Disney World PF Gathering and Tips for Disney Mania!

[ZapperZ]

Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund

The eternal skeptic in my has always wondered about the money being collected for the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. If you have ever been to Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, you would have noticed that whenever you buy something from either a store, or a kiosk, they'll ask you if you would like to contribute to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. You'll get a cute button if you do. Of course, they'll tell you that the money will go towards research and activities related to wildlife conservation. However, I've always wondered if this is truly the case, even after reading newspaper articles that money was spent for such-and-such project, etc.

Welp, I've found one (so far). It's a scholarly article that made use of money from this fund:

Associations between Organochlorine Contaminant Concentrations and Clinical Health Parameters in Loggerhead Sea Turtles from North Carolina, USA, J.M. Keller et al., Environ Health Perspect. v.112, p.1074 (2004).

Not only that, it is an OPEN ACCESS journal, so you can read the paper for free http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1247380" .

In their acknowledgment, they list:

Funding was provided by the Morris Animal Foundation, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, the Oak Foundation, and the Duke University Marine Biomedical Center.

So there! If you have contributed to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, you now know where part of your money went!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Yesterday, January 24, was the official opening day of Finding Nemo - The Musical, at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This live show is getting a lot of wonderful acclaim from critics and Disney fans alike.

Picture and video of the official grand opening can be found http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-362.asp" .

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the fabled Cinderella's Castle Suite will http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-mcinderella2507jan25,0,3695662.story?coll=orl-home-promo" for the first time tonight! And you don't need any glass slippers either.

I can hardly wait for the first report out of this. Various Disney fan websites are already buzzing and hoping that some of their members will be one of the lucky ones to get to stay there during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. I'm guessing that they'll give this out to people with kids (i.e. a typical "family"), so that would certainly rule me out of having any chance of being tapped on the shoulder for this one.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the fabled Cinderella's Castle Suite will http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-mcinderella2507jan25,0,3695662.story?coll=orl-home-promo" for the first time tonight! And you don't need any glass slippers either.

I can hardly wait for the first report out of this. Various Disney fan websites are already buzzing and hoping that some of their members will be one of the lucky ones to get to stay there during the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. I'm guessing that they'll give this out to people with kids (i.e. a typical "family"), so that would certainly rule me out of having any chance of being tapped on the shoulder for this one.

Zz.

We have our first winners! It's a Michigan family who got the honors as being the first people to get to stay at Cinderella's Castle suite!

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070125/clth167.html?.v=3

I'm extremely envious! I hope these people take tons of pictures and post them online.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

We have our first winners! It's a Michigan family who got the honors as being the first people to get to stay at Cinderella's Castle suite!

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070125/clth167.html?.v=3

I'm extremely envious! I hope these people take tons of pictures and post them online.

Zz.

It seems that everything ends up on YouTube nowadays.

This is the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZJHFSVCxes" of the first family that got to stay at the Cinderella's Castle suite.

Zz.

 

[Evo]

Oh Mathwonk, I'm sure all of the positive thoughts you'll get here will help. I hope everything is fine. Let us know, ok?

 

[mathwonk]

thank you evo. I am sure it will go well.

 

[ZapperZ]

Last time Moonbie and I went to WDW, we had a lovely time at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. There was even talk that some people might find this resort quite attractive to stay at, especially with the over view of the african savanah and wild animals that one can look over one's balcony.

This is a rather http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/NEWS/701280354/1326" on one such family that spent the day at the Animal Kingdom, and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It has a good description of what one can find at the resort.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Don't know if people have seen this yet, but in case you haven't...

Famed photographer http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-01-25-disney-ad-campaign_x.htm" as part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration. These pictures will be used as advertisement in various magazines. That in itself isn't a big deal, but Annie Liebovitz is known for her gorgeous photography. For this project, she recruited several well-known people to be in the pictures. Each one is very cleverly done to incorporate a Disney them. There's one with David Beckham riding a horse as Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty, Scarlett Johansson running down the stairs as Cinderella and leaving a glass slipper behind, and Beyonce Knowles as Alice with Lyle Lovett and Oliver Platt riding in a teacup.

The pictures are astounding! I hope they'll sell these as posters, especially the Scarlett Johansson picture.

I'm glad that Annie Liebovitz is not participating in our photo contest.

:)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

You could study poop at Disney!

This will quickly destroy the notion that doing Ph.D research work is glamorous.

A University of Central Florida graduate student is http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20070129.121517&time=12%2046%20PST&year=2007&public=0" at Disney's Animal Kingdom as part of her Ph.D research work. I kid you not. Apparently (and obviously), it can tell one what the common and preferred food source that the giraffe likes, and can somehow help in conservation efforts in the wild.

All I can say is, good luck to her! It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it!

I wonder if they have anyone studying sheep over there?

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

I don't need another flash drive, but I so want these, especially the Mickey and Pooh!

http://www.mobilitysite.com/2007/01/disney_flash_drives.php

And the writer is correct. The adults will be the one gobbling this up!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

I posted earlier about a very clever series of trip reports by a member of a Disney fan forum site. The https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1163499&postcount=2619" to WDW for the Pirates and Princesses event. As usual, the report and pictures are just too adorable!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Since this is the award season for the movies and music industry, I thought it would be appropriate to post this picture of Mickey and his "awards".

I thought this was a decent picture, and it made it to the final round of voting in a Disney fan forum photo contest. Alas, it didn't make it into the top three position. :( One just never know what will happen in such voting.

Zz.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A bit of Disney lore:

Nearly everyone familiar with the name 'Walt Disney' has heard the story that Disney's corpse is stored in a deep-freeze chamber somewhere -- directly under Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction is the most frequently mentioned site -- awaiting the day when science can repair the damage to his body and bring 'Uncle Walt' back to life.

http://www.snopes.com/disney/info/wd-ice.htm

 

[ZapperZ]

After the Indianapolis Colt's win at the Superbowl, we know now who will be http://digital50.com/news/items/PR/2007/02/04/CLSU010/dream-comes-true-for-colts-dominic-rhodes-hes-going-to-disney-world-after-joini.html" (or Disneyland for the West Coast version). You would have seen the famous commercial had you watched after the game.

Congratulations to the Colts!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

The new and improved Disney.com is now live and online! It's 6 days late than the date promised by CEO Bob Iger, but who's counting?

:)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Global Disney Pin Trading Brochure

It's no big revelation here that I collect Disney pins. However, in case there those who might want to get into this, even small time (I know the probability is very, very low), Disney has produced a http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/event?id=5896" on pin trading. It has all the rules and etiquette of pin trading, and also park specific information for WDW or Disneyland, depending on where you will be going.

They have also started releasing blue lanyards that Cast Members are already wearing.

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/CastLanyards_600.jpg

These are cast members wearing special pins that are part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Watch out! Disney might be http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/BUSINESS/702090329/1003" ! The Mouse will assimilate you - Resistance is Futile!

They are tentatively expanding into other cities with boutique hotels and building something similar to Downtown Disney. I'm certainly interested to see how they do this, because the last time The House of Mouse tried to expand beyond the boundaries of their theme parks, they became the Disney Stores and Disney Quest, both of which they either had to sell off, or close down.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

This http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/travel/article/0,1426,MCA_532_5343450,00.html" gives a brief but sweet set of travel hints to anyone making a first trip to the Walt Disney World. This is certainly a good starting point if one is trying to plan for a trip.

Of course, if you want to know more, you know where to ask...

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, you can blame this on Moonbie, because she was the one who brought it to my attention.

This is a hysterical cartoon titled http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=12614". It is very clever and hilarious.

It appears that this site as quite a few more Disney-theme cartoons. This, I think is http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=13610", but if you have a child nearby, you might not want to view this in case he/she sees it - it might traumatize him/her! :)

And of course, considering all the Disney theme park rides that have turned into movies, http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=6406". But then again, I've done a "movie" of the monorail already!



Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

The Fight For Cinderella's Royal Table

Getting a reservation to Cinderella's Royal Table at The Magic Kingdom is one of THE most difficult thing to do. Many people go to the extreme in getting one. The following is an excerpt from a http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/17/07645834/0764583417.pdf" to people visiting the Walt Disney World:

The Disney dining reservations system makes advance reservations for character meals up to 90 days before you wish to dine. Advance reservations for most character meals are easy to obtain even if you call only a couple of weeks before you leave home. Breakfast and lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table are another story. To eat at Cinderella’s, you’ll need our strategy (pages 301–304), as well as help from Congress and the Pope.

But that's not all. The strategy that this book suggests in getting a reservation takes the cake for extreme planning:

To be among the fortunate few who score an advance reservation, try the following. First, call on the correct morning. Use a calendar and count backward exactly 90 days from (but not including) the day you wish to dine. (The computer doesn’t understand months, so you can’t, for example, call on February 1st to make an advance reservation for May 1st because that’s fewer than 90 days.) If you want to eat on May 1st, for example, begin your 90-day backward count on April 30th. If you count correctly, you’ll find that the correct morning to call is January 31st. If you don’t feel like counting days, call #407-WDW-DINE, and the Disney folks will calculate it for you. Call them during the afternoon when they’re less busy about 100 days before your trip. Let them know when you’d like your advance reservation, and they’ll tell you the morning to call.

To get a table, you must dial at almost exactly 7 a.m. EST. Disney does not calibrate its clock with the correct time as determined by the U.S. Naval Observatory or the National Institute of Standards and Technology, but we conducted synchronizing tests and determined that Disney reservation system clocks are accurate to within 1 to 3 seconds. Several Internet sites will give you the exact time. Our favorite is www.atomictime.net, which offers the exact time in displays that show hours, minutes, and seconds. Once the Atomic Time home page is up, click on “html multizone continuous” and look for the Eastern Time Zone. Using this site or your local “Time of Day” number from the phone directory, synchronize your watch TO THE SECOND. About 18 to 20 seconds before 7 a.m., dial #407-WDW-DINE, waiting to dial the final “E” in “DINE” until 7 seconds before the hour. Hang up and redial until your call is answered. When it is, you will hear one of two recorded messages:

1. “Thank you for calling the Disney Reservation Center. Our office is closed . . . ” If you get this message hang up the instant you hear the words “Our office” and hit redial.

OR

2. You’ll get a recording with a number of prompts. The prompts change periodically. Call a few mornings before the day you actually make your reservation to learn what prompts are being used. Once you know the prompts, you can determine which numbers on your touch-tone phone to press in order to work through the prompts at warp speed. Some prompts begin with “If,” others may request info such as your phone number or resort reservation number. Do not listen to the entire prompt. Immediately press the appropriate numbered key(s) as determined by your previous trial run.

Your call will be answered momentarily by a Disney Reservations Center (DRC) agent. Don’t get nervous if you’re on hold for a bit. The worst thing you can do now is hang up and try again. As soon as a live DRC agent comes on the line, interrupt immediately and say, “I need Cindy’s breakfast (lunch), for May 1st, for four people, any available time” (substituting your own breakfast (lunch) dates, of course). Don’t engage in “good mornings” or other pleasantries. Time is of the essence. You can apologize later to the DRC agent for your momentary rudeness if you feel the need, but she already knows what’s going on. Don’t try and pick a specific time. Even two seconds to ask for a specific time will seriously diminish your chances of getting an advance reservation.

This is hysterical! Even *I* don't go to that extreme, and I've had 2 lunches and 1 breakfast at Cindy's Royal Table.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Happy Valentine's Day!

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4260/11630546ic8.jpg

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Getting a reservation to Cinderella's Royal Table at The Magic Kingdom is one of THE most difficult thing to do.
...
But that's not all. The strategy that this book suggests in getting a reservation takes the cake for extreme planning:

Oh my! He must be one of those people who starts to line up 3 days in advance of an event and camps out on sidewalks to get tickets just so he's first in line. Okay, maybe you have to call on the very first day reservations are open, and first thing in the morning (I don't know if it's that bad), but to actually memorize the prompts in advance and not even give the person on the other end of the phone a chance to say hello? Yeesh.

 

[ZapperZ]

Oh my! He must be one of those people who starts to line up 3 days in advance of an event and camps out on sidewalks to get tickets just so he's first in line. Okay, maybe you have to call on the very first day reservations are open, and first thing in the morning (I don't know if it's that bad), but to actually memorize the prompts in advance and not even give the person on the other end of the phone a chance to say hello? Yeesh.

Actually, from accounts I gathered from many different Disney fan forums, it is THAT difficult to get a reservation at Cindy's Table, and one does have to go through that extreme to get one, especially during the peak season. In fact, with the popularity of the Disney Dining Plan (something you know first hand), it is getting to be difficult to get a reservation there almost throughout the whole year.

I was lucky enough to have had lunch and b'fast there. Once was a planned reservation which someone in our party did make 3 months in advance. The other two was simply lucky. We walked in very late in the afternoon and they actually had a table, while the other was for a very late breakfast where a cast member actually was announcing in the courtyard that they had open tables.

Luckily, going there isn't something high on my agenda. You'll remember that I didn't even bring it up as a possibility when we were there. You won't be that impressed with the food. I also prefer to have "suited" characters, rather than human princes, princessess, fairy god mothers, etc... during character meals. So that's why I've never had that much of a desire to have meals there. They can all fight it out. Give me Crystal Palace or Boma any day.

Zz.

 

[Newbie says Hi]

Umm, just out of curiosity is there ANY reasonable way to get CHEAP or even free passes to Disneyland and hotel stay? Like a "charity-case week?" Because 100% of the things that are being brought up here are not things I can honestly hope to experience, as fun as they sound.

 

[ZapperZ]

Hooray!

Tigger won't face any assault charges from that stupid incident!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-bk-tigger021507,0,4679653.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Even in Disney, we are not immune to crackpottery.

The Disney Blog highlighted some http://www.thedisneyblog.com/tdb/2007/02/proof_that_mick.html" claiming that Walt Disney was channeling "alien signals" when he created Mickey Mouse. They even pointed that some of the crop circles had a Mickey Ears shape!

All of these of course are easily debunked if one simply pay attention to the evolution of the shape of Mickey Mouse itself, and when exactly did the current form appears. John Frost, the owner of The Disney Blog, has a very good rebuttal against this nonsense. But as with physics crackpots, it is futile to try and have any rational discussion with these people.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Disney Rides Again!

With all the Disney theme park attractions being turned into movies, IGN had some fun by suggesting http://movies.ign.com/articles/764/764776p1.html" that could be turned into movies. They do sound reasonable, except for the It's A Small World suggestion.

I'd like to see them turn "Living With The Land" attraction turned into an exciting movie. Now THAT would be a serious challenge!



Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Umm, just out of curiosity is there ANY reasonable way to get CHEAP or even free passes to Disneyland and hotel stay? Like a "charity-case week?" Because 100% of the things that are being brought up here are not things I can honestly hope to experience, as fun as they sound.

You can probably find very inexpensive hotels if you look outside of Disney properties, or visit during the off-season. When I was a kid, we went camping at a campground in Kissimee, which is still very close to Disney, but a bit cheaper (the sort of place that has a Waffle House across the street, which I thought was great when I was a kid ). As for the park, I don't know. Florida residents can get discounted tickets, so if you know someone who lives down there, they might be able to get something cheaper than if you buy it yourself, and of course if you know someone living there, they might let you stay with them free too.

 

[ZapperZ]

You can probably find very inexpensive hotels if you look outside of Disney properties, or visit during the off-season. When I was a kid, we went camping at a campground in Kissimee, which is still very close to Disney, but a bit cheaper (the sort of place that has a Waffle House across the street, which I thought was great when I was a kid ). As for the park, I don't know. Florida residents can get discounted tickets, so if you know someone who lives down there, they might be able to get something cheaper than if you buy it yourself, and of course if you know someone living there, they might let you stay with them free too.

Here are a few suggestions on http://www.latimes.com/business/la-tr-budget18feb18,1,2020086.column?coll=la-mininav-business" . Many offer free shuttle to the Disney theme parks, but I would first check how often they offer the service (some have been known to make only one trip in the morning and one trip in the evening).

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Very often I like to read about how other Disney fanatics live, like http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/182959" for example. This is because compare to them, I look downright "normal" (if that is ever possible).

Of course, I am not that far behind. After all, I've already exhibited several of the symptoms, such as having a Disney Christmas tree, and going to WDW at least twice a year.

Humm... what is the number to that clinic again?



Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Student Information Booklet for Monorail Design

Hey, now you can design your own monorail just like the one at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort!

I don't quite know to whom this was produced, but this shttp://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/downl...norailDesign.pdf&filename=MonorailDesign.pdf" has a few fun facts about monorail design. It also has a few fun facts about the WDW Monorail:

Surprisingly, Walt Disney World's monorail system near Orlando, Florida, has one of the highest ridership of all monorails. At least 100,000 passenger trips are recorded each day on the 14 miles of guideways. The system is there to move people between six stations. The resort whould be a transit nightmare without the monoral.

As someone who has tried to leave the Magic Kingdom at closing time, and had the monorail being down due to a technical glitch, I can personally testify to that last part! Still, I love the monorail ride, as you can tell from my http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5008148320876934763&hl=en" .



Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Disney To Offer Bridal Gown Line

Hey Moonbie! You now have a place to buy your bridal gown! Disney has contracted a http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/LOCAL/70222017" to offer their own bridal gowns line!

Solutions Bridal Designer House in Winter Park will be the first store to carry 35 gown designs based on characters like Cinderella and Snow White as Disney enters the bridal market.

I wonder if they'll have something based on Chip 'N Dale? A chipmunk gown perhaps?

I tell ya, this Disney wedding is going to be FABULOUS!



Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Aww, they didn't show any pictures. When I was young (at that age when big, poofy wedding gowns are something that sounds appealing), I wanted a gown like Cinderella's.

A chipmunk gown...that would require a lot of chipmunks, don't you think?

 

[GeorginaS]

I find that astoundingly annoying when, in a visual medium, and they're talking about something you look at, (as opposed to talking about an idea or a concept) they don't show pictures of it! Why not? I only clicked on the link so I could see.

Sheesh.