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Taking the Kids: Walt Disney World turns 50 and celebrates big time

Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on

There are still COVID protocols, of course – masking indoors and on rides, for example, no lining up for autographs. But some changes, like the ability to mobile order food on your Disney app (no more waiting in line) have made the guest experience better. And while you still can’t hug your favorite characters or pose for photos with them, new opportunities have been created so that they can appear in your selfies from mini parades to appearances on balconies and rooftops.

Another plus: “Lines are shorter and it’s easier to get on the rides,” said Holly McCulley, here with her daughter and granddaughter from California.

With the U.S. re-opening next month to fully vaccinated travelers from 33 countries and with children between 5 to 12 expected to be eligible soon for the COVID vaccine, the hope here is that tourists will again flock to Central Florida where their presence supports the region’s largest work force.

The Magic Kingdom, of course, is where it all started — Epcot didn’t come until 11 years later, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 1989 and Animal Kingdom 10 years later – with just one park with fewer than two dozen attractions and two hotels “out in the middle of nowhere,” said Tom Morris. Morris first came here as a 12-year-old on opening day and has spent his career as a Disney Imagineer and creative executive.

“The park,” he said, “was mind-blowing to a kid.”

It still is … to lots of adults too.

 

NEXT WEEK: Eating your way through Walt Disney World.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)

©2021 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


(c) 2021 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

 

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