Update for November 12 – November 18, 2007
Go directly to: News & Views | Coming
Soon | Trivia of the Week | Refurbishment/Attraction
Closures | Discounts/Promotions | Park
Hours/Park Events/Entertainment Schedule
News and Views
Disney Dining Experience changes | Cinderella’s
Holiday Wish lights castle | Segway lawsuit | SeaWorld
raises prices | Conservation Fund “heroes”
| Call for support | Construction update
| Quick Takes …
Disney Dining Experience changes briefly alarm guests
An e-mail notice from the Disney Dining Experience Team sent last Friday
to all cardholders raised alarm bells with all guests until a follow-up email
went out the following day to clarify the situation.
The notice, which started off with news of a change to the method for obtaining
membership cards, contained this short paragraph at the end, which raced around
the Internet: “We would also like to inform you that the Walt
Disney World Resort will be implementing an across property policy change
regarding gratuity at all food and beverage locations. Effective January 1,
2008, 18% gratuity will be added to all transactions, regardless of party
size. Thank you for your continued support.”
Web sites around the Internet buzzed with the fact that 18 percent would
be mandatory for all guests at all locations on property. (This was somewhat
confusing, especially since Disney Dining Plan manager Chris Morgan told
MousePlanet last month that the gratuity was no longer being included
with the plan because it “was really giving the option back to the guest …
giving them the control of how much they wanted the tip to be, because it
was a set amount for every single guest, so it brings it back to the guest
which does align with the industry standard of tipping for exceptional service.…”)
On Saturday, the DDE Team sent out a follow-up e-mail to clarify the policy,
likely in response to the outcry among the Disney fan community, which noted,
“When using your Disney Dining Experience membership card the assessed gratuity
will be added to all table service restaurant locations and lounges for all
transactions regardless of party size. Gratuity will not be added to any counter
service, food cart or quick service locations.” So the policy only applies
to those using the Disney Dining Experience for their transactions, and only
at table service and lounge locations, and is just an extension of the existing
policy affecting groups of 8 or more.
The reason given for the change is that it “has been implemented in order
to align the Disney Dining Experience Program with other dining experiences
where gratuities are included.” It is uncertain which other dining experiences
they are talking about, since the gratuity was removed from the Disney Dining
Plan on the same effective date.
Apparently overwhelmed by the barrage of questions that they must have received,
Saturday’s e-mail also directed any further questions to Walt
Disney World Guest Communications, which is better equipped to handle
a large volume of incoming communication.
For those wondering about the changes that made up the bulk of Friday’s e-mail,
Guest Relations locations at the four theme parks and at Downtown
Disney (both West Side and Marketplace locations) will now be able to
print permanent Disney Dining Experience cards for immediate use. Cards printed
at these locations will be printed on paper stock, similar to park passes.
Cards can still be ordered by mail and will now take 2-3 weeks to arrive,
rather than the former 3-6 weeks. DDE cards ordered before November 11 will
take 3-4 weeks for permanent cards to arrive, and temporary cards will be
available at Epcot main entrance Guest Relations
only.
Cinderella Castle shimmers in its new winter coat of over 200,000 lights.
Photo © Disney.
Cinderella’s Holiday Wish lights castle
For the last five weeks, Disney Entertainment show producer Rob Hamberg has
been leading a crew of 65 in adding 200,000 LEDs and 500 strobes, woven into
32,000 square feet of fishing nets and connected with 15 miles of cables,
to the facade of Cinderella Castle in the
Magic Kingdom.
Last night, they were turned on for the guests for the first time.
The castle-lighting ceremony, called “Cinderella’s Holiday Wish,” features
Mickey, Minnie and friends on the Castle Forecourt stage, marveling at the
holiday lights along Main Street, U.S.A.,
and wondering what to do about the darkened castle. The Fairy Godmother suddenly
appears and states that Cinderella should decide what to do, since it’s her
castle. So Cinderella and her prince appear, and they all decide that the
castle should sparkle like her glass slippers do. A bit of Disney magic takes
place, and the castle lights up as if it were covered with shimmering ice
and snow.
Cinderella Castle’s new lighting reflects off of the moat in the view from
Liberty Square. Photo © Disney.
“For a park aglow in holiday magic, this becomes the new and eye-filling
superstar,” added Disney Entertainment show producer Rob Hamberg who supervised
the weeks-long rigging of the turrets and towers for the light show. “Nothing
will rival ‘Cinderella’s Holiday Wish’ for sheer visual spectacle.”
The castle-lighting will take place nightly at 5:45 p.m., allowing the show
to take place before the park closes to day guests on the nights of Mickey’s
Very Merry Christmas Party. The glittering castle will also support Holiday
Wishes and other special entertainment.
The lit castle effect originated at Disneyland Paris in 2005, and came to
Walt Disney World with Francois Leroux, who is now vice president of Walt
Disney World Entertainment. “We are thrilled to be adding this brilliant new
castle spectacle to the holiday festivities at Walt Disney World this season
and for seasons to come,” said Leroux. “This glistening holiday enchantment
creates perfect fairytale magic for this festive time of year.”
The new lights have a magical effect at dusk, as well.. Photo © Disney.
Segway suit
Following last month’s story about disabled advocate group Disability
Rights Advocates for Technology (or DRAFT) pressing Walt Disney World
and SeaWorld Orlando to allow those who use Segway personal transporters as
mobility devices in place of wheelchairs or ECVs to use them in the parks,
there is now a lawsuit jointly filed against Disney by two individuals from
Illinois and one from Iowa.
The suit alleges that Disney’s refusal to allow them to use the two-wheeled,
self-balancing devices in the parks is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). They are further asking the judge to certify the suit as a class
action, potentially opening the suit to the estimated 4,000 to 7,000 disabled
people in the country who currently use Segways as their mobility device of
choice.
Potentially weighing against the suit is the fact that Segways are not sold
as medical equipment, and that the cost of the transporter is not normally
covered by health insurance as such.
Disney argues that, while some Disney staff may use Segways, and tours are
even given aboard the transporters, Disney controls training on the devices
and ensures that the operators are able to handle them before they go out
in public. Further, Disney has throttled their Segways to allow a top speed
of only 5 miles per hour, versus the 12.5 miles per hour that the standard
models are capable of. This would render outside Segways as an even higher
potential threat to the safety of tourists in the crowded theme parks.
Advocates for the disabled counter that forcing the Segway users to switch
to wheelchairs or ECVs damages their dignity and denies them the right to
use the mobility device of their choice.
It may take quite a while to get this situation resolved. In the meantime,
weigh
in on the topic on our MousePad discussion forums.
Are you coming to MouseFest?We’re just a month away from MouseFest, and plans |
SeaWorld raises prices
SeaWorld Orlando has finally jumped off of the bench, raising their prices
to $67.95 for a one-day ticket. The $3 price hike comes about 11 months after
their last hike and three months after the last hikes from Disney and Universal,
and still leaves one-day tickets priced below the $71 charged by Disney and
Universal. The one-day ticket to SeaWorld, however, comes with a free second
day’s admission within 7 days of first use. In addition, there’s a $10 discount
with a 7-day advance purchase.
There are also a number of combination tickets available, from a 2-park admission
ticket for SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa that allows unlimited
visits for 7 days for $99.95 ($89.95 with 7-day advance purchase) to a 4-park
ticket for Discovery Cove, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and the new Aquatica water
park (opening in March) for $319 peak/$339 off-peak ($287/$305 with advance
purchase) that allows 14 days of unlimited visits to all parks except for
Discovery Cove.
Interestingly, there are no Aquatica-only tickets.
The group of parks, until now known as Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, has
also announced a new name, Worlds of Discovery. The new umbrella covers all
three SeaWorld parks; both Busch Gardens parks; water parks Aquatica in Orlando,
Adventure Island in Tampa, and Water Country USA in Virginia; Discovery Cove
and Sesame Place in Pennsylvania.
We now have the answer to what is replacing the Virtual Magic Kingdom shop
at the Main Street Cinema. Photo by Cathy Sowa.
Wildlife Conservation Fund honors more “heroes”
The Disney Wildlife
Conservation Fund (DWCF) has honored nine more “Conservation Heroes” from
around the globe for their contributions to wildlife and habitat conservation
in their communities. Each winner and their nominating organization will share
a $1,000 award. This year’s honorees include:
