I’ve started this post at least a dozen times this year alone, and every time I delete it and tell myself things will get better, I will feel better, and I will find the space to think, dream, research, and write. The truth is, and this is clearly well overdue, this chapter that has been the Main Street Gazette for the past fifteen years has come to a close.   My constant companion of Rheumatoid Arthritis has left me little in the way of spare time beyond what energies I need for my traditional job and daily maintenance around my house. I do not wish this pain and crippling exhaustion th ..read more

It’s been a long while since we’ve done an honest to goodness trip report, but given that this was our first trip back to Walt Disney World in several years and, if you’re anything like we were before our trip, you have more questions than answers about what I trip looks and feels like now. I don’t know that we can answer all of the questions, or even most of them, but let me tell you what we saw during our trip, Gazette-style.   The Good - All the Food The food at Walt Disney World has not missed a beat in the time it was closed and the way things flow now during the prolonged reopeni ..read more

Walt Disney World has played an important role in my life, throughout my whole life. From the first trip to Fort Wilderness at a couple of months old in a pup tent with my parents, a moment I definitely have no memory of, to the friends who have become family through our Disney connection over recent years, it’s omnipresent. It is in the kitschy souvenirs and artifacts I display in my house, lessons I’ve gleaned and incorporated into my life from interviews and books on the parks and company, even down to the etching inside of my wedding band. There isn’t a part of my life that Walt Disney ..read more

At the time of its inception Walt Disney World stretched out for approximately 30,000 acres. The comparison has always been that the resort is the same size as San Francisco or twice the size of the island of Manhattan, with much of this land still being undeveloped. Yet when the Vacation Kingdom opened it was not nearly as expansive in terms of its built spaces as we currently think of the area, regardless of how much land Disney had at its disposal. In fact, in 1973, this was the entirety of Walt Disney World. The iconography of those early years, stretching out into the early 1980s, has ..read more

Once upon a time Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional did not take place at Epcot. Even though EPCOT Center opened in 1982, it wouldn't become host to the choir, orchestra, and narrated pageantry until 1984. For the first thirteen years of the resort's existence, from 1971 through 1983, the winter spectacle took place in the Magic Kingdom. There were still guest narrators who were popular figures of the day. However, while today’s choir is made up of Cast Members and high school choral groups from more than 30 different states (except for this year's modified experience), those early ..read more

It’s hard to not look at Walt Disney World celebrations from the past and not think about the 25th anniversary and the castle birthday cake. For me, however, the best celebrations, seared into my childhood memories, is the anniversary that took place a decade earlier. From October 1, 1986 until September 30, 1987 there was a spectacular held in Walt Disney World that still influences today’s annual events. The 15th Anniversary of Walt Disney World, sometimes referred to as the 15th Birthday Celebration, was shorten and most commonly referred to as simply 15 Years, with a logo the included both ..read more

With all of the hubbub and goings on of the opening day and first month of Walt Disney World's operation in October of 1971, it's easy to forget that some things we now consider classics, or hold fond memories of, weren't even open during that first month. As Walt Disney World was entering its second month of sharing their brand of recreation with the world, Cast Members were still getting used to their on and off stage duties and what it means to be a part of the Disney family. New attractions and experiences were still under construction or just beginning to open their doors to guests each ..read more

Most of us don’t remember how we celebrated our first birthday, thankfully there always seemed to be someone around with a camera to capture the precious, and often embarrassingly cute, moments. Walt Disney World is no different than the rest of us. With the Magic Kingdom, and the entire Vacation Kingdom, celebrating their 50th birthday next week, is there any better time take a look back at one of the resorts first birthday photos? For its first birthday, Walt Disney World threw a party at the Magic Kingdom. Mickey led the first birthday parade down Main Street, U.S.A. alongside a giant nu ..read more

  Guests of the Magic Kingdom can view a castle across a lagoon and a turn-of-the-century train station at the turnstiles, while at Epcot the giant geodesic sphere known as Spaceship Earth beckons. When it came time to select a suitable draw for the entrance of Disney's Hollywood Studios, then known as Disney-MGM Studios, the design was simple and sleek, not extravagant like its predecessors and it felt right at home in the golden age of Hollywood. Perhaps the reason the structure feels so right, is because it was inspired by a real life building in California. The Pan-Pacific Auditoriu ..read more

Discovery Island is the central hub at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but its namesake animal sanctuary once sat off the shores of Fort Wilderness. The history of this particular island in the middle of Bay Lake has always intrigued me. From Raz Island to Discovery Island and all the little stories in between, there is a whole history to this island that many are unaware of. My fascination with Discovery Island, or Treasure Island as it was known in the early years of Walt Disney World, isn’t just because it is located on Bay Lake near my beloved Fort Wilderness, and it isn't only because of my st ..read more