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Is it real or is it Disney?
Is there a difference?
by Renee Wright
[originally published in Square Dancing Today]
When
Aladdin sings "I can show you the world"
to his Princess, he sums up in a single phrase the philosophy
behind one of the world's largest corporations.
When you are within one of the
Disney themeparks, reality and fantasy mix and mingle.
To generations raised on movies
and TV, visiting Mickey's House in ToonTown or the
set of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" seems more
real, and just as exciting, as exploring a large city or foreign
country.
Walt Disney, and the army
of "Imagineers" he recruited and trained, envision a world,
even a universe, where our only limitations are the ones we impose
upon ourselves.
In all, the message you come
away with from the dozen or so Disney parks spread around the
world is a positive one: If you can dream it, you can make
it come true.
Disney himself certainly did.
The original Disneyland
in California grew from an extended set for Walt's model train
into a global entertainment industry and a household word.
The cartoons created by Disney's
pen - Mickey and Goofy and Snow White and
Sleeping Beauty - have become recognizable to people everywhere,
America's best-known ambassadors.
continued...
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What's New in 2005
The Happiest Celebration
on Earth Kicks off May 5, 2005
Julie Andrews,
legendary Broadway and film star and title character of the
1964 Disney classic "Mary Poppins," serves as
Honorary Ambassador of 18-month-long "Happiest Celebration
on Earth," the worldwide event commemorating Disneyland's
50th birthday. (Photo: Scott Brinegar/Disney© 2004. THE WALT
DISNEY COMPANY)
"MAGIC YOUR WAY" TICKETING
A 14-foot-tall replica of Cinderella
Castle -- made entirely of Disney theme park tickets --
symbolized Walt Disney World Resort's innovative new year-round
ticket plan called "Magic Your Way," allowing guests
to totally customize their Disney visits. Using 162,000 tickets,
the month-long project of master builder Brian Berg achieved
a Guinness World Record as the "world's largest
card structure." The card castle came crumbling down as did
theme park tickets (as low as $29 a day for a seven-day stay),
starting Jan. 2, 2005. (Photo: Gene Duncan/Disney© 2004. THE
WALT DISNEY COMPANY)
Disney
Cruise Line launches its first-ever West Coast itinerary
out of the port of Los Angeles aboard the Disney Magic to the
Mexican Riviera during "The Happiest Celebration on Earth."
(Photo © 2004. THE
WALT DISNEY COMPANY)
A lifetime of vacations could
not take you to every corner of the World of Mouse. Browse
the Disney websites, accessed through Disney
Online, for a virtual tour of the possibilities.
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