Disney Photo of the Day #8: Prince Charming's Regal Carousel

Fun fact: Prince Charming's Regal Carousel is literally a straightshot down Main Street, USA, and through the Cinderella Castle. In the original building plans, it was unintentionally slightly off center, and this had to be fixed so that guests could have a better, more magical view of it upon entering Fantasyland for the first time.

The carousel, while one of the simpler rides at WDW, has such a sense of magic and nostalgia that you can't skip it. This particular carousel was built in 1917- that's around the time of World War I. Due to it's time period, the horses were adorned in patriotic gear. The carousel was basically stripped and new horses were put in, but it's still the same carousel from 1917, thus making it the oldest ride in Magic Kingdom. And, of course, everyone says that it all started with a mouse, or even a man, but as far as Walt Disney World goes, it all started with a carousel. Walt would take his daughters out every Saturday to spend quality time as a family. Often, they'd ask to go to a small, shabby little local amusement park where they could ride the carousel. Walt would sit on a bench, watching as his kids played, thinking how badly we needed a place where people of all ages could be kids at heart. So, even if you're rushed on your way to Frontierland because you have a FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, don't pass up a ride on the carousel. There's more to it than you might think.