Welcome to Our Show

While thinking of how to welcome you to this blog, my mind went to how Disney welcomes you into their parks. Designing Disneyland (and later the Florida Project) was a huge and obvious challenge for Walt Disney and his team at WED enterprises (later renamed Imagineering). One challenge was that they were now designing for the 3D world - where as before it was for animation and film. Based on their knowledge and skills, it comes as no surprise that WED (standing for Walter Elias Disney) brought aspects of film-making into their designs. The entrance to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is the perfect example of this.

The Magic Kingdom is considered a show. This show is performed for guests everyday with the assistance of cast members (not workers). So how does the Magic Kingdom welcome you to it's show? By rolling out the red carpet of course!
Just like a Hollywood premier, Disney rolls out the red carpet for its guests. Ok, so it's not really a red carpet, its pavement... but the red is what counts right?! Red carpets have been used as a sign of hospitality and for welcoming VIPs for hundreds of years.

After passing through the turnstiles, you will be standing right in front of the Walt Disney World Railroad. Notice anything? Or rather, do you not notice anything? When creating a movie, film-makers have ultimate control over what the audience sees. This power can allow for big reveals where the audience is shown something for the first time. So what don't you see? It's Cinderella Castle! At 189 feet tall, the castle is pretty hard to hide, but WED did a darn good job at it. Of course, you can see the castle from farther back, but once you enter the turnstiles, its almost impossible. Pretty good design of the train station huh? WED is setting you up for that ultimate reveal (which will take place later).

To enter the park, guests need to walk through breezeways which pass underneath the railroad station. Inside the breezeways, you'll notice posters hanging on the walls. These are the "coming soon" posters! Movie theaters all over the world have posters that showcase what is coming soon. These posters help to build anticipation of what movie the viewer might want to see next. Just like the theaters, the Magic Kingdom is advertising attractions that are "coming soon" (I put that in quotations, because the posters represent attractions that are already built, not ones that are currently being developed). A few of the posters you might see are for attractions such as: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Walt Disney World Railroad, Space Mountain, and (most recently) the Sunshine Tree Terrace. There are a few more, so go check them out when you get a chance! There are also posters that have been made, that do not appear here - you can view a lot of them online.

So Disney has rolled out the red carpet for you and told you about upcoming attractions, now its time to enter and view the "show". After you pass through the breezeway, you are transported into a turn of the century Main Street. You'll notice that you still can't see the caste... As you approach the center of town square, Exposition Hall (or the Confectionery depending on which way you enter) will give way for that big reveal:

Welcome to our show.