What follows is an objective, and mostly positive, account of one family's visit to Walt Disney World. If you are the type who is outraged by even the mildest criticism of anything Disney, you are advised to proceed with caution.

Alex's favorite souvenir from his visit to Disney World was this light saber, purchased just outside of Bear's Big Blue House.

At Disney MGM Studios, visitors are ushered in to the wondrous world of the cinema. Not surprisingly, the park's flavor is more Disney than MGM. There are Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast stage shows, but classic MGM films like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind are virtually ignored. And that's a shame. Imagine a Land of Oz attraction, where visitors ride a motorized cart down a yellow brick road, while flying monkeys swoop down on them. (Disney Imagineers, are you writing these suggestions down?) Or a Gone with the Wind attraction, where you could ride a motorized cart (there has be a motorized cart!) from Tara to Atlanta, and see Gen. Sherman setting the city aflame. Or, if space is limited, Disney could combine our two suggestions, and show Sherman marching through Munchkinland, while the Scarecrow tearfully admits to Dorothy that he knows nothing about "birthin' no babies."

Disney, are you listening?

So now that we've described some things that you won't find at Disney MGM, let's take a look at some attractions that actually exist, and that Alex experienced. One thing he did was attend a "Bear in the Big Blue House" stage show.

Alex enjoyed this stage version of Disney Channel's "Bear in the Big Blue House." He was angry and distraught when the fifteen-minute show came to a close.

Even though Alex had an angry look on his face throughout the fifteen minute show, we assume he enjoyed it, because he became even more angry when it ended. His anger soon gave way to tears, as he desperately pleaded for the show to resume. This seemingly bizarre behavior can be explained. Alex was over-stimulated by all the noise and energy that's an inexorable part of the Disney experience, and was seriously nap-deprived to boot. (Note to parents: If you have a young child who's sensitive to noise, and you're thinking of taking him or her to Disney World, you might want to put that thought on hold for a few years. Alex's time at Disney World was often a "stress fest" for both him and his parents.)

There were a number of "movie sets" at the park, including a block that was set up to look like New York City. In the background were large mockups of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building that were cleverly placed to make them look much larger than they actually must have been. The illusion was surprisingly effective. Alex was absolutely convinced that the entire Disney MGM park was, in reality, New York City. There was no dissuading him from this line of thought. Alex knows, with unshakable certainty, that New York City is merely a monorail ride away from Disney World.

The big, strange looking balloon was part of the Mulan parade at Disney MGM. Alex watched a good portion of the parade from atop his mother's shoulders.