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Your most "magical" theme park moments?

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. Ever since Disneyland first opened in 1955, the idea of "magic" has been a cornerstone of much of the theme park industry, and over the years, theme parks have become almost intrinsically linked with the concept of "magic", particularly in the case of parks that err more on the family-friendly and/or heavily-themed sides. Nowadays, "magic" is quite possibly one of the biggest marketing clichés in the theme park industry; many, many theme parks use magic as a key selling device within their advertising and propaganda. Building upon this, my question to you today is; what are some of the most magical theme park moments you've ever experienced? What are some of those moments within theme parks that actually gave you goosebumps, or actually made you feel like a child on Christmas Day, instead of merely promising these emotions to you in an advertising campaign? When have theme parks lived up to the magical propaganda and really made you feel like you're experiencing something special? Let's spread some positivity and magic this closed season by reminiscing about some of our fondest theme park memories!


I'll get the ball rolling with some of my answers. There are many, many moments I could have gone for here, but a few that come to mind are:

  • Stepping into Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida for the first time (August 2014) - Now I admittedly think that both Potter areas could have qualified for this, as I adore both and both felt pretty special when I experienced them for the first time, but I have to say, stepping into Diagon Alley for the first time and experiencing Gringotts for the first time when I was 11 years old has easily got to be one of my fondest theme park memories even 7 years on; admittedly, the 3 hour queue wasn't too fond, but the land, the main indoor queue section of Gringotts, the Gringotts ride itself and the overall experience of Diagon Alley left me genuinely speechless in a way that very few things have since. Admittedly, I'm unsure how the land and ride would stack up for me now, but even having already experienced it before in 2016, I remember the whole WWOHP experience feeling like true theme park magic at its finest!
  • Riding Mako at SeaWorld Orlando (current #1 coaster) for the first time (August 2016) - You all know my opinion on this coaster very well by now, so I won't bore you with details of my first ride, but even though this isn't magic in the sense you're probably all thinking of, I couldn't not mention it; the raw euphoria of experiencing that insane first drop and those phenomenal sustained airtime hills for the first time back in 2016 still sticks with me 5 years on, so in that sense, I'd certainly say that my first ride on it and it becoming my #1 is one of my most magical theme park moments!
  • Watching Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom (April 2019) - As much as I'll admit that the Magic Kingdom didn't quite live up to the hype for me when I first went in April 2019, and that I'm also not huge on shows in theme parks in general, I have to say that my first and only time watching the much hyped night-time spectacular at Magic Kingdom was quite something; I don't know quite what it was, but this show really was brilliant, and something about it really felt magical and gave me goosebumps! Watching Happily Ever After was the very last theme park thing we did on that trip to Florida, and as much as I'm not usually a show person, it really was the perfect way to end the trip for me; it definitely meant that the theme park element of the trip ended on a high! (I'll conveniently brush over the last day, where our trip ended with a mad rush off of the Fantasia mini golf course to the airport when the mother of all storms abruptly began to soak us...)
  • Riding Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios (April 2019) - You know those times where an attraction's been really hyped up and you worry that it won't possibly live up to the hype? My first ride on Florida's Tower of Terror was one of those times for me, but I needn't have worried, because I exited that attraction genuinely awestruck! For me, it was one of those rides where every little bit of it felt absolutely perfect; for starters, the entire queue and pre-ride experience is phenomenal, being crammed full of little details, while also carrying a rather brilliant ambience about it the whole way around that really gave me shivers! The dark ride portions carried on this brilliant ambience, but the icing on the cake was the drop tower itself; I was shocked at the raw strength of the airtime, and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time! Overall, my first and only ride on ToT was a genuine magical moment for me, and I certainly regret only doing it once!
  • Islands of Adventure in general (Various) - I know this is quite general, but on both Florida trips where we've visited Universal, Islands of Adventure has always had this wonderfully magical vibe throughout the entire park that no other park I've ever been to has; it just makes me incredibly happy every time I go, and the combination of that and the park's amazing ride selection and theming are what make it my #1 park of all time! IOA is the absolute pinnacle of fun and magic for me, and I'm gutted that I haven't visited in 5 years, because it holds a very special place in my heart!
  • Pre-entry/entry experience at Alton Towers (Various) - To be honest, I think the whole park at Alton Towers has a certain aura of magic about it, but for some bizarre reason, I've always found the build-up to a day at Alton Towers to be quite possibly one of the most magical parts (Not my favourite part by any stretch, but certainly one of the most "magical"; it's a very different type of magic to the others in this list!)! Even the drive through the Alton village and along the country lanes still gives me this child-like feeling of excitement all these visits later, and when you combine that with a ride on the monorail (or walk down the golden path) and the walk down Towers Street facing the ruins themselves, I really think Alton Towers' entry experience really stirs up feelings of magic for me!
So, those are just a few of my most magical theme park moments! As I said, I could have picked loads, but I decided to limit it down to a select few that came to mind at the time of writing!


But what have been some of your most magical theme park moments?
 
Entering Alton Towers
I know it's clichéd, but there really is nothing comparable to walking through those gates and heading down Towers Street with the lake and the Towers at the bottom.

Alton Towers Fireworks
I'm not gonna lie, but Towers' firework displays always have that sense of magic about them that get me a little bit emotional, regardless of what the show itself is like. Maybe it's the fact that Fireworks was my first-ever meet.

Walking onto the entrance plaza at Europa-Park, April 2014
I'd already been to EP twice at this point, but this was a little different. Myself and three others were on the Junket road trip, and had endured a five-hour delay at the Channel Tunnel the previous day, arriving at our hotel in Reims at 02:30 on the Friday morning. We were lucky to get to Walygator that day and then head over to EP, arriving late that afternoon. Myself and Mike checked into our accommodation, and walked to the park entrance en route to Silver Lake. We weren't even going in the park that day, but I had to go onto the entrance plaza before the barriers. At that moment, I have to admit I got a little emotional. It was as though I'd returned home in a way.
 
Even the drive through the Alton village and along the country lanes still gives me this child-like feeling of excitement all these visits later, and when you combine that with a ride on the monorail (or walk down the golden path) and the walk down Towers Street facing the ruins themselves, I really think Alton Towers' entry experience really stirs up feelings

I really relate to this. The excitement I used to feel on the school trips, on the coach knowing you’re minutes away and trying to look out for any rides you can see in the distance (unsuccessfully)
 
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The only time I ever truly get that child-like excitement these days is that first sight of the Europa-Park resort after exiting the A5 from Ringsheim way. Even after having visited 8 times, I still get that feeling. The first sight of Silverstar during a game of "Spot Sylvia" is also great!
 
Disneyland in 2019. It was the morning of our second day on park, and we were just getting on to the Mark Twain riverboat. As I got on and was looking around for the stairs to the upper decks, I heard a cast member (who was the captain of the ship for this journey) call me out, and ask if my group would like to join him up at the control and pilot the boat.

Needless to say we jumped at the opportunity, and I was so lost within the whole experience that I genuinely believed I was steering that boat, despite knowing full well it is on guide rails. And sounding the boats horn was so much fun! Made even more special by knowing that Walt Disney used to stand on the very same spot and do the same as we were doing some 60 odd years ago.

I still have no idea why we were picked out, but Roberto (the captain) was brilliant and highly amusing. We continued to wave to him when seeing him over the rest of our trip, and of course he remembered us.
 
Pre-entry/entry experience at Alton Towers (Various) - To be honest, I think the whole park at Alton Towers has a certain aura of magic about it, but for some bizarre reason, I've always found the build-up to a day at Alton Towers to be quite possibly one of the most magical parts (Not my favourite part by any stretch, but certainly one of the most "magical"; it's a very different type of magic to the others in this list!)! Even the drive through the Alton village and along the country lanes still gives me this child-like feeling of excitement all these visits later, and when you combine that with a ride on the monorail (or walk down the golden path) and the walk down Towers Street facing the ruins themselves, I really think Alton Towers' entry experience really stirs up feelings of magic for me!
I have to agree, the whole experience at Alton Towers is still quite magical and particularly the entrance experience. It was even better when I was a kid, so magical each year when we went. Driving through the trees, parking up and going on the monorial before walking down towers street.

I'll also add an odd choice for most people but entering Camelot: To me the place felt very magical, you'd walk past the anamatronic dragon on the entrance street(?) and through the sort of castle like entrance. I loved all the king Arthur legends and too me it really brought that to life.
 
1. Birthday at Magic Kingdom, 8th June 1996. We visited the MK twice on our holiday to Florida that year just because we didn't get everything done we wanted to on day one. Day two was 8 June 96 and that was my 11th Bday so that made it extra special. Alien Encounter was the highlight attraction for me. A truly brilliant experience and honestly quite scary when you were a kid. My brother was 8 and was terrified so I can see why Disney got so many complaints. I adored it though and me and my Dad had a second go.

2. My first and only ever trip to Cedar Point a few years ago. Needless to say but its Mecca for coaster enthusiasts. A royal pain the backside to get there sadly but if you love coasters you have to get there one day. We ended up booking a short break to New York and then extended the trip by a few days and went to Ohio purely for CP. Wouldn't recommend doing it that way if you're planning on going but we managed okay.

3. Riding Nemmy and The Big One in opening year 1994. Boy we were spoiled back then. Nemmy instantly became my number 1 coaster and held that title for many years to come after that day so will always be a special ride for me.
 
When heading towards Cedar Point and you see that skyline and you drive over the causeway like your leaving the real world behind.

The Coastermania Cruise also at Cedar Point, just amazing to get out onto Lake Erie and travel round the peninsula giving such a unique view point.

Seeing Klugheim for the first time, I mean when you saw photos it didn't look believable that it was actually a real place. Also that bit of audio they play before Tarons 1st launch, and the noise of the 2nd launch.

Visiting Europa Park, such an amazing experience. Really need to visit again.

Seeing the entrance to Efteling, such a unique thing which suits the park so much.
 
Sharing the crumbs out of my pocket with a very tame mouse on the old wall walking down to Forbidden Valley.
It took me for a mug punter, and I fell for it 100%.
Pointed the spot out every year since, still makes me smile.
 
Epcot is the one theme park, where I find it hard to describe the actual feeling it gives me inside when entering.

I first went there in 1988 as a 5 year old and back then it was just MK and Epcot. Nothing else apart from Sea World was really around in the Orlando area so it has always been along with MK the one consistent piece of our Florida family holidays. We continued to visit there every time we went up until 1999. On that occasion it was the last holiday that us three brothers went on with our Mum and Dad and on the last night, we witnessed Illuminations on a cold December night.

Fast forward 20 years to 2019 and on our last night as a family of four with my two lads, we witnessed one of the last showings of Illuminations. To be honest I'm not an emotional kind of person but being there with my own two in the place which represents some of the strongest childhood memories got to me.

I know Epcot is going under a massive transformation at the moment and even though we are going to California next year, the next time we visit Orlando, which probably be more a Universal and SeaWorld Parks focussed holiday, there is no way I can travel to Orlando and not end up at Epcot for at least a day.

I have just remember another one. On our 2019 trip, we got chosen as the family to open Island of Adventure. My eldest son bottled the opportunity to speak, so it was left to myself and my 5 year old at the time. It was a great feeling and even greater when we had at least a 20 yard headstart on everyone else for me and the eldest to leg it to Hulk and get the first ride of the day with just the two of us aboard!
 
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I’m one of those awful people who studies individual rides and attractions in some detail, so it’s not very often I am truly ‘wowed’ when I get to experience them in person. For me, it’s spots in parks and their areas that tend to do it for me. I think there’s two moments that really stick with me.

  1. Entering Disneyland Paris and emerging from under the railroad station. I mean, what can you say. Love or hate the Magic Kingdom parks, there’s no denying that it’s an iconic moment and staple of theme park design.

  2. Entering Animal Kingdom through The Oasis. I think this might actually be one of the most immersive parts of any park for me. It nails the idea of walking through dense jungle before emerging into a village in an exotic land. You then have the transitions between the lands over the waterways around Discovery Island. Just look left or right down the “river” and you are truly transported to another continent.

I’m sure at some point walking down Towers Street afforded the same magical moment, but sadly for me it’s just something I take for granted and expect these days.

A bit of an odd one as well, but I remember watching the POVs of Mystic Manor when it first opened in Hong Kong and being genuinely astounded even in video form. I’m still yet to manage to get on it in person, but it’s certainly an attraction that screams “magic” at me.
 
Good idea for a thread.

I have loads which I will add as I enjoy recounting memories but for now I’d say the first (few) times I road Space Mountain de le terre a la lune which was utterly mind blowing for someone aged about 7 years old. The theming, story, the ride itself and the amazing queue where you’re immediately taken into this new world was all so consuming and immersive. I really do miss that right.
 
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