Ever been on a bus or a similar crowded situation with “wound-up” young persons when singing (and other such expressions of high spirits) breaks out and at some point, there is a raucous announcement of what is to come, namely : “Second verse! Same as the first! A little bit LOUDER and a little bit WORSE!”…? Well, here’s verse #2 of “The Magic Kingdom Come”.
One of the things (actually, there were lots of them) that tickled my fancy about the features at Disney was the number of sponsors for individual–but related–installations. For instance, Chevy sponsoring Test Track racing and car design (and the speed ride too, of course; it was cool), Camp Get Out ‘N’ Play Sponsored by OFF (You know, the bug spray people,) Blossoms of Fragrance sponsored by Scentsy, PB&J Garden sponsored by (Guess who.) Smucker’s “Uncrustables” English Tea Gardens presented by Twinings. The topiaries (trimmed/trained/shaped shrubs & trees in ornamental/unusual shapes) were congruent with the country pavilions they were near to, (ex. Dragons @ Japan, pandas @ China, geese @ Canada). And absolutely NO attraction (s) without an adjacent food offering and/or gift shop. The National Honey Board got in their licks, so to speak, at the Honey Bee-stro where one could get Chicken and Waffles, Honey-glazed Cauliflower, Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze, Bee’s Squeeze Blonde Ale, Orange Blossom Honey Wine, Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze, Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake. Get the picture?
The variety of “adult beverages” was amazing and widespread at every venue, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, the whole works. And the names! Wicked Weed Brewing Mango Wowie Hazy IPA with Mango, Beignet Caramelise, Fourre Creme Vanille, Glace au Caramel Fleur de Sel, Woodchuck Imperial Sippin’ Citrus Hard Cider (from Middlebury, Vermont, yet). Not your standard beverage shop shelfage. There were a million of ‘em. And don’t pass up the Dole Whip–tasty! and refreshing.
There was a Festival Passport booklet detailing the locations of all, or most all the foods available at the Epcot International Flower Garden Festival, plus available merchandise, tours, concerts, etc. Many eating establishments offered plant-based meat alternatives on their menu selections, even an allergy-friendly option listing was available online. The floating flower gardens were interesting too–attracted birds a-plenty.
I did go on rides, just not ones that offered to drop me from a height of more than ten feet, which sort of cut back on the selection, but, oh well. That meant that the Tower of Terror was out, Safari Ride was fine, Small World was okay (but you wind up humming the song for the rest of the day… “It’s a Small World After All, It’s a Small World After All, It’s a Small World After All, It’s a Small, Small World.” Catchy, eh?). The one with the Avatar Banshees was way cool but I missed a bunch of it because my eyes were closed whenever we were swooped into those perilous canyons and impossible heights. That was just about the first of the rides that I remember (They all sort of blended at some point; I’m no connoisseur of thrill rides, that’s for sure) but virtually all of them caused me to appreciate the imagination, ingenuity and sheer engineering virtuosity that goes into that stuff. Just figuring out the buildings themselves must have been beyond challenging. And who designed the lines–of which there were many–so that it looked like you were making progress even as you waited forever and then some. The sound designs, the graphic surprises, just the vessels that the crowds floated past in, the lighting! Amazing, all of it.
Somebody ought to tip off Gov. DeSantis of Florida that if this is his favorite bad word– “woke”—then maybe he should wake up the rest of Florida. Everything there was pretty upbeat and working to make it ”The Happiest Place On Earth.” Aaaand the bus ride. Verse 3 next.
