'Happiest Place' confronts a sad reality in Orlando

Coloradans Randy and Tammy Harris had been planning the trip for 10 months. Seven-year-old son Jackson had his heart set on Space Mountain; his 4-year-old sister, Anabelle, was hoping to meet her namesake from Beauty and the Beast.

They'd come to experience what's billed as the "Happiest Place on Earth". And then, just a few miles away, there was another superlative: The deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

The Harrises are certainly not insensitive to tragedy. They live in Aurora, Colorado, where a man dressed in black body armor rampaged through a movie theater in July 2012, killing 12 and wounding 70 others.

"There is no place that's completely safe anymore," said Tammy Harris, a middle school writing teacher. "Absolutely no place. These things happen in theaters, in schools, etc. It is just pervasive, unfortunately."

Sunday's massacre at Pulse Night Club in Orlando was another reminder. That's what she'll think about as she remembers this trip, she said as she slathered her daughter with sunscreen in the Magic Kingdom's parking lot. "Unfortunately, it's just becoming a bit of the norm now where these tragedies happen."

Though they didn't know anyone killed or wounded in the Aurora shootings, as members of the community, they felt the effect.

Randy Harris said it takes time to absorb what happens in mass shootings. And for "people from Orlando, maybe even a year from now, would give more insight."

From all over the world, people come to Florida's theme parks to enjoy themselves and to escape from reality, if just for a few hours.

But around 2 am on Sunday, police say, Omar Mateen entered the Pulse club, a gay venue, with a rifle and pistol and opened fire. When the shooting was over, Mateen and 49 others were dead, and 53 more were wounded.

Not long before the Pulse incident, 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on NBC's The Voice, was shot dead while signing autographs. The shooter then killed himself.

Most fun in the US

But to people around the world, Orlando represents the United States at its most fun. In 2015, a record 66 million people visited Orlando, making it the most visited tourist destination in the US.

Laura Hakami of Norton, England, said her family had saved 3 years for their dream vacation to the Magic Kingdom. They followed the news all day on Sunday, but they never even considered not going to park on Monday.

"It's horrible," Hakami said as her children, Oliver, 7, and Amelia, 5, fidgeted by the car. "But I think our good memories will still stand out more than what happened."