I have traveled to third world countries, and I have traveled to Disney. After traveling to multiple vacation destinations, I have concluded that Disney vacations give almost as much cultural exposure and real life situations as out of the country vacations. Many people have the opinions that either Disney is the most magical place on Earth or a fake tourist location. I think that Disney is one of the most magical places on Earth, and it is full of worldly culture.
Disney is what I think of as a worldly destination. At Disney you can find lots of real life and culture just by looking for it. People from all over the country and even the world come to Disney to experience the thrills and magic of the resort. Disney is the truest “melting pot” there is. Everyone around you is from somewhere else and even the cast members are often from far away places. If that is not convincing enough for Disney’s culture, then let me talk about the parks. Each of the four parks at the Orlando Disney resort are themed. These themes including the Animal Kingdom allow guests to see animals and African and Asian themed things they otherwise would not be able to see without traveling to many places around the world. In Epcot there is a world showcase where 11 countries from around the globe are represented. In each of those showcase countries there are shops and restaurants and shows to give people a taste of what those countries are really like. Even the people working in those country showcases are from those countries. There is no other place where you can learn about so many cultures at one time.
Another point that might be argued by Disney haters is that Disney does not provide real world experience, as it is not a real city. However, this point is actually where I feel Disney is the strongest. When Walt Disney decided to make the Disney Resort, he bought a huge amount of land and turned it into what is essentially his own mini city. The economics of Disney is absolutely incredible. Disney has experimented with prices of items in huge amounts to find the perfect prices to have the largest profit margin while still getting people to actually buy the products. There is also huge variety in foods and gifts to appeal to any and all buyers. Disney is probably one of if not the best places to see economics at work. Everywhere you look people are eating the food, wearing the clothes, and trading the $10-15 pins. Disney has also been able to buy companies like ESPN and further increase its domain. Clearly, Disney is a great example of a booming economy and a mastered social system.
Overall, despite it being a tourist based vacation destination, Disney is full of worldly culture and economics. If you look at it from the right perspective, Disney has a lot of cool things to offer as incite to the real world. There is no place in the world like Disney, where you can taste the culture of places all around the globe and surround yourself with people from all around the globe.
If you are one of the people who prefers traveling out of the country rather than to tourist destinations such as Disney, do not discount the value of and the genius of the world of Disney, because Disney may be more dense than you imagine.
