On 10th August 1997, I went in a helicopter for the first time. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we were in Orlando, Florida and we had some fabulous views of DisneyWorld.

We are having a major tidy up at home and two days ago, I came across this photo on the left, which reminded me of our holiday in 1997. Coincidentally, I read Muse It Up author, Helena Fairfax’s blog where the subject of DisneyWorld came up. She was interviewing fellow Muse It Up author, Matthew Peters and he revealed his favourite place in the world is DisneyWorld. Many of the people who commented on the blog also expressed their love of DisneyWorld. If you’d like to read Helena Fairfax’s interview with Matthew Peters, you can find it here and more details of Matthew’s book “The Brothers’ Keepers” here on his website.

And then today, I was listening to the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Radio Two and Chris interviewed ‘the world’s first PhD student in theme park design’, who has worked in DisneyLand, California. Although it will be three or four years before any of the projects he worked on will be open, he was not allowed to reveal what they are. He did, however, say that the future of theme parks will probably include video games, where visitors create a character which will go on a journey with them during their day in the park. Actors will take on roles and will interact with guests according to the character chosen, so you might find yourself amongst a Storm Trooper patrol or a band of gangsters!

During a holiday in Las Vegas, we visited the Star Trek Experience, (which I believe is no longer open) and we walked through the bridge of the USS Enterprise while actors pressed buttons and checked screens, while they ‘flew’ the ship. One of the officers moved us on to the next part but unfortunately, the lift had broken and we were herded back to the bridge where the actors really began to interact with us although they remained in character and we were invited to sit on the Captain’s chair – not something that would have happened if the lift hadn’t broken down. We were on the bridge for some time while the lift was fixed and we had a much more interesting time than we would have done if it had been working. So, I’m quite looking forward to the idea of choosing a character and seeing what happens as I go through a theme park. I wonder how long it will be before this is incorporated into DisneyWorld?

Incidentally, has anyone who has been to DisneyWorld noticed the false perspective in Main Street, USA? Chris’s guest revealed that the shops get smaller as they get taller, which gives the illusion that the castle is much larger.

In my ebook, ‘Daffodil and the Thin Place’, Daffodil  experienced an optical illusion. She recognised where she was, but she knew there was something very different and very wrong. If you’d like to find out what, you can find my ebook ‘Daffodil and the Thin Place’ here on the Muse It Up Publishing website. It costs approximately £1.80 and all profits will go to the ancient church of St. Nicholas, Laindon with Dunton, Essex, where the story takes place. #MuseItUp #DaffodilAndTheThinPlace