American children firmly planted back in school, even during weekdays, attractions heaved with crowds. That’s because, as I learned, Disney World is not the exclusive preserve of the young, but, perhaps, the young of heart.
The average stay for families is bet-ween 10 days and two weeks, but with only three days to spare, our itinerary was jam-packed. The flagship park of Disney’s five locations around the world (a sixth, Shanghai Disneyland, is under construction) has the most on offer, with four different amusement parks, and two water parks, connected by a city-scale public transport network consisting chiefly of buses.
Disney World became the second Disney park to open in 1971, after Los Angeles’ much smaller Disney Land opened in 1955. There are also locations in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong, reflecting the popularity of the brand in Asia.
FUN AND GAMES: The Expedition Everest roller coaster on an uphill climb
Our first stop was to the iconic Magic Kingdom, home to the fairytale castle depicted in the Disney emblem, parades featuring the major Disney characters and “Main Street, USA”. This street is a throwback to the turn-of-the-century Missouri town Marceline where the eponymous Disney emperor Walt Disney grew up.
The Magic Kingdom was Disney’s initial blueprint for Disney World, but he died as it was being built, three years before it opened.
We met two Disney “imagineers”, charged with design and creation across Disney enterprises, for an insider’s tour of the latest expansion, New Fantasy Land.
The new attractions are based on Disney classics from the ‘30s to the ‘90s, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo; the uncompleted ride will feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
One of the better character interactions here is with Beauty and the Beast starlet Belle. Visitors are led into the workshop of Belle’s father, inventor Maurice. A mirror in the workshop mysteriously grows before a retractable wall opens, leaving a space for visitors to walk through, where they arrive in the castle in time to surprise Belle.
THE BIG DRAW Disney World is supposed to be the most visited attraction in the world, with attendance of 52.5 million annually LIVING LEGACY After his brother’s death in 1966, before the completion of the park, Roy O Disney added the name ‘Walt’ to the resort’s title, as a permanent tribute to the business mogul FACTFILE How to get there: Those looking to leave from the UAE can contact a range of travel agents in the country who can make arrangements, or use the Disney website for more information. Check disneyworld.disney.go.com. We were ably flown direct to Atlanta from Dubai by Delta Airlines, before being taken on to Orlando, but Emirates Airlines also have frequent flights. Visa requirements vary from nationality to nationality, though some will qualify for the easy-to-use, electronic visa waiver programme. AFRICAN TOUCH Rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge include hand-carved headboards and tribal-print bedspreads, and come with Wildlife Field Guides that help identify over 30 species of African wildlife A WHOLE NEW WORLD: (clockwise from top right) The ‘Beast’s Palace’ — a lunch and dinner restaurant, themed on the Disney fairytale; wild game, such as elephants and rhinos, can be seen during the Animal safari at the Animal Kingdom Park in Disney World; Belle meets children who are dressed up as various characters from Beauty and the Beast, during a retelling of the fairytale; the new Dumbo ride |
Children enact various characters in a retelling of the fairytale, which is great audience involvement, but it is the technology that is perhaps most impressive. Using ‘audio-animatatronics’, several characters appear almost identical to how they do on screen, including the matronly teapot Mrs Potts and French candlestick Lumiere.
Outside the 12-minute attraction, the longest character interaction in Disney’s history is the Beast’s castle, the setting of an atmospheric restaurant with various relics from the movie. Dining there can be difficult though, with guests lining up from 10am to get in time for lunch, while the reservation-only dinner service is booked months into the future. And that is not a patch on the restaurant inside Cinderella’s castle, which is booked up nine months in advance.
Hollywood Studios is a separate park, home to the more thrilling rides. Among these are a roller coaster which loops upside down and the eerie Tower of Terror, during which guests enter the lift of a ritzy 1930s Hollywood Hotel, which enters freefall. Hollywood Studios also includes an attraction which may reflect the future of the parks; based on Toy Story, visitors are projec-ted, toy-size, inside the room of the movie’s deus ex machina eight-year-old Andy, and move around it in buggies, shooting 3D objects along the way in the hopes of getting a top score.
The third park, Epcot (an anagram of Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow), is far from the vis-ion of a viable community Disney originally dreamed of, but is an interesting — if corporate — look at how technology is shaping the world. It has several rides, including Test Track, a ride in which guests first customise their cars on computers before ‘trialing’ their inventions during an actual ride around the track.
Nowhere is the authenticity of the ‘theme’-ing more evident than at the final park, Animal Kingdom. A “safari” sets off from the surrounds of a dusty African township, and while the sedate drive through the different animal zones is peppered with naff commentary, there is a wide array of animals rarely seen outside of Africa. There are also amusement park rides here, including a personal favourite, the Expedition Everest Roller Coaster: the fast-paced ride moves both backwards and forwar-ds, and concludes with a close encounter with a Yeti.
The food and accommodation were a mixed bag. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is surrounded by game including giraffes, zebras and antelopes — who mill around in the sedate fashion of tamed animals. The kitsch rooms, decked out in safari theme, are in need of updating and lack the luxury touches to which UAE guests may be accustomed. However, there are several options for those looking for a more luxurious stay, including resorts and deluxe villas.
The major drawback of the parks is their popularity. Admittedly, growing up in the wide open spaces of New Zealand, I do not endure crowds well at the best of times, but the non-stop stream of humanity is something to contend with. Despite the park’s best efforts, it is hard to ignore 249,999 other people (Disneyworld’s average visitors hit 250,000 a day). Ego aside, wait times can stretch up to 90 minutes for rides that will last a matter of minutes. The park has adopted a system of “fast passes” to counter this, and while these passes provide visitors access to a fast-tracked line for no extra charge, visitors can get only three per day.
But the drawbacks are not putting off tourists from the Middle East, with more and more flocking to Disney attra-ctions. And it’s easy to see the mainstream appeal of the ‘happiest place on earth’. There really are fewer destinations in the world that do safe, family fun on such a scale as Disney. amanda@khaleejtimes.com
OUT AT SEA : Happy Floats
The Disney cruises have integrated traditional liner comforts — for adults — along with boisterous fun — for the kids
In 1998, Disney expanded its vast empire into the cruise ship industry, a form of holiday rarely considered a family option. But you must hand it to the development team, as it works decidedly well. With a wave of a magic wand, the associated stress of organising family holidays flies out the porthole.
There are now a host of options to choose from on board one of Disney’s four ships, including cruises to Alaska and trans-Atlantic, but the two most popular choices for Middle Eastern visitors — who are the third most common on board after Americans and Brits — are a Mediterranean excursion leaving from Spain and, the option we tested out, from Florida to the Bahamas. Disney boats have the added fun of being the only cruise ships to have broken with the international sea standard of a completely white exterior, with an exemption that allows them to be adorned in Mickey Mouse yellow, red and black.
For many, this route is kicked off with a few days in the four amusement parks and two water parks at Florida’s Disneyworld.
The four-day, three-night excursion on board the ‘Disney Magic’, was my first cruise ship experience, and it was easy to fall under the spell. Once on board you need worry about little more than getting yourself dressed in the morning.
With a gym, spa, hair-dresser, teeth-whitener, health seminars, fitness sessions, range of restaurants (offering halal food), 3D movie theatre, performance theatre, array of pools, waterslides and specialised areas for different age groups, the ship is more floating five-star hotel than marine vessel. On the sidelines are a steady stream of scavenger hunts, workshops, music contests, and even Bingo with a $10,000 jackpot.
The first surprise for me on the 300-metre ship, which houses 2,700 guests with a crew of over 1,000, was the quality and appointment of the rooms. Necessarily small, as expected, space has been optimised through desi-gn and includes separate bathroom and shower, plasma screen TV, desk, wardrobes, drawers, couch, and, for those in an ocean-facing room, a spacious veranda with table and chairs.
A photo of Disney’s eponymous creator Walt with his wife on a ship deck presides over all rooms, while a turndown service deposits chocolates and different towel-animals each night.
There are also a host of luxury suites for those looking for added comfort, as well as concierge services. Not that there was much time to enjoy the rooms. The first day was spent mostly docked at Orlando’s Port Canaveral, before a sail away party at 5pm signalled the journey’s ignition. Life is joyous at sea with its fresh air, clear skies and bright stars.
On the first night, an alternate Cinderella theatrical production, replete with impressive pyrotechnics, demonstrated the versatility of the ship’s double-level stage. After the performance, we dined at the signature restaurant on board, Palo — Italian for ‘pole’ — themed on Venice and the poles found on the water city’s gondolas.
On the second day, we awoke as the ship docked in the Bahamian capital Nassau, a tired destination whose glory days are long gone. A one-time favourite of the American elite to work a year-round tan, it is largely run down while the places that are well-maintained are of the resort and shopping complex variety. A major attraction in Nassau is the original Atlantis, a bigger version of the Dubai hotel, which Dubai’s was modelled on, but life on the ship, which provides enough of its own entertainment, was preferable for this reviewer.
The second evening heralded a pir-ate party, something taken surprisingly seriously by a host of (chiefly adult) costumers who could have been mistaken for the real deal. Fireworks and a party on the top deck capped off the evening, as the ship set sail for Disney’s own private Bahamas island, Castaway Cay.
SPLASHING OUT Disney reportedly spent US$25 million to develop the Castaway Cay island as an exclusive port for their cruise ships |
Disney has dotted the island with souvenir shops, though most people spent the day snorkelling, cycling, swimming, relaxing or frolicking on waterslides built in the sea.
Like several areas in the ship, there is also an adult’s only beach called — not too blatantly — Serenity Bay. The Disney media team that accompanied us were quick to point out the cruise ships appeal to adults without children too — or even adults who just want time away from kids, who make full use of the range of children’s services. The kids get this privilege too, with adults barred from the children’s areas outside of pick-up and drop-off.
While families were happily splashing at the beach, I seized the opportunity to head back to the ship to make use of some of the more popular attra-ctions. That included the popular Aqua Lab, yes, aimed at children. A series of buckets, wheels, fountains and engines blowing mist is an enviable spot for kids to lark, capped off with a water slide. This slide could not compete with the Aquadunk, located in a separate family area where a rather small pool and jacuzzi sit in front of a big screen that projects Disney classics throughout the day. The Aquadunk is an all-business short and sharp six-second slide, which starts with riders positioned inside a plastic capsule until the floor gives way, sending them into freefall before spitting them out the other end.
Inevitably, the trip comes to an end, leaving only grains of sand, an artillery of souvenirs, and a delightful array of bathroom lotions and gels to take home from the trip.
Despite the conveniences of onboard dining and (largely) free entertainment, the hidden costs of the trip can mount up, with speciality drinks, and movie and theatre snacks drawing extra char-ges. Costs of using the spa services can climb as high as almost $500 for a couple’s treatment, while the general marketing of merchandise and photographs encourage guests to part with their loose change. Internet usage also costs an alarming 75 cents per minute, due to the satellite technology required for Internet at sea. However, this can be forgiven as the cost of a three-night cruise for a family of four gets as low as $1,654 this month, this generally considered low-season.