Rant #2,229: Mickey Mouse March

Hello to a new week, a new month, and maybe some good things happening to some good people.

Or in my life, at least one person.

My father might come home from the hospital today, but on the other hand, he might not.

Today is the target date--it is actually listed as a date "to be determined"--but we are hoping today that he gets out of the hospital and begins his long road to good health.

Let's hope that he comes home today, and if not today, then sometime this week.

Being in his own home will make him feel better just by being in a familiar place.

And no, he will not be welcomed home by Mickey Mouse.

But Mickey Mouse found a new home on this date in 1971, as Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida.

It gave the Walt Disney Corporation a foothold in the east every bit as strong as Disneyland is in the West in Anaheim, California.

It allowed people in the east not have to travel 3,000 miles to enjoy a Disney-themed amusement park, and over the past 47 years, the park has welcomed millions and millions of visitors--including myself and my family--and shows no sign of slowing down.

It also put the city of Orlando (it is actually sited in Lake Buena Vista) on the map, made it a worldwide destination to live and to work and to vacation in, and its success spawned the Walt Disney Resort and countless other attractions in the area, all feeding off the magic and dollars generated by the Disney entertainment complex.

Disney World was originally known as "The Florida Project," and while Walt Disney's vision was that it was to be a supplement to Disneyland, he also wanted it to be unique unto itself.

He was the one who wanted to include something which became known as "EPCOT"--Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"--in the plans, which was originally intended as a planned community that existed to test new city-style innovations, but has since become the scientific center of the attraction.

The attraction is actually a series of theme parks rolled into one umbrella complex, with Epcot, Hollywood Studios, the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom also making up the park, along with numerous resorts and water attractions.

Walt Disney's vision has been justified over and over, as Disney World has gone over and above Disneyland as the most popular vacation resort in the world, with more than 50 million visits each year.

And the resort and theme park are not slowing down by any means. Toy Story Land recently opened, and and now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, some type of themed attraction will salute the most popular science fiction franchise of all time.

I visited Disney World as both a teenager and later, as a husband and father, and if you love theme parks, you cannot pick a better place to go.

It has everything, from wild rides to great attractions, and if you just want to relax, it also features Downtown Disney, a morass of movie theaters, shops and restaurants that eventually became my family's favorite Disney destination.

We haven't been there in a couple of years--we used to go every year when the kids were small and we visited Florida on vacation--but I would not bet against going there sometime in the future.

With its success, I often have wondered why Disney never opened a comparable theme park in the Midwest, but I guess that with parks dotting the West and the East, and people willing to travel to see them, there was no need for a third such park.

So, a happy 47th anniversary to Disney World, and whatever you say about Walt Disney, this guy had a vision, and although he never lived to see it come to fruition, his basic tenets did take shape at this park, and made Orlando what it is today.