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I recently discovered some old Walt Disney World guide maps from my family vacation to the parks in 1998, and I thought it would be fun to compare the Magic Kingdom of 1998 with the Magic Kingdom of today. Compare the maps below to see what attractions have changed in the last decade of renovation and innovations.
Magic Kingdom Guide Map 1998
Fans of Disney’s Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean series ought to know that Sunday, September 19th is the International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This entirely unofficial holiday which began in 1995 is a celebration of pirate-y lingo, from the “arrr”s to the “avast me ‘earties, yo ho!”. Thanks to the efforts of millions of fun-loving pirate-wannabies, the holiday has spread around the world and will soon be upon us once again.
But fear not, me urchins, it’s never too late to join in on the fun. Here’s a list of ways ye Disney fans can celebrate this here very special pirate-y day. Yaaarr.
Pirates of the Caribbean Ride, image from Disneyworld.disney.go
One of the most frustrating things about visiting the Disney theme parks (especially during the summer), is the painfully long line queues that can force visitors to wait as many as 60, 75, or even 90 minutes for Disney’s most popular rides. A 90 minute wait for a 5 minute ride is an average of 18 minutes in line per 1 minute of ride – yikes!
Disney's Fastpass Service Logo
Fortunately, both Disney World and Disneyland offer Fastpass Service for their busiest rides. Fastpass tickets allow visitors to access shorter wait lines for certain rides at designated hour-long windows. The catch is that you can only retrieve a new ticket every two hours or after the window for a previous ticket has begun. Fastpass machines are located at the entrance to all of the rides that offer Fastpass access, and the service is so popular that during peak attendance, the machines may run out of tickets as early as the mid-afternoon. The tried-and-true advice is to grab a Fastpass ticket as soon as you enter the park and another one every two hours after that.
I visited Disneyland California for the first time this past July. My best friend and I had a blast, and even though it was the middle of the summer and we didn’t show up until after 11am, we still managed to go on 14 rides in 10 hours. Not too shabby!
Here are some of the pics from our visit!
Main Street, Disneyland, CA, photograph by Valerie Champagne
San Angel Inn Restaurant at Epcot, image from Disneyworld.disney.go.
One of the Disney World Resort’s most popular features is the Disney Dining Plan with offers resort guests a quick service meal, table service meal, and snack for each night of their stay at $40/day per person. For many family vacationers, the Disney theme parks are infamous for their overpriced, greasy fried foods, and few park guests take advantage of Disney’s diverse food offerings outside of the pizza, hamburgers, chicken strips, and fries that are so ubiquitous.
One of Disney’s best kept secrets is the abundance of quality restaurants throughout the resort, from the Animal Kingdom Lodge to all four theme parks, and even Downtown Disney. Many of the restaurants are so good, in fact, that four of them (Victoria & Albert’s, ‘Ohana, Le Cellier Steakhouse, and Earl of Sandwich) are ranked in the top ten best rated Orlando restaurants by Trip Advisor reviewers. Disney’s sit down restaurants require advanced reservations, and Dining Plan guests are allowed to start booking their reservations as far as 180 days (six months!) in advance.
