Even if you’re not part of the Disney family, beginning January 1st you’ll be able to register at the Disney Parks website for your own volunteer experience and Disney will reward you with a free admission to one of their theme parks. Heck, why wait. Search the HandsOn Network today and see what’s available in your area. That’s the same group Disney is working with for their promotion.

For the next few weeks, Walt Disney World Resort will highlight some of its community outreach efforts through the “Season of Sharing” in part to raise awareness of charitable causes that aim to build better futures for Central Florida’s families and children. The uncertain economic times have left many non-profit organizations with increased needs and a record demand for their services, which is being felt well beyond the holidays.

“Walt Disney World Resort works closely with more than 100 local non-profits to make dreams come true in Central Florida,” says Eugene Campbell, vice president of Community Relations and Minority Business Development for Walt Disney World Resort. “This holiday season, we wish to celebrate and shine some light on the ongoing efforts of our community partners and hope others are inspired to join us in helping them achieve their goals.”

“Season of Sharing” stories and images will be posted frequently on their Community Relations site with links back to featured charities so readers can directly connect to learn more.

Here are a few of the ones posted already:

* Disney’s $30,000 donation benefiting Health Care Center for the Homeless and Second Harvest of Central Florida
* Disney Costuming setting a new record in Teddy Bear donations for the Salvation Army
* Disney’s support of a holiday classic involving 200 local kids
* Walt Disney World Resort president Meg Crofton and her team spreading holiday cheer at Sunnyside Village

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WDW Celebrates the Season of Sharing
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

Stocking includes:

- Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack featuring “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
- Hannah Montana 3 Soundtrack featuring “He Could Be The One”
- Phineas and Ferb Soundtrack featuring “Gitchee Gitchee Goo”
- Princess And The Frog Soundtrack featuring “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo
- Songs to Celebrate 25 Days Of Christmas featuring “Nothing for Now”
- Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Soundtrack featuring “The Gift of a Friend” by Demi Lovato

Here’s a clip of the “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo from The Princess and the Frog soundtrack

Learn more at Disney Record’s Amazon Page and Disney’s Facebook page.

To enter the contest (see rules)* make a post to this thread on the Townsquare Forums and let us know your favorite Disney Heroine and why?

*Shipping is to US address only. Contest ends at Noon ET on Thursday December 10th 2009. One entry per person. Must register on the Townsquare forums to participate. Valid email required to win. Not valid where illegal or otherwise prohibited.

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Win a Disney CD Stocking
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

A half-day walk out was staged on Sunday with about 75 employees walking off the job from their positions at the three Disneyland hotels. A Disneyland spokesman said that other employees were called in to do the work and no guests were affected.

This was the first actual work stoppage in a dispute that has drug on for more than two years now.

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Disneyland Hotel Workers stage Half-day Walk-out
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

Looking for something fun and purposeful to fill your child’s stocking this Christmas? This holiday season may be all about “back to the basics” in gift giving, but just because you are giving a “necessity” does not mean it needs to be boring! Try something with one of Disney’s newest stars on it.

“The Princess and the Frog” hits theaters December 11th and Princess Tiana is already popular character this holiday season. Band-Aid has partnered with Disney for the first time and will now offer BAND-AID® Brand Decorated Adhesive Bandages with the movie’s Princess Tiana depicted in a variety of scenes. Having your favorite movie character on your kid’s latest scrape will certainly make the healing process more fun for the entire family.

We just got our sample box of these fun Band-Aid bandages and already have helped to heal a few wounds the fun Disney way. I find it interesting how Disney rolls out all the product tie-ins for its movies. What’s the weirdest tie-in you’ve ever found? Mine is Snow White Apples. I mean, weren’t Snow White’s Apples poisoned? Who would want to eat one of those.

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Snazzy Princess and the Frog Stocking Stuff – Band-Aids?
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

I think it’s safe to say Lloyd Simcoe’s very public apology and explanation of what happened was in fact not what actually happened to cause the blackout.  His association with Simon seems to be crafted to allow Simon a public identity of sorts – one that conveniently works as a scientist/engineer for one of them Spallation SuperCollider thingamadoodles, which was used to provide a convenient “explanation” for what happened.

It’s pretty obvious Simon knows full well about the Somalian towers and was feigning surprise over their existence, saying he designed their type a year later than their existence would suggest (interestingly the closed-captioning said he designed them in the 2000’s while he actually said the 1990’s, a year after their construction.  Apparently a change in the shooting script at the last minute).  I would imagine Simon is in cahoots with D. Gibbons and The Persian Princess, Nhadra Udaya,  for their own motives, and decided to use Simcoe’s contraption and their experiments to provide a convenient scapegoat.  While we still don’t really know who they are or what they did, at least we can be reasonably sure now that Lloyd was not really involved except as a patsy.  Well, that and his kidnapping kinda tipped me off, too…

Mark continues to dive headfirst off the deep end by traveling with Demetri to Hong Kong in search of The Persian Princess.  How they found her – one woman in an entire megacity, even with their methods seemed farfetched but we’ll go with it.  It’s interesting that the CIA seems to be involved in at least investigating TPP and her gang of thugs, and seem to have an uneasy truce that allows them to “rescue” Mark and Dem from said thugs.  CIA man had a familiarity with TPP and she backed off at his request.   Is the CIA actually involved in the plot?  Do they have some kind of agreement with her behind the scenes?  We’ll see.

So now Mark’s out of the FBI and will apparently be continuing the investigation on his own.  Is this in line with his future?  In his flash he saw himself in his own office, in front of the Fox Mulder Memorial Tackboard of Conspiracies ™ and attacked by baddies with star tattoos and Nixon masks (or so they always remind me).  Does this mean he eventually breaks back into the FBI to investigate things that night?  Or will he now move out to more spacious and presumably more secure digs?  And will Demetri continue to assist him in preventing his own death?

Speaking of Demetri and dying, his fiancee discovers the true meaning of her own flash – that she was indeed at his funeral and not their wedding.  Nice to have things validated, though I doubt she would agree.  The scene between her and Demetri’s mother seemed too much like one that would be on LOST with Mr. or Mrs. Paik, Sun’s parents, so it seemed odd to me.  On the other side of the world, TPP reveals to Demetri that Mark will be the one to shoot him.  Not sure this whole plotline is terribly interesting, to be honest.  I understand the whole “marching inexorably to destiny” kind of thing, but we see now that the future can be changed so all bets are off.  If Demetri wants to live to see his wedding all he has to do is quit the Bureau (or take an extended leave), take his fiancee with him to Hawaii, Barbados, Monaco or Nepal for all I care and quit the whole dang business.  Once the date passes, he should feel safe to return.  The more Demetri digs for ways to avoid his own murder simply by trying to arrange the chess pieces on the board, the more I get frustrated he doesn’t just stand up and walk away.

So here we are, waiting till next March to see what happens next.  Will they pretend a lot of time has passed?  How will they account for the progress in everyone’s lives after the life-changing events of this week?  Presumably Janis will visit the sperm bank and come back three months pregnant.  Olivia will be taking care of Lloyd’s son and I assume Mark will still be around.  He’ll likely be already drinking, or just on the cusp of it.  No telling the progress of Aaron and his daughter, though they may already be heading out to Afghanistan with a flashback explaining how that came to be.  I’m not sure I really like this big a hiatus in a show that relies on its continuous storytelling, but nothing we can do about it.

So what is Simon’s group, really, and why did they cause the blackouts?  Honestly, at this point I have no idea.  It wasn’t an accident, and it doesn’t seem to be an evil mad scientist/overlord bent on world domination.  Obviously these people wanted to achieve something with the blackout-causing incident but I am having a hard time speculating on its purpose.  So the first test knocks the world out for 2-1/2 minutes, killing hundreds of thousands of people.  Presumably from paranoia alone if it happens again it might not kill quite so many people but what if next time it lasts longer?

Or is their motive something else?  Profit?  Ransom, threatening to hold the world hostage if all the governments don’t meet their monetary demands?  Or do they borrow a page from the old Twilight Zone textbook of the time-stopping watch and go around pilfering people’s pockets while they all sleep?  Or maybe their ultimate goal is to knock everyone out for enough time that they can go by and paint big mustaches with Magic Markers on everyone’s face in the world.  I have no idea.

Hopefully by the time the finale rolls around sometime next spring, we’ll have a better look.  Until then,

See you in a Flash!

Barry

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Flash Forward, Episode 110: “A561984″
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

This episode opens with action – our resistance heroes Erica and Ryan are racing through a parking garage, then we see Erica standing over a wounded Georgie, while Ryan aims a gun in her direction…

Then we cut, West Wing-style, to 14 hours earlier. The writers on The West Wing did this often, and very well, so I was excited. Had we just seen the final scene, or the penultimate scene of the fall finale? What a way to end! But no – this story-telling technique, while very effective sometimes, was not put to its best use. But more on that later.

So, 14 hours earlier…our Fab Four is having their Meet & Greet, and Erica is very suspicious of Ryan. While she’s trying to figure out his game, the four argue about the best way to vex the Visitors. Georgie’s enthusiastic about making a big reveal – catch a Visitor and expose him for all to see. But Father Jack cautions them against moving too fast, insisting, “We have to be smart.” Later, Georgie and Ryan argue. Georgie wants to know why Ryan won’t admit he’s a V and Ryan warns Georgie to stop talking about skinning Vs.

Meanwhile, up above in the Mother Ship, Anna, Marcus and Joshua have a dead sleeper on their hands. Anna is completely pissed about the presence of the Fifth Column on her ship, and charges Joshua with the task of finding Dale’s killer.

Erica’s preoccupied with trying to find out more about Ryan, so she fluffs off Tyler when he says he wants to talk. While Tyler waits for Mom to pay him some attention, he watches the latest episode of the Chad and Anna show on TV. The Vs are bringing out even more healing technology, plus a Super Vitamin that will do everything  – except cure the common cold. Get your flu shot, Anna says with a smirk. She’s so convincing, she should do Public Health ads. Erica and Tyler are interrupted again by Ryan’s phone call. This Super Vitamin could be the secret to what the Vs are really up to.

Tyler’s got to talk to someone, so he’s off to his therapist to bemoan the fact that Erica doesn’t appreciate the Vs. “The world is broken and they’re fixing it,” he insists to…Val! In a disturbing disruption of doctor/patient interaction, Val shares her own health concerns with Tyler, who convinces her to get herself down to the Healing Centre for a checkup. He even offers her a front-of-the-line pass – and she takes it. Anna and Lisa are watching the whole thing on Tyler’s jacket-cam, and Anna thinks it’s time she meets Tyler herself.

The Fab Four has tracked down Professor Combs, a sleeper V who Ryan assures them will have information on the Super Vitamin. Georgie corners Combs in the parking garage first, but Georgie adopts a shoot first/talk later approach. A shootout ensues and Georgie is wounded – and we’ve now caught up to our opening scene, far too early. I was really disappointed that we got here so fast. I used to love it when they did this on West Wing. The whole hour would become a process of piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, and I’d be glued to my chair. Catching up so quickly really diminished the impact of this storytelling technique, making it seem a little gratuitous.

Turns out, Ryan was shooting past Erica at Combs. The wounded V pops a suicide pill before Ryan can stop him and bursts into flame just after calling Ryan a traitor. Erica has now caught on to the fact that Ryan’s a V too, and demands answers, which Ryan refuses to give. “We’re on the same side,” he tells her.

As Val checks into the Healing Centre, Chad is undergoing his own physical exam for the camera. Scott Wolf reminds me more and more of a younger Michael J. Fox every time I see him. Chad reports to the audience that the Vs have medical technology that Earth doctors don’t even come close to. Off-camera, he complains to Marcus about his limited access to more information, but Marcus blows him off.

FJ treats Georgie’s bullet wound and admits to having served in Iraq. Georgie warns him that he’ll have to choose eventually – soldier or priest? Having been reassured of the presence of the Fifth Column, Erica’s willing to shelve her suspicions about Ryan for now, and the two of them go through Combs’ briefcase to determine their next step.

Sky-side, the hunt for the Fifth Column is underway. Joshua’s fellow medic is eager to get him off the ship, insisting Josh is too valuable to be sacrificed, but Josh is staying put. Anna lines up the medical team and informs them that unless someone confesses, the innocent will suffer. This is one ticked-off Lizard! In the nick of time, Josh’s buddy throws himself on the sword – or, in this case, the skinning knife. Josh is ordered to carry out the sentence.

Tyler’s ready to meet Lisa’s mom, but falters when he realizes it’s Anna herself. “My mom doesn’t bite,” Lisa tells him, smiling. Perhaps she squeezes her victims like a boa constrictor? Anna takes Tyler off for a chat and a tour, chuckling over it being a universal instinct to protect your young. She shows him the Mother Ship’s engine room, something no human has ever seen. Tyler’s impressed and relaxes.

Combs’ notes have led FJ, Ryan and Erica to the warehouse where the Super Vitamin is being shipped from. Amidst some scary looking corpses, they discover it’s not a vitamin – it’s the flu shot! I know it’s a classic conspiracy theory, but the writers showed some forward thinking here in terms of all the H1N1 media coverage these last few weeks. That’s something that used to happen occasionally on The West Wing too; it’s smart writing, but this whole scene just felt rushed, right down to Erica’s discourse on human predictability/vulnerability. Explaining things to the viewer isn’t necessary.

The security team returns to the warehouse and sounds the alarm, but Ryan hits the failsafe. We get to see FJ throw a few good punches, Erica saves Ryan’s life (now they’re even) and then our heroes escape the V’s clutches once more. The whole place goes kaboom.

“Skinning a V’ seems to be a very bad thing indeed, especially when it’s one of your friends. Josh has paralyzed his savior to spare him some physical suffering at least. The skinning takes place off camera, with a very nasty-looking knife. Not seeing it was almost worse than seeing it.

Marcus has some very bad news for Chad – he’s going to die in six months. Chad deadpans about getting a second opinion, but the V doctor informs him that human technology can’t detect this yet. To prove they know what they’re talking about, they give Chad a printout of his medical history. Chicken pox, a broken femur, migraines – Chad has gone through an awful lot in his young life!

Just before the warehouse explosion, Ryan sent another “John May Lives” message and Anna knows things are getting out of control. She explains that she’ll just have to manage everyone’s fear. In the weirdest scene yet, an apparently naked Anna appears to cosmically connect with her people. Light streams from her fingertips, and her soothing voice reminds the Vs that the past is gone, there are no regrets, they’ll never be alone. We see Vs everywhere stop and raise their heads to receive her message.

It’s not clear if Tyler can hear Anna, but he can see the impact on the Vs around him. “It’s a gift from my mother,” Lisa tells him. “Bliss.” The attraction of “Bliss” to the Vs was really well conveyed here. Whatever Anna was doing, however she was communicating to her people, it stopped them in their tracks, and allowed them a momentary escape from their reality. Cyrus’ desire for Bliss in the previous episode, to the extent that he betrayed Ryan in the hopes of gaining it, is a little more explainable now. However, there’s still the question of why some Vs, like Ryan, can resist it, or at least, not want to pay the price to have it.

Home again, Ryan finds out Val is pregnant. FJ, mulling Georgie’s words about making his choice, is attacked and left bleeding on the church floor. And Erica discovers Tyler’s gone to the Mother Ship and isn’t answering his cell phone.

Anna, Lisa and Tyler stare out at the city, and Anna muses about Tyler seeing space one day. “It’s only the beginning….”

The view pulls back and back and back –past the planets, the sun – to show an armada of Visitor ships waiting. It’s only the beginning….but we’ll have to wait until March 30 to get the next installment.

A few thoughts:

We’ve got a number of cliff-hangers here, but I’m not sure if they’re powerful enough to regain viewers next spring. Sure, there are mysteries, but they’re not the major bafflers that we’ve seen on Lost, etc. Unlike, say, “what the heck is a smoke monster?” We know the Vs are reptilian, we know that the alien/human offspring is going to cause some kind of conflict for someone, we can predict that Erica is, at some point, going to be torn between saving her kid and protecting humanity.

For me, the most interesting twist of the first four episodes is Chad’s new knowledge that he’s going to die.  How will this affect what he’s going to do next? Will he continue to serve as the Vs’ propaganda channel in the hopes of saving his own life? Or will he experience a wholesale change of character and devote his remaining days to serving truth? Chad is a character that was hardly given a chance to develop at all; I hope the “rework” takes advantage of what could be a really key character in this series.

We’ve gotten some of the nods to the original that we were promised – the alien/human romance, the giant Mother Ships, even the fleet hiding behind the sun (although I don’t think that was ever mentioned in the series, only in the book). We haven’t gotten the hinted-at guest starring by actors from the original, and I really hope that eventually happens. I can’t remember the last time I saw one of them.

It’s hard to remember that the original mini series wasn’t much longer, time-wise, than what we’ve been given this fall. I would have expected more to happen in the time we’ve been given; in fairness, though, a weekly series hoping to return season after season can’t have the story end too soon. The ominous fleet hiding in the far reaches of the galaxy is obviously a hint that there are many, many more layers to this story than what we might have assumed.

Every time I watch an episode of Lost, I come away shaking my head in absolute awe – how do they do that? I think to myself. I haven’t felt that way about V – yet – but I’ve seen enough to sense there’s something there that, if accessed, could turn a good show into a really great show. I’ll happily return in the spring to see what happens next.

This week, it was announced that V would follow Lost on the spring schedule, airing at 10 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. If they nail the rework, Lost viewers will stay sitting and bump V’s viewership up a notch. If they don’t, V will suffer by comparison. Have your say in the comments – what do you think it’s going to be?

See you in March!

When not leading the resistance, Shelley blogs at Once I was A Writer.

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V Fall Finale Recap – It’s Only The Beginning
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

Princess Tiana and her court

Somehow when I woke up Sunday morning and decided to head to the Magic Kingdom, I wasn’t thinking about them filming for the Disney’s Christmas Day Parade that will air on ABC, you guessed it, on Christmas Day. But I should have remembered that the Jonas Brothers would be taping their segment today and that they’d probably be doing pickup shots for the parade since Saturday was rained out.

That certainly explained the extra cars in the parking lot when we arrived. Many guests had been at the Magic Kingdom since 7AM rehearsing and filming segments of the Jonas Brothers piece. When we arrived at 9AM the Main Street area was crowded, but the rest of the park was pleasant. In fact we rode Space Mountain twice with almost no wait before 10AM.

We then decided to check out the Jonas Brothers filming. We were in luck as they were just finishing filming with one or two complete takes of the whole performance. So we got to see quite a bit, including dozens of girls who screamed at the chance to just wave high to any of the brothers. I have to say I’m happy I wasn’t there from 7AM just waiting for the final shots, but it was fun to see how it was all put together. Most in the audience seemed to be having a good time, at least.

A little later in the day we happened along Main Street where they were just about to start filming shots that will appear in the ABC Christmas Day parade. As it turns out there were a few great spaces right infront of the emporium, so we stood and watched for a while. It really was a lot of fun and everyone got into the spirit of putting on a good show for the TV audience.

I had been in the audience for a number of filmings at Disneyland, but never at the Magic Kingdom. At Disneyland the experience was always one of chaos and rude guests. But at the Magic Kingdom everything was under control. As much as possible they kept the park running as normal and except when necessary for the filming, you wouldn’t have even known it was going on. What a great job by all involved in the park on Sunday.

I look forward to getting more involved in future filmings and recommend you do to. If you were there this weekend, please let us know how it went.

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Christmas Parade Filming Fun
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

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Roy E. Disney interviewed
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To mark the return of Disney to hand-drawn animation in The Princess & The Frog, RT has pulled together a list ranking every feature animated film from Disney from worst to best. It starts with “Fun and Fancy Free” at #48 which is probably true, but it’s still a great little film and what’s bad from Disney could still be great from others. Sort of the opposite of the Anastasia problem*.

Btw, there is no way “The Black Cauldron” should be ranked above “Chicken Little” or “Brother Bear”…. who’s curating this list?

*The Anastasia problem: When Fox released the animated feature Anastasia they test marketed it a couple of ways. In some theaters they added a ‘Disney Feature Animation’ logo before the title and in others they left the actual Fox name. Those who saw the movie with the Disney name in front of it rated the film better than those who saw it with the Fox logo. The other half of the Anastasia problem is that when any animated feature starts to approach Disney quality many audience members assume that it was made by Disney even if they’ve seen it themselves. Proof? Just go to ebay and search Disney Anastasia.

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Top Disney Animation according to Rotten Tomatoes
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

I’m curious to see what the Imagineers have done this time. We do know that the show will include Paul Frees original narration and Royal Dano’s original recording for the voice of Lincoln. They recently restored the Hall of Presidents Lincoln to the Royal Dano recording of the Gettysburg Address and it’s quite stirring.

For a little flashback the OC Register has also included an infographic that looks inside the operations of the original 1964 model of the Lincoln audio-animatronic. This is one of the attractions my grandfather, Vic Greene, played a large part in bringing back from the World’s Fair. So it was really wonderful to see that.

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Inside Mr. Lincoln, literally
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

Trailer

Bloopers and more below the cut:

Sorry for the large size of these clips:

Behind the Scenes: Bloopers (Bonus)

Featurette: Hoyt Jr.’s Debut (Bonus)

G-Force hits store shelves December 15th, but you can pre-order it now.

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G-Force DVD Trailer and Extras
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

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Tilt-Shift Video of EPCOT
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

However, the bad news is the actual results show drew fewer eyeballs than expected. Could this be because the actual results part took about 10 minutes and the rest was filled with the washed up refuse of the entertainment world.

I’d like to thank The Disney Chick and The Missy for providing such excellent coverage of this season. I hope they’ll both be back for more next year.

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Donny Osmond helps Dancing With the Stars numbers
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

The new name reflects the prominence of the SeaWorld brand in both the family travel industry and among the company’s portfolio of parks.

“It is one of the world’s most widely recognized and respected family travel brands,” said Jim Atchison, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment President. “SeaWorld has been a brand associated with quality family entertainment since SeaWorld San Diego opened its gates for the first time in March 1964.”

Despite the new name, little else about the company changes with today’s acquisition by Blackstone, Atchison said. The leadership team, park portfolio, operating philosophy, commitment to quality and workforce is unchanged: “While this is the start of an exciting new phase in our evolution, we remain dedicated to the same values and principles that have been the foundation of our success for five decades.”

Also announced today was a Google Maps Street View of the Orlando and San Diego SeaWorld theme parks making them now available for virtual visits and adventures.

Street View visits to the parks are accessible via Web and mobile applications. Viewers can start by going to maps.google.com and searching for SeaWorld, Discovery Cove or Aquatica. Then drag the orange “Pegman” icon (found at the top left of the map) for a “walking tour.” Among the highlights -– also seen in “satellite mode” — SeaWorld visitors can look for the world’s most famous killer whale, Shamu.

“We’re thrilled to be among the first theme parks in the world to get the Google Street View treatment,” said Joe Couceiro, chief marketing officer for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. “Now, no matter where you are, you can enjoy an online experience of our parks including seeing their scope and diversity while planning your vacation. The only thing missing is getting splashed by the real Shamu or taking on the best roller coasters in the world.”

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates 10 parks across the U.S.: SeaWorlds in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio; Busch Gardens parks in Tampa, Fla. and Williamsburg, Va.; Discovery Cove and Aquatica in Orlando; Sesame Place near Philadelphia, Pa.; and water parks Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country USA in Williamsburg.

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New Name for SeaWorld’s Operations Company & a new View too
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

The dinner features six courses of Fulton’s specialty items, each paired with a complementing wine by Palmer Vineyards. The menu also showcases Fulton’s very own wine blend! Tom O’Dea from Palmer Vineyards will also be speaking so guests can learn all about the Palmer wines.

The dinner is $49.95 excluding tax and gratuity and begins at 7 p.m. For reservations, please call 407-934-2628.

The menu is included below the jump:

Chilled Seafood Delicacies

Fresh Florida Stone Crab Claws, Alaska King Crab Legs, Blackened Sea Scallops with Cilantro Lime cream, Fulton’s Mustard Sauce, Cocktail Sauce with Ground Fennel and Creamy Turmeric Remoulade
(’07 Fulton’s Proprietor’s Reserve White, North Fork, Long Island, NY)

Imported and Domestic Cheese and Fruit
Brie, Gourmandaise, Fresh Mozzarella, Sharp Cheddar
Golden Ripe Pineapple, Fresh Raspberries, Kiwi Fruit and Mango
(’08 Sauvignon Blanc, Palmer Vineyards, North Fork, Long Island, NY)

Autumn Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Cream
(’07 Chardonnay Reserve, Palmer Vineyards, North Fork, Long Island, NY)

Fall Harvest of Fruits and Nuts
with Figs, Dates, Roasted Walnuts, Baby Mixed Greens
Port Wine Vinaigrette

Charcoal Grilled Venison Loin Oscar
with Asparagus, Spaghetti Squash
Cabernet Sauvignon Demi Glace
(’07 Fulton’s Proprietor’s Reserve Red, North Fork, Long Island, NY)

Grand Marnier Soufflé
with Caramel Sauce and Gingerbread Crisp
(’07 Late Harvest Gewuztraminer, Palmer Vineyards, North Fork, Long Island, NY)

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Fulton’s Crab House Holiday Wine Dinner
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

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More Tron and Black Hole
The Disney Blog - Disney News and Information -- by fans, for fans

“We are honored to recognize Jack for his lifetime of work, which has been dedicated to celebrating the wonder and innocence of childhood,” said The Innocence Mission Founder and CEO Elaina J. Kroll. “For me, growing up, and for so many countless others, Disneyland was a magical place where we were surrounded by happiness, joy, and love. It is a place deeply connected to childhood imagination and innocence,” Kroll said. “It is our goal at The Innocence Mission to protect and celebrate that innocence throughout society. Jack’s work with Walt Disney and the Disney Company is an invaluable contribution toward that goal.”

Lindquist joined Disney in 1955 as part of the original Disneyland management team. Over the course of four decades he was involved in virtually all aspects of Disney’s theme park operations and in the shaping of the Disney identity on a global scale.

“I am delighted and honored to receive this award,” Lindquist said. “There was never anything more import to Walt, or to the vision he had for Disneyland, than the celebration of the innocence and imagination of childhood. I will accept the Guardian of Childhood award in that spirit, and on behalf of cast members around the world who have shared, and continue to share, in Walt’s vision, legacy and mission.”

Lindquist will be presented with the Guardian of Childhood award at the
Innocence Mission’s inaugural World of Wonderment Gala on December 4th at the Disneyland Grand Californian Resort. Attendees will include a broad range of community activists, business leaders, lawmakers from the federal and local level, law enforcement officials, and representative of the religious community. Tickets for the Gala are available online at The Innocence Mission’s website, and are tax-deductible.

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The Innocence Mission honors Jack Lindquist, former Disneyland President
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The full schedule of events is below the jump or visit The Walt Disney Family Museum website for more info and ticket information

The Walt Disney Family Museum
January 2010 Events Calendar

FILM

Film of the Month: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1:00pm, 4:00pm, Theater
(Every day except Tuesdays and January 23)

Dive into 2010 with Walt Disney and Jules Verne. Explore the ocean with two of the world’s most imaginative visionaries in this incredible underwater film.

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

January 9 – Disney Discoveries: Underwater Creatures
1:00-3:00pm, Learning Center: Art Studio

Imaginations and creativity will soar with our new Disney Discoveries! The second Saturday of each month, join us for family fun and activities in the Learning Center. The activities planned by our education staff will inspire the hidden artist in elementary school children while learning about the life and work of Walt Disney.

The Disney Discoveries! activities are free with paid admission to the Museum. No ticket is needed for members—just show your membership card.

January 29 & 30 – Look Closer: The Underwater Camera and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
11:00am and 3:00pm, Gallery 7 at The Walt Disney Family Museum

Would you like to know more about one of the artifacts in the galleries? Our Look Closer series will give you that opportunity—staff will reveal little known facts, behind the scenes information, or just additional information that does not fit on a label during the 30-minute gallery talk.

The Look Closer series is free with paid admission or paid membership.

LECTURE

January 23 – Under the Sea: Discussion with Renowned Ocean Engineer Graham Hawkes
3:00pm, Theater

Discover the mysteries of the deep sea and learn about Walt Disney’s scientific and cultural contributions to society. Celebrated ocean engineer Graham Hawkes will discuss how imagination initiates exploration and leads to discovery. Graham will take you on a journey to the bottom of the ocean and show you the next generation of vehicles he is building to open the oceans for all to explore.

January 1st – New Year’s Day
Museum is closed

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20,000 reasons to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum in January
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Pixar Animation Studios received a total of nine nominations including Best Animated Feature “Up.” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “The Princess and the Frog” received eight nominations, including Best Animated Feature and individual nominations for animated effects, character animation, production design and voice acting, while its “Prep and Landing” received nine nominations including Best Animated Television Production and individual nominations for character animation, character design, music, production design, storyboarding and writing.

Best Animated Feature

* Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation
* Coraline — Laika
* Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox
* The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon
* Up — Pixar Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Production

* Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
* Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation
* Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
* The Simpsons — Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children

* Mickey Mouse Clubhouse — Disney Television Animation
* SpongeBob SquarePants — Nickelodeon
* The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack — Cartoon Network Studios
* The Mighty B! — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
* The Penguins of Madagascar — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Animated Effects

* Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
* Alexander Feigin “9” — 9 L.L.C.
* Eric Froemling “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
* James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production

* Mark Donald “B.O.B.’s Big Break” — DreamWorks Animation
* Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
* Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” — DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

* Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Travis Knight “Coraline” — Laika
* Daniel Nguyen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Television Production

* Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! – Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
* Ben Balistreri “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios
* Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
* Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production

* Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Shane Prigmore “Coraline” — Laika
* Shannon Tindle “Coraline” — Laika

Directing in a Feature Production

* Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
* Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
* Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
* Henry Selick “Coraline” — Laika

Music in a Television Production

* Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
* Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” — Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
* Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology-The Big Beginning” — Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

* Bruno Coulais “Coraline” — Laika
* Michael Giacchino “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
* John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios

Writing in a Feature Production

* Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach – “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
* Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy – “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
* Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers – “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
* Christopher Miller and Phil Lord – “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation

Those are just a few of the nominations, the rest can be found at the website.

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Disney Dominates Annie Award Nominations
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Don’t forget that beginning January 1st 2010 you can sign up for a volunteer shift at participating organizations and get a free Disney theme park admission.

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Disneyland VoluntEARS help OC Food Bank
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