|
|||||||
Disney in the News is brought to you by...
John and Donna Gross "The Full Mickey - At a Discount!" The Wall Street Journal
NOTE: News sources remove their articles rather quickly. If you receive a "File Not Found" error message, search the source's archives for the story. The source's URL is posted in its entirety to make it easier to track down the original article and avoid dead links. Be sure to copy and paste the entire URL in your web browser's address window. Certain news organizations require a free registration to view their articles online.
Walt Disney
World
|
Resources
|
||||||
Disney's Travel Insurance Policy: For plan benefits, click here. (You'll need Adobe Acrobat reader to access this file. Get a free one here.
Ann Marie and David were at WDW when the terrorists attacked on September 11: "Hi John, Wanted to write and thank you for all your money saving tips as well as share with you our experience in WDW on Sept 11th and the days following. We were on our way to a great breakfast at the Maya Grill at the CSR before we headed off to the Kennedy Space Center. A huge gathering of people were around the TV at the lounge as we walked by. It was so quiet there. Usually it is noisy because the food court is there too! We looked up at the TV to see smoke coming from a large office building on the screen. My friend asked "What's going on?" A woman turned to us, her eyes filled with tears and said, "The WTC and Pentagon have been hit by planes." We watched as the news reports were calling it a terrorist attack. I will never forget the woman's face or her voice as she told us about this tragedy. We ate breakfast watched TV and listened to nurses from DC who were there for a nursing management conference say that they couldn't get through to their hospitals. The resort was quiet. We went back to our room and found out that Disney closed its operations in its parks and KSC was closed to the public due to security reasons. It did not matter. Our hearts were heavy...we watched...we cried...we wondered what was next. On Friday, we attended a prayer service at Cirque Du Soleil in the pouring rain..well suited for a day of national morning. The prayer service gave us a sense of community..of sharing. even though we did not know anyone there, we felt a common understanding, inner peace and a hope for the future. Draped on stage was a huge American Flag. I thought a lot of the people there would be older adults. (We are in our early thirties.) I was surprised that mostly young people and young families attended. It made me proud. I was grateful for Disney for hosting and planning such a great outlet and place to heal. It truly is a magical place. We were supposed to attend the Emergency Nurses Association Convention on Thursday and Friday but it was canceled. Every nurse was needed in their communities. We wanted to be home too...in our hospitals to be of help. Our hospital was on disaster alert. All we could do was sit and watch and listen. Throughout the week Disney cast members left us messages on our room voice mail about the park being reopened, the prayer service and about the heightened security at the parks. All bags were checked at the entrances by security. It reminded us how vulnerable we were. You could not buy an American Flag Mouse Ear pin anywhere. They were all being worn. The unspoken dress code was red, white and blue. We, like others, put American flags and notations in our hotel room windows. People stopped and looked and remembered. There were no lines at the parks...we literally walked onto the rides, walked into Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge three times without reservations or a wait. The same was true when we went to Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian and Japan and Mexico at EPCOT. WDW was empty. You could walk with at least a 50-foot gap until the next person in front of you. Half of the parking lots at the CSR outside the rooms were barren. It gave me this eerie feeling of things to come. By the end of our trip the parks started to fill up more and people started to smile and laugh more. People were more polite to each other and made an extra effort to be nice. It seemed that people were enjoying the time they had. Families and friends together..forever changed. It was definitely a different Disney vacation experience. Disney will always be a special place for us...for different reasons. We did our best to help the economy by using the money you helped us save on our rooms by enjoying great meals at places like Boma at AKL and Narcoossee's at GFR and Japan and Mexico at Epcot, as well as buying some Disney collectibles. Here is how your tips saved us at least $1000.00 on our (2) trips within 2 months of each other: In August we used your Wyndham Resort information and saved at least $400.00 and used the $75.00 resort credit towards our room cost. Originally you couldn't use the resort credit towards the room but all I had to do on check out was ask and they did it! We even had our own hot tub in our room on our balcony! A nice unexpected treat! We then took another trip in Sept (11 nights) and used the $89.00 special code for the Coronado Springs Resort. We saved at least $500.00 on our room compared to last trip September 2000. Thanks again! We are planning to go back to Disney in February and hope to use more of your money saving tips! This tragedy shall not break us! "There can only be peace and freedom without terrorism." Words I wore on a tee shirt while in Disney!" We thank Ann Marie and David for letting us know what happened at WDW on September 11. They are right. We must get back to business as usual. If not, the terrorists win. We pray that the men and women who now go off to defend America will return home safely.
Click here for links to amateur videos of rides and attractions at Disneyland Tokyo.
Tokyo Disneyland Park will welcome the return of Captain EO after a hiatus
of about 14
years
Jasmine’s Flying Carpets coming to Tokyo DisneySea
Bye-Bye BraviSEAmo! - Hello Fantasmic!
What's new at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort
OLC to develop Disney-themed attractions
Tokyo Disneyland has started up a new ride based on Walt Disney
Pictures’ computer animation blockbuster Monsters, Inc
Tokyo Disneyland still a happy place despite the economy
Tokyo Disneyland launches Monsters, Inc. ride
Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise skippers wow fans at Tokyo Disney
"On October 1, 2008, ZED will premier at the brand new Cirque du Soleil
Theatre Tokyo at the Tokyo Disney Resort."
"Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian-based circus and entertainment troupe,
on Tuesday unveiled part of a tarot-inspired permanent show at Tokyo Disney
Resort as it tries to expand in Asia."
As the park celebrates its 25th anniversary, Disney needs to find ways
to make the park more attractive to seniors and men and more understandable
to non-Japanese speakers.
"Tokyo Disneyland canceled its popular parades for the first time
in its 25-year history Wednesday after a 660-pound steel pillar adorned with
colorful planets tumbled from a Buzz Lightyear float." "Tokyo Disneyland operator Oriental Land Co said Tuesday it will open an indoor Disney entertainment facility in alliance with its partner Walt Disney Co of the United States in a major Japanese city other than Tokyo in or after 2010." (Source: japantoday.com, 10/09/07)
|