At Walt’s Place, Again
The folks at Walt’s Place in Orlando — more properly known as Walt Disney World — do so many things “right” that it’s tough to keep track of them.
For instance, when we arrived at our room at the Saratoga Springs Resort at Disney World at 1:30 this past Monday morning, we were greeted by our television — which had been turned on when we used our “magic watches” to open the door. The TV screen had a message for us, which you can see in the nearby photo. A small thing, right? But after a grueling seven-hour cross-country trip that featured a quick dash via SkyLink at the Dallas Airport to get us from Terminal C to Terminal A and our connecting flight — with no time to spare — we needed a pick-me-up.
The TV screen did that.
So here we are — back again for what’s become our annual trek to Mr. Disney’s place. Though Walt Disney never lived to see this dream of his fulfilled, he would be mighty proud of what Disney World has become. For starters, it’s one of the few things in life — and one of the few places — that actually “work.”
If the electronic sign at our bus stop says the shuttle to the Magic Kingdom — or Animal Kingdom, Epcot or Hollywood Studios — if that sign says the bus will arrive at 11:03 a.m. — it does. Really. And that “magic wristwatch” you wear — a Disney creation, of course — is programmed with every bit of information needed to open your hotel room door, or pass you through security at any of the parks. It makes life here so much easier. And as for the food at Disney World’s resorts — it’s plentiful and tastes good.
We spent this Halloween — the day, not evening — at the Magic Kingdom. It was highly decorated in seasonal finery, of course — plenty of pumpkins and banners and even a headless horseman or two — and we thought it would be crowded. But much to our surprise, it turns out that Halloween Week apparently is one of the “down times” for tourists. They’ll flock here in a week or so, when the Christmas decorations are up — and they’ll keep coming through the end of this year and into the next. But this week — well, we hit a tourist “valley,” and we could not be more delighted.
Disney has been trying to make it more difficult for tourists to come. 
Yes, I know that sounds crazy — but it happens to be true. The park here — and the one out in “our” neck of the woods in California — have been overwhelmed by visitors. That’s meant longer lines to get into attractions, and much more crowded venues that were already jammed. So the Disney people have raised ticket prices and — even more egregious to Disney critics — gotten rid of the “Fast Pass” system by which one could go on-line and reserve a time, free, to get into the most popular rides. Its replacement is a fee system by which you can reserve a spot in something called the “Lightning Lane.” Same concept — but now it costs.
Disney also has tried to limit jam-ups inside its parks by no longer allowing people to simply show up at an entrance. Instead, you have to sign up ahead of time, and if enough people have beaten you to the on-line sign-up — in other words, if the park has reached its tourist capacity for that day — you won’t be allowed to enter.
All this has enraged those whose life is spent posting on-line rages. But none of what Disney’s done has cut down the number of people who keep coming. They’re willing to pay the price — whatever it is — to partake of a truly enjoyable family experience. They think it’s worth it.
And so do we. Ever since Sharon retired five years ago, we’ve made it a point to show up each year for a couple of weeks — mostly in autumn. The weather is usually warm and clear (no, we’ve never been here during a hurricane). We make a point of visiting each park at least a couple of times during our stay — and we eat. Sometimes a lot. We know all that food is likely not “good” for you — but we also know we’re retired, which means we’re older than we’ve ever been — and we know there’s no guarantee that eating “right” will add one more second to our lives. So we eat what we want.
However, this might well be the last time we make this trip East. It’s getting more difficult with each passing year — the same reason we have given up spending our summers in Ames, Iowa. We still have things we want to see and do Out West, and from our place in Madera County, it’s a much shorter and easier trek to Oregon or Washington or Montana.
But between now and our return to the West, we have two weeks of eating and sight-seeing and picture-taking here at Walt’s Place. For us, it’s a great way to spend part of our retirement. Thank you, Mr. Disney.