This week’s mailbag is a bit of a grab bag. First up, mailbag editor Stephanie Wien answers some reader mail about travel to the Disney parks, and other general questions. Melissa writes:
My brother has a friend who is planning a trip with his family to Disney World next month. He and his immediate and extended family have been planning this trip for a while and were very excited about it until last week. Sadly, his wife passed away suddenly (a stroke). They are still planning on going on the trip, and my brother called me and asked if I had any ideas about anything special they could do. He called me because I did a College Program there, and I am considered the resident Disney expert in my family. I wasn’t quite sure what to tell him or what kind of event he had in mind (he mentioned maybe some kind of special dinner or something). I am hoping the MousePlanet staff will have some suggestions—anything will help. Thanks.
I’m so sorry to hear about your brother’s friend. There are a lot of wonderful places to have a special meal at WDW, but which one you choose will depend a lot on how much you would like to spend.
One thing that might be a great treat for a larger group is to rent a boat and go on a fireworks cruise. You can read about it at this page.
Thank you for writing to MousePlanet.
Cheryl writes:
I have planned my family’s first trip to Disney at the end of January. My son (age 9) absolutely loves Jack Skellington. I have heard that he only comes out during the Halloween. Is there any way to know if this character is active any other time? If he is, where to find him? Or how to make my son’s wish come true?
I don’t believe that Jack appears at Walt Disney World at any time other than Halloween. You can ask at City Hall in the Magic Kingdom about where the characters appear and they may be able to help you out. Best of luck!
Judy writes:
I know this is not in your area of expertise, however, I am lost and need assistance ASAP. Hoping you or your associates will know where I can go. My granddaughter’s 3rd birthday party is coming up soon and the theme is Mickey & Minnie. I have tried desperately to locate costumes for my sister and myself so we can make a surprise visit for my granddaughter and her 20 friends. Please help us. Where do we go for this?
Unfortunately it is virtually impossible to obtain authentic costumes for any non-sanctioned events. Disney is very strict about this.
You might find some Halloween facsimiles at the online Disney store.
Monica writes:
My husband and I are planning our first Disney vacation. We have three children ages 9,7 and 5. My question is, are there any weight restrictions for the rides? We would like to experience as much as possible together as a family with maybe my husband riding with one child and myself with the other two, etc.
I am at about 250 lbs and my husband is right at 300 lbs. Could this be possible? Thank you so much.
Typically there aren’t any specific weight limits for rides. Space Mountain has a total weight limit per ride vehicle; it will divert the whole vehicle if it is over the limit.
The Orange Stinger at Disney’s California Adventure is one of the very few rides in Disney theme parks with a weight restriction. Although they do not make this information obvious, persons weighing more than 200 pounds would not fit in the ride’s bucket seats.
Your best bet to read the individual attraction pages in our comprehensive park guides for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Each attraction page has a section called “Access Information” that includes information on health restrictions, ride accessibility (including whether you can go on the ride while in a wheelchair), audio information (is an attraction too loud? Is there a “closed captioning” option on narration?), weight and size restrictions and issues, and even whether service animals are allowed on an attraction. Armed with this information you will know exactly what to expect for each attraction in both resorts.
Heather writes:
Can you tell me if/when/where there is a Disney World being planned for Spain? I intend to live near Disney if this is true. My daughter would like to be married in Disney in 2009.
Given the financial problems that Disneyland Paris has experienced and is still experiencing, I don’t foresee Disney building a park in Spain anytime in the future. Also, the distance between DLP and Spain is not all that great, so it’s likely that a park built in Spain would only take away from visitors to the Paris park.
Next, MousePlanet CEO Alex Stroup answers a letter from reader Krystal, who writes:
I need to get from the Ticket and Transportation Center at Walt Disney World to Lake Buena Vista (1001 W Buena Vista Dr). How would I go about doing this via shuttle?
If I am looking it up correctly, 1001 W. Buena Vista Drive is the Coronado Springs Resort.
Walt Disney World operates a free bus service connecting its four theme parks (and Downtown Disney) to all of the on property resort hotels. If you’re at the TTC you’ll need to take the monorail to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot and then catch a bus to Coronado Springs from one of the theme parks.
Finally, Brian Bennett responds to mail he received in response to his article, “Christmas at Walt Disney World.” Don writes:
Thank you for you recent post on MousePlanet regarding Christ’s role in Christmas at Walt Disney World. It’s a topic many people would not have attempted, considering the negative response that can arise whenever someone mentions Christianity on Disney sites. I found your post interesting, polite and well thought out.
I especially appreciated how you told the story of Jesus and what he offers to the world. It’s easy to either hide your faith, or to beat people over the head with it when posting on the Web. It’s harder to take the middle road, to be open and unapologetic about your faith without pushing people away. As a lay speaker in the United Methodist Church, I know how challenging writing about this can be, but your post did it wonderfully
I have always been pleased and a little bit surprised that the clearly Christian celebration of Candlelight still continues at Epcot and Disneyland. I feel as you do, that the Disney Company has no responsibility to present the story, and so I think it’s wonderful that they choose to do so. Of course, as I am a Christian, it’s not surprising that I would appreciate this event. The interesting thing is that every few years, we are joined on our trip to WDW by a couple of very agnostic friends, and they love Candlelight as much as we do. They see in it the best of the Christmas spirit: a celebration of peace on earth and good will toward man, which is what Jesus was all about.
Anyway, thanks again for a wonderful post. May the New Year bring peace and joy to you and yours.
Thank you Don. I don’t think I can add a single thing to what you said.
I, too, hope that the traditions of the Candlelight Processional stays in place at WDW for many years to come!
Judy A. writes:
I enjoyed your article today. Not only will you hear no negative comments from me, I applaud you for your public expression of your faith.
I was at the Candlelight Processional on Sunday, December 17th. Kirk Cameron was the narrator that evening. I was “wowed” by the event, but was even more amazed at his public “off script” testimony of his faith. Then, to my utter amazement, the crowd burst into applause at his words.
The decorations and Christmas events at Disney were wonderful and spectacular, but this simple act on the part of both narrator and audience were beyond words for me. It was the highlight of my holiday vacation at WDW. Thanks to the Disney folks for not hiding the story of Christ yesterday and today—and to the visitors for acknowledging it!
Oh, Judy, I wish I had been there that night!
Barb and the boys and I attended when Steven Curtis Chapman narrated and he did make some comments about “the life-changing reality” of a relationship with Jesus.
Maybe more people are “getting it” than I thought?
Peggy G. writes:
Thank you for your beautiful “opinion piece” about Walt Disney World at Christmas. I’ve been there in December eight different years, first in 1988 when my sons were 10 and 14, and most recently December 2–11 of this year, when my daughter-in-law and two young granddaughters joined us. Of my 25 trips to the World, those eight trips are my very favorite.
I was raised Presbyterian. As a child, I memorized the King James version of Luke’s telling of the birth of Christ. The Candlelight Processional’s perfect mixture of scriptures and the carols I learned as a child takes me back to a time when all things Christmas were magical.
Being in the business of making things magical, Disney brings the magic of Christmas to every corner of the World with perfect taste and with respect for all who are so lucky to be there in December.
Again, thank you for expressing my thoughts so beautifully.
Thank you so much, Peggy.
David writes:
I’m not a Christian at all. I’m Jewish…and also quite unreligious.
I just wanted to say that I also think Disney celebrates Christmas very well from the other perspective. I understand I live in a country where Christianity is the primary religion. I understand that Christmas…as commercialized and unrelated to Jesus as it has become, is still a religious holiday. And in the 47 square miles of the Walt Disney World Resort, I have no problem with them taking a spot to allow Christians to celebrate in a religious way. What I like is that they still make a point all around World Showcase to tell you about other versions of Christmas, as well as about totally unrelated winter holidays and cultures (Hanukah storyteller in American Adventure and Ramadan in Morocco). I think the ability to have a very religious event co-exist in such a multicultural context is a very positive thing.
So just wanted to give you that perspective of it as well. It’s a very good approach to the whole thing. Epcot really displays multicultural and religious tolerance and co-existence in a way that always makes me feel good when I’m there.
I agree with you. Although I don’t celebrate those other religious festivals that you cited, I have no problem at all with the followers of those religions doing so themselves and doing so publicly! What I don’t want is for them to have the freedom to do so while Christians are prohibited from doing the exact same thing (and that is being more and more the norm, unfortunately).
