ESPN Wide World of Sports Entrance

Normally, when you try a merger with two very creative companies, you get a logistical and egotistical nightmare. In the case of the Walt Disney Company and ESPN, you instead get Mickey Mouse hi-fiving and chest-bumping with Chris Berman (easier I guess when you are the same age). The culmination of this successful merger is undoubtedly the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex, located at the Walt Disney World Resort. Previously known as Disney’s Wide World of Sports, the new moniker denotes the collaboration of two powerful brands who have perfected the art of combining technology and storytelling better than anyone in their markets. This was not just about changing signs, but about signaling the signs of change that were about to transform the art of sports entertainment. Both companies agreed that the changes at the Complex had to reflect this seismic effort, and what has happened to this sports complex is nothing short of astounding. There are a lot of reasons why Disney fans and sports fans should celebrate. And celebrate they did, during the rededication ceremony held at the Complex on February 25th, 2010.

The Rededication Ceremony was scheduled for 6:00pm that evening. Somehow, your truly was identified as an important member of the media (stop laughing, it’s not that funny), and I was able to attend the grand media tour of the complex that began early that morning. In the interest of full disclosure, I must detail the first moments of this media tour.

It began when Disney and ESPN representatives escorted our group to Champions Stadium – spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. This stadium is a beautiful retro-classical design with modern touches, and is without a doubt the most impressive spring training stadium on the planet. I believe it is also the only one with double-decker seating. Our group was escorted to the 3rd base visiting team dugout. As we lined up in the dugout, field level ‘Coaches‘ gave us a pep talk about the virtues of the many Complex changes, and we watched a SportsCenter style video on the massive center field screen. What happened next can only be described as a Disney Touch – one of those special moments you just don’t forget. The stadium announcer began calling the starting lineup. It began with the Atlanta Braves players names, and they dutifully ran to their place on the third base line in front of us – then they began calling the names of us lowly media reps in the dugout! As my name was called, I bounded from the dugout onto the field, was handed an ESPN baseball cap, and hi-fived the Atlanta Braves on my way to a photo op with Baseball Mickey near home plate! Wow! I am ashamed to admit now that my efforts toward impartial, fair, and balanced coverage of the events of the day flew out the window at that moment. George Bodenheimer could have announced at that moment that they were going to teach Pop Warner kids how to spit tobacco, and I would have stood up and cheered.

Our tour continued with a Pargo ride through the sprawling 220 acre sports complex. 60 different sports are played at the Complex with athletes from 70 different countries. They host over 300 events a year, making it the leading sports venue for professional and amateur athletes in the United States. You think your company has a  decent softball field? Participating Cast Members from Walt Disney World teams play their events here. Pretty cool. Along our tour were signs that ESPN was here – high-definition screens are everywhere, directing people to their event field, showing event schedules, and even replays of sports moments taking place real time. In fact, I later discovered that they have over 40 of these screens across property. They also have around 56 hi-def robotic, studio, and handheld cameras across the complex. All of these cameras, video screens, and a 20 zone audio system are controlled through their state-of-the-art Production Center complete with 8 editing bays, and uplinks to ESPN facilities around the world.

One of the most interesting moments in our tour was an all too brief stop at the ESPN Innovation Lab. This is where they develop, test, and perfect the emerging broadcast technologies that will eventually make their way to air on ESPN networks. And all of these technologies can be tested on the 250,000 athletes that compete at the complex annually. Many of the new technologies developed by the ESPN Emerging Technology group have already been used on air, such as the EA Virtual Playbook application that ESPN used during its NFL and NBA coverage. While touring the lab, we were marched to a monitor and given 3D glasses for a demonstration of their emerging 3D technology to be used on their soon-to-be-released 3D network. It was an amazing demonstration. Though I was assured that it couldn’t happen, I swear I was struck in the head by the snowboard flying across the screen. Lawsuit pending.

There are a couple of participitants at EWWS (get used to it) worth mentioning. Our media group was ushered into the Jostens Center, where we met with Jostens officials.They are the official designer of all medal and trophies issued at the sports complex. Some of the medals, rings and trophys were on display. I could not have a ring or trophy, but was given a beautiful gold medal with an inscription on the reverse side comemmorating the opening day of EWWS Complex. I was sure it was an award for not wetting myself in front of the Braves team, but they did seem to give one to each media rep.

In conversations with Disney Cast Members at the event, it seems they were very relieved and excited to see the costumes they would wear to represent the sports complex. The outfits can be described as very, well….. sporty, due to the fact that the Champion Company used its sports performance expertise to help the Disney Costuming Department design the outfits. As the name implies, they are sponsors of the minor league ballpark at the Complex, and also sponsor many events. They will also be operating a Custom Tee Center at the Grill. If your kid wins a game, sets a record, or just reaches his personal best at an event, a personalized Tee can be created for him on the spot. Cool.

The ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex is now officially open. How do I know this? Well, I saw GARRETT HARTLEY kick a perfect field goal through the opening gate uprights. Nuff said…..

Cooperstown. Canton. Places every sports fan must see before they die. Will EWWS become one of these meccas? It should. This place is the definition of sports. Perhaps Disney and ESPN have said it best:

THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO PLAY. IT’S WHERE YOUNG ATHLETES CREATE LASTING MEMORIES AND CELEBRATE THE WORK THEY’VE PUT IN TO BECOME

THE BEST. TO MAKE IT HERE IS THE REWARD FOR EVERY JUMP SHOT MADE ON A DARKENED DRIVEWAY, EVERY EXTRA WIND SPRINT, EVERY SACRIFICE MADE TO

BECOME PART OF A TEAM. PLAYING HERE IS AN HONOR, AND WINNING HERE IS A SOURCE OF LIFELONG PRIDE. ATHLETES WHO COME HERE INSTANTLY BECOME PART

OF SOMETHING BIGGER. THEY SEE THEIR STATS BECOME RECORDS, AND THEIR RECORDS BECOME HISTORY. EVERY DAY, WE STRIVE TO MATCH THEIR BEST EFFORT

WITH OURS, AND REWARD EVERY AMATEUR GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY HERE WITH AN EXPERIENCE GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE PROS. OUR MISSION

IS TO CREATE A FUN, COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT BRINGS OUT THE VERY BEST IN YOUNG ATHLETES. A GATEWAY WHERE KIDS WALK IN LOVING SPORTS AND WALK OUT KNOWING SPORTS LOVE THEM BACK.

Well, there ya go. I think I’m done. Time to sit back and relax with a cup-o-joe in my free satin-red ESPN mug, curl up in my free ESPN stadium throw blanket, and polish my opening day medal. Maybe I’ll turn on some TV. Wonder what I’ll watch…

My sincere apologies to everyone who’s been waiting for me to continue our tour of the D23 Expo – unfortunately, the real world kept interfering with my plans to return to Shandy’s Corner. As a reward for you patience, I’m going to postpone our escalator ride to the second floor of Expo and show you the highlight of the Expo show floor – the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts exhibit.

If you’re a fan of the parks and resorts like me, you geeked out the minute you approached the Parks and Resorts pavilion,  Why?

Ho hum, I hear you say – it’s just some kind of odd illustration. But as you get closer, take a good look…

The outside wall features a collection of attraction posters from all the parks, including more than a few posters from extinct attractions.   (Note to WDI:  PLEASE make this into a screensaver and sell it! Really. I’ll be the first to pre-order it.)

Anyway, after you stand in a queue (yes, you even queue up to go into an exhibit about the parks), you’re admitted into the pre-show area, which features a wall display made to look like an old TV.

The pre-show is a brief  “sizzle reel” done up in the style of the classic Disney TV shows; the themed “lands” from the Disneyland TV show are echoed here in the lands of the exhibit.

But how do you get into the exhibit? At the end of the sizzle reel, your TV becomes the portal to the exhibit.

Pretty cool, huh? And we’re just getting started.

The first room in the exhibit gives us a peek at Cars Land, the new land coming to Disney’s California Adventure in 2012 that will allow us to visit Radiator Springs and all its residents. The centerpieces of this exhibit are models of Cars Land and the facade to Radiator Springs Racers, the land’s E-ticket attraction. The models even come in three handy sizes – small…

medium…

… and humungous. The Imagineer standing next to the model should give you some idea of this model’s scale.

Actually, this is a good time to point out something interesting about the Parks and Resorts exhibits. All those Disney folks that you’ll be seeing as we go through the exhibit are Imagineers – and not interns or folks that that they just hired, either; the presenters are experienced Imagineers who worked on the projects they’re exhibiting, and who can tell you all about what you’re looking at. But I digress. 

Also in this first hall is our friend Lightning McQueen. Lightning’s got a bit of laryngitis today, but you can still see how the Imagineers will be making his lips move when you encounter him in Radiator Springs Racers.

The next room in the exhibit tells about the history and the future of one of the most important elements found in many classic Disney attractions – Audio-Animatronics. As you enter the room, you first encounter a man who’s a milestone - the Mr. Lincoln AA figure from the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair edition of “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.”  This is only about the third time the Mr. Lincoln figure has been seen in public since the end of the World’s Fair.

Next to Mr. Lincoln is a very accurate replica of a suit worn by President Obama. Another one of these is worn by the President Obama figure in the recently revised Hall of Presidents at the Magic Kingdom. (Is it my imagination, or is Mr. Lincoln looking longingly at Obama’s suit?)

Across the way, you can see some equipment used to program Audio-Animatronic figures – from the joystick that Walt used to move and program the Enchanted Tiki Room’s Barker Bird on an episode of “Wonderful World of Color” to the sophisticated board used to program figures in the 70’s (covered with drawings by animator and Imagineer Bill Justice).   Representing today’s programming technology is an Imagineer using a computer to animate the next-generation Mr. Lincoln that will be going into “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln” at Disneyland later this year.

Next to this exhibit, we can see some exhibits dedicated to the technology and science that makes the figures so lifelike, like samples the “skin” put on the figures and a gigantic moving eyeball.

There’s also a show nearby to introduce you to Otto, an AA figure that demonstrates features of new systems called Autonomatonics. These systems are prototypes today, but someday, they’ll allow figures to modify their show routines in response to the audience, by doing things like counting the number of people in the audience and looking for smiles on the faces of guests.

But the big stars of this room are without a doubt two autonomous AA figures you may have seen on TV or in the Disney parks – WALL-E and Lucky the Dinosaur.  They trade off making appearances about every 15 minutes or so, and guests can queue to have their picture taken with them.

 I know it’s going to be hard to tear yourselves away from WALL-E and Lucky, but we’ve got one more room to explore!  As we enter the third room, we get a look at some adventures we’ll be able to experience outside of the Disney theme parks. For example, remember when you were in pre-school and you’d play and make things in the sandboxes or sand tables? Well, the Imagineers are giving guests the chance to do that again. As you might expect when Imagineers are involved, these are no ordinary sand tables – with a little technological magic, the shapes and contours you make in the sand tables come to life in colors and animation.

 Speaking of playing in the sand, how’d you like to see a little of the soon-to-open Disney Vacation Club resort in Hawaii? Well, you’re in luck – there’s a model and some illustrations on display.   

Next to the Hawaii DVC Exhibit is a model of the  Disney Dream, the next ship to be added to the Disney Cruise Line. Not far from the model is a replica of the statue of Admiral Donald, which will be in the atrium of the Dream. 

Now, there are some exhibits of the new Mickey balloon that will be in the next Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and exhibits on Adventures by Disney and the DVC Villas at the Grand Californian, but if you’re anything like me, you’re not paying much attention to these things. Nope – you’re looking at a large model of the new lands coming soon to Hong Kong Disneyland!

And the model is jsut the beginning. The remainder of the room we’re in is devoted to the three new lands to open at the newest Disney magic kingdom, with overviews of the lands and of the headliner attractions in them. For example, there’s a display on Mystic Manor, the new generation attraction that’s kinda like the Haunted Mansion, but kicked up a notch.  Just looking at the concept art and the room diagram makes me want to start planning a trip to China.

There are also exhibits on Toy Story Land (although the details on what was coming there seem to be a bit sketchy so far), and Grizzly Mountain, a new western-themed area with a wild roller coaster.  With a name like Grizzly Mountain, you’d expect to run into a few Audio-Animatronic bears  somewhere along the way, and the Imagineers don’t disappoint.

 Unfortunately, that’s the end of our tour of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion, but we’ll continue our tour of the D23 Expo soon.  There’s still a lot more fun stuff to see!

To the immediate right of the D23 Lounge, we have the Walt Disney Corporate Responsibility pavilion.  Yeah, it doesn’t sound too promising, but come on over. You know how good you feel when you experience some thing from Disney? Here’s your chance to spread a little of that good feeling around.

Here we have some helpful Expo guests participating in a Disney VoluntEars project.   For you folks who aren’t familiar with the VoluntEars, it’s a program where Disney employees volunteer their time to help the less fortunate in their communities.  Normally, you have to be a Disney employee to be a VoluntEar, but during the Expo, Disney’s running a new project every day, and they’re looking for Expo guests like you to help out. 

These honorary VoluntEars are putting together gift bags for disadvantaged children. On other days, they’ll be putting together care packages for our troops overseas or decorations for community centers.  

Providing moral support (he can’t provide much else, not having any arms and all) is Push, the talking trash can from the Disney theme parks.

If you become a VoluntEar at Expo, Disney will thank you for your kindness with a set of silver 25th anniversary VoluntEar mouse ears.

Does working on a VoluntEars project sound like a little more work than you’d like to do? Well, how about donating a can of food to Disney instead?  They’re putting together a canned food castle on the Expo floor with people’s donations.  Not only will you be helping feed some needy people…

…you’ll also be contributing to an amazing, if temporary, piece of art.

Now that you’ve earned your VoluntEars, let’s continue our journey around the show floor.  Up ahead is Disney Consumer Products. If you never had an idea how much Disney stuff is available in the stores, you’re about to find out, as many companies who hold licenses for Disney merchandise are showing off their wares here. For example, have you got a wedding coming up soon? Have a look at some of the things available from Disney Fairy Tale Weddings.

And after the wedding, wouldn’t you want to decorate your new home with Disney Home furniture and furnishings? There are a few sample rooms to give you some decorating ideas.

Okay, so maybe you’re not ready to redecorate your house just yet. There are still plenty of other things Disney they you might like to pick up at the store on display here.  For example, how about toys and dresses for your favorite little princess?

Or Lego and toy displays sure to drive the wildest Toy Story fan “To Infinity and Beyond”?

From collectibles to food and even paint (Disney paint?), you can see it all in the Disney Consumer Products display.

But you look a little tired. How about a spot of tea? I know a great tea party nearby…

Well, maybe we’d better skip that tea party for now.  Maybe gaining a little knowledge is more to your tastes. Nearby, you can sign up for Lost Universty and take a break in a dorm room of a couple of LU students.

If you’ve already got your PhD in Lost-ology, next door are some posters and props from the show for you to peruse.

Just beyond the “Lost” booths is a Radio Disney van and stage, where your favorite tweeners can rock out to their favorite Radio Disney jams. (Hmmm, no pictures of Radio Disney – must have had a camera malfunction…) 

Also next to Lost is the Collector’s Froum, home to all the fan clubs, fansites, and non-Disney vendors selling collectibles and other fun Disney and Disney-related stuff.

Finally, at the far east end of the show floor, we have the entrance to the D23 Arena, home the the largest of the Disney presentations - and the queue for same…

The good news is we’ve completed our exploration of the D23 show floor. The bad news for your tired virtual feet is that we’ve got the floors above and some galleries to explore! I’ll let you take a break for now and we’ll continue our tour of the D23 Expo next time.  

I’m sure everyone’s been keeping up with all the news items, videos, and blog posts from last month’s D23 Expo, and it’s been kind of a struggle to figure out what I could bring you from Expo that  you haven’t seen. Then it occurred to me: While people have seen the headlines and the photos of the big names from Expo, what about the stuff that the average D23 Expo visitor got to see just walking around? Well, the next couple of posts (hopefully, over the next few days) will give you a feel for everything that was going on at D23 outside of the seminars.

Let’s start our visit to D23 Expo the way everyone else did – walking from the hotel to the Anaheim Convention Center. By the looks of things, I’d say Disney’s been expecting us.

It probably helps to think of D23 Expo less like a convention and more of an extension of Disneyland next door. I mean, at Expo you’ve got the usual helpful cast members…

You’ve got a queue of guests patiently waiting…

…and  you’ve even got a few characters.

Just like at the park, there’s only one door that leads in to the main attraction. Since you’re all special guests of Magical Mountain, we’re going to skip the queue and go right inside. We’ve got a few pictures of our Disney friends to add character to the place…

…we’ve got a large row of booths where we can get our Expo wristbands and ask questions…

and – whaddya know – we’ve got another queue! In this case, they’re shoppers waiting to get some exclusive Expo poins and merchandise.

You weren’t planning on doing any shopping, were you? Good – let’s head to the show floor.

Don’t you just love the giant balloons? The D23 information booth is just inside the stands if you’d like some more info  about the Expo or if you decide you’d like to become a member of D23.  I think our best bet for the moment might be to just stop for a moment and have a seat in the D23 Lounge…

…have a peek at the Expo Guide, and figure out what we want to see first.

Okay, I already know what you want to see first – the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts exhibit…

…but let’s not be too hasty. There’s a lot of things here for us to see and do.

For instance, if we go to our left, there are a couple small booths ready to help give us something to do after the show floor closes, like sell us tickets to a show at the El Capitan or tickets to Disneyland – maybe even get us into the Disney Vacation Club or a get us signed up for a Disney Rewards Visa Card.

Now, if you’re really in a shopping mood, you can  join the queue outside and be one of the first people into the D23 Expo Dream Store, which features all kinds of stuff, both Expo-exclusive and from the parks. 

Sorry, but the Peter Pan’s Flight pirate ship’s not for sale until the D23 Expo Auction a couple of nights from now.  You could always head over to the pin trading area, or see who’s appearing at the Disney Dream Stage while you’re here, though.

Okay, so you’re not ready to shop just yet. Well, next to the U.S. Postal Service booth (where you can buy Art of Disney stamps or ship packages home), there’s Disney Technology Magic, where Disney’s showing off all the creative stuff they can do through high technology. Ever want to see yourself on a 3D TV screen or see what’s inside of an ABC TV station’s news van? This is the place.

Personally, I’d rather hang out with the bug from the Main Street Electrical Parade.

 If your taste in technology leans more towards the interactive, Disney’s got you covered. Disney Interactive has a booth right across from Technology Magic with stations where you can try out some of their latest games.

Next to Disney Interactive is a fan art gallery, with Disney fans’ paintings and drawings of the characters. The gallery also contains the finalists for the contest to have a D23 member’s artwork to be chosen as the official 75th anniversary portrait of Donald Duck.

And that’s just what’s on one side of the main show floor. Wait until you see the other half of this floor and the other floors, not to mention the special exhibits! We’ll stop here so you can rest in the lounge (and drool at the theme park poster images at the entrance to the Theme Parks and Resorts Pavilion) and cwe’ll ontinue our tour of the Expo show floor next time.

Those thoughts can be summarized in one word:

WOW!!!

Now just so you folks know, this isn’t the first Disney event I’ve ever been to. I’ve been a proud member of the NFFC for 10 years, and I’ve gone to every single California Convention. I’ve run myself ragged trying to get to every meet at  Mousefest. I’ve been to meetings of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, the Dis, and many other groups of Disney fans.  When Disney announced that they were doing the D23 Expo, I thought to myself that this event was going to have to be pretty special if it was going to measure up against the events I’ve been previously been a part of.

You know what? Disney did it.

In the space of four days, I got to see some really amazing Disney artifacts that the average Disney fan seldom if ever gets to see. I got to see models and art from upcoming Disney attractions and talked to the Imagineers that worked on them.  I got to see a Disney Legends Award ceremony (and until now, you had to be a Legend yourself or have some pretty good connections to see a Legends ceremony).

I got my picture taken with a dinosaur who was a major milestome in Audio-Animatronics development, but whose most impressive accomplishment was that that he was able to make me grin from ear to ear from the first moment I saw him. I got to see myself on TV in 3D. I got to listen to lectures from a lot of folks I’d never gotten to see in person before – everyone from Bob Iger to Miley Cyrus.  I got the chance to see some classic Disney movies on the big screen for the first time and saw a couple of my favorite movies in a whole new way.  Disney pulled out all the stops to make D23 Expo an unforgettable event.

But you know what I enjoyed the most about the D23 Expo? The people. I’m not talking about the presenters and the stars and the VIPs (although it was great to see all of them).  The people I’m talking about are all of my fellow Disney fans – from the folks who I see fairly regularly around Disneyland to the folks who I’ve only gotten to see once or twice, plus the folks I met for the first time at the Expo.  I met and talked with Disney fans from just down the block and from halfway around the world.  I met folks who were dressed up so convincingly as their favorite Disney characters that you’d think that they had escaped from Mickey’s Toontown, and I saw other folks whose didn’t wear a single item of clothing that had a Mickey on it.  The one thing all of them had in common was they they loved Disney and they were there to share a great experience.

We’ve all heard the terms “the Disney fan community” and “‘the Disney enthusiast family”. Well, D23 Expo was like a family reunion, and I’m glad I was there to spend a little with all of my family members.  We all come from different places and have different points of view, but when we get together under one roof and and have a chance to share our love of the Mouse, all the differences are cast aside and we spend our time enjoying we have in common as opposed to what makes us different.  The memories of those experiences are what I’m going to remember long after the movies and attractions and TV shows that were previewed at the Expo have their debut and are long forgotten.

The D23 Expo was really amazing and was really fun. But there was one thing missing.

You!

I know a lot of us couldn’t get away from our daily routines and obligations to attend the Expo, but really, if you get the chance, come join us next year! In some respects it may be better (I’m sure that Disney will work to fix the problems that they encountered this year) and in some respects it may not be quite as good (you can’t guarantee who’s going to show up and what they’ll talk about).   But trust me, if you can make it, you’ve got to join us in Anaheim next year, just so you can experience for yourself what fun being a part of a live community of Disney fans is like.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Still not quite convinced? Come on back to Shandy’s Corner and I’ll show and tell you about a few things that just may convince you to join us.  See you back here soon!

-Paul Schnebelen

The event consisted of reserved seating at the Tony Orlando Flower Power concert and an Illuminations dessert party at the United Kingdom. This was the last day of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, and Tony Orlando was terrific. He made numerous shout-outs to the D-23 crowd (below, left) and even donned Mickey Mouse hands while singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme song (below, right).

Tony Orlando’s band has been together for 12 years, which is much longer than he was with Dawn. Ron, a Disney photographer, gets called onto stage (below, right).

The dessert party was wonderful and included a variety of Walt Disney’s favorites – pies, cake, bread pudding, Coke floats, as well as tea, coffee, and bottled water to wash it down with (below left and right).

Illuminations is still my favorite fireworks show at Walt Disney World, and I am glad to take any opportunity I can get for special viewing (even if I spent most of the time taking photos!) Desserts were left out for everyone to enjoy during the show (below, right).

Jeffrey Epstein from D23 helped Walt Disney World cast members hand out special D23 buttons to everyone who attended (below, left). You can see the set of buttons (below, right), they are buttons you can also see when visiting One Mans Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the D23 exhibit.

Many thanks to D23 for hosting the party. I’d jumped into D23 the first day it was offered, and it’s great to have so much value in my membership.

- Jeff Lange

At 7:35pm, donned in his First Time Visitor button, my friend Mark from Minneapolis explained to the greeter our dilemma: We wanted to ride Splash Mountain, but we also wanted to make the 8 o’clock fireworks. Mark is originally from Los Angeles, so he’d already been on most of the Magic Kingdom’s rides at Disneyland—except Splash Mountain. The greeter said he’d see what he could do.

Splash Mountain

After plunging the 52.5 feet into the briar patch, we raced in damp clothes to Cinderella’s castle. Though Mark assured me that the whole day was magical and more than he could have ever hoped for, his true magical moment came during the song “Once Upon a Dream” in Wishes. He explained to me later that he used to sing that song to his daughters as a lullaby.

How does one show a first timer all four parks in one day? Easy.

Born and raised in Orlando, I have the luxury of being a very seasoned theme park goer. I remember the cable cars, riding in metal strollers, when Innoventions was mostly video games, and visiting Wilderness Lodge when it was first built. And of course, I worked there for a few summers as a lifeguard at Typhoon Lagoon.

With my vat of Disney knowledge, I was able to ask Mark key questions to help me shape a personalized itinerary that highlighted the Walt Disney World attractions that would most resonate with him. I basically created the ultimate whistle stop tour.

What did I ask? Here’s some examples:

• What are your favorite Disney movies? (Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo)
• Do like roller coasters and the feeling of your stomach dropping? (Yes)
• Do you like animals? (Yes)
• What is your favorite adult beverage? (No real preference)
• What rides did you do at Disneyland? (Basically all of them, except Splash Mountain, which wasn’t yet built when he went)

I threw together our schedule, told him I’d pick him up at 7:15am and to bring $200 for the day, a lot of energy, good walking shoes, no bag, and his imagination.

First stop: Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Arusha savanna. Early to rise in the cool morning, the giraffes, Ankole cattle, and zebras grazed in close range to the overlook. We ate at Mara then jetted to the park for the 9am opening. Once inside he said, “Let’s get a map.” I just laughed and dragged him to Asia for a five minute wait time on Everest. I left him in line for Finding Nemo the Musical and high-tailed it to Africa to pick up fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safari. That would be our last attraction at Animal Kingdom, we had to make the 12:15 Beauty and the Beast show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios after all.

We parked at Hollywood Studios, where we’d leave the car for the rest of the day. After Beauty and the Beast, at which we both teared up a little, I had to make a decision: Rock ‘n Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror. The standby wait times for both exceeded an hour, and Rock ‘n Roller Coaster’s fast pass return was when I’d planned to be at Epcot. I asked what he thought, but he ceded the decision to me, the “expert.” Tower of Terror it was; it’s my favorite ride because of the superb theming. It quickly became his too. We ate lunch at the Prime Time Cafe’s bar (no wait time), and the bartender happened to be from Minneapolis, so they had a plenty to talk about. After destroying the Death Star on Star Tours and showing him NYC and San Francisco, it was time to head to Epcot.

But first I had to take him for ice cream at Beaches ‘n Cream. We took the boat to and from there, so we started in the World Showcase. I wanted to try the new Kimpossible attraction, so we got our Kimmunicator in Norway and grabbed the obligatory margarita from San Angel’s Cantina. While the Kimpossible thing was fun, I have to admit that the margarita was a big help. Soarin’ was, as usual, a massively long wait. Mark worked his first-timer charm and got us 6:20pm return time fast passes from the greeter. I took him on Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Living Seas, where he saw a manatee for the first time. Mark, having lived in California for decades, loved Soarin’. As we whooshed over the Golden Gate bridge he exclaimed, “If we turned just a little to the right we could see my parents’ house!” He knew every single place we flew over and most of them had a nostalgic anecdote.

We ran to the monorail. No Disney trip is complete without a ride on the monorail. On our transfer at the Ticket and Transportation Center, we met a couple who was doing all four parks in one day as well. We exchanged our days’ events, and Mark and I privately agreed that ours had been better—we had opened our day with a giraffe after all.

After the rush of Magic Kingdom, I led Mark to the resort boat shuttle lines. We went over our second water bridge of the day on our way to Wilderness Lodge where we got martinis and a ration of food at Territory Lounge. We then took the bus back to my car at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. By a stroke of luck, the driver was a Disney veteran, and, seeing as we were the only passengers onboard, he was excited to join in on my personal trivia and tales of Disney. It was exactly the right way to round out such a day.

Throughout the day Mark kept commenting on how he never would have dreamed that Disney had this much to offer. I told him we were only hitting the tip of the iceberg. He was amazed at the sheer size of the property, the intricate transportation options, and the amount of diverse and detailed theming.

The main thing that I felt coming out of it all was a sense of contented pride. All my years of Disney had finally paid off. I was able to give someone a once in a lifetime experience, something he couldn’t find in any guidebook—and isn’t that what Disney’s all about?

– Lorena Gay

Yesterday, Denise from MouseSteps attended the Grand Opening of the new Downtown Disney balloon experience Characters In Flight!

Vice President of Operating Participants Keith Bradford, Aerophile Pilot Erik Garcia and Vice President of Downtown Disney Kevin Lansberry. (above left). A test flight – with no guests due to wind (above right).

Posing for photos after the ribbon cutting (above left). Kevin Lansberry is interviewed by local TV stations. (above right).

Below are two videos that encompass the ceremony. Characters in Flight has often been grounded due to winds (wind above can be 3x that of wind on the ground), but one pilot said that summer should be great for flying due to calmer winds.

Exclusive Video – Characters In Flight Grand Opening Ceremony 4/21/09:

Video #1: Characters in Flight Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Downtown Disney Part 1.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video #2: Characters in Flight Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting at Downtown Disney Part II

Click here to view the embedded video.

Operating hours are: Sunday to Thursday, 10:30 am to 11pm. Friday and Saturday, 10:30am to 12am. The prices are: Adults (ages 10 and up) $16.00 and Children (ages 3-9) $10.00 (all prices include tax).

Conditions for flight are as follows: 3mph or less, flight with 20 passengers, 3mph to 12mph, flight with 10 to 20 passengers, 12mph to 22mph, flight with 10 passengers and 22mph or storm conditions, no flight.

Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.

For the first time in 60 years, the Walt Disney Company goes back to nature with a new Disneynature brand and Earth.

Narrated by JAMES EARL JONES, it tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journeys across the planet that we all call home.  “EARTH” combines rare action, unimaginable scale, and impossible locations while capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures.  Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award®-winning “Planet Earth”, combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen in partnership with the creators of the Emmy-winning Discovery Channel series “Planet Earth”.

As the film starts out, we are introduced to Antarctica and a family of polar bears just getting ready to emerge from the hibernation of winter.  From there the movie is simply a marvel of nature at its finest, including scenes from the epic, Kalahari Desert, to the mountain of the Himalayas.  Earth shows us the splendor and beauty of our unique planet.
A musical score that really moves well accompanies the amazing footage.    It is composed by George Fenton, an Academy Award® nominations composer who has worked on such scores as “The Fisher King”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “Cry Freedom”, and “Gandhi”.

Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Also, while showing the beauty of our planet, the disneynature brand does not shy away from the harshness of nature, including a few scenes that had the audience on the edge of their seat as predators attacked species lower on the food chain, and also shows the effects that man and global warming has had on our planet.

Earth is being released on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, also known as “Earth Day”, and being green has never been easier for movie patrons.  The Disney Company has promised to plant a tree in honor of each person who sees Earth during its opening week.  The tree planting will begin in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest which is one of the most endangered in the world.

Earth is a rare treat for the family and a great start to a new Disney brand that I have a feeling will be around for years to come.  This is a film that Walt himself would be proud that it carried the Disney name!

Opens: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Rating: G (some animal deaths)
Directors: Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield
Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Visit Fandango.com for showtimes and tickets

Nathan M Rose, Founder and CEO
An award winning podcaster, Nathan has been in love with the mouse ever since he was a child and spoke his first words, “Mickey Mouse”. He currently resides in South Florida with his family and visits Walt Disney World® monthly. Nathan is also an award winning podcaster, and co-host of the Magical Definition Disney Podcast. Aside from all the hats Nathan wears at Magical Mountain, LLC he is also the CEO and on the board of directors for FlickDirect, Inc (FlickDirect.com), a respected online movie informational company. He is still trying to find a way to convince his family to move up to the Orlando area (any help would be greatly appreciated!).

Favorite Character:Perry The Platypus
Favorite Attraction: Space Mountain, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Favorite Resort: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Disney D23 Magazine

It has now been about a week since the Disney announcement of D23, and it seems as if the fan community could not be more divided. It appears that some fans of the Disney online community feel that Disney has “slapped” them in the face with this new club, citing pricing as an issue, and the exurbanite price of some of the exclusive merchandise. The $850 pen has drawn most of the hatred from fans online.

However, I myself am a little confused by these tantrums. I feel that the new D23 club is a great addition to the online family of already unofficial information on the Disney Club.

They will provide more information and access to things that Disney fans for years have been longing for — including sneak previews of films, merchandise, and events at Disney Theme Parks.

One could take concern with the $75.00 membership price. However, we must realize that as a society not everything can be free. Disney is a company and needs to stay in business; and honestly, the $75.00 price point is not that far off from the Magic Kingdom club (if adjusted for inflation) or any other special membership club out there. What you have to look at is the value you get from the membership and whether Disney delivers as promised….$75 is a pretty good deal.

We still have quite some time to see how D23 performs and try to deliver on its promises. For myself, I am excited about D23 and cannot wait for the D23 Expo in September. Hope to see everyone there!

I see all these great deals at different times of the year, “Buy 4 Get 3 nights free”, “Free Dining Plan” and “Free Gift Cards”.  Ok, so obviously the free nights, I don’t need. But what about a nice $200 gift card? What about getting a free dining plan option?

It’s understandable that Walt Disney World Resort is probably trying to bring in new customers with these promotions.  However, as a family who has spent quite a bit of money on not only a time share, but being a guest there almost annually, I feel like I deserve a little something extra also. The tens of thousands of dollars that we have spent there since 2000 should absolutely mean something to them.  Even something as small as mousekeeping – we can’t even get THAT as often as a regular guest. Maybe I would like my room cleaned every single day.

Maybe these seem like petty complaints, but I just feel that as a member, who is told that we “are home” when we check in,  I should get a little extra something as a “Thank You” for returning every year.

“ICE” has become a tradition at the Orlando Gaylord Palms Resort for the past six years, and is simply an amazing treat to behold. Guests step into a 9-degree area of the resort to a true wonder carved by master artisans flown in from China.

Each room houses a rare wonder and delight for guests to view — From the amazing ice bridge,  a traditional Christmas nativity scene, to Santa Clause sunning himself in the Florida sun.

No matter what your tastes, Gaylord Palm’s “ICE” has something for everyone.

Aside from the wonderful ICE presentation, the Gaylord Palm Orlando Resort is also currently offering a fantastic promotion to view the wonders of ICE, and also stay at the resort for just $139.00 a night.

For more information about the Gaylord Palm or the ICE event be sure to head on over to their official site by clicking here.

There is almost always a sequel, if not a trilogy, to successful films today.  Walt, being a man who always welcomed progress, surely would frown upon the way studios, including Disney, bank on said repeat successes.

Have we lost sight of the ingenuity of Walt? The creativity and originality he was so famous for? Have we become a society who is more concerned with making the big bucks on a sure thing than creating something original?

2008 NFFC Florida Canvention:

This years NFFC Florida Convention was excellent as expected! Highlights included author David Koenig, who gave a highly informative and entertaining presentation on Epcot’s World Showcase concepts that were never realized. Animation Legend Joe Hale (below right) gave an interesting and candid talk about working at the Disney Studios. His recollections included memories of Walt Disney and dealing with Jeffrey Katzenburg, Michael Eisner and more!

Another highlight was Ike Eisenmann (below left), who spoke about his work on the original Witch Mountain movies. He segued into his involvement with the upcoming “Race to Witch Mountain” film and his own animation company. A very special tribute to Disney Legend Ralph Kent featured emotional memories from Gary Sohmers and a panel of Ralphs friend and co-workers. This was followed by a spirited auction where some of Ralph’s memorabilia was auctioned off by Mr Sohmers to benifit Ralph’s estate.

The convention also included a tour of the Walt Disney World Merchandise Warehouse, the induction of three new NFFC legends: Hank Dains, Jess Rubio, Phil Smith and Gretta Verity. A very detailed talk about the history of the Adventurers Club from Disney historian Jim Korkis rounded out the convention and got everyone ready for the special event that followed!

The Adventurers Club Dinner:

When Pleasure Island opened in 1989, I was 22 years old. It was the perfect age to enjoy all that P.I. offered! That included the Comedy Warehouse, a variety of nightclubs – and the mysterious Adventurers Club. I enjoyed the Island on my frequent Disney trips, but was especially enamored with the interactive characters and atmosphere of the AC. When I found out about Pleasure Island’s closing, I was especially saddened as I would not be able to visit the final night. Fortunately, I was given another chance to say goodbye with the NFFC during a wonderful evening as part of the Florida Convention.

I enjoyed a special evening with other NFFC members, who’d waited excitedly to enjoy the Club one last time. All the characters were in attendance, and even more interactive than usual due to the absence of the library shows.

We were treated to a hilarious New Member Induction Ceremony poking fun at all the “Disney Fanatics” in the room plus two Mask Room shows and two Treasure Room shows!

The actors seemed genuinely happy to host our group, and talked out of character a little more than usual at the end of the evening. Jim Korkis ended the eventful night with a final tribute to the Club and the performers (photo below of the cast posting for us).

It was an unforgettable evening, and I will truly miss this unique Disney experience. I hope it returns in some form in the future. For more photos of this very special event, please visit partner site MouseSteps.

So until the next blog post…

…see you real soon!