In our first set of letters this week, Cast Place editor Shoshana Lewin answers some reader mail. First, reader Jessica writes in response to Shoshana’s article “Disneyland on TV“:
First of all, thanks for writing such a great article, I miss so many of the things that you included. I was just wondering if you knew where DVD or VHS copies of any of the specials can be purchased. I figure they must be available somewhere but I have been searching in vain so far. I would appreciate it if you could let me know of any places they are available.
As far as I can tell… the Disney-based specials are only to be found at the moment on eBay if someone has taped it. As for the shows… since Full House, Roseanne, Family Matters, Step by Step, and Boy Meets World are all on in reruns on cable—you might get lucky in catching the Disney World episodes… if you have the TV Guide channel sometimes it will tell you in advance what the episode is. Good luck in your quest!
Ava writes:
I am currently working on a project to reason my mom to take my little brothers and me to Disney World. So far I have made a couple pages of reasons why my mom should take us to Disney World. I also did some minor research on the Internet on Disney World and found some Web sites to back up my reasons (with your Web site included).
Now this is where you come in, I call for your expertise on Disney World. From you I require some more great ideas to convince my mom to take us to Disney World. I also would like some important information on Disney World too, that would help me out greatly.
I would like to get a jump-start on this project. My mother requires great persuasion, and in this case, it’ll require much more. So I would like to receive this important information ASAP.
I really hope your dream comes true. I always find the best way to approach an argument is to address where the concerns are. (i.e. money, time, distance). Our Walt Disney World expert Brian Bennett wrote “An Anniversary of Sorts,” a piece on his favorite things about Walt Disney World.
Next, comes the money part. Go on to Mousesavers.com—you’ll find a lot of info about saving money at the park. You can stay at the All-Star Resorts for not a lot of money.
Then comes the time/distance part: Since you live in Washington, it takes several hours to get to Florida. So you “lose” a day at the park. If your family would be willing to take a night flight/red-eye, you might save some money and maximize your time.
I hope this is some help. You also might want to read some of the trip reports from Walt Disney World (or print them out and leave them in places your mom will see them: taped to her mirror, on the seat of her car, etc…) Some parents respond to logic first (mixed with emotion). Please let me know if I can be of more help.
Next up, staff writer Lani Teshima answers reader questions on the Walt Disney World and Disneyland endurance events. Terry writes:
At the beginning of the full marathon, do the timing chips start when the race starts or when you pass the starting line? I will be running my first marathon in 2008. I have been running for 21 years. I am currently running 56 miles per week and will be training at a higher level for the upcoming marathon in 2008. My goal is to obtain a fairly respectable finish. As I understand it, without documentation of previous marathon times, I may very well be starting near the back or at least in a spot where it may take a while to reach the starting line. Thanks for your time.
Congratulations on your decision to do the 2008 Disney World marathon.
The ChampionChip system tracks you when your chip crosses their sensors, which are placed across the road. In the case of Disney, I believe the sensor at the start of the race is on (or very near) the starting line. Disney will record both the official race start time and the time when your chip crosses the starting line, as well as the time you cross the finish line. In your results, you will see the total time as well as the adjusted chip time (the chip time being shorter). With the wave starts, it looks like the time difference between the two is not as great as it has been in the past.
It sounds like you have a very solid running base. Although you don’t have any proof of finish time to provide when you register for the marathon, you can always send this information to them later in the year. My suggestion is that you participate in another event this year and submit your time from that event. Based on your email address, it looks like you live in Florida? If so, you might want to consider doing the Minnie’s Marathon Weekend 15K (“Women Run the World 15K”). That should be a no-brainer distance for you, registration is still open, it will be a good chance to see how they organize these events at Disney World, and it will give you a recorded time you can submit to race officials.
I do definitely recommend you register early. Just submit your finish time later this year and update your file, and you should be in good shape.
Happy running!
Clare C. writes:
I was reading your article on the 2007 endurance series at WDW and you mentioned that, during the Minnie Marathon weekend, if you raise $150 for the cause, you get a free one-day park pass. Can you tell me where to find out more about that? I’m thinking about going down there for the weekend and getting a park pass would make it even more affordable. Thanks!
I went to the Minnie Marathon Weekend Web page at Disney and have discovered that they have removed the information about the fundraising. I don’t know if this means they have met their allotment, or they are no longer offering this option.
My suggestion is that you contact them directly at the following to see if they are still offering this. Let me know if you hear back from them.
Contact: Endurance Team
Phone: 407-938-3398
Email: WDW.Sports.Marathon.Road.Races@disneyworldsports.com
In the February 19 Disneyland Park Update, Lani wrote an editorial criticizing Disney officials for restricting the number of Southern California residents who could register for the Disneyland Half Marathon. Paul S. writes:
Thanks for the heads-up on Disney’s baffling decision to restrict the number of Southern California registrants for the 2007 Disneyland Half-Marathon. Thanks to this move, I’ve decided not to register for this year’s race, and I probably won’t register for another Disneyland Half-Marathon until this policy changes. Frankly, if Disney’s that eager to keep me from participating, I’m sure I can find some other race in Southern California that’s more accommodating to locals and doesn’t impose an arbitrary time limit on when you can finish.
Finally, the last exchange between reader Erin and Brian Bennett is in response to Brian’s article “Christmas at Walt Disney World” and the subsequent series of letters that were run in the February 1 mailbag. Erin B. writes:
I was stunned when I read your comment:
“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).”
I don’t know where you live, but in this nation where Christianity forces itself into everyone’s lives whether they’re Christian or not, I can’t believe anyone would say they’re being discriminated against. In the religion started and created by Jews and where we are told to love everyone, here is what we do instead:
1) Refuse to make any other religious celebration a national holiday.
Name the Christian religious holidays that are federal holidays (government shuts down, post office is closed etc.): Christmas and Good Friday
Now name the non-Christian nationally observed holidays… that’s right, none. No days off for Hanukkah, as an example, even though Jesus was a Jew who observed Hanukkah and told his followers to be Jewish.
How is that “Loving one another as we want to be loved”? How is that “Do unto others as you want done to you”? It’s not. It’s discrimination.
2) Create multiple movies about Christmas, but none about the other holidays.
This season, we had The Nativity Story released in all American theaters. Where was the one on Ramadan? The one on the Feast of Lights?
Nowhere.
How is that “Loving one another as we want to be loved”? How is that “Do unto others as you want done to you”? It’s not. It’s discrimination.
3) Play Christmas carols in all public areas and on the radios for a minimum of 40 days.
These include religious carols where Jesus’ name and birth is celebrated every minute in all 24 hours of all 40 – 60 days these songs are broadcasted on major American networks. In our state, 2 radio stations alone play nothing but Christmas carols from before Thanksgiving until the Epiphany. That is not counting every shopping center, post office, office building on and on and on.
Where is the equal amount of songs celebrating other religious festivals? You got it. None. How is that “Loving one another as we want to be loved”? How is that “Do unto others as you want done to you”?
It’s not. It’s discrimination.
DISCRIMINATION!!!! How will Jesus react to that when you see him in the afterlife? That we discriminated and passed judgment on not only his own people—the Middle East and the Jewish—but all people not like us? After his whole life was spent telling us NOT to be that way?
And so what happens? Stores remembering that not only Christians are celebrating during this season encourage their employees to be a little less bigoted. Say to someone “Happy Holidays!” Put up a banner: “Seasons Greetings!”
Why? Because Jesus preached love for all. Not discriminate and be the only ones allowed to here wishes that you enjoy your holiday.
How do his followers carry out this message of love that He gave? By screaming that they had better get the 100% discrimination they got in the past and not the 99.9999% discrimination in their favor that they’re getting now. How DARE someone suggest we consider others? No, no, no!! We are Christians! OUR holiday must be the only one on people’s lips.
So I’m sorry that you think that if someone says “Happy Holidays” to you instead of “Merry Christmas”. But you see, the person behind you is Jewish, like Jesus, and like Jesus, they are celebrating Hanukkah. And what you do to the least of your brothers, you do unto Christ.
Christ never asked for a birthday party. That came centuries after his birth when Christianity destroyed other religions and stole their festivals so they had theirs. Christ and St. Peter and every apostle did not celebrate Christmas. They celebrated as the proud, Middle Eastern, Jewish faithful that they were.
What a shame we as Christians forget that.
I am thrilled to say, “Happy Holidays”, because I remember that Jesus told me to be respectful to others if I want respect. After all, I still have a day off without taking vacation time to celebrate my faith. I still have every story and all the TV stations and every movie theater broadcasting films and shows to celebrate my faith. I have all the carols.
I can give up a little bigotry to recognize others.
You completely missed my point. I don’t have a problem with others celebrating their own religious holidays. I just don’t want restrictions put on me to celebrate mine!
Rather than telling Christians that they have to remove their nativity scenes from public property, for example, why not invite other religious groups to ADD things that do the same for their observances. Rather than telling Christians and Jews (yeah, we both get knocked on that one, don’t we) that the Ten Commandments must be removed from classrooms and courtrooms, why not add any other historical legal documents upon which the constitution was based such as the Magna Charta.
I don’t advocate Christian superiority in these matters. Rather, I invite inclusion. I just don’t want to have Christian events and observances and beliefs trivialized in the process.
Erin responds:
By the way, you might want to study the history of Christmas more. The reason why stores and public decorations emphasize “secular” items like trees and Santa is because Christian churches demanded it! The Christmas tree and St. Nicholas, all of it, were all religious symbols before this enforced policy, and Jesus and the nativity were as much everywhere as these other symbols.
The churches decided that was sacrilegious—to use Jesus’ image in that way. They stripped the trees and everything else of their religious meaning (as you were just in WDW, I know that you’ve studied what the religious meaning of the Christmas tree used to be. If not, you could at least read the book about the history of Christmas that’s sold in all the Disney Christmas stores before passing judgment) and then ordered that only churches would be allowed to use Jesus and the Nativity. All other areas such as stores must use these newly stripped-of-their-religious-meaning items only.
So if you don’t like that a Target has Santa and a Christmas tree, but no Nativity, put the blame where it belongs: Christian Churches.
But of course, as a Christian you cannot judge or you will be judged. So you really shouldn’t be mouthing off at all.
