Behind the Magic - Part One© Josh Davidson

Over forty miles of family fun with rides, attractions, and shows. One of the most known theme resorts of the world. It can only be, Walt Disney World! It is the true place for which magic is told, and memories are born. But, what happens behind the magic? This is where we welcome you to the two part editorial on, “Behind the Magic!”We start back, before Walt Disney World time, in a place in California, called Disneyland. There, Walt Disney worked with his fellow workers ( imaginears ) on a major project, a project so big, it needed forty-five miles worth of land, and a perfect climate. One idea was to build near St. Louis, but a plane ride would change all that. Walt Disney took his private jet to look for new land, and found a great area, it’s location: Florida.Construction would begin in secret, keeping the public clue-less. But finally, one head line screamed it all, “We think its Disney!” screamed the headlines. Soon after that, a meeting would be headed in Florida with the state governor, Walt Disney, and selected imaginears. There he showed the plans to the world, televisions, radios, news castings, and more would say, “It’s not Disneyland, its Disneyworld!”Construction at the resort would be one of the most difficult projects in history of man-kind. When working on the Magic Kingdom, they had there work cut out for them, starting with the first floor of the park!A first floor? You heard us correct! Walt Disney World is two stories higher then sea level, for under Main Street U.S.A, and other areas in the park, there is underground corridors. Wonder why you never see a trash man taking the trash out of a trashcan, a Adventureland costume person walk on Main Street, reason is for they do this, but underground! The park was built over a huge underground complex. Disney did not dig tunnels under the Magic Kingdom. The corridors were built at ground level.Imagine seeing tubes all under the Magic Kingdom, sucking solids and liquids into a giant bowl, that is the trash at Walt Disney World. When you drop a trash, it gets sucked into tubes until reaching a giant bowl, holding all the trash!Lets take a few steps into the future, about twenty-eight years after the park has opened. The park closed it gates, the website went down, the lights went out, shops and hotels windows are boarded up, no visitor is allowed in the park.This was a dark moment for not just Walt Disney World, but the whole entire Orlando area. Hurricane Floyd was headed straight for there directions, and at category four. Only essential employees where asked to repot to work at the resort, crowds crowded the hotel lobbies and inside strong structures."Because the storm is so big and powerful and it truly is unpredictable, we are erring on the side of safety and making sure that everybody can be in a place of safety when the weather gets worse," Ledder said. It is the first time in Disney's 28-year history that it has been forced to close its parks. Like Disney, Universal has never shut down its theme parks for a full day in the nine years it has been operating in Florida and the Orlando International Airport also shut down for the first time in its history.For the first ten years of Walt Disney World, the voice heard throughout rides, attractions, shows, and the monorail was Disney’s own Jack Wagner!One of the true secrets at the resort is there way of traveling, it is, the monorail. The monorail was originally model after a cartoon in the late fifties, and it had some price tag. More then one hundred and forty five thousand dollars a mile, in seventies dollars!The monorail also was updated in the nineties, to a better version of track and cars. Bringing more comfort to park guests then ever before! Also, many do not know this, but then riding in a normal car, you can ride with the driver! This is one of the special secrets that are features at Walt Disney World. If you ask the driver politely, he or she might let you ride with him or her in the front car. The seats is shaped as a “U”, and features a special king of window. It is a great seat, and brings memories you will never forget. The monorails feature three ways of travel, wheels, eltro-magnets, and wire. If the train was to break down, wire will pull the train into the station for maintance.The voice on the monorail system says, in Spanish, "Por favor, mantenganse allejado de las puertas". Loosely translated it means "Please stand clear of doors", and comes after the English version.One rumor which takes us around to Universal Studios Hollywood which is now proven true, if you ever rode Jurassic Park the ride, you will see a boat like yours all ready attacks by the dinosaurs, but if you look closely, there is a pair of Mickey Mouse ears! This was proven too!Main street was inspired by Marceline, Missouri were Walt spent part of his time growing up. Also, you ever seen the red-carpet when you walk into the Magic Kingdom, that was Walt’s idea to make it feel that they are letting you walk on the red carpet as there special guest. Also, the fire station at the park is Fire station 71, but the 71 is only there for that is when the park opened!The famous Main Street actually narrows as it approaches Cinderella Castle. This is to create the illusion that the street is longer than it is and that the castle is farther away than it is.Many know that the lakes like Bay Lake, Seven Sea Lagoons, and the other lakes where man-made, with digging and added water. But did you know, Disney put real sea creatures as fish and jelly fishes in there lakes?On the Disney property, they have there own air strip for air planes. But, only Disney Air Plane drivers are allowed to fly on top of the Disney property and land in the air strip, not even Delta can fly over! But, only Disney Air Plane VIPs can fly out of the air strip!You know the famous Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom right? It was made really for Walt Disney to be his home! But sadly, he never got to live in it. His Kitchen is now the kitchen for the restaurant in the castle.Cast Members have the opportunity to purchase all the lost and found goods not collected after a certain period of the lost item not being claimed.You know on the character wall of fame, which features over two hundred cartoon characters from Disney, Donald Duck is not on it! Yes, Daisy Duck and there kids is on it! Also, Donald Duck is only at one out of all the character meals in the park!On Splash Mountain, you won’t experience a giant splash as you normally think you do, or maybe not for the ride was design for ever third boat to come down, a special spray will be launch of water to make it seem like the drop was bigger then ever before, but it does not mean it is a giant drop!The Haunted Mansion is the only attraction that is at all 4 Magic Kingdoms, but is in a different land in each park. On the Haunted Mansion and you enter the preview room before the ride, you may not notice but once the lights are dimmed, you can see where Master Gracey hanged himself. But, not many people notice it. Where leave the mansion in after this one more fact, in Walt Disney World, the roof moves up in the preview room, but at Disneyland, the floor moves down.If you stand right in front of Cinderella’s Castle at precisely noon and look at the highest spire the sun will reflect perfectly off the top spire and create a Tinkerbell shape. This is one thing which imaginears worked on while making the castle. Did you know that on Cinderella’s Castle, they used some real 24-karot gold?Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is based from the thunder mountains in Arizona. Also, if you ever in the cave on the ride, look closely, imaginears placed Goofy in there.At Walt Disney World, the only time you will here a announcement on the loud speaker if someone died, someone is taken to the hospital, a show is about to begin, or if the park is closing. They will not announce a missing child, missing friend, or anything like that.In the holidays, over 12,000 Christmas trees are placed in the resort, including the two fifty foot tall trees in front of Cinderella’s Castle.There was a rumor that a portion of the land that Disney bought for Walt Disney World was used during War World II by the US Navy to test new bombs. There is also a sundial in the Team Disney Building!Like to hear more of behind this magic of Walt Disney World? Well you got to wait until next week, here at COASTER-Net.com!