What Have They Done to the Trees?

Meeeeooww!  My human Andrew has been spending a lot of time scanning old photographs from his father and mother - and now he expects me to tell you about his little attack of nostalgia.  He's found the pictures of Walt Disney World taken in 1994 when his parents visited.  This one is of the "Hub" in the Magic Kingdom.

 

See if you can spot any differences between it and the next one - taken in 2008, but I expect not from exactly the same place..

Don't you agree the recent picture is much better in so many ways.  The colours (colors) are nicer; the sky is clearer; there is a better view of Cinderella Castle and so on.  Most important, the recent picture includes a cute black and white toy kitten in the foreground.  I admit it:  I came to live with my humans in 1992 but it took me a few years to train them properly to take me with them on all their trips to Walt Disney World.

But Andrew says he misses the trees and the topiaries of Mickey and Minnie (replaced by the "Partners" statue).  He starts talking about a time when "Empress Lilly" had several lovely restaurants; when the best Disney merchandise came from "Centorium" in Epcot; and when the waste bins in the Magic Kingdom were painted differently in each "land".

But just a minute, Andrew.  You say you remember when you found Mickey Mouse just standing around in the Exposition Hall.  Well, that's where you find him now.  Like many things, Disney have had to make things more formal and organised because there are more and more humans there.  And if you want trees, you should find enough to satisfy anyone in Animal Kingdom.

I think one thing hasn't changed.  You have to be lucky (or get up very early in the morning) to get a picture of the "Hub" with as few other people as there are in either of these.

Now stop thinking about the past and give me a cuddle.

Prrrrr.