It’s a Disney-rific week here at LEG+JCB, underscored by the fact that I’ve purchased four Disney-related books over the past few days (Designing Disney, The Art of Walt Disney, Since the World Began, and a pre-order for Poster Art of the Disney Parks).

Thanks much to the always awesome Mouse on the Mind for extending an invitation to me to write about what I love about Disney after dark (oooh, saucy!…or, not really.)  I love exercises like these (especially when documenting vacations), because it forces you to take all of these disparate thoughts and experiences and really distill them into a (semi-?) coherent narrative, especially around an element that you wouldn’t normally consciously consider, drawing forward certain elements which may have otherwise been left in the back of your brain to get all dusty and cobwebby.

I love the Magic Kingdom at night because, unlike the rest of the parks at Walt Disney World, it really embraces being open later, and the lighting really sets the stage for your experience.  The colors on display are so over-the-top, it feels like you’re walking through one of those trippy dream sequences from the ’60s and ’70s animated classics, like the Heffalump and Woozle scene from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

It’s a little like Las Vegas in a way, but without the migrant workers trying to hand you trading cards of naked women.

Click here to read my thoughts on the Magic Kingdom at night!