The Magic Kingdom’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Olympics

As I sit at home watching the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies, a thought occurred to me.  If I had to choose the three things at the Magic Kingdom that I would classify as Gold, Silver, and Bronze, what would they be?  In some ways, it’s a daunting task.  How do you pick just three things about the Magic Kingdom that you would rank as the Gold, Silver, and Bronze at the park?  Well, I’m going to give it my best shot, and I’m also going to include my wife and daughters picks as well!

Gold Medal: Pirates of the Caribbean

When it comes to the Gold Medal, there are so many options, and it may be that my gold medal winner in this case could be as flighty as an Olympic judge, and what is Gold today may not even medal tomorrow.  But for this day, at this time and moment, the Pirates of the Caribbean is my Gold Medalist.  This attraction has everything that I look for:  a dark ride, action, great music, an incredible story, a super cool queue, and great special effects.  That is why this attraction is my Gold Medal Winner!  Pirates of the Caribbean was the last attraction that Walt Disney had a hand in; it had a soft opening in Disneyland on March 16, 1967 (with an official opening date of March 18, 1967), just a few months after Walt passed away.  It opened at Walt Disney World on December 15, 1973.

For Cindy, though, her Gold Medal Winner is not an attraction, not a parade, not a ride.  For Cindy, her Gold Medal Winner is Wishes!

For Sophie, nothing comes close in her mind for what her Gold Medal Winner is: It’s Splash Mountain, her favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World, not just the Magic Kingdom!  She likes this attraction so much that she has written about it, rode it multiple times, and tells everyone she sees about how much they have got to experience it!

Silver Medal: Space Mountain

When is comes to my silver medal, nothing can compete to the rides that I had on Space Mountain during our last trip in June.  For the first trip, it was right after my niece became engaged to her fiance Shane, it was extra magic hours, and the Magic Kingdom was practically empty.  On this ride were six of us, in positions 1-6 on the ride vehicles.  In position 1 was Cindy, who loves the front seat.  Position 2 was Kerry, who was scared to death.  Position 3 was me, full of nervous energy.  Position 4 was Kyle, having the time of his life.  Position 5 was Stephanie, who was on cloud 9, and Position 6 was Shane, her fiance.  Right before we started Kyle screamed, which set Kerry off even more then she had been, got me laughing, and we had a great ride!

If anything, the second ride might have been even more intense!  This time it was just myself, Kerry, and now Monica, who had never ridden the ride before.  Kerry was still nervous, Monica was praying, and me, I was just having the time of my life.  In the first ride, we just went down the right side, but this time, we were sent to the left track, and to me, it felt like the ride was ramped up even more then before!  I know that Space Mountain has the slowest speed of any of the roller coasters, but to me, that night, it felt like we were going to go flying off the track, especially during all of the winding parts of the track!  It was incredible, and I suspect that it will never be replicated.

For Cindy, her Silver Medal is the same as mine — Space Mountain — so I won’t include a picture like I did before.

 For Sophie, though, her Silver Medal is a dining experience.  Eating at Cinderella’s Royal Table, especially this past trip, was incredible to her because we got to experience the Magic of Wishes from within the Castle while we ate!

Bronze Medal: Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress

 My Bronze Medalist is, to the surprise of some, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.  However, much like Pirates of the Caribbean, this attraction was designed by Walt Disney himself, and was featured at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York.  Originally at Disneyland, the Carousel of Progress was moved across the country and placed in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom.  It opened at the Magic Kingdom on January 15, 1975, and has been playing there ever since.

The Carousel of Progress is one of my favorite attractions because it brings me back to simpler times, while also sharing with us how we’ve progressed.

Cindy’s Bronze Medal winner is Splash Mountain, which of course was Sophie’s Gold Medal winner.  Just goes to show how the judges can have differing opinions!

 For Sophie, her Bronze Medal Winner is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  There is something about getting all dolled up at Cinderella Castle that just does it for her.  She has now had this done two years in a row because the first time was with her cousin Anna Jane for Sophie’s birthday, and the second time was with River and Madelyne-Lois, neither of whom had ever been to Walt Disney World before.

That concludes the awarding of our special Magic Kingdom Olympic Medals!  What do you think of our choices?  What would win the Gold Medal for you?  Why don’t you leave me a comment and let me know, and thanks for reading!  Look for posts about my Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal winners for Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios also next week!

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