THE WORLD OF DINOSAUR : You are about to travel through time , back to a prehistoric era when dinosaurs roamed the earth . But don ’ t worry , it ’ ll be safe .
It ’ ll be safe , right ?
Of course . I have full trust in Dr . Marsh , director of the Dino Institute . We ’ re going on a “ breathtaking journey through a prehistoric world ” where we ’ ll “ witness the most spectacular creatures ever to walk the earth .”
What could go wrong ?
As Dr . Seeker sends you on a quest to return a missing Iguanodon , everything goes wrong . Well , sort of . As we travel back to the Cretaceous period , we are confronted with angry , snarling , carnivorous lizards that would like to eat us for lunch . Meteors streak through the sky above , fireballs of impending doom . How could we possibly make it out alive ?
This doesn ’ t feel safe !
Disney Imagineers are expert storytellers , and there is quite a lot of drama when things don ’ t go right . They keep us on our toes so we don ’ t know what to expect . Plunging down the peaks of Splash Mountain , hurling backward to escape the Yeti on Expedition Everest , being swept down a waterfall in Mickey and Minnie ’ s Runaway Railway , watching as the First Order boards our ship in Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance — something always goes wrong .
Of course , at Walt Disney World , we know that things won ’ t go wrong for long . We emerge from the danger unscathed and return from the Cretaceous period unharmed . In fact , we even rescue the Iguanodon .
OUR WORLD : Life isn ’ t always written by Disney Imagineers .
Services at the front of the park . At this point , I was stressed . I knew for sure that I was going to miss my FastPass window .
Did you hear that ? I knew for sure . But I didn ’ t . I thought I did , but I didn ’ t .
Guest Services took care of me lickety-split . They replaced my MagicBand and sent me on my way — long before my FastPass window closed . And I ’ m pretty sure that if it had expired , they would ’ ve fixed that as well .
Many times , at the start of a difficult situation , we live in a what-if reality . What if the worst thing happens ? What if it goes in a direction that I don ’ t want it to go ?
We are rarely right .
After outrunning a meteor shower and hearing Dr . Seeker yell that we “ are not gonna make it ,” his next line is , “ You made it . I knew you would .”
Life is a lot like that . We fear the worst , and the worst rarely happens . I ’ m not saying that life is always sunny and bad things don ’ t happen . What I ’ m saying is that living in the “ what-ifs ” will get us nowhere .
The next time the what-ifs creep up , breathe deeply and say to yourself , “ You made it . I knew you would .”
BY BRIAN MCCUMSEY
The entrance to DINOSAUR . PHOTO BY MIKE BILLICK
I once sat in my boat on Pirates of the Caribbean , smelling the smoke of cannons hovering over the water . As I floated through burning cities and pirates pillaging , I reminisced on all the times I took this trip before . I reached the end of the ride and exited through the gift shop .
Next up , Jungle Cruise . I had a FastPass + and a schedule to keep . I glanced down at my MagicBand , and ... it wasn ’ t there . Those pillaging pirates had taken it right off my wrist ! I returned to the attraction , but no one had turned it in . They directed me to Guest