Since most people have already taken at least one ride on It's a Small World (and have the infernal song permanently etched into their brains), Walt Disney World has been packaging 15-month resort-wide events to lure them back. Five years ago, the property celebrated its 25th anniversary and placed the spotlight on its Magic Kingdom park. For the Millennium celebration, Epcot was the center of attention.

Through the end of 2002, WDW is honoring the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth with the 100 Years of Magic event. Befitting Disney's Hollywood origins, Disney-MGM Studios is the focal park this time. A 122-foot sorcerer's hat, modeled after Mickey's famous Fantasia chapeau, serves as a visual beacon for the celebration.

The centerpiece attraction is Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. A gallery showcases artifacts such as the animation camera table that Disney used to create his earliest Mickey Mouse cartoons, the special set of Oscars he received for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the office from which he broadcast the opening segments of his Wonderful World of Disney television show. The theme parks are also well represented. For example, on display is a 19th-century mechanical bird that Disney picked up and which inspired him to develop the park's signature audio-animatronic robotic characters.

Photo: (C) Disney 2001