Happy New Year and welcome to 2010, MousePlanet readers! We hope this year is a good one for you and yours. Like the confetti littering Times Square, this week’s mailbag is varied, starting off with some responses to last week’s mailbag letter from columnist David Koenig.
Kirk writes:
Your assumption that Disney could lower the US Flag to half-staff to honor Roy Disney because it is private property is wrong. According to the Flag Code, only the President of the United States, a state Governor, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia can order the US flag lowered to half-staff.
Disney, if it follows flag code and etiquette, would not lower the US Flag. Disney does have the right to lower its corporate flag and that is why they did so. Historically the flag was ordered lowered only upon a great national, or state loss.
Andy M. writes:
I enjoy reading the mailbag each week but I must take issue with your comments regarding the flying of the US flag at half-staff. According to the rules of flag etiquette:
“The flag is to be flown at half staff in mourning for designated, principal government leaders AND (emphasis mine) upon presidential or gubernatorial order.”
This rule makes it clear that lowering the flag to half-staff, while symbolically respectful, would have been wholly inappropriate since Roy Disney was not a government leader.
As a US Army veteran, I have a deep sense of pride regarding the flag and the way that it is used. We’ve all seen it used in wholly inappropriate ways many times (t-shirts, burning in protest, etc) but I think if people actually took the time to read about and start following proper US flag etiquette, they would start to view the flag not just as a piece of disposable woven fabric but as the symbol of pride and patriotism that it is supposed to be.
Mitch K. writes:
The rules of the National Flag being flown at half-staff can be found in the US Code, Title 4, Section 7m. In part it says:
“In the event of the death of a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, or the death of a member of the Armed Forces from any State, territory, or possession who dies while serving on active duty, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half-staff, and the same authority is provided to the Mayor of the District of Columbia with respect to present or former officials of the District of Columbia and members of the Armed Forces from the District of Columbia.”
So, can it be lowered for Roy Disney? No. I happened to be at Walt Disney World during this time. Upon entering the Magic Kingdom I asked one of the first cast members I saw if there were any tributes to Roy that day. He pointed out the Disney flags were the only tributes that day. Those flags where the Disney “D” and Mickey at each end of the Main Street station and the Magic Kingdom flag on top of City Hall.
Thank you for your thoughts. I will, however, disagree. While I am no expert in the Flag Code, the section of the code cited pertains to government facilities and, even then, there are exceptions (Eisenhower amendment, section 4).
The Disney parks are private property. Disneyland could have flown the American flag at half-staff should management have so chosen (as they did following Walt’s death in 1966). As you contend, it may have been lousy etiquette. But it certainly would not have been illegal.
Next, here’s another story from Cast Place: A guest has a special experience at Walt Disney World
Carolyn writes:
In 2007, I visited Walt Disney World with my parents, sister, and my partner. We were in the Magic Kingdom, near Pirates of the Caribbean, on one of our trip days, and were fortunate enough to be able to watch a session of pirate training with Captain Jack Sparrow and his assistant. They were getting kids to come up to them and learn how to fight like a pirate. One small child was a little over-enthusiastic with his sword, and nearly sliced off the assistant’s – um – sensitive body parts. Captain Jack’s usual riposte at that point in the training was a distraction technique – “Look! It’s the Captain’s daughter!” – to enable the “trainee” to win the fight. However, on this occasion, Captain Jack was doubled over with laughter, and was heard to shout, “Look! He nearly turned you INTO the Captain’s daughter,” to which the assistant replied, “Are we allowed to say that at Disney?”
It was hysterical, and very well played by the performers, who seemed to enjoy themselves despite the near accident!
If you have anything to share about an experience with a cast member, or are a cast member that would like to share a story about a guest, please send an e-mail to castplace@mouseplanet.com.
Next, a reader took issue with the recent Holiday Festival tents set up at the entrances of Disneyland and sent in this letter.
Mickeba writes:
My wife and I are annual passholders, so we are at the park a couple of times a week. Saturday, we saw the “Holiday Festival environment” and were frankly grossed out. It’s just another money grab, and by setting up these retail tents, the resort is just “grinding out” more dollars. We also saw the Honda civic parked along the tram route. That was, on one level, even grosser: selling advertising on the tram route! I suppose as a corporate entity, that’s their responsibility, but Disneyland resort is always promoting itself as more than just a corporate entity, and by setting up these kiosks, they are going against their grain.
I saw the Riderz toy kiosk and was disgusted. If they were Disney tents, that’s one thing, but these are products that are not Disney, don’t enhance or accompany the park and in my view are quite inappropriate. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but Disneyland is not some shopping mall, where kiosk vendors set up for the holidays. If they need these vendors to make a profit (or a bigger one) that’s sad.
Steve Russo‘s photo tour “Christmas at Disney World” (December 18, 2009) received the following responses from MousePlanet readers.
Bob B. writes:
Thanks for the pictures. We’ve been to Disneyland Resort many times during Christmas but never Walt Disney World. You’re making me think hard about it for next year.
Thanks, and you’re welcome. I’ve only done this twice but I think everyone should see the World at Christmas at least once. Thanks for writing and Merry Christmas to you.
Jakie C. writes:
I just read your entry and I completely agree! We are a huge Disney family! We have two children and there is no place that we would rather be. We do go on “other” vacations but they never quite match up to Disney. This was our twelfth time down and we have never gone during any holiday season. We usually go last of July or the first of August and have stayed at a different resort every time we have gone to give the kids a different experience. We just got back form witnessing sheer magic.
We stayed at the Boardwalk and although it was unexpectedly cold and rainy it was a marvelous time. It just shows you no matter what the weather, it is always great at Disney World. I felt like I was four years old again with all the lights and special decorations. It was far and away the very best vacation we have ever been on. Trying to retell our experiences with family and friends and showing our pictures truly does not do it justice. Everyone needs to get down there and experience it once in their lives. It was fun reading your post. Hope you have a nice holiday season. You certainly got it started on the right foot!
I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for writing and Merry Christmas
Finally, photography expert Frank Anzalone answers a reader’s query about his photo tips articles.
Glenda writes:
I received your first set of photo tips at Disneyland and loved your advice. I was wondering if you could forward me the other tips? We are taking our children to Disneyland in February and I would love to get some great shots of them! Do you have any suggestions on good areas to photograph? Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Here are the links to all of the “Photo Tips” series:
- Introduction to the series with an overview
- Concentrating on people: Your family and friends on vacation!
- Shooting low-light situations: Disney parks at night, inside an attraction and fireworks
- Focus on the scenes and landscapes of the parks
- Shooting characters at the parks
When it comes to specific tips on areas in Disneyland to photograph, there are so many! My thought is to not always shoot what we think is the typical view. For instance, when taking a picture of the castle, instead of directly straight on, go to the pathways on the sides to see what the castle looks like from there. It’s usually less crowded there, and you can get a good shot of your children (An example of this is in the “photo tips #2”).
Make sure to get in close with the kids. Keep a good, recognizably Disney background, but make sure to capture those faces! Just keep your camera handy, walk through the park and have fun! What YOU like makes the best picture!
