19 Nov, 2008
Four things I loved about Disney and one I didn’t: part two*
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Photography|travel talk
Our tour of Disney was so whirlwind-fast I hardly had time to form blisters on my feet. I love nothing more than to sit back and take things in (a common quality among us introspective types) and Disney is a good place to do that. I really do love the details and the creativity that goes into everything here. I can’t imagine how much planning went into these places. It is mind-boggling.
Take Animal Kingdom for example. For those of you who haven’t been, it’s part midway, part zoo, part shopping, and it’s chock-a-block full of things to do and see, big and small. And I mean small. If you’re looking down at the pavement under your feet you’ll notice it’s stamped with tiny leaves. The light fixtures at the Kilimanjaro Safari look authentic, as if they were ripped out of a shack somewhere on the Savannah. At Expedition Everest you never feel like you’re waiting in a line because the building which houses the queue has been designed to like a cross between a Yeti museum and an abandoned Tibetan mountaineering shop: wool mittens, signs, prayer flags, pottery … all this and more fills your eyeballs everywhere you turn.
And then there’s the Tree of Life, the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom.
It’s a 145 foot tall construction (which looks quite real from a distance) which depicts 400 different animals within its framework.
“A unique system of fabricating and assembling the branches was designed that brought the flexibility that was needed to bring this idea to life. There are 45 secondary branches that lead to 756 tertiary branches. With 7891 end branches, the entire structure is covered with 102,583 manmade leaves, each of which is more than a foot long.” (from here)
Some people probably think Disney goes overboard. Does there really need to be a gingerbread smell emanating from the floats during the Christmas parade? And fake snow? And the hot cocoa on every corner?
Does there really need to be a shop made entirely out of real gingerbread?
Or a three storey Mowgli and Baloo over looking the pool?
Or a salon where little girls get transformed into princesses?
That’s up to you to decide … ’cause Disney, when they do something, they do it big. And kids love it.
* FYI – I would like to point out that even though Disney foot the bill for my recent trip I was in no way obligated to post anything about it. These posts are entirely my own.
