Home Blog Page 5447

Couple charged with leaving kids alone at Disney

simmons
simmons

simmons

Authorities say a Michigan couple left their young foster children alone in their Walt Disney World hotel room for at least two hours while they hung out at the resort’s pool.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested 49-year-old Stephen Simmons and 41-year-old Kimberly Simmons Friday and charged them child neglect. Housekeeping staff found the 2-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy Friday afternoon and waited five minutes for the parents to return. Security then called the sheriff’s office.

The husband and wife were released Saturday on $2,000 bail each.

Disneyworld Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Disneyworld Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures:

* Space Mountain: Apr 19 – Nov 21, 2009
* Tomorrowland Transit Authority: Apr 19 – Aug 24, 2009
* Tomorrowland Power and Light Co.: Apr 19 – Nov 21, 2009

Disneyland Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures

Disneyland Current Refurbishments and Attraction Closures:

* Pinocchio’s Daring Journey – closed thru August 14 for refurbishment.
* The Enchanted Cottage – closed July 29 – Nov 17 for refurbishment.
* Casey Jr. Circus Trains – closed August 31 – Nov 20 for refurbishment.
* Storybook Land Canal Boats – closed August 31 – Nov 20 for refurbishment.
* Mark Twain Riverboat – closed September 8 – 10 for refurbishment.
* Space Mountain – closed September 8 – 24 for refurbishment.
* Minnie’s House – closed September 9 for refurbishment.
* Haunted Mansion closed – September 10 – 24 for refurbishment.
* Gadget’s Go Coaster – September 19 – October 26 for refurbishment.
* Pirates of the Caribbean – September 28 – October 2 for refurbishment.

Note: Refurbishment schedules are estimates only. All information is subject to change without notice. To get the most recent updates, call Disneyland at 714-781-7290.

Disney’s World of Color Preview w/ video goodness

Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Director Steven Davison describes the Disney’s World of Color show that is in development for Disney’s California Adventure.

Disney World Map & Guides for iPhone

141766 upinpoint2 original
141766 upinpoint2 original

141766-upinpoint2_original

The Magic Kingdom. The Happiest Pace on Earth. A family vacation in the Florida sun. Nothing could disturb this paradise… until your three-year-old has to respond to nature’s call right now.

But wait—you don’t have to begin a mad dash from one end of the Magic Kingdom to the other. Just whip out your iPhone, launch any one of UPinPoint.com’s mobile guides to Disney World, and discover, via the app’s helpful maps that there’s a restroom behind the Cinderella store just a few steps away. And with that, your Disney vacation is saved.

UPinPoint.com sells several different pocket guides for Disney’s Florida theme parks. They’re essentially maps that help you navigate your way around the park, helping you find attractions, dining options, and—yes, fellow parents of small children—restrooms. As of this writing, UPinPoint sells three mini guides, covering the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot Center. It also offers the WDW Maps Box Set, which combines those three apps plus ones for Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney. (The developer says a map for Disney’s Blizzard Beach will be added to the Box Set soon.)

2009 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival – Sept. 25 – Nov.8

Article written by Jeff Titelius from the Examiner

Are you ready to wine and dine your away around the world in a single day and sample delectable cuisines from over 25 nations? How about tasting lamb chops from Australia and Sushi from Japan? How about the perfect pairing of wine with that Italian pasta dish? If talk like this whets your appetite, then it’s off to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival starting on Sept 25 and continuing for six weeks through Nov. 8. In addition to sampling the tastes and wines/beers from around the world, there are elegant dinner parties, wine pairings, cooking demonstrations, seminars and live entertainment. So grab your fork, knife and wine glass and follow me to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

2009 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival - Sept. 25 - Nov.8

Highlights include:

The Festival Welcome Center features a Champagne and wine bar, wine seminars, celebrity chef book signings and more.

More than 250 chefs from all over the nation including Disney chefs will host special dinners and tasting events. The final list is still being worked on so I don’t have details for this year however, I can tell you that last year’s event featured Rock Harper of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Jeff Henderson, Warren Brown, Iron Chef Cat Cora and other folks who know their way around the kitchen! Learn more about what’s going on at the Welcome Center.

In addition, there are a variety of other stops to make along your wine and dine journey around the world. Learn more!

My favorite special engagements are back as well however, keep in mind that each requires reservations and separate admission. For those who really want to indulge in the all the tastes of the world, attend the “Party for the Senses” grand tasting events featuring a variety to sumptuous food samples paired with more than 50 wines and beers plus live entertainment.

Exciting new culinary programs debut this year including “Celebration Dinners”, “Culinary Adventure Signature Dining” and “Celebrating with Family and Friends in the Kitchen.” Your favorite programs that are returning include the Epcot Wine Schools, the French Regional Lunches at Bistro de Paris (restaurant on second floor), food and wine pairings at selected Epcot restaurants, “Signature Dining,” “Sweet Sundays,” and others. Don’t worry; I will have all the details on each of these soon. For the time being, MARK YOUR CALENDARS because starting on August 11, you can call 407-WDW-FEST (939-3378) to book your reservations. Remember, these programs sellout quickly so don’t wait, especially for the “Party for the Senses”! See complete schedule.

Walt Disney World History July 20th & 21st

Another great video from the guys at WDW History.

Disney 3D Christmas Carol Train Tour and Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey helped Disney kick off the studio’s 6-month train tour promotion on Thursday, May 21, for the Robert Zemeckis 3D version of A Christmas Carol opening November 6 that began at Union Station in L.A. on Memorial Day weekend, all captured in this highlight video by Scott Hettrick.

Meet the Crew of Discovery Channels Deadliest Catch at Epcot July 31 – August 2

norway viking 11 06
norway viking 11 06

norway-viking-11-06

The Norway pavilion in Epcot® is pleased to host Northwestern Captain Sig Hansen, Edgar Hansen, and Matt Bradley — three of the featured stars on the popular reality series on The Discovery Channel, Deadliest Catch – for an in-park appearance July 31 – August 02, 2009. Sig, Edgar and Matt will appear inside The Puffin’s Roost, the Norway Pavilion’s merchandise location, each day. They’ll be appearing from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm.

Fourth generation fishermen, Sig Hansen is the Captain of the Northwest, Edgar Hansen is the Deck Boss and Matt Bradley is a Deck Hand for the crab-catching vessel. Captain Sig Hansen and Edgar Hansen and Norm own and operate the Seattle, WA based Northwestern.

In addition to signing autographs and posing for photos, the Hansen’s will have Northwestern merchandise created by Helly Hansen available for purchase during their Epcot® appearances.

Check out the show here : http://www.youtube.com/show?p=ucHo4obIHrI

Walt Disney World History July 18th & 19th

Another great video from the guys at WDW History.

Disney’s California Adventure – BIG changes are coming

disney california adventure park
disney california adventure park

disney_california_adventure_park

Get a sneak peek at the big changes transforming Disney’s California Adventure® Park! Glance behind the curtain and learn the inside story on what’s coming your way in the near future — plus hints of what’s to come in the years ahead.

Check out the pictures and the videos here or as always click on the picture for the jump.

Some other related video of the current changes including some construction videos can be found below.

Mickey Mouse Scuba Diving

Ok I have never heard of this till I was over checking out Mickey Mouse Review, which is a great site! They had posted about Mickey Mouse diving at the The Seas With Nemo and Friends in Epcot. So I had to do some research.

  • It is actually a NAUI specialty called “Character Diving” that teaches this skill to character performers. There are only a handful of instructors that teach this, and they are all in the Orlando area… and the only place to teach this is WDW. The performers must be current Mickey Mouse performers and scuba certified before applying for this.
  • There is no set schedule for him to dive. He is either diving once a month to keep his certification or he will dive for a (very expensive) special event in the VIP room for the seas.

Oh well either way its the first I heard of this and a really cool video. I will be sure to look out for this the next time we are there!