Tip of the Hat to WDW and their Charity Work

WDW definitely gets my Tip of the Hat award for this month. I came across this article and was so impressed I felt it should be shared. The title of the article was "Central Florida Charities 'Shine On' thanks to $700,000 in Disney Grants." That title caught my eye, $700K in grants is incredibly generous. The part that really makes this announcement special is the fact that these grants have been given out in just the last two weeks. Starting on May 11th, the WDW company began giving these generous grants to deserving charities and schools in the central Florida area. Here is a video that shows one of the 'Shine On' prize patrols. Disney always does things in such a grand manner. Here is a link to the web site: http://shineontoday.com/ Stop by and check out how Disney contributes to it's central Florida community.

Here is a listing of the organizations that will be using this out-pouring of cash from WDW to better their services:

Adult Literacy League, Inc. ($17,000) · Best Buddies Florida ($12,000) · Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Florida ($50,000) · Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, Inc. ($40,000) · Boys & Girls Clubs of Lake & Sumter, Inc. ($10,000) · Bridges of Light Foundation, Inc. ($48,000) · Camp Fire USA Sunshine Council ($18,600) · Center for Independent Living in Central Florida, Inc. ($17,400) · Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida ($60,000) · Community Trust Foundation ($15,000) · Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County ($15,000) · Explorations V Children’s Museum ($15,000) · Florida Children’s Repertory Theatre ($10,000) · Florida Citrus Sports Foundation ($25,000) · Foster Grandparent Program of Central Florida ($30,000) · Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, Inc. ($10,000) · Golden Rule Foundation, Inc. ($14,000) · Habitat for Humanity in Seminole County, Inc. ($10,000) · Harbor House of Central Florida, Inc. ($39,000) · Hispanic Resource Link, Inc. ($15,000) · Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida, Inc. ($20,000) · Hope CommUnity Center ($35,000) · Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, Inc. ($20,000) · Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, Inc. ($15,000) · Justice and Peace Office, Inc. – Apopka Family Learning Center ($25,000) · New Hope for Kids ($25,700) · Orlando Day Nursery Association, Inc. ($10,000) · Orlando Museum of Art ($9,500) · Orlando Repertory Theatre ($10,800) · Orlando Science Center, Inc. ($20,000) · Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Inc. ($10,000) · Osceola County Council on Aging ($15,000) · Restore Orlando, Inc. ($10,000) · Winter Park Day Nursery ($3,000)

MDP's Disney Themed Spring Concert

This past week my daughter's school, Mother of Divine Providence, held their Spring Concert. This was a great event. The best part about it, other than my girl was it's theme...Disney. This is a annual event where the kids sing various songs that follow a theme. One year it was 60's and 70's sit-coms. Another year it was cartoon themesongs. The eighth grade then does something to enhance the show such as sing solos or act out songs. Here they are in the 100 Acre Woods. This was a really fun night and
I think the kids really out did themselves this year.

Epcot Announces India

Walt Disney World Welcomes India...

There have been many discussions about the countries that did not make it into the World Showcase of Epcot. I have heard many podcasts and read many great articles about what countries the Imagineers had planned to use to upgrade World Showcase. Argentina, Australia, South Africa and many more. What would it be like if WDW management had decided they liked India? India is a big part of our world. We don’t know a lot about their country and there seems to be a big draw for Indian food since there tends to be a couple Indian restaurants in every town. Let’s find out with this announcement from Meg Crofton:

"Walt Disney World would like to welcome our newest country to the Crown of Jewels that is our World Showcase area of Epcot. With Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, America, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada, we are happy and proud to introduce our newest World Showcase Country: India. India calls to mind the wonderful people and culture of its land, the exotic jungles and mountains of its landscape and its mysterious and beautiful animals.
As you walk through this newest of Epcot's pavilions you will experience the wonder and beauty of India all around you. As you explore you will find a new state of the art 3Dx3D attraction, two incredible new Indian themed restaurants and shopping opportunities from all parts of India.
The WDW Imagineers have out-done themselves with the first ever use of 3Dx3D. Adventures of India will have you travel to middle India on a photographic Tiger Hunt. Try to get the best picture as you explore through the thick grasslands experiencing the wildlife of India thru audio, video and 3Dx3D technology. Mid-way thru your journey a couple of old friends from Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book make sure your see the very best of India and its wildlife.
After building up an appetite on the Adventures of India ride, come and join us in the Bukhara Mahal our new 5 star Table Service restaurant offering the finest cuisine of all regions of India. Its wonderful indoor/outdoor dining areas are complimented by beautiful tile work and fountains with exceptional service. If you’re in the mind for a lighter snack, then stop and eat at Louie’s Grill, our newest counter service restaurant serving a smaller menu full of quality.
And before leaving India, you must stop at one of the two gift stores where you are promised to find many treasures from India. We are very proud of the job we have done on this new Pavilion, we know you will enjoy it to. Thank you."
Stay tuned to this media outlet for more details about our new Indian pavilion and it’s offerings.

The Disney Stoveworks

I have a matter of a little mystery on my hands and I was hoping for some help. I recently read an interview of Richard Todd talking about Walt Disney curtousey of Didier Ghez of the Walt's People books fame. Richard was Robin Hood in the Disney live action movie, The Story of Robin Hood. Based on the interview he had a close relationship with Walt Disney. He tells many funny and moving stories. One of the most touching was how Walt would send his kids gifts each Christmas and how Richard had to explain to the kids why they stopped getting them after Walt's passing. Another comment of note in the interview is the way Todd talks about the Disney studio process of using story boards. Also, how unlike studios like MGM, Paramount and 20th Century Fox, the Disney studios were run by one man...Walt.

There are other stories in the interview, but the one that really caught my attention had to do with Walt's more private side. Richard talks about knowing Walt very well and going to his house in the Holmby Hills often and about the 'big barn shed' that Walt had in the backyard for working on his trains. He mentions that Walt had another hobby, creating miniatures "...and he started a thing he called the Disney Stoveworks." I have seen the exhibit at the Disney Hollywood Studios, One Man's Dream, with the house scene that Walt had built in scale form. I also remember hearing mention of a traveling exhibit of Walt miniatures so this comment made sense. But then Richard went on, "...now one of the things that he'd always rememberd from his boyhood was pot-bellied stove. So he start making pot-bellied stoves himself on his lathe, and they were all hand painted and they were like little Dresden pieces. I've still got my pot-bellied stove. They were about four to five inches high and everything worked; the little riddle worked and the laid worked and they were beautifully painted, such pretty little things, as I say, like little pieces of Dresden china from the Walt Disney Stoveworks."

I thought that was such a cool little item that I had not heard about Walt. The idea of him taking the time to create something so small but fully functional and then giving it to close friends was a really nice way to envision Walt. Where would he have gotten the time to do this and why have I not heard of or seen one of these stoves? I needed to find out more information about this and did the regular searches as follows:

• I went out and googled the Disney Stoveworks and got nothing except the usual commercial adds for New Disney company items to buy.
• The next thought was let me try going with a search on the Workshop. There was a lot of information about the shed and the trains and the move to the new location by the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, but again nothing about the Disney Stoveworks or the pot-bellied stoves.
• I reached out to various Disney boards and Blogs with no luck.

My next thought is to start hitting the Disney Biographies. There are so many of such varying quality. Please comment here or send me and email at maz24681@yahoo.com if you might have an idea as to where I should look next for more information on the 'Disney Stoveworks'.

SpectroMagic from Around the Magic Kingdom

Our favorite parade in Walt Disney World is Spectromagic. We've seen it from many places in the park and are totaly enthralled by it.

Here is the official Disney description:
"SpectroMagic" Parade is a dazzling nighttime procession filled with brilliantly lit Disney Characters and floats at Magic Kingdom theme park. Your heart will glow along with the brilliant lights and joyous music of this gleaming parade that celebrates scenes from Disney films. Disney Characters are magically transformed into living ornaments of light in this magical, glittering spectacle.
Half a million lights and miles of fiber optics cables light up the night during the "SpectroMagic" Parade to create miles of smiles for Guests of all ages.

I can’t agree more. My heart glows every time I even hear the music, let alone attend in person. We have seen this parade many times from many different places. I’d like to go over some of those places in the hopes that you’ll try somewhere new next time you have a chance for viewing Spectromagic. I also have a couple tips and facts about the parade.
I don’t want to be-labor the history and creation of the parade or even the photos. When your done here you can go over to LaughingPlace.com. They have a great article on Spectromagic and a bunch of pictures of the entire parade.

Just as an FYI, the parade starts on the circle on Main Street near the Fire Station and ends at the junction of AdventureLand and FrontierLand right underneath Splash Mountain.
The first four or five times we have seen this parade we have watched it from various places on Main Street. We did not know any better yet. Usually the place was dictated by the crowds and when we got there to wait for the parade to start. Main Street seems to have more activities run by the cast members as you wait for the parade. My son's first pin trading was done waiting for the parade. We’ve watched from in front of City Hall, in front of the Candy Store, half-way down Main, in Front of the Plaza Ice Cream place and on the Tomorrowland side of the hub. Without a doubt the best experience was sitting half-way down Main Street. We found our spots and camped out maybe 30 minutes until the parade started. The kids and wife played games on the street as I guarded our seats. The Parade was great as always. You get close to the Parade on Main Street but there is some pushing. A new spot we discovered had a back-drop that we did not fully appreciate until
we had gotten home and watched the videos. Cinderella's Castle in the background changing colors added just a little more magic. You can see the bridge to the right. This was a small pathway that takes you from the Crystal Palace right to Liberty Square. You can see how close we were and there was not much of a crowd. The next place that we found to be a very good place to sit is in Frontierland, right across the pathway from Pecos Bills. There is not a lot of room for depth which keeps it pretty free of crowds.

This is about 100 yards from where the parade goes off stage and was a great viewing spot. It also let us get onto Splash Mountain pretty quick and we were able to see parts of the Wishes fireworks show as we went in and out of the mountain and then down the big hill, very cool.

Tips:

• If you want to sit on Main Street get there 45-60 minutes before the parade. I would also bring a blanket or towel to put down on your spot on the curb. People setting up for Main Street can get brutal. We usually plan to do our shopping in the Main Street stores as we wait. We take turns reminding people that we were there first and getting our food for the parade and fireworks.
• Check the times when you check in to your hotel, they can change.
• If you have a choice always see the second parade if offered that night. Ride attractions while the first parade is going on.
• If you want your kids (or yourself) to feel part of the parade, bring glow sticks and necklaces with you for the parade.

One last item. Last year I went on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. It was a great tour and I was amazed at what we were shown and where we were taken. One stop was the SpectroMagic storage warehouses where the parade floats are stored and repaired during the day. Very cool seeing where a lot of the 'cockpits' were for most of the floats. One final bit of info. The parade was originally led by handlers around the parade route who manually kept track of where the parade is and when to start music and such. They had switched to a computer run system that used sensors buried in the parade route. You can see the brass colored circles about 2-3 inches across still today. I say still today, because they are back to the human handlers directing the parade. The sensors, it seems, could not keep up.

If you have not seen SpectroMagic, it is a must. If you have but have not left Main Street, try to watch it from somewhere else next time, you will not be disappointed.

Walt Disney Companies' D23 is Released

As most of us that are in the Disney online Community have heard, Disney has started a new Disney sponsored Fan site called D23. To say site only would under-sell what Disney is offering in this new endvour. There is a new D23 magazine that is for the fan with stories about all apspects of the Disney company minus the advertisements. The other major item is that there is to be a Mousfest type event in Anaheim this September, put on by the Disney people. The cost of membership is $74 and change. Click on Mickey above to get the full details from Disney. I wanted to throw this post out there to point out the outstanding interview that Eric and the gang at Mouseguest had this week with Non-other than Disney Legend and Founder/Chief Archivist of the Walt Disney Archives Dave Smith, Manager of the Walt Disney Archives, Becky Cline and head of D23 and overseer of the Archives and Photo Library, Steven Clark. The trio discuss the Archives, the D23 club and membership, "Disney twenty-three" magazine, the D23 Expo, and they also address some concerns the Disney online community has voiced about D23. This is the only Podcast so far this month that has such an exculsive and detailed interview. Please check it out by clicking the MouseGuest logo. My plan is to get a copy of the magazine and hold off on the membership for now. Have fun checking out D23!

Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, Norway:Completed

On our trip down to WDW this past January we had the chance to try out the new Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. This was fantastic. A truly interactive, I can’t wait to see what happens next, kind of activity. It is a great way to give kids, big and small, a new experience in the World Showcase at EPCOT. I am going to go through the experience in detail, so there might be spoilers(Pssst, pssst, there will be spoilers...and pictures...and video). But, since this is only for Norway and since there is suppose to be 6-7 more adventures, you could read this one and plan on doing all the other Adventures first. I’ll also not tell the exact story so that will be kinda new when you do this. This was really fun.
I had heard about this from the various podcasts I listen to, but had really forgotten about it until we saw the Kim Possible sign recruiting to ‘Save the World’ directing us into Inoventions West. Right inside the door to the left is a Kim Possible (KP) Wall with various stations with a monitor at each. They are touch sensitive and you read through a number of screens asking about your party and telling you the beginnings of a story about Kim and Ron not being available and could you help out. Next to the machine is a slot that spit out a Fastpass looking card that had a country name (Norway) and a time that our Adventure would begin. I think we started at 12:45. We had some time so we hit Club Cool. Got the 8 year old with Beverly, but that’s another story, and strolled through Mexico. The KP stand was easy to spot as were the Cast Members. Nice Ron stoppable looking Purple shirts. We handed over our pass and were given a cell phone looking device. We were told how to use them and then we were directed to get about 100 feet away from the cart. Even though there were specific times to start the adventure, you did not have to be there at the time that was on your ticket, so there was a little bit of sound over-lap between our team and others. We listened to Wade describe a World Class disaster in the making and we need follow clues through Norway to solve the mission. I have never been in the Stave Church in all my times down to Epcot and that’s the first place the game took us. Wade directs you to a place and then asks a question that can be answered by reading or looking around where you are sent. Here is one example. In the Stave Church there is a replica of a famous Norwegian boat, can’t remember the name. Wade’s question, that will help us catch the villain, was how long was the boat. The question has four possible answers and you pick the right one to continue the adventure. SPOILERS: The interactivity was great. At one point Wade had us look at Japan and smile. A picture of us from a hidden camera was then sent to our phone/device. Again, the interactivty with the Norway pavailion was great. We caused smoke to rise out of one of the chimmneys near the Maelstrom. We lit lanterns for signals and had flags raised

over a Dragon as an answer to a vital question and even talked to a famous norwegian marathon runner's statue. There was a great finale which you'll need to see and then you dumpedthe device into a trunk near the entrance to the Maelstrom. This was great. I saw parts of Norway I have never seen before. The Stave Church and Perrin's Roost and just the general details of Norway. It took about 40 minutes and I can see us doing this at least once or twice on our next trip. I can't wait to do China or Japan next. Let me know if you've done any other countries.

New Hidden Mickeys...at least new to us.

The Walt Disney Park Imagineers are men and women who have created rides and attractions both big and small. However, one of their best creations is something that started small but has become a fun obsession for the family and I. Hidden Mickeys. For those that don't know, "...a hidden Mickey is a partial or complete impression of Mickey Mouse placed by the Imagineers and artists to blend into the designs of Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other areas. " That quote came from the number one expert on Hidden Mickeys(HM), Steve Barrett and his Hidden Mickey Guide and website. You can even buy his book in the parks. Steve has a couple of Disney travel books, but the HM's are the most fun.

We are always looking for more. This past trip in Jan. we spotted three new HM's. At least they were new to us, when we got home and checked Steve's site, they were all already reported. It was still fun spotting them though. The first two were at Epcot. First in the Living Seas with Nemo. As we walked down to the aquarium section of the pavilion, we saw this very obvious HM on the seabed. Next on Spaceship Earth. We always screw our heads around trying to find a new one in here. Well, we thought we had done it, found a new one. In the scene with the Jewish Library, as you see the one guy sleeping, behind him on the shelf, there are three scrolls that are next to each other. Here is a LINK to Steve's site and a picture of this one. My pictures in Spaceship Earth never look good. The last one for this trip was found while we were on line for the Jungle Cruise. We were in the Fastpass line on the left side of the dock as you face the water. We were moving in line to the right and saw this jar with what looked like walnuts in it or ping pong balls. But there it was, the classic hidden mickey shape. When I was down in September I had a really novel HM pointed out to me. Novel in that it was always there in front of us. Too bad my picture was not that great. But it You can get the general idea of what it looks like. These plates are on the table in the Dancing room. So next time you head out to a Disney park, Hotel or Restaurant, keep your eyes open for those hidden extras the imagineers have left for you to find.

The Disney Songs and Academy Awards

I was working on a project the other day looking for movie songs that have won Oscars. My daughters school is having an Oscar themed event and I was asked to supply a soundtrack. As I was looking at the The Academy Awards for Best Original Songs(BOS) listed I was pleasantly shocked to find that there were 10 songs that had won Oscars for the Disney Company over the years. The Oscar for this category began in 1934. Disney’s impressive run began in 1940 with ‘When you Wish upon a Star’ from Pinocchio. There were two other Oscars for BOS from what I call the Classic Era movies of Disney. In 1947, with an Oscar for ‘Zip a Dee Doo Dah’ in Song of the South and in 1964 for Chim Chim Cher-ee. From 1964 to 1988 there was a substantial lack of Disney Oscars for BOS. But that ended in 1989 with ‘Under the Sea’ from the Little Mermaid. For the next 12 years Disney would dominate in this category at the Academy Awards. From 1989 to 2001 Disney was nominated 19 times and won 7 Oscars. When you do the math that might not make sense. Then consider that in 1991 and 1994 they had three nominated songs for the BOS in each year. The along with 'Under the Sea', the New Era Disney Oscar winners were ‘Beauty and the Beast’(1991-Beauty and the Beast), ‘A Whole New World’(1992-Aladdin), ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight?’(1994-LionKing), ‘Colors of the Wind’(1995-Pocahontas), ‘You’ll be in my Heart’(1999-Tarzan) and ‘If I Didn’t Have You’(2001-Monster Inc.).
In addition to the Oscar winners there have been a number of songs that were nominated for the BOS Oscar and did not win for the Disney Company. With the eventual Oscar winners included, Disney has had 29 songs nominated for Best Original Song. Some of the nominees: ‘Baby Mine’(1941-Dumbo), ‘Love is a Song’(1942-Bambi), ‘Saludos Amigos’(1943-Saludos Amigos), ‘Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo’(1950-Cinderella), ‘Bare Necessities’(1967-Jungle Book), ‘Candle on the Water’(1977-Pete’s Dragon), ‘Someone’s Waiting for You’(1977-The Rescuers), ‘Kiss the Girl’(1989-Little Mermaid), ‘Be Our Guest’ and ‘Belle’(1991-Beauty and the Beast), ‘ A Friend Like Me’(1992-Aladdin), ‘Hakuna Matata’ and ‘Circle of Life’(1994-Lion King), ‘You’ve got a Friend in Me’(1995-Toy Story), ‘Go the Distance’(1997-Hercules), ‘When She Loved Me’(1999-Toy Story 2), ‘My Funny Friend and Me’(2000-Emperours New Groove), ‘Our Town’(2006-Cars) and ‘So Close’(2007-Enchanted). A lot of my favorite songs.
Disney has surely shown that they are cyclic masters of the movie song. All of the above songs are available on ITunes and my source for this article was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences web site archives. It was great listening to a lot of these songs again while writing this post.