11/8/22

Gateway to the Magic

November 8, 2022

There are so many landmarks when looking at a Disney World trip. There are months of planning that include many mile-markers along the way. When our trip drops to double digits is always exciting. (At least for some of us) That 60 day mark is a huge milestone as it is ADR day. It is one of the only times I am thrilled to be setting an alarm for 4:30 AM. We book our meals, tours, and dessert parties and it starts getting real. Spreadsheets, calendar reminders, and a lot of My Disney Experience surfing and tweaking follow that. We are strategic in our planning. We set Mouse Dining and Touring Plans alerts to try and score the elusive Homecomin’ or Storybook Dining ADRs or just to modify times to allow for ample transportation time. No detail is left unpondered. For those of us that are not really close to any airport, we start planning our travel day. My family always does a “Park & Sleep” hotel near the airport the night before travel. This avoids airport parking and lets us take an early flight so that we can milk the most out of that first day.

The packing starts at about a week out for me. Disney shirts are meticulously planned for the appropriate parks. Some of us (me, I’m the “some of us”) are now losing sleep from excitement. Then the afternoon arrives to pack up the car and head to St Louis or Nashville, wherever we were able to get a better price for the flight. We try to go to bed early since the shuttle is usually getting us at 4:00 AM, but by now I’m so excited I can’t get my mind to calm down enough to get more than two or three hours of sleep. We’re at the airport by 4:30 AM and usually through security by 5:00 AM. Flight is normally wheels up by 6:15 AM and we’re touching down in Orlando at 9:00 AM EST.

Now most people finally exhale when they see this: 

Not me. Not this guy. Here is the view that makes me finally take that deep breath, smile, and say “I am home”: 

For me, MCO IS the Gateway to the Magic. I realize I have a lot of friends that are Florida natives and locals to the area that would never get “the tingles” from Orlando International Airport, but for us tourists, this lobby is pure exultation. The first ride of the trip is always the monorail from the gates to the main terminal. That ride is also the first view of palm trees for the trip. Words cannot express what the sight of palm trees does to a Northerner’s cold heart. At Christmas time, the huge tree in the main lobby is there to greet us. No it doesn’t have the theming, pizazz, or razzle-dazzle of the trees at the WDW resorts, but it is an appetizer for what is to come. The Universal Store, the Sea World Store, and the Disney Store are reminders that we are now in the vacation capital of the world.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Disney’s Magical Express is no more. We’re definitely a LYFT family now, but that doesn’t stop me from getting in my feelings when in Terminal B, level 1 and looking down that long corridor. That was always the first use of my Magic Band as well! For someone who didn’t grow up going to the parks, how is there that much nostalgia for that service? I can’t answer that, but it is still there and is remarkably strong. That Mears Connect is still using that corridor and similar bus service makes me happy even if I don’t use it.

Naturally, a “gateway” works both ways: Entrance and Exit. That may be another article for another day, but right now I just want to reflect, daydream, and indulge in my memories of my Gateway to the Magic!