#41-50 of Our Top 50 Reasons We Love Disney
Four our 50th episode of The Mouse and Men Podcast, Chris and I decided to list our top 50 reasons we love Disney, Disney World, and all things relating to the Mouse. Today, we’ll cover ten of those reasons - reasons 41-50. We’ll count down until we’ve listed all 50.
50. Disney brings people together - Family vacations, family movie nights, fan clubs, sporting events, the list goes on. Disney brings people together whether it’s for a cheerleading competition, a summer vacation, or a whole host of other reasons. One of the reasons Chris and I became such close friends was our shared love of Disney World.
49. Doritos - Did you know Doritos started in Disneyland? When they didn’t know what to do with yesterday’s tortilla chips, they decided to sprinkle them with some “Pixie Dust,” and Doritos were born! Thank you, Disneyland Cast Members!
48. La Cantina de San Angel - Sticking with food, one of Chris’ favorites is La Cantina in the Mexico Pavilion at EPCOT. It started with trips to Disney World with his girlfriend’s family, continued when they got married, and still today Chris takes his family there when they visit EPCOT.
47. Cast Members Creating Magic - Walt Disney once said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” The beauty of that statement is that nearly 70 years after Disneyland opened, it still rings true. Cast Members want to create magic for guests, and they do create magic!
46. Artists in the Parks - Hollywood Studios used to be a working studio complete with animators working in an area on the Backlot Tour. Chris was mesmerized when he first saw the artists drawing in the parks. Now there is a spot in Animal Kingdom where artists can teach you to draw one of your favorite Disney characters as a free souvenir to take home.
45. Forced Perspective - When I first learned about forced perspective, I was hooked. Each story on the buildings gets shorter as it goes up. Paint colors change slightly to make the buildings appear taller and further away. Or in the case of the American Adventure pavilion in EPCOT, each story is actually taller so that it still looks impressive from all the way across the park. The visual effects that Disney employs really creates some magic.
Cinderella’s Castle is one of the more famous examples of forced perspective
44. Visuals - some buildings are painted green or blue to blend in with trees or the sky. Some buildings are painted to blend in with other areas of the park. In the case of the Tower of Terror attraction, it is painted the same color as the Morocco Pavilion so that when you are in EPCOT, it blends into the background.
43. Backstory - Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, in the Disney Parks has a backstory. Everything has a reason, and everything has a history. It all has a purpose, and it all blends together. From an abandoned mining town for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to exploring Andy’s back yard in Toy Story Land, there is a backstory for every attraction and land.
42. Imagineers - What a cool job it would be to create the idea for an attraction and then design and build it! To create the backstories and create something that will be someone’s favorite attraction would be an amazing job.
41. Edutainment - Walt Disney didn’t believe that learning had to be boring. A master storyteller found ways to creatively tell stories that educate. Walt loved to tinker and learn about new technologies, and then apply those ideas into his work. Disney World has been infused with so much edutainment, you hardly even realize all that you are learning while you are there!
Those are the first ten things we love about Disney. Stay tuned as we count down all the way to number 1 - though in no real particular order.