Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Mouse Is In The Details: Exposition Hall

We experienced for the first time a hidden jewel in the Magic Kingdom this past weekend; a place that can be an oasis in the middle of the summer heat, or a safe haven from massive shoulder-to-shoulder crowds - Exposition Hall.


Exposition Hall is situated in the Magic Kingdom's
Town Square next to Tony's Restaurant - and even with its location
it's easily overlooked.

In the past I had heard about the "movie theater" in Exposition Hall, but never went to see what it was all about. In fact, I had never been in Exposition Hall before because I never thought I'd have a use for it (in the age of digital cameras, cell phone cameras, Photopass online, etc.). So after we hit the newly refurbed Space Mountain, we decided to check it out, just for the sake of checking it out! And now I wish we did this during the summer heat!

Just to give an overview, the front section of Exposition Hall is a gift shop and photo pick-up. As you make your way back through the store toward the back of the building, they have several themed photo areas where you can have posed photopass pics taken (or just use yourself to take some pics). If you continue on further, tucked away in the back right quadrant of the building is an actual small movie theater. A couple dozen comfy seats face a movie screen that continually plays classic Disney animated shorts - it played Steamboat Willie and The Band Concert while we were there.


Katie and Chance checking out "The Band Concert" on the movie screen...


...and still watching after having moved seats to the front row
in this empty theater (sorry about the blown-out screen..bad camera phone! Bad camera phone!)

Also in this room, several diorama sets are in place that surround the theater; each are themed to a Disney animated feature including 101 Dalmations, Toy Story, Snow White and Steamboat Willie.


Hope's Nielsen ratings are through the roof.

In addition, a great mural graphic adorns the opposite wall from the movie screen that depicts a short history of Walt Disney and his movies (that's because this area used to be the attraction "The Walt Disney Story" - essentially replaced by One Man's Dream in Hollywood Studios).


The man who started it all...you can find him in Exposition Hall.

Overall, this is simply a nice, air conditioned place to get away from the heat and crowds and be entertained at the same time. Or, it could be a place to seek out if you're looking for things you might have never done in The Mouse before.

We found Exposition Hall to be yet another one of the countless hidden nooks in Walt Disney World that turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

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