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News and Views

Fatal accident kills cast
member during Magic Kingdom parade

An accident claimed the life of Javier
Cruz, a cast member portraying Pluto, when he was run over by a float as the Share
a Dream Come True parade entered the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday afternoon. Cruz,
38, was a father of two and an 8-year Disney veteran, having started in custodial
services and working his way up to character portrayal. He was well-liked by all
cast members for his outgoing, happy demeanor and his caring for other cast members.
It was also reported by a newspaper in Puerto Rico (link)
that he was soon to begin entertaining aboard the Disney Cruise Line.

Sources
report that Cruz was waiting for the three-part “Once Upon a Dream”
float carrying three Disney princesses and their respective consorts to pass him
while preparing for the parade, and may have been playing around with the parade
coordinators when he got his foot caught under the last section of the 6,000-pound
float carrying Ariel and Prince Eric, and fell under the wheels.

It has
been said that the Pluto costume has very good visiblity for costumes in that
height range, but Pluto’s nose blocks the view straight down. Or order to see
one’s “feet,” the person in the costume must bend over, almost straight
down. Peripheral vision is poor, but average for most characters. It has been
hypothesized that Cruz felt the float catch his foot, and when he bent over to
see what happened to his foot, that motion, combined with the motion of the float,
caused him to fall in the path of the float.

An Orlando Sentinel
article (link)
quotes Donna-Lynne Dalton, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, the union representing
costumed workers, as saying, “It appeared the float was where it was supposed
to be. The driver and coordinators were in no way at fault. They were following
proper procedure.” Dalton sat in when OSHA interviewed witnesses to the accident.

On
Thursday, the parade went on with the 25th Anniversary “Remember the Magic”
castle float replacing the “Once Upon a Dream” float that had hit Cruz.
Cast members in Cruz’ unit held a silent prayer, then went onstage and gave a
high-energy performance in his memory. Many off-duty cast members walked the parade
route following the final float in memory and solidarity. Reportedly, many members
of the Guest Relations and Main Street team were out on the steps of City Hall
clapping for them.

Walt Disney World and Actors Equity are offering counseling
services for all employees. Disney sent food to Cruz’ family, is paying for the
funeral, and paid the airfare for family members to attend. Wanda Marin, Cruz’
sister, is considering filing a lawsuit against Disney for negligence.

Funeral
services for Cruz will be held this morning.

In lieu of flowers, the family
of Javier Cruz has requested that donations be given in his memory to the Children’s
Miracle Network. For those who wish to do so, checks may be made out to the Children’s
Miracle Network and mailed to the address below. Be sure to include “In Memory
of Javier Cruz” in the memo line of the check.

Children’s
Miracle Network
22 West Lake Beauty Drive
Suite 102
Orlando, FL 32806

Credit
card donations are also accepted by call the Children’s Miracle Network at 407-481-2774.

For
all who wish to send condolences, thoughts or prayers, the Orlando Sentinel
has a guest book that can be signed online (link).

Walt
Disney World has also apparently begun making changes to parade operating procedures.
Floats are now to remain at least 50 feet apart unless they are in the loading
zone. The crossing in front of floats backstage by cast member (costumed or not)
is being limited. In addition, no one is to approach a moving float at any time.
The changes are a result of initial concerns and requests by OSHA and the Orange
County Sheriff’s Department. Similar changes have been noted at Disneyland, as
well.

The last time a cast member was killed on the job at Walt Disney World
was in 1999, when a 65-year-old custodial cast member was swept from the
Fantasyland loading platform of the Skyway attraction by a moving gondola
and fell about 40 feet to his death. That accident resulted in a $4,500
OSHA fine for a “serious” violation of safety standards. The
attraction permanently closed a few months later. [Editor’s note: The
article originally stated that the cast member killed on the Skyway was
an attraction operator. It has come to our attention that this was incorrect,
and we have corrected the story.]

New
Epcot Segway tour

Disney has announced a new tour, called “Around
the World at Epcot,” that allows guests to travel around World Showcase on
Segway human transporters before that portion of the park opens. The tour, which
has a capacity of 10 people and must be prebooked, costs $80 plus tax per person
(less 15 percent discount for AAA members, DVC members, annual passholders, season
passholders, and Disney Visa Card members). All participants must sign a waiver.
Participants must be at least 16 years of age, and parents of children under 18
must sign the waiver for them. The two-hour tour, which debuted on Saturday, runs
from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The first hour will be training and instruction on
the use of Segways, and the second hour will be the tour of World Showcase. In
case of inclement weather, the second hour will be dropped and a 50 percent discount
will be applied for the indoor training session. Helmets will be provided. There
is a weight limit of 250 pounds to ride on a Segway.

In light of the fact
that, as reported last week (link), Walt Disney
World will not allow guests to use their own Segways for medical reasons (instead
of wheelchairs or ECVs), it might appear that Disney is keeping out the other
Segways to push their tour. However, it is more likely that Disney is concerned
about safety hazards from guests using Segways on crowded walkways, and the Segway
tour of World Showcase would be complete before other guests are allowed into
that section of the park. It will be interesting to note whether Disney will have
to change its policy when Segways become approved for access use by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.

New concierge-only safari debuts

Disney
has announced a new safari for concierge-level guests at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Apparently replacing the Sunrise Safari, the new Wanyama Safari runs in the late
afternoon and evening. At 4 p.m. on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, up to eight
guests will board a specially designed pop-top vehicle for a tour of the Uzima
Savannah on an “authentic” safari experience. Guests then enjoy a family-style
dinner at Jiko, which includes South African wines paired with each course. The
Wanyama Safari is offered to adult concierge-level guests of Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lodge only. The three-hour experience, including dinner, is $150 per person.

Disney
Cruise Line drops Freeport from four-day cruise

In January, Disney Cruise
Line announced a change to the itinerary of its four-night cruises. Due to popular
demand, the new year-round itinerary combines a full day in Nassau, a daylong
visit to Castaway Cay, and a full day at sea. Therefore, this itinerary no longer
sails to Freeport on alternating four-night cruises. The new itinerary is as follows:

• Sunday – Depart from Port Canaveral, Florida
• Monday – Nassau, The
  Bahamas
• Tuesday – Castaway Cay
• Wednesday – at sea
• Thursday
  – Return to Port Canaveral, Florida

Notes from Disney’s conference
for institutional investors

At last week’s investors conference held at
Walt Disney World, a number of Disney executives spoke about the recent past and
plans for the future. Here are a few tidbits regarding Walt Disney World.

On
Wednesday, Feb. 11, Walt Disney World President Al Weiss noted the following:

• Mission: Space is on pace to generate more incremental attendance than any
  other thrill ride in Walt Disney World history.
• The Twilight Zone Tower
  of Terror set an all-time attendance record last year—10 years after it opened.
• Outside
  of a new theme park opening, never in the history of Walt Disney World have there
  been this many attractions under construction at the same time—one in each
  of the four theme parks.
• Stitch’s Great Escape! will feature some of the
  most sophisticated Audio-Animatronics figures ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
  The attraction is opening this fall, which means Stitch has taken one of the fastest
  journeys ever from movie screen to theme park attraction. In fact, you may catch
  Stitch in a lot of places. Guests may see him pop up unexpectedly on Walt Disney
  World billboards, in commercials, or in different places around property—including
  surprise sightings in other parks and attractions.
• Guests in the 5,000-seat
  amphitheater for the new stunt show at the Disney-MGM Studios will see cars, motorcycles
  and even jet skis go flying during the carefully choreographed stunts. Giant screens
  will show the audience how camera angles can dramatically change the look of a
  stunt, and some guests will even be pulled into the action.
• Walt Disney
  World will continue to grow its Disney Vacation Club business.
• In 2003,
  the average length of stay for domestic tourists lengthened over prior year, with
  special offers driving increases in length of stay and theme park visits. Even
  coming off of the Fairytale Vacation offer, they continue to see gains in domestic
  length of stay.
• Value resorts now represent 37 percent of the total Walt
  Disney World resort inventory. The price point allows Disney to capture guests
  who would have otherwise stayed in a resort off property. This shift to “on-property”
  results in an increase in the number of days they visit the Disney parks.
• With
  about 29,000 rooms between Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Disney one of the
  biggest hotel operators in the United States. In fact, Hotels Magazine
  does an annual ranking, and in 2003, The Walt Disney Company came in at number
  40 in its “Hotels 325” listing for number of hotel rooms.
• Saratoga
  Springs will be our largest Vacation Club resort to date, with 65 acres and 552
  total accommodations when all phases are complete in 2005.

On Thursday,
February 12, Jay Rasulo, President of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, noted the
following:

• Disney expects to keep capital spending in its domestic
  parks meaningfully below $1 billion per year for the foreseeable future.
• With
  both of the nation’s most popular resorts, Disney now captures less than 3 percent
  of the 350 million overnight leisure trips taken in the United States each year.
• Disney
  will continue to invest in “unique Disney” entertainment in the parks.
• Mickey’s
  PhilharMagic—which an amazing 94 percent of guests surveyed call “excellent”—has
  become one of the most highly rated attractions at any of Disney’s parks since
  opening at the Magic Kingdom in October.
• Interactive conversations with
  Crush the sea turtle (from Finding Nemo) will indeed be part of the upcoming
  phase 2 of the Living Seas rehab.
• The worldwide celebration of Disneyland’s
  50th Anniversary will be called the “Happiest Homecoming on Earth,”
  and, when it officially kicks off next May, will invite consumers to relive old
  memories and make new ones with an 18-month extravaganza, providing extensive
  content for Disney’s marketing efforts.
• A huge array of nighttime spectaculars
  and live entertainment is planned to celebrate Disneyland’s “The Happiest
  Homecoming on Earth” 50th Anniversary which will kick off around the globe
  next year.
• The Walt Disney World Web site is capable of recommending vacation
  packages based on guest preferences, by leveraging Destination Disney, a comprehensive
  customer relationship management (“CRM” – all the way a company
  interacts with its customers) infrastructure now being installed in Orlando. By
  tracking both guest preferences and room capacity, Destination Disney allows Disney
  to create personalized offers that support their pricing strategy and improve
  yields. It also gives Disney a very powerful upselling tool, by turning each of
  their 2,200 reservation agents into “experts” on every detail of their
  resorts, and providing the booking history of the guest on the phone, all at the
  click of a mouse. And as the system evolves over the next few years, it will also
  enable Disney to launch targeted marketing campaigns based on historical vacation
  patterns of individual families. They plan to extend the Destination Disney technology
  to Disneyland, and will leverage it across more than 25 million households in
  their database.
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is not scheduled
  to open until May, but they have already sold about 50 percent of the first phase
  and expect to be completely sold out by fiscal year end—just four months
  after opening.

Western Beltway waiting on land acquisition

A
court battle has begun for the last 84 acres of land needed for construction of
the Western Beltway by the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority. The condemnation
case is just the latest step in the 30-year history of the planned road, which
cuts past the western edge of Walt Disney World. The Beltway, which would run
approximately 22 miles from the interchange of the Florida Turnpike and State
Road 50 to Seidel Road in Winter Garden, has lined up all of the parcels and rights
of way for its entire length—with the exception of three land parcels. It
is now trying to take those parcels by condemnation, since sale negotiations have
broken down. One of those parcels, which was bought at a price of $12,359 per
acre in 2000, was recently assessed at $89,400 per acre. The offer on that property
was $98,000 per acre, which was refused. Now the matter is in the hands of the
courts.

Ears to the Ground

…Due to the high occupancy expected,
DVC members may not “pool hop” from April 3 to 11.

Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Magic Kingdom

• “it’s a small world” is rumored to be going down
  for rehab from June 7 of this year through March 18, 2005 for upgrades to the
  lighting, audio, and electrical systems, rehabs to sets and Audio-Animatronic
  figures, asbestos abatement, roof repair, regular water maintenance (draining
  and refilling), and the possible addition of a new scene.
• The Astro
  Orbiter is closed for refurbishment through March 1.
• The ExtraTERRORestrial
  Alien Encounter has closed for good. It is now undergoing a major rehab and
  reopens in Fall 2004 as Stitch’s Great Escape.
• Walt Disney’s
  Carousel of Progress is expected to remain open for the duration of the Stitch’s
  Great Escape construction.
• Timekeeper has returned to seasonal
  operation.
• Mickey’s Star Traders is closed for refurbishment through
  early April as part of the Stitch rehab.
• Adventureland now opens
  at 10 a.m. on non-peak days, but opens with the rest of the park (except for the
  Jungle Cruise and the Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management)
  on Sundays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The following schedule has been announced
  for February. The early-opening portion of Adventureland opens at 9 a.m. now through
  Feb. 24, 26, and 28, and the rest of the land opens at 10 a.m. All other days,
  the entire land opens at 10 a.m. El Pirata Y el Perico Restaurante opens
  February 16 and 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• From now through Monday, March
  1, Liberty Square‘s merchandise locations are open from 11 a.m. to 6:30
  p.m. Frontierland locations are reduced, with Big Al’s opening at
  10 a.m., and the Trading Post, Prairie Outpost & Supply, and Briar
  Patch opening at 11 a.m. The Trading Post and Briar Patch are closing at 6:30,
  Prairie Outpost & Supply are closing at 7:30, and Big Al’s are closing at park
  close.
• The Hall of Presidents and the Country Bear Jamboree
  also opens at 10 a.m. every day except as noted below.

Epcot

• Test Track is rumored to be going down for rehab for track and queue
  resurfacing from February 28 to March 2.
• The Universe of Energy
  is expected to close for a short rehab in March to remove the ExxonMobil signage
  after its pavilion sponsorship ends.
• The Living Seas pavilion appears
  to be closing for a rehab in the April timeframe. Rumors are strong that Audio-Animatronic
  characters from Finding Nemo will be added to the pavilion for Phase II
  of the Nemo rehab.
• Food Rocks has closed permanently to make way
  for the entrance to the new Soarin’ Over California attraction.
• The
  Behind the Seeds Walking Tour of the greenhouses at The Land has been discontinued
  during reconstruction of the Food Rocks area into the queue for Soarin’. The tours
  are expected to resume upon completion of the construction.
• The Wonders
  of Life pavilion is open seasonally. The Pure and Simple eatery and
  the Well and Goods Limited shop will remain closed, while the Body Wars,
  Cranium Command, and The Making of Me attractions will now be open
  when the pavilion is open.

Disney-MGM Studios

• Residential
  Street at the Disney-MGM Studios has been closed and demolished and construction
  is well underway to turn the site into Lights, Motors, Action!, an American
  version of the popular Moteurs… Action! stunt show from the Walt Disney
  Studios at Disneyland Paris.
• The Backlot Tour is closed through
  April 1 to allow construction vehicles free access to the stunt show construction
  site. Once the stunt show opens, the tour will run two routes. The first route,
  when the stunt show is not running, will go through the stunt show set. The second
  route, during the stunt show, will bypass the stunt show set.
• Sets
  from the Haunted Mansion movie are now open in the old Backstage Pass
  soundstage and is open through April 2004.
• New York Street is undergoing
  a great deal of construction to change some facades to represent Chicago and San
  Francisco. The Chicago facades appear to be complete, but we do not yet have a
  target completion date for the rest of the newly-titled Big City Street.
• The
  Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights is reported to be returning on New
  York Street/Big City Street for this year.

Animal Kingdom

• TriceraTop Spin is closed for refurbishment through March 16.
• Dinosaur
  is rumored to be scheduled for a three-month rehab from April through June.

Resorts

• Pop Century Resort has officially opened.
• Port Orleans Resort
  – A two-year extensive rehab of this resort’s rooms is ongoing. For Phase I, French
  Quarter closed May 4, 2003 and reopens on March 21. Phase II will involve Riverside
  going through a phased rehab. The Magnolia Bend mansions will go down one by one,
  followed by Alligator Bayou closing in sections.
• Polynesian Resort
  is nearing completion of the refurbishment of longhouses. Each longhouse under
  rehab is walled off and isolated during its rehab. Niue and Rarotonga are the
  last remaining longhouses currently scheduled to undergo rehab, and are tentatively
  scheduled through May 2.
• Shades of Green – Major construction
  and rehab is ongoing at this MWR-run resort for the military. It is currently
  expected to reopen in March 2004.
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
  and Spa (a Disney Vacation Club resort) has an announced grand opening ceremony
  date of May 27, however guests may stay at the Resort beginning May 17. Reservations
  are now available.

Water Parks

• Typhoon Lagoon
  is closed for refurbishment through February 28.

Elsewhere

• Cirque du Soleil – La Nouba will be closed February 15-16 and
  22-23, March 14-17, June 20-July 5, August 22-25, October 17-20, and December
  5-13.
• The All Star Cafe at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex
  is now closed Monday-Wednesday. It is open Thursday-Sunday, from 11:30 a.m.-9
  p.m.

Park Events

Ongoing

• Celebrate Mickey… 75 InspEARations (link)
  showcases 75 very special interestingly decorated Mickey statues to celebrate
  Mickey’s 75th birthday throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. Now through
  April 2004.
• Atlanta Braves training camp at Disney’s Wide World
  of Sports complex (link).
  Now through April 2.

February 2004

• TwirlMania
  – The Twirler’s Championships (link).
  February 20 – 23.
• Mardi Gras at Downtown Disney Pleasure
  Island. February 20, 21 & 24.

March 2004

• National
  Cheerleading and Dance Championship (link)
  March 13 & 14.
• Lights! Camera! Pins! pin trading event
  (link).
  March 27.

April 2004

• Epcot International
  Flower and Garden Festival (link).
  April 16 – June 6.
• Grad Nights (link).
  April 23, 24, 30, and May 1.

May 2004

• Walt
  Disney World Inline Marathon (link).
  May 2.
• Florida Half Ironman Triathlon (link).
  May 23.
• Disney Vacation Club Member Homecoming event/Saratoga
  Springs opening. May 25-27.
• Star Wars Weekends (link).
  Weekends in May and June TBA.

June 2004

• Gay
  Days (link). June
  3–6.[Not official WDW events.]
• Family Pride Coalition Weekend
  (link).
  June 17-20.[Not official WDW events.]

July 2004

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports
  complex (link).
  Dates in July and August TBA.

September
2004

• Nights of Joy (link).
  September 10 & 11.

October 2004

• Epcot
  International Food & Wine Festival (link).
  October 1 – November 14.
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween
  Party (link).
  Dates in October TBA.
• Disney’s 10K Classic (link).
  October 10.
• Funai Classic at Walt Disney World (link).
  October 21–24.

November 2004

• Super Soap
  Weekend (link).
  Dates in early November TBA.
• Festival of the Masters at
  Downtown Disney (link).
  November 12–14.
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
  (link).
  Dates in November and December TBA.
• Festival of the Seasons
  at Downtown Disney (link).
  November 26 – December 24.
• Holidays Around the World
  (link).
  November 26 – December 30.

December 2004

• New
  Year’s Eve celebrations at Pleasure Island (link)
  and Atlantic Dance (link).
  December 31.

January 2005

• Disney’s
  Health and Fitness Expo (link).
  January 7 & 8.
• FamilyFun Magazine Family Fun Run (link).
  January 8.
• Disney Marathon (link)
  and Half-Marathon (link).
  January 9.

Current Discounts
& Promotions

April-June discount codes for Fort Wilderness

MouseSavers
is reporting new discount codes for stays at the Fort Wilderness campground for
check-ins April 18 through June 5. Reservations must be made by March 31, and
rates are subject to availability. Visit MouseSavers
for more details.

Florida resident Play Four Days pass returns

Disney’s
Play 4 Days pass for Florida residents is again on sale. The special pass is essentially
a four-day park hopper pass for Florida residents that is available for $109 plus
tax. The pass is good for theme park visits from January 4 through June 4, with
blockout dates April 3-15 for the peak Easter week season. Passes are available
at Walt Disney World theme parks, Florida Disney Stores, AAA offices. The cost
of a Play 4 Days pass may be applied to a Florida resident Annual or Seasonal
pass. For more information, either visit the Play 4 Days Web page (link)
or call 407-WDW-4DAYS (407-939-4329).

Plan ahead and save a few bucks

The
Walt Disney World Resort is encouraging visitors to buy their theme park tickets
before they even leave home, by offering a slight discount on advance purchases.
You can save as much as $22 per adult, per ticket with the “Advance Purchase
Savings” program.

You can also receive these Advance Purchase Savings
with packages purchased through AAA.

Annual
Passholders

Receive 10 percent off the price of their lunch meal
at selected Walt Disney World Resort hotel restaurants, and the discount is good
for up to three guests. The offer is valid Mondays through Fridays. Call 407-WDW-DINE
(407-939-3463) for locations and reservations.

Park
Hours

Hours and entertainment schedules are currently
available through April 2004.

Entertainment Schedule

Hours and
entertainment schedules are currently
available through April 2004.

Theme Park Events

Downtown Disney Entertainment

(Separate admission
required)