My Dreams of Disney

Exploring Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond!

Missing the Magic Series: Wishes

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Wishes
Image ©Disney

May 11, 2017 was the last time that Wishes was seen at the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World. Removed so that the Happily Ever After Fireworks show could be presented, the closing of Wishes was hard for many Disney fans to take. In the last week or so, I’ve been hit with the nostalgia bug while walking our dog River, and we’ve been listening to our music for Wishes in the morning. That reminiscing is what led to the idea of writing about the things that we are missing at Walt Disney World. We’re calling this series “Missing the Magic”.

For the longest time, I was not a fan of fireworks of any sort. Wishes, Illuminations, your local 4th of July fireworks, the fireworks at the State Fair in Raleigh, NC, I wasn’t having it for any of them. But then, one day my wife Cindy suggested that Sophie and I get earplugs for when the fireworks were going on, and a love for the fireworks was born.

I have a lot of great memories of Wishes from over the years. Sadly, though, my fireworks picture taking skills are limited, so I have very few good pictures. One of my favorite experiences, though was the day that we saw and heard Wishes while having dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table!

Are you missing Wishes today? If you are, have a look at the Magic Kingdom 40th Anniversary Wishes, courtesy of YouTube and the fine folks over at WDWMagic!

What are you missing from Walt Disney World? Let me know in the comments below, or reach out to me our social media sites to let me know. Lastly, if all you are missing is being at Walt Disney World, shoot me an email and let’s talk about how we can make that wish come true for you and your family! Email me at mike@pixievacations.com, and thanks for stopping by today!

My favorite #DisneyMemory from Mickey’s PhilharMagic

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PhilharMagic

Mickey’s PhilharMagic is one of those great shows/films that my family loves to enjoy at least once. Located in the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s PhilharMagic is in Fantasyland.  The attraction is one of our must experiences because of the following key elements:

  • Packed with incredible music.
  • Great moments from classic Disney movies.
  • Special effects.
  • The great talents of Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Minnie.

Today, I’m not going to talk about the show itself that much. After all, I’ve written about it before and you can read about it here, here, here, and even here. I’m only going to talk about the show to make reference to my favorite #DisneyMemory from this incredible attraction.

The year was 2008, and the day was June 18th.  The day before Sophie turned 7 years old.  We were at the Magic Kingdom that day, and we experienced Mickey’s PhilharMagic, as I know you are aware.  The show was incredible, the music was great, the scenes were great, and Donald Duck was in trouble!

If you’ve seen the show, then you know at the end Donald is shot out of the tuba after Mickey arrives to attempt to put everything back the way it was supposed to be.  You also know that in true Disney style, Donald shoots out of the movie screen and barrels through a wall at the back of the theater.

My favorite #DisneyMemory from this attraction happens after that moment.  As everyone in the theater turned to see Donald sticking out of the wall, trying to free himself, my daughter Sophie yells out loud enough for the entire theater to hear her “Donald, are you all right?”  At that moment, Donald fell, and we all laughed a bit because we could tell he was all right.  I explained to Sophie that Donald was okay, that he trained for these events so that he wouldn’t get hurt, and everything was good.

A child’s imagination is a powerful thing, and on that day in 2008, Sophie showed us her child’s heart, and her empathy towards others.  That is just one of hundreds of examples of her empathy towards others that we have been witness to in her life, and it is the one thing that I treasure her for more than anything.

So now it’s your turn!  What is your favorite #DisneyMemory from Mickey’s PhilharMagic?  Please tell us in the comments below, and thank you for stopping by today!  Go out and make it a great Disney Day!

Your #DisneyMemory of Spaceship Earth

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Spaceship Earth

Over at Epcot, today we are taking a look at what I believe is one of the most recognizable structures in the entire world — the giant “golf ball” known as Spaceship Earth.  This structure, which has stood front and center over Epcot since the park opened in 1982, is an incredible engineering feat, and includes an attraction by the same name.

Spaceship Earth is a slow-moving dark ride that takes us back in time to look at the incredible advances that have been made in communications.  The ride is one of my favorite things to do in all of Epcot, and for today, we are going to take a look at my favorite #DisneyMemory from this great attraction, as well as share some of our pictures we’ve taken over the years of the ride.

Spaceship Earth

At the very front of the entrance to the building is this picture, giving you a tease about some of the things you might encounter on the ride.

Spaceship Earth

Communication has been adapting for eons, as you can see in these two photos.

Spaceship Earth

I think my favorite #DisneyMemory of Spaceship Earth has to do with my daughter Sophie, and the joy that she finds in this ride.  It’s a fun time for us, especially with the new changes that they made a few years back in being able to help plot out our future using the interactive screens on the ride vehicles.  We love Spaceship Earth, and it’s a must ride several times throughout our trip!

Do you like Spaceship Earth, and do you have a favorite #DisneyMemory from this ride?  If so, let us know in the comments, and thanks for stopping by today!

Your #DisneyMemory of Soarin’

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Soarin'

Soarin’ is one of the most popular attractions at Epcot, in fact, in all of Walt Disney World.  The attraction has a huge stand by line, and wait times exceed 60 or 90 minutes and even longer, so a FastPass+ selection is imperative if you want to ride later in the day.

For the longest time, I was extremely tentative when it came to riding Soarin’ — the movie is so realistic, it really does feel to me like I’m hundreds of feet up in the air when I ride, and for whatever reason, it kind of freaked me out.  However, I did myself a favor and I was seated at the end of a row, and I looked down during the ride and saw that it wasn’t as far as I was afraid it was, so I figured it would be okay.  I know it sounds like a crazy kind of logic, but that’s the way my mind worked.

Now, though, I love to ride Soarin’.  I’ve been fortunate to ride it both at Walt Disney World and at Disney’s California Adventure Park, and while the ride was the same, the line at the time for DCA was much shorter it seemed to me.  Of course, Soarin’ has been redone — instead of Soarin’ Over California, it is now called Soarin’ Over the World, and as a result, the change in the movie has led to insanely long lines — as much as 300 minutes or longer at times!  So far I haven’t seen the ride in person, having not been at any of the parks, but I look forward to the date that changes!

I guess when it comes to Soarin’ I don’t think I have a favorite #DisneyMemory.  However, I do like that I’ve been able to enjoy the ride, and ride it from the very top section.  That adds a thrill to the ride because it is so high up.  Soarin’, though, is at the very top of my wife’s list of favorite attractions, and I’m glad that I am able to ride it with her when we go.  It’s a lot of fun, and that simple #DisneyMemory is just being able to enjoy Disney with my family when we do go.

So please tell me, what is your favorite #DisneyMemory from Soarin’? Please let us know in the comments below, and thanks for stopping by!

Your #DisneyMemory of Wishes

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Wishes
Image ©Rolling with the Magic

Hello, and welcome today’s #DisneyMemory segment!  The focus today is on a special fireworks show that many people know and love — Wishes!  Like roller coasters, when I was a kid, I was terrified of fireworks.  For me mostly, it was a sensory issue involving the loud noises and the way I would tense up in anticipation of those booms.  So for many years, I would not watch fireworks, either at Walt Disney World or anywhere.  Then one year, my wife suggested that my daughter and I get ear plugs, and that was the start of a love affair of Wishes.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of getting them sooner — I guess I just figured I would never bother with seeing fireworks — but I’m glad that my wife had the great idea to do that.  I’ve since found out that you can also get ear plugs at Guest Services for free, so that’s a great thing also.  Now, fireworks don’t seem so bad anymore, and I enjoy them a great deal.

My favorite #DisneyMemory from Wishes is from our trip in 2012.  In that trip, Cindy, Sophie and myself invited our friends Kerry & Neal and their kids and our friend Monica and her daughter to join us, and one of the reservations we had for that trip was at Cinderella’s Royal Table.  The problem was that the earliest time we could get for our party size was 8:30 PM, which I was inclined to skip on, but the others really wanted to eat there, so we decided to stick with it.  Well, what turned into an absolutely terrible dining time (especially with a 4 and 2 1/2 year old in our party) turned into one of the greatest moments of Disney Magic we ever experienced.  Since we were there late, and since we had a party of 9, dinner took longer, to the tune of us being inside the Castle when Wishes was beginning.  We were able to experience the fireworks through the windows, and listen to the show audio in the restaurant.  Obviously, while we didn’t see as much in the way of the actual fireworks as we would have had we been outside, it was still an incredible memory, and that is my favorite #DisneyMemory of Wishes.

So please tell me, what is your favorite #DisneyMemory of Wishes?  Please let us know in the comments below, and thanks for stopping by to join us today!

Disclaimer

My Dreams of Disney is a Disney Fan Blog, and is not in any way affiliated with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney, or the Walt Disney Company. In it's purest form, My Dreams of Disney is a site showcasing the love I and my family have for Walt Disney's creative genius and the legacy he has left behind. If it weren't for Walt Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other Disney parks spread across the world, and this site would not exist. Click to view our Privacy Policy.

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