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Disney VoluntEARS Team with City of Orlando to Beautify Carver Shores Neighborhood

By
Chip
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Disney VoluntEARS Team with City of Orlando to Beautify Carver Shores Neighborhood

Demonstrating their commitment to the environment, nearly 100 Disney VoluntEARS joined hundreds of Orlando neighbors Saturday morning to help beautify one of the city’s neighborhoods.

As an early celebration of Earth Day, the cleanup crews planted oak, magnolia and crape-myrtle trees along Carver Shores’ streets and removed debris including a bicycle, automobile tires and a few signs from Lake Fran. They also painted picnic benches, fences, water fountains and recreational amenities at the nearby Poppy Park.

The volunteers hope their efforts not only have an immediate impact on the neighborhood, but also contribute to the long-term preservation of habitat and wildlife.

“This year Disney VoluntEARS are literally digging in deeper by planting trees that will provide a lasting legacy for this neighborhood,” said Jackie Ogden, vice president of Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives.

As a company with an enduring commitment to environmental conservation, we’re passionate about inspiring our cast members, guests and neighbors to help protect the environment.”

This is the first year that Disney VoluntEARS have collaborated with both Green-Up Orlando and Keep Orlando Beautiful as part of their Earth Day activities. The city of Orlando established Green-Up Orlando and Keep Orlando Beautiful to restore the urban tree canopy and reduce pollution and litter.

“Volunteers are the power force behind Keep Orlando Beautiful and Green-Up Orlando,” said Jody Goostree, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator. “We appreciate all our volunteers, including Disney VoluntEARS, to help us meet our goal to improve communities and the environment.  In just a few hours together we increased the city’s tree canopy, removed thousands of pounds of litter from Lake Fran and assisted neighbors in beautifying the Carver Shores neighborhood.”

As part of the environmental activities at Lake Fran, Orlando residents could also drop off used car parts including used batteries, oil, and tires for recycling or proper disposal.

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Disney VoluntEARS Team with City of Orlando to Beautify Carver Shores Neighborhood

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure $8 Off Coupon

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Chip
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Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure $8 Off Coupon

Save $8 On Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure Blu-ray™ Combo Pack!

Click the picture above to get your coupon while they last!

*Available and good in the U.S.A., its territories and Canada only. Limit two printed coupons per computer. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Coupon expires 4/26/11. While supplies last. See coupon for complete details. Redeemable at participating retailers.

 

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Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure $8 Off Coupon

Registration Now Open: Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort

By
Chip
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Registration Now Open: Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort

The Tinker Bell Half Marathon, hosted by the City of Anaheim and Disneyland Resort, will take runners on a 13.1-mile trek through the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks and pass by several City of Anaheim landmarks. The course will be filled with music, entertainment, Disney characters, runners in colorful Tinker Bell costumes and, of course, pixie dust, and will finish at Disneyland. Runners will receive a new Tinker Bell “wings’’ medal.

“We’re proud to be the home of the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend,’’ said Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait. “It is events like this that give a city heart and character. I’m happy to welcome the thousands of runners and their friends and families to Anaheim.’’

As with the four current runDisney signature events, the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend, Jan. 27-29, 2012, will feature a variety of activities, including the Neverland Family Fun Run 5K. There will also be a health and fitness expo featuring the latest running merchandise, products, apparel and guest speakers – all tailored for women – creating a weekend of camaraderie and wellness, plus a pinch of Tinker Bell’s trademark sassiness and sense of adventure.

“ ‘Women runners’ and ‘half marathons’ are part of a growing and popular trend within the running world – and that’s evident by the rapid success of our Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World,’’ said Kathleen Duran, Disney Sports Endurance Manager. “This new Tinker Bell event at Disneyland embraces that trend and provides thousands of women another unique opportunity to spread their fairy wings and showcase women’s fitness, health and an active lifestyle in a relaxed, fun and family vacation environment.’’

Megyn Price, star of the hit CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement, attended the announcement along with Disney California Adventure and Guest Services Vice President Mary Niven and Mayor Tom Tait. Price was the first person to sign up to run the inaugural race.

“The idea of bringing my family to Disney and running a half marathon with thousands of other women was really appealing for me,” said Price. “Being active and healthy is important for women, so I think the whole weekend is going to be a fun and unique experience for me and my family.”

With the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend, Disneyland Resort will be hosting two of runDisney’s five signature events. Disneyland currently hosts the Disneyland Half Marathon during Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-4 in 2011). In all, more than 10,000 runners are expected to participate in the inaugural Tinker Bell event, making it one of the nation’s largest endurance races geared toward women.

Registration for the first-ever Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend is open. Registration is currently $120 for the half marathon ($130 after June 12, 2011, and $140 after Sept. 11, 2011)and $50 for the 5K event. A portion of the registration fees will be donated to the Anaheim Community Foundation. Runners can register for the Tinker Bell event and any other runDisney race online at rundisney.com.

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Registration Now Open: Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort

Disney Murals: Bring the Magic of Disney Home

By
Chip
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Disney Murals: Bring the Magic of Disney Home

For anyone who can’t quite make it to London (who can?) maybe the next best thing is a touch of royal treatment at home. Imagine a mural on a child’s bedroom of a Disney Princess, personalized with your own  budding princess’s name!  More handy still, the murals all come in SmartStick, a repositionalble wall covering that allows you to reuse the mural on multiple surfaces for bedrooms or party rooms – or take it down when wedding fever dies down!

It is an inexpensive way for little girls to indulge their imaginations and surround themselves with their own magical kingdom.  There are numerous Disney scenes to choose from and you can personalize each of them with your little princess’s name if you like.

Click here to learn more.

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Disney Murals: Bring the Magic of Disney Home

New Study Shows Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Makes Strong Economic Impact Across Florida

By
Chip
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New Study Shows Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Makes Strong Economic Impact Across Florida

A new study released today shows the magic Disney makes for guests at its parks and resorts and on its cruise ships translates into a strong economic impact not only in Central Florida but across the state.

The $18.2 billion in annual economic activity generated locally by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts accounts for a staggering 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product for the entire state.

Of the 7.2 million Floridians in the workforce in 2009, more than one out of every 50 had a job that can be directly or indirectly tied to the operations of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Locally, 6 percent of all jobs in Central Florida can be attributed to Disney’s operations.

“As our business at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts keeps growing, the bottom line impact for Florida is the more than 160,000 jobs and $6 billion in compensation directly and indirectly associated with these jobs that help power our state’s economic engine,” said Al Weiss, president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “The ripple effect created by our operations resonates throughout Florida as families across the state use their earnings to purchase goods and services from the diverse businesses both large and small that make Florida such an amazing place to live, work and play.”

The impact of Disney’s operations in Central Florida and across the state includes:

• Jobs – Walt Disney World Resort directly employs more than 62,000 cast members. Statewide, the total number of jobs created indirectly and directly by the operations of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts tops 160,000.


• Compensation – In Central Florida, cast members at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts earned a total of nearly $1.8 billion during FY2009. Across Florida, when direct and indirect jobs are taken into account, more than $6 billion in paychecks can be attributed directly or indirectly to Disney’s operations.


• Purchasing by Disney – Each year Walt Disney Parks and Resorts purchases more than $2 billion worth of goods and services. Nearly $1 billion is paid to vendors with a presence in the state and approximately $500 million goes to vendors in Central Florida.


• Spending by Disney Guests – Spending by Disney guests at businesses outside the resort area totaled nearly $1.7 billion in FY2009. This includes hotel and lodging expenditures; meals at local restaurants; retail purchases; and transportation expenditures.


• Taxes – When taking the amount Disney pays in taxes and subtracting the cost of various government services used by guests and cast members, the net benefit to Florida and all localities is more than $400 million. In Central Florida, for example, Orange County sees a net benefit of more than $100 million and Osceola sees a net benefit of nearly $10 million.

The study was commissioned by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and conducted by the outside consulting firm Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics.

New Study Shows Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Makes Strong Economic Impact Across Florida

Chip and Co Featured Partner – Beyond the Attractions

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Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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Beyond the Attractions

My husband and I thought we knew everything there was to know about Walt Disney World – until we had our first son. All of a sudden everything was turned on its head – what were Baby Care Centers? Kids under three were free… really? How did Character Meet ‘n Greets work? Would we still be able to ride Space Mountain? We were also no longer sure that we would wait until our son was at least five years old until we brought him for his first Walt Disney World trip,

Inspiration struck suddenly on a Walt Disney World trip my husband and I took by ourselves when our son was one. We slowed down on that trip and looked at Walt Disney World from the perspective of young parents. We became even more amazed by the brilliance of the Walt Disney World Resort design – there is truly something for everyone from the youngest visitors to grandparents celebrating their Golden anniversary. We noticed all sorts of touches and distractions that fit seamlessly into the theming but offered opportunities for little ones to explore these hidden activities. Have you ever noticed the miniature train village in Epcot’s Germany Pavilion or the monkeys swinging up high near the entrance to Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom? By the time we left Walt Disney World, we made the decision to introduce our son to the magic of Disney World when he was two.

When we returned home, my research started in earnest. Before I knew it I had a book! Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers focuses on visiting Walt Disney World with children ages 2-5. The book has expanded over the years and includes information on planning, lodging, dining, best attractions for little ones and attractions to avoid, child care, safety, parades, maps, and more!

My website, Beyond the Attractions, contains more information about my book, reviews, and links to all my blog posts on Chip and Company and WDW Fan Zone. I hope you’ll share your thoughts on traveling to Walt Disney World with small children and your best Disney tips on our Facebook page or on Twitter.

Chip and Co Featured Partner – Beyond the Attractions

runDisney – New Race Clues

By
Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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half marathon, marathon, run, race

Over the past several weeks, runDisney has been leaving clues on their facebook page about an upcoming new race, to be announced tomorrow, April 19th.  These clues have left many stumped, myself included, about what this new race may be.

Those over at Stitch Kingdom, though, seemed to have figured it out.  They have announced that runDisney will announce a new half marathon, to be hosted at the Disneyland Resort.  Calling this new race the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, this new race is expected to be Disneyland Resort’s counterpart to the WDW Princess Half Marathon, focusing on women.

There is also talks of their being a new version of the Coast to Coast challenge, possibly linking the Princess half with the Tinkerbell half marathons.

For official confirmation and more details, make sure to check back in to Chip and Co. tomorrow after the 10 a.m. EDT, as we will try to release the details as quickly as possible!

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runDisney - New Race Clues

Disney Legend Charles Ridgway’s Disney Memoir Now An Ebook

By
Chip
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Disney Legend Charles Ridgway's Disney Memoir Now An Ebook

Spinning Disney’s World: Memories of A Magic Kingdom Press Agent by Charles Ridgway has been released as an ebook by The Intrepid Traveler, which published the original hardcover edition of the book in 2007.

Spinning Disney’s World can be downloaded for $7.99 at Amazon’s Kindle Store. It is expected that the book will be available soon for other ebook platforms including Barnes & Noble Nook and the Sony Reader.

An official “Disney Legend,” Ridgway was a press agent for Walt Disney for 40 years, heading up public relations for Disney parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Today, on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, there’s a window in his honor. It says simply, “Ridgway Public Relations – No Event Too Small.”

For many years Disney parks used no paid advertising, relying on Ridgway’s publicity skills to spread the word. He shares his memories and the many creative ways he marketed Disney in Spinning Disney’s World.

He tells of rubbing elbows with various celebrities including Bob Hope, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson and the NASA astronauts. He takes great delight in how he arranged for 50 Peking ducks to follow Donald Duck at his Fiftieth Birthday Parade. He saw the communication industry evolve from cranking out press releases on a typewriter to accessing the contents of his book via the Internet.

More recently, Ridgway has been traveling the globe as a travel writer and photographer. In December, he regaled more than 600 DISboard guests and DIS Unplugged Podcast crew with his stories during a four-day cruise to the Bahamas. He will also be among the special guests at D23’s Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th < http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/05141511_EE_WDWDestinationD40.html> event scheduled for May 14 and 15 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

For those who prefer the experience of holding a book, the hardcover edition Spinning Disney’s World can be ordered by clicking here. http://www.intrepidtraveler.com/store/disney-books.html

Disney Legend Charles Ridgway's Disney Memoir Now An Ebook

Chip & Company Week in Review for week of April 18th, 2011

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Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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Chip & Company Week in Review for week of April 18th, 2011

This has been a busy week for the writers over at Chip & Company!  There is so much to talk about.  This week we’ll be looking more at posts about the “The Ballad of Nessie”, the upcoming release of the Cars Blueray combo pack, and more details about the incredible D23 Scavenger Hunt!

  • As I mentioned, Disney’s “The Ballad of Nessie” was explored in more detail this week. In this post, we looked at who the creators of the tall tale are, and where you will be able to see it when it hits theaters!
  • In addition to what is appearing on the big screen, this week we talked about the upcoming release of the Cars Blueray Combo Pack this month.  Only one word works for me with regards to this: Awesome!
  • Are you going to D23 next month?  If so, you may want to read this next post very carefully!  Decide for yourselves if you want to participate in the D23 Scavenger Hunt.  Grand Prize – a dream preview cruise on the Disney Fantasy!
  • Did you hear about Shanghai Disneyland? It is the very first Disney theme park to be built in Mainland China.  From everything I’ve read, this will be tough to pull off, so let’s see how it goes!
  • Our writer Chris is also a Pixie Vacations travel agent.  Did you see where she is offering a gift card to those that book their vacations through her?  If not, read about it here.
  • Are you going to participate in the Aids Walk Orange County event in Anaheim, California?  If so, take a look at the D23 Eat and Greet Event!
  • Did you hear about the partnership between Chip and Company and Passporter?  All week Chip has been having contests each day, based on the reaction on the Facebook page, it was a great success!  Why don’t you relive all the excitement?  You know you want to!
  • Aljon and our friends over at Sorcerer Radio have been crazy busy!  Take a look at what they were doing last week, and tune in for more Disney music than anyone!
  • Have you seen the Disney Nature music video about African Cats?  If not, take a look, I think you’ll enjoy it!
  • Lastly, did you see the collaboration between Crunch Pack and Disney Consumer Products?  Sounds tasty!

In addition to the incredible news stories that Chip & Company releases, we also have some extremely talented writers giving their views on all things Disney.  If you missed them, take a look at some of these gems:

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s edition of the Chip & Company Week in Review.  Look for more great news and views stories throughout the week on our website or facebook page!

Chip & Company Week in Review for week of April 18th, 2011

Chip and Co Featured Partner – Deals to Disney

By
Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends
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Chip and Co Featured Partner - Deals to DisneyDeals to Disney started almost a year ago as a way to keep readers informed with the latest Disney specials that I can help book as a travel agent and other tips and tricks for saving money at Disney.  These are things that I have learned over the last 25 years of going to Disney and 8 years of paying for those trips and taking my own children with me.  Most posts start with a question from a reader planning their trip to Disney- and I just share the answer with everyone so if others had the same question, the answer is right there!

I’m looking forward to going to stay at the Aulani- I live just over an hour away from this new Disney resort, so this is something I’ve been following closely and posting about often.

On the Deals to Disney Facebook page and twitter, there are also quick tips and reminders.  This is also a way to ask your questions directly.

Next week Thursday I’ll be co-hosting a Disney Blog Hop with Babes in Disneyland.  Come link up your site or come find some new favorites!

Chip and Co Featured Partner - Deals to Disney

Disney Cast Members Challenge: 20,000 Ways to Protect the Environment

By
Chip
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Disney Cast Members Challenge: 20,000 Ways to Protect the Environment

Connecting with nature is an everyday passion for the 62,000 cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort.  As part of this commitment, cast members are challenging themselves this Earth Day to double the 10,000 conservation pledges they made last year to reduce their carbon footprint.

Inspired by the upcoming Earth Day release of Disneynature film “African Cats,” cast members are focusing their efforts on making a difference for animals and nature.

“Connecting with nature can mean something different to each of us,” said Jackie Ogden, vice president of Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives. “But no matter what the pledge, every individual can make a difference for this fragile planet and help its natural inhabitants.”

Cast members hope to reach 20,000 pledges by adding one more environmentally friendly commitment to their work and home routine.

Some of their ideas include:
•             Raising thermostats by two degrees in the summer and lowering them by two degrees in the winter.
•             Using reusable shopping bags, utensils, and drinking containers.
•             Eating sustainably caught or farmed seafood.
•             Recycling anything and everything possible.
•             Minimizing the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
•             Reducing water use by installing low-flow shower heads and turning off the faucet while brushing teeth.

Environmental conservation is a long journey. Here’s how five cast members carried out their pledge during the past year.

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Disney Cast Members Challenge: 20,000 Ways to Protect the Environment

Lady Gaga visits Magic Kingdom park

By
Chip
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Lady Gaga visits Magic Kingdom park

Grammy Award-winning singer Lady Gaga (right) poses April 16, 2011 with the Evil Queen from Disney’s classic animated film “Snow White” at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Todd Anderson, photographer

Lady Gaga visits Magic Kingdom park
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