Top 60 Most Nostalgic Items at Disney World - Overview

If for some reason Google has led you here, then the algorithm must be afoul.  This blog is not something that will help you plan your first vacation to Disneyworld (hereafter abbreviated as WDW).  It's not even a good review of the park, and there are no insider tips on how to skip long lines or save money.  In fact, with the possible exception of my wife humoring me, I can't imagine anyone reading this at all.

That's ok, because it really isn't for anyone in particular.  It is my attempt to rank what I feel are the most nostalgic items in all of WDW.  This is something I have been thinking about recently, being that it is the doldrums of winter and there isn't a heckuva lot to do now, other than to think fondly of the greatest place on Earth.

Again, if you have a quibble with the last sentence, you will want to try another link now.  WDW is undeniably the best place on Earth.  It has been the site of so much joy for our family that we make annual pilgrimages there.  All other vacations pale in anticlimax compared to it.  Yes, the Mickey KoolAid has been well drunk by yours truly.  Now you know who you are dealing with.

If you are still reading this, then obviously you agree with my assessment, and no doubt understand why making a list of the most nostalgic parts only makes sense.  So, I won't waste any more words there.

THE GROUNDRULES

Can't do a proper list without ground rules, so here they are:

1. Nostalgic is defined as anything that screams WDW.  They are items that make you pine for the park when remembering them and make you feel at home when you are there.  They are items that take in way more significance when being in WDW.  Another knock-off park trying to recreate them wouldn't have the same effect.

2. Because of number one above, this list doesn't contain anything that is primarily about thrills.  You will not find Toy Story Mania here, nor Space Mountain, nor Expedition Everest, though they would be at the top of my "Favorite things in WDW" list.  You will also not find thrill shows here either.  So search elsewhere for Fantasmic or Festival of the Lion King.

3. I tried to distinguish between discreet items, even if they are closely connected.  So that means you will see both the Golf Ball and Spaceship Earth the ride on this list.  Yes, they are the same attraction, but they really aren't.  One is a picturesque landmark you can see from the airplane arrival and one is a slow ride filled with classic animatronics.

4. I generated the list by brainstorming things I considered nostalgic at the parks.  I consider Magic Kingdom to be about twice as good as Epcot, and I was finding 3 things from each area within Magic Kingdom.  The numbers ended up working out to exactly 60 items, so I went with it.

5. However, to rank them, I first ordered and ranked them by categories.  This includes slow rides, shows, hotels, restaurants, modes of transportation, stores, ride queues, memorabilia, seasonal items, interactives, and landmarks.  It also includes what I'll call ambiences, a location including sights and sounds and smells that just scream WDW.  Once they were ordered, it became a bit more tricky, as I didn't want to put two hotels next to each other in the list for example.

That's enough ground rules for now.  Obviously you will have different items on your own list.  Some of these will seem rather ridiculous or trivial, but they happen to have significance for me and my family.  Still,this is not a list of the most memorable places in WDW... That list would look different.

Without further delay, let's start with #60.