The happiest place on earth

Rarely are the advertisements more honest! Once you enter those gates of Magic Kingdom, all you see around is pure joy and happiness – in the employees’ greetings, in the frolicking Disney characters and the most in the brightly lit up eyes of the 3-4-and-5 year olds in strollers, on their dads’ shoulders or holding their moms’ hands. Heck, most of the time, the Sun god is mercifully happy too; dazzling the place in extra gold and warmth!

The happiness is evident on the mythical, quintessential 50’s Americana ‘Main Street’ – recreated with trams and horse buggies, small town shops and oldies music… all building up from the City Hall at the entrance to the ultimate symbol – the Cinderella Castle. Only an artist could envision the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany as the fairy tale Cinderella castle, and then build a simpler, thematically more beautiful replica. As good as the castle façade, are the four murals on the inside walls, depicting the four scenes from the Cinderella story. This story would be the most natural central theme for the Disney Magic Kingdom. The essential Cinderella story is not only for girls; it is about dreaming for the hidden true potential to be discovered, it is about escape from the cruel and mean trappings around you… and in that sense, a dream of every little child – to be magically able to attend the ‘Palace Ball’ in their life.

Walt Disney – the artist’s genius was in recognizing this childlike fantasy of living in the fairy tale land, of being able to experience the Peter Pan’s flight, to see the creatures 20,000 leagues under the sea (now reinvented as the little Mermaid story), to experience the Mister Toad’s adventures, to join the mad Tea party and to actually be Tom Sayer himself to explore the island. Walt Disney – the visionary’s genius was in the trust that there are untold numbers of people – young at heart – all over the world, with whom the fantasy will resonate, who will recognize his absolutely adorable lilting message of “It’s a small world after all”. Walt Disney – the businessman’s genius was in recognizing the vast potential of the unused marshy land in Florida, a state with the most Sun most of the year, thousands of acres of it, and buying them literally for pennies, in the hope of developing it some day.

A mere cartoonist, drawing pictures of mice and ducks, dreams huge, bets on it and creates a vast empire worth billions of dollars – far more importantly, creates a kingdom that people over the world come to trust as ‘the happiest place on earth’ – this is what fairy tales are made of!

PS: When the art plays second fiddle to mere technology the results are less than happy. Universal’s two Harry Potter themed rides are the evidence. While the original story was very imaginative, and the recreation of the Hogwarts Castle, the animatronics for figures in the school are all very impressive… the actual rides were a disappointment. Designed as enclosed roller-coasters with 360 degree iMax screens, the best surround sound and 3-D imagery… the focus is more on the roller-coaster and 3-D dazzle part than the theme… in stark contrast to the age-old and ever popular ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ ride at Disney, where the animatronics, the attention to detail and the leisurely ride through the make-believe is absolutely fascinating.