#56 - BoardWalk

Category: Resort/Hotel
Category Rank: 6

Park: "Rest of the World"
Park Rank: 12

Our next item is the first resort on our list, as well as the first to be listed as the "rest of the world" park--meaning that it lies outside of the 4 parks and Downtown Disney.  Granted, we haven't fully explored the rest of the world very well, though we have visited most of the deluxe and moderate resorts.  So, this list is missing some others that families have considered classics, including mini-golf or anything connected with the ESPN Wild World of Sports.  Our list also omits the two water parks since we haven't been to them, as well as DisneyQuest, which we just saw for the first time in October (if I ever re-do this list, DisneyQuest might find its way on it).  Essentially, the only things in this category are some resorts and restaurants, as well as some nostalgic modes of transportation.

The first item for debate is whether we should include anything outside the parks as well.  Again, the idea is not to identify the things that are most memorable, where one's favorite resorts often appear.  We tend to like Pop Century for our stays (yeah, we're cheap, and in good company), but while we have built many memories over the years, it is just meh on the nostalgia scale.

However, the first time we visited other resorts, we were blown away.  Each one has its own theme that makes it an all-encompassing experience.  It is more than a place to stay; it includes natural elements, architectural elements, all the theming that goes into it, music, sounds, activities, you name it.  It creates the whole ambience, which is the word I am using to describe a location.  While resorts are a much smaller scale than the parks in general, there is still something very special and unique with them that sets WDW aside from other parks.  You can't simply take one and levitate it to another park without it losing its nostalgia.

That brings us to the BoardWalk (yes, I am capitalizing it correctly).  The BoardWalk is both a resort (with an inn and villas) as well as a shopping area akin to Atlantic City's Boardwalk.  It lies in between Epcot--very close to the secret France/UK entrance into the world--and Hollywood Studios.

Kristen and I visited the BoardWalk for the first time on our last trip, and happened to plan our timing perfectly, as it was around sunset into nighttime, where the BoardWalk comes alive with street performers.  The smells of the confectionary and the soap stores are very entrancing.  We unfortunately were not there very long, as we were heading back to Downtown Disney, but it has become a must-do location for our next trip.

The thing that I was struck with at the resort was that sense of being relaxed.  Looking back at our discussion of "themes" that WDW uses, the World tries very hard to relax you with theming from an older time, be it the Old South or the small midwestern town.  It is as though they hearken you back to a time and place where life moved more slowly, and you can relax and enjoy life for what it is.  You can definitely see this in the Magic Kingdom, but many of the resorts (Port Orleans, Grand Floridian) do this as well.

Some might ask, then, why is it so low on this list?  Simply put, other resorts have been there longer for us.  Our exposure to this resort is so new that it finds itself pretty low on the list.

Speaking of ambience, we get our first park ambience at #55, taking us back to Epcot.  This is one location in the World known for its music and its non-Disney pop-culture references that Hailey and Zach love.

#55 - United Kingdom (Epcot)

Category: Park Ambience
Category Rank: 8

Park: Epcot
Park Rank: 9

We have our first "Park Ambience", which will require an explanation, much as the interactives/memorabilia category did.  Ambience might not be the perfect word, but it was the best I could come up with (except for maybe "Environment", which was a bit misleading).

The first term you might use to describe this is a "location" within a park.  However, location is a bit vague, since rides and shows and restaurants are all locations as well.  These are locations that don't have another stated attraction as top billing.  WDW actually helps us quite a bit here by breaking up its parks into these tiny "worlds", much like all the different countries in Epcot or the different lands in Magic Kingdom.

Location also doesn't really describe the important qualities of these items that bring about their nostalgia.  Take for example #55 on our list, the United Kingdom land in Epcot's World Showcase.  United Kingdom brings together natural beauty, architectural beauty, specific theming, sights, sounds, music, special characters, and even a bit of shopping.  All of these work in conjunction to promote the theme of the land (in this case, Britain!).  I thought a bit about trying to isolate some of these elements (say, choosing the band that plays there and the rose garden out back and the England-style buildings, and ranking each separately), but that doesn't really do the experience justice.  You experience them altogether... you have to rank them as one as well.

There are 11 lands in Epcot, each having its own unique ambience.  You could argue that all 11 have a place on this list, but we have to pick and choose.  UK has many things going for it.  Starting with its architecture, it features buildings represented from the Tudor, Georgian, and Victorian periods, as well as cobblestone streets and thatch roofs.  The back area contains a hedge maze and a traditional English garden, with one of the few quiet places in the World.  Of course, it also is the place for the British Revolution, a tribute band that plays songs from many British groups (the Beatles, the Who, and Led Zeppelin chief among them).  Plus there is a traveling improvisation group that performs there periodically.  Couple that with the traditional British characters (Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland) and it is one of the best lands for getting immersed in the cultural experience.

There are a couple things that make this land even more nostalgic for us.  Both Kristen and I have always enjoyed the music within Epcot, and one of our favorite groups was the British Invasion (an excellent Beatles tribute band that has sadly been replaced).  Plus, UK offers a unique shopping experience for our family, as our kids happen to love BBC shows like Downton Abbey and Doctor Who, and my mother is a big fan of the tea shop.  Plus, we take our pictures in the phone booth each trip.  The one thing that UK has going against it is that the "culture" is very similar to ours already, that certain other worlds (spoiler) stand out more as a cultural experience.  Still, if there is ever a time where we have a vacation with limitless time to spend idling away, I can't think of too many better places to spend it than UK.

We go to Magic Kingdom for the first time with #54, once again listing a snack item as a restaurant.

#54 - Magic Kingdom Snack Carts

Category: Restaurants
Category Rank: 8

Park: Magic Kingdom
Park Rank: 21

We go to Magic Kingdom for the first time, though as you can see, it won't be the last.  We actually will be spending over a third of our time on this list in that park, as it brings the most memorable sights and sounds from the World.

And we should say, smells as well.  Our next entry is once again a snack item, but unlike the other three on our list, this one's biggest selling point is the smells wafting from it.  They are the Magic Kingdom Snack Carts, and their periodic placement around the park help place those lovely aromas everywhere.

While the carts sell a variety of different items (ice cream bars, popcorn, cotton candy, frozen lemonade), our favorite item is the cinnamon-glazed almonds.  These roasted nuts and the popcorn especially can be smelled from a long ways away, and are the perfect late-night snack.  More cinnamon-sugar than nuts, I'd say, the nuts offer a great salty-sweet taste.

I mentioned we were creatures of habit when it came to our snack credits.  Magic Kingdom is the one park that we don't always do the same thing when it comes to snacks, so the temptation is to put this snack much lower than the other three snacks.  However, we are ranking the restaurants, not the snacks, and the carts bring something extra to this equation as well.  The old-time carts couple with the fresh smells to bring that relaxed sense of small-town America in the middle of this bustling amusement park.  Nostalgia.

We will stay in Magic Kingdom with our next attraction, featuring a slow-ride with a famous narration that has been around since the opening of the park.

#53 - Jungle Cruise

Category: Slow Rides
Category Rank: 9

Park: Magic Kingdom
Park Rank: 20

Our next item in our list is the infamous Jungle Cruise.  This is an entry that many would put higher, maybe even top ten.  It has been around since the park inception and has built up quite a following over the years.  Weird Al Yankovic took his shot at the Jungle Cruise through parody:



Essentially, the ride is a trip around a river with a few scenes from the "wild" of the world's dangerous rivers.  There are pythons and rhinos and headhunter natives and such, all animatronic.  But the ride is not about the animatronics; it is about the Skipper's Spiel.

The entire spiel is a scripted monologue of the corniest jokes (we are from Iowa, so they apparently were made special for us).  Here's a list of the bit.   Or if you prefer, here's the entire thing:





As mentioned, the exhibit's longevity and cult following make it a well-known WDW attraction.  For us, it finds itself behind other Magic Kingdom items like the Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It's a Small World, though.  The attraction was enjoyable the first two times we visited, but it has lost its luster a bit being so repetitive, and we don't always go on it.  Which, doesn't scream nostalgia very much.

For #52, we go back to our interactives/memorabilia category, looking at an item that every person staying at a WDW resort gets.

#52 - Magic Bands

Category: Interactives/Memorabilia
Category Rank: 5

Park: N/A

As we discussed earlier, there is a variety of things that Disney has added throughout the years to make the experience in the park more interactive.  That is, instead of simply going, standing in line for the show/ride/attraction, seeing said show/ride/attraction, repeating, and sprinkling in some occasional food and bathroom stops, that there is a different way to interact with the park.  Consider these a bit like a scavenger hunt throughout the parks.

The Park Maps (#58 on our list) might not have been the greatest example of these, since they don't do very much to change the Disney experience (outside of making it more organized and raising your awareness of some hidden features).  In this respect, the WDW app would be much better, since it gives you up-to-date information and can customize maps based on your location (fancy words for allowing you to "zoom in").  That app is the very definition of interactive, when you think about it.

So, why did we pick the maps instead of the app, which (spoiler) doesn't make our list?  And furthermore, what good is it to say "spoiler" if I don't give you a chance to shield your eyes and skip the spoiled information?  The answers are 1) Nostalgia = tradition, and 2) None... none at all.  Yes, the maps have that timeless quality to them that reek of nostalgic yearnings.  The maps remind you of your childhood experience at WDW.  The app will never remind you of that, since it will become obsolete with 2.0 of the app, whatever form that takes.

It is with great irony that we embrace the technology-du-jour with our next interactive.  Disney has really been pushing the Magic Bands (I think there is a TM in there somewhere).  In an effort to make the park more interactive, these bands now can serve as your room key, your credit card, and your FastPass device.  It also connects you things like PhotoPass, where the pictures those "supposed" photographers from Disney (yeah, right!) take get linked to your personal account (oh, I guess they were really photographers from Disney).  And, we are just scratching the surface for how they will be used in the future.

I mean, Disney has REALLY been pushing these things.  You can go purchase all kinds of bling for your band.  They have t-shirts promoting the bands.  I'll bet Disney will monetize giving your Magic Band a name and a backstory, too (Mom!  Sprinkles, my Magic Band, was once worn by Rapunzel when she visited Epcot during her 7th birthday too!).  This kinda screams rapid mania marketing, which again, does not scream Nostalgia.  Why would this find its way on our list?

Band as seen on Zach here.  See if you can spot
the band in other pictures on our blog.  Wow, an
interactive of an interactive... meta!

Two reasons.  One, they are pretty cool, and they are quite fun to use (can't remember having to fish out all my cards for the different functions in the past).  And two, and much more important, these are the things that really get you psyched for your trip.  When these bad boys come in the mail, you know you are getting close.  It's like the first snow or the first time you hear Christmas music in the season.  Either you are a Scrooge and are immediately turned off by the prospect of spending the next two months in anticipation for the magic of Christmas, or you are all abuzz.  Well, with a WDW trip, the Scrooges have self-selected themselves out... the last place someone who hates magic would go to is WDW.  So, essentially everyone starts feeling the buzz when those come in.

And, there you have it.  That's why they make the improbable jump and make it on the list.

We are almost done with our first 10 items and a ways still from the big ones.  Our next stop is our last Snack Restaurant (if you've been reading carefully, you should know what park it is from).