KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- It's breakfast time at one of the zillion hotels that feed off Disney World, and here we are with the Bravo family of Ecuador: Poppa Bravo, Momma Bravo and two little Bravos restlessly eating their porridge.
Truth be told, all of the Bravos are pretty darned eager to head back to Disney World, and this is not because of the big anniversary celebration at the Theme Park of the Universe.
It is because, well, because Disney World is Disney World, an ever-evolving mega-resort that has redefined the way Americans and many other people vacation.
On this, its 20th anniversary, that's all it needs to be.
"It's beautiful, it's fun, it's safe," says Galo Bravo, an architect who brought his family from Quito for a three-week Florida vacation. "There's always something new. Why wouldn't we go back?"
This, of course, is calliope music to the ears of Disney executives. Although attendance has slipped a bit recently, millions of people still pay big bucks to twist through the turnstiles. The real theme of this park is Money Mania.
But this isn't the place for that. This is the place for an update on what Disney World has built in, say, the last couple of hours and for a look at its plans for the next couple of months.
So, batten down the hype hatches. Leash the hyperbole hounds. It's party time again at Disney World. Disney loves parties because they always boost publicity and attendance and profits.
Let's see . . . this time it's the, uh, right, the 20th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World, also known to the press release writers as the Bi-Tencennial or Twin-Tennial.
At any rate, anniversary-related events, which really are additions to the normal activities at Disney's three theme parks, began in earnest in October.
At the Magic Kingdom, the popular Main Street Electrical Parade will be replaced by a nightly "SpectroMagic" parade. Daytime visitors will be treated to a "Surprise Celebration" parade that, no doubt to everyone's great surprise, will begin precisely on schedule at 3 p.m.
At EPCOT, a new daytime show will feature fireworks, giant balloons, and boats and hang gliders that will "create a carousel of color on the water."
Several additions to existing attractions also are planned at the Disney-MGM Studios park.
This stuff is pretty tame by Disney standards, but that should not mask recognition of what Disney has created here and how the company has transformed the resort and vacation industry in the past 20 years.
The Magic Kingdom, which opened on Oct. 1, 1971, was the first Disney theme park in Florida and it remains the best-known. But it was only a hint of what was to come.
In fact, on opening day back then, attendance was so disappointing that Disney's stock plummeted. Only 10,000 people showed up; now, on a good day, Disney World does that in an hour.
Along with the three existing theme parks (a fourth is being planned under tight secrecy), Disney has created the Typhoon Lagoon and River Country water recreation areas, the Discovery Island nature area and Pleasure Island, a kind of nightclub multiplex for adults.
And it's not just theme parks and amusement areas anymore.
Over the past 20 years, Disney World has evolved from the Magic Kingdom into a complete, self-contained resort. In fact, it essentially has transformed the whole concept of a resort.
"There's no stopping Disney," says Tim O'Brien, managing editor of Amusement Business, a trade magazine. "They have so much momentum going for them. I can't think of any other entity, other than maybe McDonald's, that has jumped into the public culture like Disney. They're part of Americana now."
In an area crammed with hotels and other spinoff businesses, Disney itself now runs 11 hotels with 10,468 rooms at Disney World. It sometimes seems like the company opens a new hotel or mini-attraction every day.
Nine other hotels are on Disney World property, but owned or operated by other corporations.
Also found here are five golf courses, extensive convention facilities, nightclubs, beaches. Now in the planning stages is a city called Celebration (naturally) with homes for 20,000 people, all on Disney property.
One measure of Disney's success: Disney World now is the No. 1 honeymoon destination in the world. No word on whether honeymooners prefer Adventureland or Fantasyland.
Of course, other corporations built local attractions in Disney's shadow: Sea World, Wet N' Wild, Universal Studios Florida and more. Although worthy in their own right, they often battle each other for whatever time tourists may have after visiting Disney World, which isn't much.
Disney World's turnstiles have twirled more than 350 million times over the years. Although the sagging economy and the Gulf crisis and war inhibited business recently, analysts say the resort still records about 28 million admissions a year.
Much of the business comes from overseas, with jumbo jets in Orlando and Miami disgorging thousands of Disney-bound tourists every day. Florida tourist interests far from Orlando often benefit from these international visitors.
The Bravo family of Ecuador is an example of that. In fact, the Bravos could serve as the poster family for the entire state's tourist industry. They spent one week in Central Florida, one week on a cruise ship, and one week in Miami buying clothing.
Even Disney's, shall we say, "aggressive" pricing policies seem to have few repercussions on business. Ticket prices have been raised at least four times since January 1987. A one-day pass that cost $29 in May 1989 now goes for $33. Four-day passes are up from $97 to $111.
The popular three-day pass was eliminated a few years ago, forcing visitors to buy four- or five-day passes that keep them on the property longer. Special discount hotel and ticket prices for Florida residents end on Sept. 28, the same day the "celebration" begins.
No matter what it does, Disney simply dominates the area and the business, and this would seem appropriate, since movie animator-television host Walt Disney transformed the amusement industry.
Until Disney, an amusement park was basically a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel and a cotton candy stand. Walt Disney took that and, for all practical purposes, used it as the foundation for his invention of the theme park.
"In 1955, when Disneyland opened in Anaheim [California], the reputation, the state of the amusement park industry was basically downtrodden," says Mr. O'Brien.
"He was able to take the lights, the smells, the stimulating environment that was already there and combine it with the desires of the family. He cleaned up the parks. The bikers went one way, the homeless went another way. His concept was that the family needed and wanted a safe environment."
Disney died in 1966, long before Disney World was ready to open. But his ideas were carried on and embellished by the company that bears his name.
Would the way Disney World developed surprise Walt Disney, if he somehow were able to make a special guest appearance during the anniversary celebration? Nah.
"I think he would be very pleased with the way Walt Disney World has developed," says John Dreyer, publicity manager for Disney World.
"I think the one thing you have to remember about Walt was that he was always looking for new ways to do things. I think we have continued that pioneering spirit and followed our creative instincts as we have grown."