Many of the people I know think that Disney has nothing more to offer than some kiddy rides, a giant mouse, and sore feet, that is until they tour Disney with me. I love Walt Disney Word because it brings back good memories of my childhood; the excitement of getting Mickey's autograph, my first rollercoster, and seeing my favorite princess are memories that I don't want to let go. As an adult Disney has become a different place for me. I get to relive those moments by watching children star struck when they get to meet their favorite character for the first time or listening to a tired parent explain to their child that the ghosts in the haunted mansion aren't real. After years of visiting the 'Happiest Place on Earth' I have come to find a whole new park and all I had to do was slow down and smell the roses. After all Disney is in the details.

My suggestion is to get to the park early. This is something that I never did as a kid. Standing outside of the park, but just inside the front gate looking up at the Train Station the days activities began. We were welcomed by people singing and dancing and finally the train pulled up full of all of the Disney characters including Alice, Mickey, and Daisy. There is no better way to start the day. Once the gates open and the families ran into the park I detoured off into Adventureland with my grandparents in tow. At this point most people were running off to get on the rides in Fantsayland, but we walked around collecting fastpasses for our favorite rides that we were going to hit later at night when they turn up the speed. About a 1/2 hour into park opening was when we went to Fantasayland. All of the popular rides had long lines with people who were trying to get there early, but instead we went a different route and saw some of the less popular ones like Mickey's Phlharmagic, which we just walked into with no wait. This was a really cute show that entertained guests with antics by Goofy prior to the show starting when everyone was filling in the seats. The show brings together some of the classic movies and characters in a Fantasia-like show. It was much better then I anticipated. After leaving we hit the popular Fantsayland rides with very little wait time.

In between rides my grandparents and I filled our time taking pictures. Again Disney is in the details and some of the amazing spots in the park are ignored by guests running to get in line. There are stocks, sleds, amazing bushes, and other beautiful spots in the park that we went to and had a blast taking our pictures in/by. We even snuck in a few pictures with some of the characters. It still amazes me how a 74 year-old man can get so excited to get his picture with Goofy.
Splash mountain is a great place to people watch. As the rafts come over the mountain and crash down water splashes everywhere. Here's a hint: every third boat water will splash onto the sidewalk where guests are walking and watching the boats go down. Most people don't know this and end up soaked and never were on the ride.
Main Street was someplace that I never spent any time when I was younger; it was nothing more then a useless space between me and the rollercosters. Today I see it differently. Main Street is a throw back to small town America of days gone by. My favorite souvenir was found here: pressed coins. Although the machines can be found throughout the park on Main Street is the largest population of them and for $.51 it's a great way to remember the park and a really inexpensive collection to start and maintain.

The parade is wonderful. Kids get to see their favorite characters and adults can watch as the parade relives the life of Walt Disney and shows that progression of some of his most popular films. In between each float artists on bikes ride around pretending to paint pictures of famous characters. The best float is Mickey's "It was all started by a mouse" float, where modern Mickey waves to people along the parade route and Mickey's of the past (including steam boat Willie) line the float. The back the Mickey from Fantasia bringing to life dancing brooms that follow the float. It's a very clever parade.
The most rewarding experience of the day is the fireworks. Line up early (I suggest getting a coffee and a snack and sitting down in front of the castle at least an hour in advance. The fireworks are set to music and with the castle in the foreground it left me in awe. It's an unforgettable experience.

The Haunted Mansion - one of my favorite attractions at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. I think it is a great attraction for the whole family but I would refrain from taking the real little ones who may scare easily. I have been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida twice now. In both occasions, I have been to the Haunted Mansion attraction. When you first approach the mansion, you make your way through the line outside which can get hot if you in the uncovered part for any length of time. One recommendation for you is if the park is really busy, I suggest using the FASSPASS METHOD. This is where you would scan your park pass and you would receive another little card with a time on it. This is the time when you can come back to the attraction and not have to wait in line. This is an awesome deal so you do not have to wait in line with your impatient family. (I know from experience.)

After you enter the haunted mansion, you will be escorted into one of two rooms. There, you will here a short story about the Haunted Mansion and another door will open where you will get into a small line to board the ride. The ride is one that is constantly moving so you will not have to wait long in this line. Once you board the ride it will take you through the whole Haunted Mansion. You will get to see ghosts dancing in the ballroom, and toward the end of the ride you will be able to look into a mirror and see a ghost sitting with you in your car!

The ride is about 5 - 10 minutes long, and like I said before, it is well worth the wait. Be sure to take advantage of the FASTPASS at all popular Walt Disney World attractions, to ensure a great time for your whole family. Enjoy your trip, I know I have in the past and for many years to come!

Fantasyland: This part of the park fills up later in the day. I suggest going here early. I was there in the early part of the afternoon and there was no room to walk.

It’s a Small World: This is a classic that no one can miss. It has also been updated. The ride now looks more like the one in Disneyland. Also they no longer sing It’s a Small World over and over. Instead they just play the music. For those who haven’t been on the ride the line moves pretty fast. You get onto a boat and travel though many countries of happy singing children. My favorite part is that before you enter the ride you can see windows where people are dining at Pinocchio Village Haus.

Snow White’s Scary Adventure: This is a cute little ride that takes you though the story of Snow White. The line moves pretty quickly. For adults it’s boring, kids love it, but if your child is really young you might want to avoid it. It gets really dark inside and I saw several small children come off crying because the queen scared them. Again this is a judgment call based on your child.

Tomorrowland: Space Mountain: This is an indoor rollercoaster. It’s a fun ride, but the lines are long and there is very little done to hide the length. I’ve heard that the best seat is in the front, but I’ve always ended up in the back.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority: This is a wonderful ride. It’s a very relaxing ride around tomorrowland. My favorite part of the ride is that it takes you through other rides, such as Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, so you can watch the fun that other people are having without them even knowing it!

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: This ride is great! It’s like being in an arcade game. The ride takes you through the world of Buzz Lightyear. You get your own car where you have to fight aliens. You can swerve your car around and point your laser at the marks. The more marks you hit the higher your score.

Spectro Light Parade- This is the new version of the Magical Light Parade, however, I don’t think it is as good. There use a lot of "B-list" Disney characters and weird clowns that kind of freaked me out. If you have kids get to the parade route early.

The hours that the Magic Kingdom opens can be found on their website. Make sure you get there early because the least busy times of the day are the morning and night. When you are traveling during the week after Christmas expect an extremely crowded park. Most times the parks will be at capacity by noon and people will start being shuttled to other parks.

Main Street USA: I’ve never visited Disney at Christmas time before, but I’m happy that I did. Being from Pennsylvania, who moved to California and went to Florida to see my grandparents, I was missing the snow, but Disney leaves no touch out. Main Street was decorated with all of the Christmas decorations that you could want along with a Christmas tree. On the way out of the park guests were surprised to see it snowing! Disney had brought in machines that made foam-like snowflakes. It was nothing less than magical and put a smile on three very tired people faces. Main Street is the home of city hall where you can get guest information, find the lost and found, and field any complaints that you may have had (and at this time of the year there were many). Rides broke, lines weren’t moving and no one bothered to tell us that rides/registers were shut down, lights went out, food was horrible, orders messed up…you name it and it happened. There are also a lot of great shops along through here as well.

Adventureland: Swiss Family Tree house: This is a walk though attraction. You can walk through the tree house and see how the Robinson’s lived. It is interesting, but if the park is busy I suggest that you skip it and do other things.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: This is a Dumbo like ride where you can fly around on a magic carpet.

The Jungle Cruise- This is a fun cruise down a jungle river. You can see many electronic animals along the way. If you have already been to Animal Kingdom this ride might sound boring; however, it is the cast drivers who make it great. They tell jokes and really help you get into the adventure.

Pirates of the Caribbean- I have always loved this ride. The line is a great way to get out of the sun, because it is all inside and has a themed line (the line is decorated to get you in the mood for the ride). Recently they have updated the ride to include Jack Sparrow. The ride takes you though pirate infested waters and though towns that have been taken over by pirates.

Aloha Isle- This has become my favorite place to get a snack. They offer pineapple floats, which is pineapple ice cream on pineapple juice. It might sound strange, but it is delicious.

The Magic Kingdom was the first park we visited at Disney World, and I have to say that it is my favorite! From the first moment we walked down Main Street and saw Cinderella's Castle, I was grinning like a kid, and I felt like a kid again. We had so much fun! We got there when they opened at 9am, so we got to see the opening ceremony, which is wonderful! When you are walking down Main Street, the workers are out waving to you as you go by. We got to do so many rides, most of them more than once. It was so much fun! My favorite at this park is "Mickey's Philharmagic". It is a 3-D show, and it is just wonderful! We also went to Mickey's house in Toontown. We got there at 10am when they drop the rope, and we got to watch Mickey give a lucky little girl a tour of his house. Then we got to go back and meet him! Here is a list of the rides we got to do:

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan's Flight
Snow White's Scary Adventures
It's a Small World
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party—do it before you eat
Cinderella's Carousel
Dumbo
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—fun!
Splash Mountain—you will get wet!
Pirates of the Caribbean—they've added Captain Jack Sparrow!
Tom Sawyer Island—a fun place for kids to run around and explore
Swiss Family Treehouse—we did this at night and it had a nice view at the top
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin—you get to collect points and you get a rating when you are done
Tomorrowland Transit Authority—we also did this at night, and it was very nice

The best tip I can give anyone is to use the Fastpass system! You can find out more information about it from Disney!

At night, they had the Spectromagic Parade. We highly recommend this! We watched it from Liberty Square, and it was wonderful! All of the floats and characters are covered in lights! It's not like any other parade you've ever seen. We also watched the fireworks called "Wishes". We watched them from the rose garden. Before they start, you get to see Tinkerbell fly down from the top of the castle. These fireworks are awesome! If there is one thing Disney knows how to do, it is fireworks!

We loved this park so much! I highly recommend that anyone go, especially if you have children. If you are an adult, you get to become a child again!