This huge expansion project was fostered by Tony Baxter, senior Vice-President of Walt Disney Imagineering. It was to be called “Discovery Bay.” This “land” would be built on the banks of the Rivers of America, between Fantasyland and Frontierland, and would be stylized after San Francisco of the mid nineteenth century (A dramatized version) when the industrialized era was in full swing and adventure was on everyone’s mind.

This new land would feature new eateries and ride attractions, some which as you will see, could not be constructed due to the fact that even with today’s technologies, would be a challenge. The entrance would be a lighthouse and gift shop. You would be able to climb the lighthouse for a view of the entire Bay. There would be a Chinatown and two new restaurants, The Chowder House and Appleseed’s Cider Mill. The Chowder House was to represent the original San Francisco’s “Cliff House” that was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake.

One ride attraction similar to the defunct Skyway was called the “Western Balloon Ascent.” And like the Skyway, it was a means of transportation and a ride. Another planned land was to be called “Dumbo’s Circus,” and this would have been a connection between Fantasyland and Discovery Bay. The Balloon Ascent would allow guests to transverse Discovery Bay and stop by Dumbo’s Circusland. As the name implies, this land was to be themed after Dumbo and the circus. Other attempts at a circus at Disneyland, failed. I would have even included a ride called “Mickey’s Mad House” based on the old Mickey Mouse black and white short cartoons.

Another major ride attraction, which would have been the “Weenie” for Discovery Bay would be based on the recently released Disney movie, “Island at the Top of the World” written by author Ian Cameron. This Jules Vern styled film had a French Dirigible called the “Hyperion” which took its occupants to the Arctic Circle in search of new lands. A full scale mode of the Hyperion would be projecting out the front of the ride building. This attraction according to Tony Baxter would be like a suspended monorail that resembles a dirigible. Guests would board the ride and be transported over the arctic, see strange creatures (Audio-Animatronic), observe the Northern lights, then continue into a beautiful garden, again inhabited by amazing animals. After storms, volcanos and the like, the ride would return to Discovery Bay.

Another attraction fashioned after another Disney movie “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” was a Captain Nemo Adventure simulator ride.  A planned 200 foot scale model of the Nautilus sub was to be moored in Discovery Bay. When guests entered the sub, they had several attraction choices. Tour the sub, see the control room, Nemo’s organ, etc. But the biggie was the simulator ride. The pre-show would have an audio-animatronic figure of actor James Mason explaining the sub and its workings. After entering the “Simulator” and viewing the ocean through portholes, an alarm would sound, indicating an enemy ship. Nemo would then ram the ship, the simulator would rock and shake, and guests would see the wreckage disappearing under the water. But the Nautilus was damaged; however Nemo manages to bring it up, not before a gigantic squid would attack. But a huge discharge of electricity though the hull, complete with huge blue sparks and some tentacles tearing though the overhead hatch, the sub finally surfaces and the squid is dispatched. But, this complex simulator would be changeling today, but in the 1970’s, impossible. Another dream is dashed.

Still another ride planned for the Bay was called “The Tower” (another name was “The Spiral”) – this was going to be a mammoth tower- like structure with an observatory on top. But inside was to be a roller coaster. The coaster was supposed to have been operated by a huge electromagnet, pulling up the coaster to the top, and then the field would reverse, causing the whole thing down a corkscrew loop, with flashes and arcs of electricity all around.

Jules Verne, who wrote 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, is credited for the model of the many above attractions, but another author, H.G. Wells was also considered. The man who gave us the “Time Machine” would have had a thrill ride known by various names…Voyage through the Fourth Dimension, Voyage through Time, Travels through Time, and Mythia-Land of the Legends. It was to be a magical portal through time, where scenes from lost civilizations could be witnessed, along with many different creatures; both real and mythical would be showcased. The ride itself had different versions planned; one was a log flume ride, one with a guide. There was also a dinosaur area planned, and if this came about, there would have been audio-animatronic caveman and dinosaurs, and the mythical creatures would have been totally removed. The time travel attraction is really the spark that created the “Countdown to Extinction”, now renamed “Dinosaur” in Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.

So why with all the amazing rides and attractions did not Discovery Bay make it past the drawing boards? The area was based on the film, Island at the top of the World, but the film bombed at the box office. Another reason was that two mega-hits of the era, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, entered the American psyche. Folks were “Space Crazy” and lost interest in dinosaurs and searching for lost worlds on Earth.

Let’s go to 1959. It was in this year that Walt began a study for locations for another “Disneyland” There were many cities considered, St. Louis, Queens, New York, Washington D.C. Baltimore and even Niagara Falls. After much consideration, and with an area with year round good weather, Florida was chosen. Many sites, including Miami were considered, but Walt decided on the center of the state. First, Interstate 4, which runs right next to the property, would provide easy access, second, the center of the state is away from the competitive beach and shore traffic and third, the location provides the best protection from Florida’s hurricanes.

But sadly, Walt passed away before seeing his park built. There was even talk about abandoning the project, but thankfully Roy came out of retirement, took the reins and ensured that Walt’s dream was finished. He even went as far as to rename the park Walt Disney World so no one would forget that it was his brother’s dream.

One aspect of Walt Disney World is the resort hotels around the property. Not only is it convenient to be on property, the idea was a complete vacation mecca, were everything is close by. But the Magic Kingdom resorts we know today would be very different had the original Dream plans been carried out. The earliest plan was six resorts: The Polynesian, Fort Wilderness Campground and the Contemporary. An Asian resort was planned where the Grand Floridian is now located. This would be a Thailand-themed area. This would include guest rooms overlooking the water, restaurants and shops. In fact there is part of the foundation in the lagoon that was never used. Its name was to be either “Asia” or “Asian.”

The next resort would have been the most opulent Disney has planned yet. “The Venetian Resort” was to be between the Contemporary and the Ticket and Transportation Center. The resort would have had gondolas for guest transportation and different sections of the rooms would have reflected different building styles from around Italy. Though the idea was dropped, a replica of the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square in Venice was still built and it is now in the Italian Pavilion in EPCOT.

Another dream resort that never made it was a Mediterranean resort themed after Greece. This was planned for the 1990s. There were even models made of the resort. We all know that the new “Bay Lake Tower Resort” located between the Magic Kingdom and the Contemporary, but at one time a “Kingdom Suites Hotel” was planned. This would have been a luxury edifice on par with the Contemporary. But Disney decided that Vacation Club rooms would be more successful. Another planned mid ‘90s resort would have been “Buffalo Junction.” This resort would have guests staying on the set of a Western movie, or a western “Town.”  The guests as they traveled between Fort Wilderness Campground, which included early American log cabins, reminiscent of the old pioneering days and Buffalo Junction, or Fort Wilderness Junction, representing the Old West would be like walking through a time portal. As you can see, the concepts were many, and no one can tell just how successful they would have been.

Returning to the Magic Kingdom, Roy Disney ensured that the Magic Kingdom aped Disneyland’s but originally there were plans for rides based upon Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty and Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman. These would have roused Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Peter Pan. The Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, then called the Plaza Pavilion was planned for an eatery called the “The Astronomer’s Club” and the area would have been re-named “Discoveryland.” This restaurant would have speakers like H.G. Wells or Galileo, talking to guests while they ate.

Another attraction that was considered as a replacement for the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Submarine ride, which shuttered in 1994 was called “Fire Mountain”.  This would have been a rollercoaster set inside a volcano. As the cars dropped, the volcano would erupt, the cars would go inverted, with a planned three loops and underwater area. But because the attraction was based upon yet another unsuccessful movie that did not do well at the box office, “Atlantis”, the project was dropped.

A quick return to Disneyland. Walt was always looking to “Plus” his park with better attractions. In the mid 60’s a “Wax Museum” was planned where guests would walk through a dank dungeon, filled with wax figures with some of the world’s biggest collection of villains and rogues. This was changed to famous pirates, and the attraction was called “The Pirates Wax Museum”. Originally a walk-through attraction, the biggest problem was that guests might linger too long at each scene, and the attraction would back up. The problem was solved when it was turned into a boat ride passing by Pirate dioramas, especially now that audio-animatronics were able to perform flawlessly. This of course is now the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride.

For the last attraction, let’s examine the Haunted Mansion. Walt liked the idea of a “Haunted Mansion”, but the idea of a run-down ramshackle house did not fit into the beauty of Disneyland. Many drawings and ideas were presented, but Walt rejected all of them. Disney artist Ken Anderson wrote the first script for a haunted attraction in 1957. A guide would take guests through a walking tour of a haunted house and tell the story of a sea captain named Captain Gore. As guest walked, objects would move, arms would try to grab guests etc. There was even talk of the spirit of Walt Disney himself as the guide. But like the Pirates Museum idea, guests would walk and linger at different paces, thus the idea was dropped.

Walt brought in Imagineers, Yale Gracey and Rolly Crump, (Gracy is the name finally used for the Mansion’s owner) and they had several ideas and storylines, but Walt still could not decide what he wanted. It was decided on a beautiful Mansion in New Orleans Square when construction started in 1961.  Walt said that the “Ghosts would take care of the inside” because he wanted nothing to ruin the look of his Disneyland. But with the New York World’s Fair preparations taking so much manpower, the announcement that the mansion would open in 1963 never came to pass. In fact the whole interior was still not decided on. Even though Rolly Crump continued to work on the mansion’s interior with many haunted effects, the attraction did not open until eleven years after first conception on August 9, 1969.  The Haunted Mansion and Pirates proved to be the biggest draw at Disneyland.

There are volumes more “Dreams” that I have not mentioned. Many ideas and plans for not only Disneyland, but for Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland are yet to be discussed. Maybe fodder for a part three article! But Walt did say it best when he said…”If you can dream it, you can do it” and although all  the “Dreams” did not make it past the drawing board, without them, there would be no “Disneyland”

Walt Disney was always a go-getter and workaholic. He immersed himself completely in everything he did, which is why his product is the standard everyone else tries to copy. He always believed in giving the public more than they expected, quality was number one. He understood that people will always return for that reason. It was this work ethic that the idea of a “Disneyland” came about. Walt struggled for a time until the phenomenal success of the first full length cartoon feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” which debuted on December 21, 1937 at the Carthay Circle Theater. It was this success that Walt took his Studio from 2719 Hyperion Ave. into a newly constructed modern facility in Burbank, moving in August 1939.

Despite the work, Walt always found time for his daughters, Sharon and Diane. He would take them on weekends to different amusement parks and carnivals. But he found them dirty, and is some respects, dangerous. And worse, he usually sat on the sidelines while his daughters had the fun. He always dreamed of a place where parents and children could have fun together. In fact his idea came while sitting in Griffith Park with his daughters that he would build such a place.

After moving into the new studios, Walt received many letters from children asking “Where does Mickey Mouse live?” and “Can we visit him?” At the time, many Hollywood studios were conducting public tours, showcasing the facilities. Walt liked the idea, but thought it would be boring just seeing a bunch of animators at their drawing tables. But it set him to thinking that people would like to see real movie sets and actors. In 1948 Walt sent out a memo to his staff about an idea of a “Mickey Mouse Park.” He always wanted a place for his employees to eat lunch, maybe play softball and enjoy a quiet setting during their lunch and break times. He visited many other parks for ideas, such as Efteling Park in the Netherlands, Tivoli Gardens in Denmark and Children’s Fairyland in the USA. Although Walt’s original dream of a “Mickey Mouse Park” on that 8 acre lot at his studios never materialized, it did morph into the Disneyland we know today.

The original plan of Disneyland is totally different than what is today. One of Walt’s original Imagineers was Harper Goff, an artist working for Warner Bros Studios. He was hired to design the new “Park” for Walt. The first “Dream” design had a Water Mill, old Mining town, a small Indian village of tepees, a paddle boat steamer and a bandstand. There was also to be two “Village.s” One would have a Main St. similar to the current Main St. USA and a small western town. There would also be statues of Disney Characters, a Model of Geppetto’s workshop and one of Walt’s must-haves, a small scale steam train.

But as more ideas and concepts developed, Walt decided that the name “Mickey Mouse Park” was too constricting. What started out as a home for Mickey just grew beyond that concept. Walt now called his project “Disneylandia” Walt also wanted visitors to combine education with fun. He did not just want another “carnival” with cheap thrill rides. By this time, the idea grew to include full sized buildings, including an Opera House. It was here the seeds of the audio-animatronic technology began. Walt was going to have a small “Dancing Figure” (using one of entertainer Buddy Ebsen dance routines) at the Opera house, and using the same crude technology, a Barbershop Quartet would perform “Down by the old Mill Stream” There were also plans for a fairground with a carousel, a petting zoo, bird sanctuary and a canal boat ride.

As the original planned “Mickey Mouse Park” grew exponentially, so did the costs. Walt could not get any bank to fund the project, so he made a deal with the TV network ABC, proposing a weekly series with the name, “Disneylandia.” Only ABC thought the name to “exotic.” That is when Walt decided on “Disneyland.” Here in the early stages of planning, Disneyland was to have several “themed” lands. One was a pirate land guests would walk through. (This of course, developed into the Pirates of the Caribbean later on) and a Lilliputian Land, complete with miniature buildings. Other walk through lands would have been Alice in Wonderland and tales from Mother Goose. And prominent in the park would be his beloved characters.

Before Disneyland finally opened on July 15, 1955 the pre-promotional advertisement’s that Walt and Roy took out paraded a Spaceship to the Moon, The Rivers of Romance, and a True Life Adventureland. Also toted was a baseball diamond, a grassy area for kids to play on and a picnic area. None of these “Dreams” were there on opening day. Disney’s television series “Davy Crockett” was immensely popular during the time and Walt added the “Frontierland” area to the park. In this land, Walt had planned a Frontierland Wax Museum, but again this Dream did not come about, because at the time, the new “Audio-animatronic” figures became advanced enough to be utilized. The proposed “World of Tomorrow” was re-named to the familiar “Tomorrowland” The man responsible for much of the look of Disneyland was John Hench. John started out as a story artist at Disney; in fact he was with the company for more than 65 years, involved in the development of almost every animated feature and those of the Theme parks.

One of the early attractions planned for Tomorrowland was an attraction called “Mathmagicland.” Taken from a Donald Duck cartoon short, “Donald in Mathmagicland,” it was to show the importance of math and numbers. Guests would learn how important math was in daily life. Another attraction that was similar to the Astro Jets was called “Orbitron,” but Johns’ plan never was developed.  Another attraction that was planned but never was built was similar to Dumbo and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It was a carousel type ride with rocket ships, housed in a dark building. This gave rise to later plans by Hench, namely Space Mountain.

Other Dream attractions that never developed were Walt’s original idea for the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Walt loved this attraction. The mountain was to be a recreation of the Matterhorn from the movie “Third Man on the Mountain.” The movie was filmed in the village of Zermatt, Switzerland, where Walt often took ski trips. The attraction was initially going to be a toboggan ride down a small hill of dirt between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland called Holiday Hill. Walt wanted actual toboggans free styling down through the mountain on actual ice. But his Imagineers talked him out of it, citing much safety and logistically issues and we now have the metal tube tracks on the present Matterhorn.

Most important to Walt was showcasing his characters. There were of course plans for attractions featuring his stars. One such area was designed by Bill Justice, animator turned Imagineer. Bill who created Chip n’ Dale planned that section for the chipmunks’, but again another Dream that never materialized. Bill also was involved in an early version of the Dumbo attraction. This version would have audio-animatronic elephants portraying the elephant pyramid and Dumbo would be flying around the attraction. Everyone knows Pinocchio’s Daring Journey Dark ride, but this attraction did not start out the way we know it today. One concept was for a boat ride that would take guests through the belly of Monstro. Throughout the ride would be figures of Geppetto and Pinocchio. The ride would then turn into a maelstrom, and finally guests would exit out Monstro’s mouth. And like many of the attractions today, they would enter a Piazza/gift shop called “Pinocchio Square”

Another proposed attraction in Fantasyland was a lagoon filled with tropical fish, in effect a huge aquarium. Guests would enter the gaping mouth of an enormous crocodile, “Tick-Toc”, Captain Hook’s antagonist located on the shore. They would enter the “Belly” of the creature, and once inside there would be windows all around to view the fish. But the idea was abandoned; it was just not exciting enough. The present day “Storybook Land Canal Boat” ride which was to be part of “”Lilliputianland” was inspired by the miniature Dutch village “Madurodam” in the Netherlands. The original attraction was called “Canal boats of the World” and the miniature buildings were going to be constructed Full scale. But many problems surfaced, notably time and money and the buildings were left as they were on opening day.  But the guests loved the concept and a giant was planned to sleep amount the miniatures, giving it perspective, but this again never came about. Later the name was changed to the “Storybook Land Canal Boats”.

Other notable plan for non-Disney character attractions was the “Land of Oz” themed area. Walt purchased the right to the “Wizard of Oz” books and others by L. Frank Baum. This land was to include characters from that timeless film. Also in Storybook Land an attraction called “Rock Candy Mountain Ride” was planned. Imagineer Claude Coats envisioned the original design. The problem was when John Hench and his team made a model of the mountain; they made it out of real candy, marshmallows and chocolate. But without air conditioning, it began to melt and smell bad. Although the real mountain would have been other materials, Walt was turned off by this, and the mountain was considered too “sickly” and was never pursued further.

As you can see, the imagination, plans and concepts for Disneyland were many, and who knows if any of these ever made it to fruition, just how popular they could have become. But I believe Walt said it best…”Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”  In part two of my article, we will explore many other “Dreams” that over the years never did make it to the public.

Photo Courtesy of runDisney

For the past few months, I’ve been in a funk. Of the “I don’t know when my next Disney trip is going to be” kind. I know many of you can relate to what I am laying down-it can be debilitating, numbing, and heartbreaking. OK, so maybe I am being a tad melodramatic (I think not) but FINALLY I have managed to emerge from my writer’s block/self-imposed hiatus to write about…you guessed it…my next Disney vacation!

I am simultaneously thrilled and also a bit embarassed at how excited I am to be embarking on a Disney Divas weekend without the kids…yes, that is total decadence because for four delicious days, I will only have to take care of myself. No having to pack for the family or be concerned about where the minions are at any given moment…AHHHH, just me and my Disney peeps. Actually, most of us have only gotten to know one another online, so it will be added bonus to meet each other face to face and share adventures. Oh yeah, and I’ve signed up to run the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10miler. Which I originally thought was a 10K. And I’m never done a race before. (You can laugh at me now). Funny what a big difference the distance makes: metric conversion didn’t work in my favor there! So I’ve begun my training and I have less than 5 months to get my non-runner physique whipped into shape. Hey I was happy the other day that I ran 2 miles! I’m 1/5 of the way there Look at the cool medal that runDisney has crafted-I especially love the glow in the dark windows!

I realize just how important it is for me to have this Disney trip on the horizon, even if the 10 miler does also loom in the distance! So tell me, are you saving for that dream Disney experience (like Aulani, the Fantasy, or an Adventures by Disney trek)? A friend recently shared a tip to help save year round: she stockpiles Disney gift cards from Target throughout the year. Unfortunately, not all Targets have these, but my grocery store, Publix, does! Suddenly I foresee my grocery bills being higher than normal Any tips you want to share–hit me with them!

-Sherry

But many do not know that Mickey has two nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse. As with other nieces and nephews in the Mouse family, there were different names along the way. In the Disney children’s books (pre-WWII) they were called Morty and Monty. Other early books contain three or more of Mickey’s nephews with other names i.e. Marmaduke and Maisie.  Ferdie was sometimes spelled “Ferdy” short for Ferdinand. It is even possible that Morty, which is short for Mortimer, could be a nod to the original name Walt planned for Mickey, Mortimer. The names and number of nephews Mickey have has not been entirely consistent over the years, but it ended up with two nephews Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse.

The twins are the sons of Mickey’s sister Amelia Fieldmouse, who is also Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’s half-sister. She appeared in Morty and Ferdie’s comic debut in 1932, the “Mickey’s Nephews” strip.  Supposedly a woman appeared at Mickey’s house (Mrs. Fieldmouse) and dropped the twins off and asked if he would not mind caring for them while she ran an errand. In the Dutch comic strips, her name is translated as “Amelia”, the English version she is referred to as “Mrs. Fieldmouse.”

In the Mickey Short “Gulliver Mickey” 1934, Mickey relates the adventure to many of his nieces and nephews, including Monty, Marmaduke and Morrie, Morty and Ferdie.  It is strange that Mickey’s nephews never achieved the fame and notoriety of Donald’s nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, since they predated the trio. They mainly appeared in the comic books and Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse Sunday comic strip, titled “Mickey’s Nephews”. They were also very popular in the European comic strips. Morty and Ferdie were created by Gottfredson, who was asked by Walt to take over the comic strip for a few weeks, but ended up drawing them for 45 years.

The twins had a limited animation career. They first appeared in the 1934 Mickey Mouse short, “Mickey’s Steamroller” they had an extremely brief (And hard to spot!)  Cameo in Mickey’s 1938’s “Boat Builders. The next animation appearance did not happened until 1983’s “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” Morty played the part of Tiny Tim, and Ferdie the other son. (Note: voice actor Dick Billingsly did Morty) The next Cameo was in the two-part Mickey Mouse Works Toon, “Around the World in Eighty Days” in 1999.

In the comic strip, the twins were often seen acting in harmony, almost as one character. In 1943 Floyd decided that the premise was overblown and decided to send Ferdie away. It was planned to bring back Ferdie as a bookworm nerdish character with glasses, but it never developed and Ferdie did not appear for decades. He never did disappear from the comic book stories. The character however was returned in the comic strips by other writers.

In current comic books, Morty and Ferdie are portrayed as football players for the Riverside Rovers. They also occasionally clash with Minnie Mouse’ niece Melody, and Peg Leg Pete’s (Disney’s OLDEST continuing character) two nephews, Pieretto and Pierino.  You can see  Morty and Ferdie in the 2010 game “Epic Mickey” (Mickeyjunk Mountain). Morty is a playable character on the Disney Golf game on Playstation2.

I recently stumbled upon a Youtube video of the late, great Karen Carpenter. I’ve known her my entire life as a sultry smooth alto, able to milk a beautifully romantic lyric and sing unique multi-layered harmonies with her brother Richard. I’d always known she was a drummer, but not until I watched this video compilation did I realize that she was not only a competent pop drummer, but a virtuoso percussionist. Then I read the liner notes that accompanied the video, and ‘lo and behold who was the kit drummer when Karen would step out from behind her own to sing to the crowd? None other than Cubby O’Brien! Yes, THAT Cubby, from the original Mickey Mouse Club.

Turns out Cubby made quite a career for himself as a percussionist and session player following the cancellation of the series in 1958. This mini revelation put me on a track thinking about where we find percussion in the parks. Think for a moment… it’s everywhere.

Let’s start first in Disneyland. The Trash Can Trio can be found in Tomorrowland, always able to stop a milling crowd in its tracks with their infectious rhythms played on old fashioned metal trash cans. In Adventureland near the exit to Tarzan’s Treehouse you can “Trash the Camp” with makeshift instruments.

Over by the firehouse on Main Street USA, you can catch the Hook & Ladder Company. In at least one set a day you’ll find them playing the nursery room standard, “Knick Knack”, where the percussionist steps out and uses his sticks to play “knick knack” on all kinds of things; his hat, his teeth, the ground, even a guest souvenir! Then of course, there’s the new daytime parade, “Soundsational” where the parade is led by a drumline followed by Mickey Mouse on a float playing his own kit!

Over in DCA, the Green Army Men feature virtuoso drummers leading the troops (guests) in call and response and perform their military beats on “toys”.

On the east coast in Epcot, Taiko drumming group, Matsuriza performs several sets a day in the Japan Pavilion. In the American Pavilion the Fife and Drum Corp perform a regal set before most performances of The American Adventure. Over in Futureworld, The Jamitors, like the Trash Can Trio on the west coast, take their “breaks” from picking up trash by performing for guests.

Over at the Animal Kingdom, percussion pervades the parks with no fewer than four different groups, the Tam Tam Congo, the Village Beatniks on Discovery Island, Mor Thiam in Africa, and Tropicals, performing in DinoLand USA. Plus near the village of Harambe, percussion instruments are available for guests to try.

So when next you’re in the parks, march to the beat of your own drum and seek out these incredible musicians.

In November of last year, I was in the final stages of launching my blog when a friend of mine (a lawyer) got wind of the project.  She was fully supportive, but she had a minor concern because I was using trademarked property (i.e. the Disney name) throughout the blog.  This got me scratching my bald head.

After a few seconds of panicking, I remembered that there are thousands of Disney-related blogs, websites, podcasts, YouTube channels and other social media endeavors that were created by average Joe’s like you and me.  No sweat!

Just for fun, I decided to do some research on the issue because I wanted to see if Disney (or any other company) had ever slapped someone with a trademark infringement lawsuit related to blogs, fan sites, etc.  While I didn’t invest an exhaustive amount of time on this effort, I did find one example.

In September of last year, two women from Texas started a blog about slow-cookers that immediately went viral.  While hundreds of thousands of fans loved their recipes, a manufacturer of slow-cookers wasn’t quite as supportive since their trademarked name was used in the title of the blog.

The details of how the conversations between the manufacturer and the slow-cookin’ ladies are a little vague, but the punchline is that they ultimately changed the name of their blog.

In my humble opinion, this could have been a tremendous source of free advertising for that company.  In fact, if I was a competing manufacturer of slow-cookers, I would have tried to strike a deal with the women to have them use my company’s name after hearing about that incident!

Let’s contrast that story with how The Walt Disney Company appears to view information published by fans.

They embrace independent bloggers by inviting some of them to press events.  They embrace the idea of podcasters by letting them record shows inside the Disney theme parks.  Interestingly, I can’t seem to find any instances where Disney issued a cease and desist order to a non-Disney creator of content.

Why would Disney want to mute these channels?  Fan sites do a tremendous job of building community and awareness.  In fact, I’m addicted to sites like The Disney Driven Life!  They make me even more excited about the Disney brand.

How can we connect the dots to our own businesses or careers?

1) Business Owners: Offer products or services that are worthy of building armies of brand evangelists.  When those brand evangelists start to preach, that’s your cue to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sermon.

2) Career-Driven Individuals: Start your own blog or other social media platform so you can give the world a chance to see how you’re the best at what you do.  No matter what platform you choose, make sure your readers have the ability to leave comments and interact with others in the community you’re building.

Mmmm, all this talk about slow cookers and Disney is making me hungry for the braised short ribs I’m going to have for lunch at Chefs de France in Epcot next week!  Bon Appetit!!

In my last post (click here to see it), I praised the Disney Store for being social with their customers through “social media.”

What a novel idea, right?  It saddens me to say that this is a rare practice for large organizations these days.  What’s more rare is seeing the heads of large organizations connecting with customers on social media platforms.

To keep the theme alive from my last post, I have to commend Jim Fielding (the President of the Disney Store) for standing out as one of the few business leaders that regularly engages in social media chatter.

If you take a look at the screen shot below (click it to see a full-size version), you’ll see that Jim has posted almost 4,000 tweets and 75 percent of the ones on my screen shot are replies to tweets sent to him by others.

Source: DisneyMBA.com

From what I’ve gathered, it looks like Jim just spends a few minutes here and there on Twitter (as opposed to posting all day long).  However, when he’s on Twitter, he’s blasting out responses in a large batch.

Think Outside the Comment Box

Thought #1: Many corporate leaders are afraid of social media because of “haters.”  If a customer walked up to a CEO and offered a complaint, I’d like the think that the CEO wouldn’t put his/her fingers in their ears and start chanting “La La La La La.”  Instead, they’d have to face the issue head on.  Virtual complaints are no different.

Thought #2: Let’s face it, every company wants to be known for excellent customer service.  What better way to motivate employees to carry out such a mission when they can see their boss “walking the walk.”

Thought #3: Many business leaders tend to avoid social media because “it takes up too much time.”  I don’t have any statistics to quote, but I’m guessing the time it takes to engage customers through social media platforms is way less than the time it takes to win customers back after they’ve left.

Here’s an assignment: find three organizations and/or heads of organizations that you’d like to reach out to through one of their active social media platforms.  Once you’ve found your three targets, tell them about a recent experience you had with their company (positive or negative).  If you get a response, I’d love for you to share it in the comment box below.

Have fun mingling!

Contributed by Derek Hoffman (NDD #243).  Derek is the creator of DisneyMBA.com and writes business-themed posts for The Disney Driven Life.

David knew that Capt. Jack Sparrow appears three times during The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at WDW. He will receive a copy of The 2012 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World autographed by coauthor Len Testa! Thanks to all who participated in the riddle.

Keep an eye out for the next riddle and another chance to win!

Contributed by: Sherri Jeffries (NDM#237) Sherri is the DDL Riddler.

As I was browsing the news this morning, I saw that the Disney Store is celebrating its 25th anniversary today (I’m writing this on March 28th).  In the retail world, that’s quite a milestone!

While the Disney Store employs many business practices that I admire, there’s one thing in particular that really makes them stand out from other retail establishments – how social they are.

While the cast members in the actual stores are quite social, that’s not exactly what I was referring to.  I’m talking about the Disney Store’s presence on social media; specifically Facebook and Twitter.  Let me illustrate:

Facebook – The Disney Store’s Facebook page has been liked almost 600,000 times at this point.  While that’s remarkable, what really impresses me is that they still remain “social” with their fans.

Below is a screen shot I took from their Facebook page.  At the time I took the screen shot, there were 138 comments to a post they made about their 25th anniversary and the commemorative Mickey Mouse Ears that were being handed out.  (Click here to see a picture of the mouse ears.)

Credit: DisneyMBA.com

You may look at the first comment shown above and ask, “What’s the big deal?”

It’s been my experience that Facebook users with extraordinarily large fan bases (e.g. celebrities, large companies, etc.) limit their presence to just posting status updates or pictures.  Normally the comments on those status updates and pictures are only made by the fans and not the actual user.  I think it’s neat that the Disney Store took the time to chime in on their fans’ comments by thanking everyone.

Now, the second comment shown above really blew me away.  I can’t tell you the last time I saw anyone with such a large Facebook fan base write a comment in response to an individual fan’s question.  I’m amazed at how something as simple as being social in “social media” is a novel idea at this point.  Regardless, this is a great way to connect with your customers and demonstrate your gratitude for their support.

Twitter - From what I gather, people either really love Twitter, or they hate it.  I love the idea of Twitter because it makes people very accessible (at least in theory).

Many companies use Twitter as a one-way broadcast medium where they’ll share news of special offers, new products, or other information that will hopefully inspire customers to buy from them.

Very few companies view Twitter as a platform that gives them a two-way broadcast medium to be “social” with their customers.  As you can guess, the Disney Store is an exception to this rule.

In the screenshot below (click it to see the full size image), you’ll see exactly what I saw the instant I pulled up the Disney Store’s Twitter page:

Credit: DisneyMBA.com

The first tweet is a re-tweet of a customer that was obviously excited to get the 25th anniversary commemorative mouse ears mentioned above.  I see that as a neat way to give a shout-out to a loyal customer that reached out to them with excitement over this momentous occasion.

The second and third tweets are perfect examples how the Disney Store responded to two separate customers that had questions about their purchases.  The first one wanted to know if you could combine a discount code with a free shipping code because she was having trouble with them on the website.  The second one wanted to know about the expected shipping dates of the “One More Disney Day” shirts.

As you’ll see in the fourth tweet, they announce their 25th anniversary celebration and offer a special 25% discount code for online purchases.  What a neat way to celebrate!

What opened my eyes to the Disney Store’s extraordinary social media practices?  As you’ll see below, I recently posted a Tweet about how I was excited to receive a tea set that I ordered online from the Disney Store – and they responded!

Credit: DisneyMBA.com

In my opinion, the Disney Store is one of the very few companies that gets what social media is supposed to be about (a back and forth exchange similar to a conversation you’d have in real life).

If you walked up to the customer service desk at a store, only to find that no one was there to help, you’d probably be upset at their lack of service.  If you tracked down an employee in the store, only to have them ignore you as you ask a question, you’d probably be appalled.  Even though social media interactions are virtual, the same rules of engagement should apply for businesses.

Disclaimer: with the thousands of fans and followers that the Disney Store has in the social media world, I’m sure many conversations get lost in the shuffle.  So if you try to test my analysis, resist the urge to show me examples of where someone has been left hanging.  When you have so many voices talking to you at once, it’s inevitable that a few won’t be heard.

If you have a story about how you’ve enjoyed interacting with Disney over the various social media platforms, I’d love to hear about it.  Feel free to drop in a comment below!

Popular attractions at the Festival not to be missed are the “Flower Power” concert series which are held at the American Gardens’ Theater every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All the popular groups of the “Flower Power” era will be there to bring back those musical memories. The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden for kids is again at the Test Track Walkway and Bambi’s Butterfly House is by Innovations West’ Imagination Walkway.

Guests will be greeted at the entrance to EPCOT with none other than “Sorcerer Mickey” directing characters from the classic film “Fantasia” Broomsticks, alligators and hippos are among some of the beautiful topiaries in this new display. Mickey will be atop a 12 foot flora mountain. For those who remember the 2002 Festival, the mountain is from a previous “Steamboat Willie” display.

Also in the Festival center, you can meet and talk with experts from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. Get tips and ideas from these gardening experts. Check for times and schedules at the Festival Center. In other countries in World Showcase you can see an Herb and Spice garden at Morocco, Orchids at Mexico and Bonsai at Japan. Also in the Festival Center…April 13 through the 15, learn about insects from experts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom April 27-29 see floral arrangements from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and from May 4—6, learn about the fresh produce from Florida.

You will see new landscapes around the Norway and Italy pavilions. And do not forget to check out the new Sand sculpture on the Rose Walk path showcasing Disney’s new movie “Chimpanzee” It is magnificent. And just like last year’s Food and Wine Festival, Disney has a mobile web app called “EPCOT in Bloom” Once inside the park you can scan the QR code and be directed to the site. The app has an audio guide, event guide, maps and details on all the topiaries. Go to http://m.epcotinbloom.com and enjoy.

Some interesting facts…It takes more than a year for the 400 Disney experts to plan for the Festival. There are 30 Flora “Towers” made up of impatiens and thousands of flowers making up beds that cover the 260 acre landscape. There are approximately thirty million flowers and 700 containers of plants, vegetables, flowers and herbs. The two ponds contain 240 floating gardens in them. And some of the flowers that make up the “Fantasia” topiary are… blue pansies, pink geraniums, white poppies, blue delphiniums and violet petunias. And don’t forget the topiaries around World Showcase, including Mater, Lightning McQueen, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto. You’ll also see Lotso and Buzz and Woody.

For further information call 407-W-DISNEY (934-7639). You can also visit Disneyworld.com/flower. All of this is included in your park admission. Enough talk, I have uploaded some nice photos for your enjoyment!

At the time I was in my mid-20s and had no preconceptions of the film… no agenda. I was just an animation fan interested to see a film that wasn’t available in the States. I didn’t really understand the rationale behind its lack of availability nor did I question it.

When I saw the picture, I was enchanted! The story, performances, animation, and score are stellar. This movie embodies the best qualities of Disney Feature Animation and I place it among my top five recommendations in the Disney pantheon. It is unfortunate that the picture is left to gather dust and cannot be used as a cultural reference for filmmaking in the 40s and to venerate the oral tradition.

To this day I fail to understand why it has become the designated NAACP celluloid scapegoat of the Disney features, nor why CEO Bob Iger dismisses the film as “antiquated” when older pictures are considered classics and worthy of top tier release on home video.

To better understand why I advocate for the film’s release to the American public, it’s valuable to expose several longstanding myths. Song of the South does not take place during the Civil War, but rather, during reconstruction. Many of the African American characters that populate the film are sharecroppers and clearly Uncle Remus is free to come and go as he pleases. While I’ll grant that this was the beginning of great challenge for African Americans in our nation, the story takes place before the egregious Jim Crow laws, which ultimately led to ‘separate but equal’ facilities throughout the South.

“To truly understand all that is going on within Song of the South, we must begin with a man named Joel Chandler Harris. Born in 1848, Harris grew up during the days of the antebellum South, when slavery was still very much a part of life. He lived on the Turnwold Plantation and spent a great deal of his time with the slaves. One slave in particular, Uncle Bob Capers, told him fantastic stories of anthropomorphic characters. Those stories, along with the unique dialect in which he told them, remained in Harris’ mind, until 1876, when he took over a column in the Atlanta Constitution called ‘Uncle Si’. It can then be said that the tales Walt Disney would later base his movie upon were created with the innocent intent to publicize and thereby preserve the stories of the slaves through literature.” ~ Christian Willis, September 1, 2001. Revised 9/20/01

I agree. Song of the South celebrates not denigrates the black people’s oral tradition. Evolved from that generational sharing and the Southern Creole sensibilities in which it was steeped is African American Vernacular English, or as many non linguists colloquially refer to it, ebonics. It dates back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade itself and is a fusion, or “pidgin” of two or more languages, created in order to communicate among themselves and their captors. These pidgins became fully developed creoles in the Americas. Significant numbers of blacks still speak some of these creoles. While some white Americans vilify the black American’s use of their “bad” or “lazy” English, among linguists there is no debate, as AAVE, like all dialects, shows consistent internal logic and structure. So, contrary to arguments among the film’s detractors the dialect portrayed in the piece is more accurate than “insensitive.” Ironically what is far more unrealistic are the Southern California accents of Bobby Dricoll and Luana Patten.

Any stereotyping being committed is by the ignorant who assume that this particular usage of the English language should be construed as unintelligent. As one who lived in New Orleans, I speak from experience that there are of plenty of Caucasians who communicate in a similar manner, nor did I ever find that these ‘black speech patterns’ were ever inevitably or invariably associated with an inherent level of intelligence.

On the issue of subservience, Dan Hess of the Mouse Guest Presents podcast indicates, “They do bend to the whims of the plantation owners.” In actuality, there is only one instance in the picture we see any direct act of servitude towards a white individual, at the beginning of the film when Ned removes the bags from the carriage. In reality, many of the slaves who worked on plantations stayed on during reconstruction. Again, what we see in the film is not unrepresentative of that which should be construed as historically accurate.

Eric King, co-host of Mouse Guest Presents continues, “It may give children those ideas you know, that there are differences between us, which is something that Disney is totally against now. Their movies are all about inclusion and other cultures and things like that.” Song of the South does nothing if but exemplify inclusion and exposure to other cultures. Johnny, the young protagonist, is seen hand in hand with Uncle Remus and is repeatedly mesmerized by his stories. Following Song of the South and for many years, Disney sanctioned nothing but gentrification and homogenization in it’s film product. At long last these rigid mandates to avoid offense is breaking down with, for example, the introduction of Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog.

The actress who plays Tempy is the great Hattie McDaniel. She is best known for playing Mammy in 1939′s “Gone with the Wind,” a role for which she won an Oscar, the first Academy Award handed out to an African American. While true at one time she was criticized by the NAACP for perpetuating black stereotypes, few today would argue that she didn’t also portray a strong female character, regardless of race.

To my mind, fear of a potential backlash from perceived Uncle Tomism is unwarranted. Disney Company CEO, Bob Iger, said that Disney is “…owing to the sensitivity that exists of our culture…” Balderdash! This is a film that needs to be shown and defended, not shuttled off to the archive only to be viewed by Dave Smith (The Disney Company archivist) in a small screening room! We have as a society so succumbed to political correctness and fear of offending anyone that we are purposefully subverting good stories and brain washing the masses that this is the right thing to do. Shall we next burn all copies of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ for all of Steinbeck’s unfavorable depictions of the dustbowl and economic depression?

Not to release Song of the South is censorship. It is a form of withholding of truth and suppression of film history. What do we fear this picture will teach children? Why should we think for a moment that “Song of the South” is somehow a non-stop road to depravity and intolerance? In a world where children are exposed to murder on television and we allow a growing acceptance of violence, it seems incongruous, and more accurately, hypocritical that we would disallow and discount the significant moral tale that is, “Song of the South.”

At its essence this film says to young viewers, “You can’t run away from trouble, ’cause there ain’t no place that far” and holds at its heart, reverence of family and trustworthy friends.

First things first I would like to thank everyone who responded to my last blog post for CONVINCING me to see John Carter.  I have been flying all over the country for business and finally had a minute to see this epic film this week.  This was definitely something that needed to been seen on the big screen … the BIG BIG IMAX screen and in 3D.  I do still have a bone of contention for how expensive these movies are at the box office.  I mean I paid $16.50 to get into a random Wednesday night showing which seems a bit steep for a movie that will be no more than 25 dollars on Blu-Ray 3D in likely less than 6 months…but I digress.

This felt like a blockbuster from the first dip to black and I always get chills when I see the Disney logo in 3D.  Disney is usually a stickler for showing their logo as is so it is always special to see it a little different and the color tinting was a nice effect to match the overall feel of the film.  Reading some reviews I have to agree with what most people thought – it was good.  Really enjoyable … but was it great?  I can’t say that it was.  I’m already going to go out on a limb and say The Avengers will blow this film away but that is neither here nor there.

The acting was good but for a movie with such a large budget and that has been in production for so long.  Some of the story felt a bit forced.  I felt that because it was Disney they threw in a loveable alien dog like character to save the day along with a princess love story dialogue about 1.15 hours in that thankfully I went to the restroom for.  It also seemed like they paid the Avatar graphics guys and used their modeling.  Nit picky … maybe and I don’t want to offend anyone because I am a Disney nut and I would still give this a solid grade.  I just more than anything else WANTED it to be better because I knew there was so much at stake for Disney and the current leadership regime.

With Hunger Games releasing last weekend and the fact that it pulled in more than $19 million  on midnight showings alone – it looks like Carter’s US theatrical run will be short lived.  That said, it seems to be doing well enough overseas.  It remains to be seen if the previously green-lit sequel turns yellow.  Finally, I have to say the sound was incredible though.

So has anyone else seen the movie that would like to say anything?  Anyone going to Hunger Games this weekend?  Anyone see Battle Royale? Anyone think it looks exactly like that movie ?  (show of hands) … well it’s OK because it looks incredible anyway.

So what else – check out this little fact from ABC Family – this is just incredible:

The season 2 finale of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars generated the most social media buzz for any one-hour episode of TV on record, with more than 720,000 comments, according to SocialGuide. In addition, it was the #1 social media program of the night according to numbers from Trendrr, with a “total activity” of 842,000. The episode generated 32,000 tweets per minute at its peak, with a total of 645,000 tweets over the hour and nearly 1.6 million over the course of this past Monday’s all-day “catch-up” marathon. The Twitter data was courtesy of TweetReach. It “was one of the biggest hours of TV on Twitter we’ve ever seen,” said TweetReach Founder Jenn Deering Davis.

That’s about all I’ve got for this week – happy spring break everyone!

Finally, here’s a little more ABC Family information curtesy from our friends at Cynopsis:

UPFRONT 2012:  ABC Family

Yesterday, ABC Family hosted its upfront presentation at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City.  The network released its summer lineup including the premiere dates of three new original series and other returning original series:

• Bunheads – Sutton Foster stars in this new one-hour original series from Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls) about a Las Vegas showgirl who suddenly marries a man and moves to his sleepy coastal town and takes on an uneasy role at her mother-in-law’s new dance school.  Premieres June 11 at 9p.
• Baby Daddy – New half-hour comedy series about a young man (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) who becomes a surprise dad to a baby girl who is left on his doorstep by an ex-girlfriend.  He decides to raise the baby with help from his mother (Melissa Peterman), his brother (Derek Theler), his best buddy Tucker (Tahj Mowry) and his close female friend Riley (Chelsea Kane) who secretly has a crush on him.  Premieres June 20 at 830p.
• Beverly Hills Nannies – From the production company behind The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Real Housewives of Orange County, this new docu-series follows the lives of nannies working for wealthy families in Beverly Hills.  According to Michael Riley, President of ABC Family at today’s upfront referring to Beverly Hills Nannies, “it’s our version of Downton Abbey meets the Real Housewives.”
• New episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager begin March 26 at 8p.
• New second season episodes of Melissa & Joey launch May 30 at 8p with back-to-back episodes.
• Pretty Little Liars is back for its third season debut on June 5 at 8p followed by Jane By Design returning with new episodes at 9p.
• Switched at Birth will also be back with new original episodes next fall.

ABC Family‘s The Secret Life of the American Teenager is coming to DVD via Amazon’s CreateSpace on Demand service, per a new deal between the network and CreateSpace. The three-disc set featuring 13 episodes from the first half of the series’ fourth season are immediately accessible at Amazon.com, and in advance of the March 26 premiere of new episodes. This seventh volume, as well as prior seasons of the show, is also available on Prime Instant Video. Titles available on CreateSpace are only manufactured in response to customer demand.

Source: The Walt Disney Family Museum

Many people say Walt Disney epitomizes the American Dream because he was born into a family of modest means, found a calling in life that he passionately pursued, and created an empire the revolutionized an industry.

There’s no denying the fact that he enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in his life, but do you feel as if he was a “self-made” success?

People who’ve enjoyed much success in life can, in some degree, attribute their success to the support of others around them.  The stories of those individuals who worked closely with Walt Disney are widely told, and may even be thought of as legendary.

However, there’s one person whose influence on Walt Disney has flown under the radar (in my humble opinion) – his wife Lillian Disney.

If you recall, the idea for Mickey Mouse came to Walt when he was on a train ride from New York to California.  Do you remember hearing that Mickey wasn’t the original name he came up with?  In fact, the original name Walt gave this cute little character was Mortimer.

Mortimer?  Can you imagine how the Mickey Mouse Club song would’ve gone if that name stuck?

“Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?  M-O-R…..T-I-M…..” you see what I mean!

As the story goes, when Walt showed this new character to his wife Lillian, she immediately rejected the name Mortimer and suggested he name him Mickey instead.

I’ve seen a handful of documentaries and read a few biographies about Walt Disney, but little is said about other situations like this where Walt leaned on his wife Lillian for advice.  If I was him, and saw how the whole Mickey Mouse idea panned out, I would have sought her advice on a daily basis.

Think Outside the Boxcar

Personally, I find my wife to be a very valuable resource when I need a sanity check for my business.  While my colleagues know me well, she has a very keen intuition about my skills and limitations.

There’s something to be said about the bond you create with a spouse.  Even if you come from different academic, professional, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds, the bond you have with your spouse can be a tremendous asset when you’re facing a significant decision.

Give it a shot if you don’t do it already on a somewhat regular basis.  Afterwards, drop me a line to let me know how it went!

Contributed by Derek Hoffman (NDD #243).  Derek is the creator of DisneyMBA.com and writes business-themed posts for The Disney Driven Life.

Back in December, I wrote Part 1 of The Mickey Mouse Over School Dilemma. As a teacher and parent, I have seen both sides of this rather controversial topic within the world of Disney Driven people. In Part 2 of this series, I am going to put my teacher hat on for a little while. I will pretend I am not the mother who is once again planning to take her child out of school and focus on teacher thoughts, challenges, and responsibilities.

The Note to School

While teaching, I used to secretly hold my breath if a student brought me a note from home and it was a long one sent to everyone in the team. Most of the time, these were letters to notify us that a child would be missing school, typically for a vacation. As excited as I was for the family to get away, see the world, and spend time together – there was a major reality check. This was going to make more work for me. Yes, I now had to more closely map out my plans for when this student was going to be out of my classroom. I had to make sure that worksheets, notes, and everything were ready to hand to them upon his/her last day of school. Was this required? Not at all and from what I have heard from some friends – some schools are telling teachers NOT to send work in advance for vacations.

Why would a school do this? Are they trying to punish the family and/or child? No, nobody is trying to hurt or penalize anyone. The reality is that schools get money from the state and federal government based on attendance. They need to have certain numbers in their buildings. When a child misses school for a family vacation, no matter where the location, it is technically not a legal absence. I know you are the parents, I know they are your children, and I know it’s your decision, but the rules are there. Legal absences include not being in school because of illness, religious observation, and death in the family. I’m sure there are others, but these are the most widely seen.

I do not believe that schools refuse to provide work completely (correct me if you have experienced this), but I think they are simply asking to do it after the child is back. When the family comes back from the time away, it will be easier for the teacher to have the work that they missed ready and waiting. It is more accurate and at this point they know precisely what the class has covered. Although lesson plans are great, some days things do not go as expected and you may need to spend more time on a particular topic to make sure that the entire class understands it.

Time to Prepare Work

When you know that you have a planned leave for your child, let the teacher know. The more time they have to be aware of this situation the better. They have more time to adjust their plans, gather items, and help your child to be ready to do items on their own. Protocol is different in each school district, and even from school to school. Ask the teacher if you should write a formal note to the principal to let them know about the plans. Another possibility is to e-mail the teacher and cc: the principal so everyone knows the plan.

Teachers are very flexible. With classrooms full of different learners, we quickly adjust to doing things on the fly. Understand that because of this, the work you may get in advance could change from what the class may actually do during the time. If the teacher mentions this, or notes it upon your return try not to be upset. Again, your child is not being punished – things just change.

Extra Work for the Teacher

When you plan to head out of town for a nice family get away, do not forget that you are inadvertently making extra work for your child’s teacher. While most lesson plans are made week/months in advance, some can not be fine tuned until you get closer to when you will be teaching them. With certain topics in science and other areas, you need to gauge how well kids do with the areas leading up to new ones. In addition to this, there are also in class activities/experiences that can not be duplicated at home. Science experiments and labs may be missed and that hands on learning is priceless. A teacher wants to make sure that your child gets the information and understands it. These items may be time consuming for a teacher to try to gather for a family. While working on current content with the classes, they now have to fast forward and gauge what to send home. Papers need to be ready, pages prepared, and more.

On the flip side of your vacation, the teacher needs to check back in with your child to make sure they are caught up. Perhaps there was a change in plans or something else. Now your child will possibly need to spend extra time with the teacher during prep periods, before, or after school (if they are willing) to get up to speed. This is certainly not required, but the majority of teachers will do this because they genuinely care about the kids. Testing and assessment is another tricky item to catch up. Class assessments are easier to take at another time, but be aware of state testing times and try to work around them. If you can try to look at dates and make sure they are least disruptive for everyone, including the school.

Parent side note: I am in a massive dilemma now. New York State originally posted the elementary aged testing dates last fall. I assumed that they would be the dates. When my family was invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration this spring, I jumped at the opportunity. It was JUST after my son would be finishing up his first round of state exams as a third grader. Then, in February, after we were already booked, the principal sent a letter to all families with the testing dates. I did a double take – they had changed one. I was now going to be “that” parent and have a child miss part of an exam.

Let’s get another discussion stated. Are you an educator? I would love to hear your views and pointers for parents as they think about making this decision. For parents/teachers and others, please let me know if you are aware of any rules within the school that you work in or that your children go to regarding missed work/days for family trip.

Usually once a week, my daughter and I go for a train ride at a nearby shopping mall.  It’s our hometown version of the Walt Disney World Railroad (or the Disneyland Railroad).  It’s definitely not a substitute, but it helps us satisfy our train fix between Disney vacations.

After we take a couple of laps on the train, we usually trek through the mall so we can get a little exercise and see if there’s anything interesting in the stores.  With over 2 million square feet in that mall, that’s a very tall order!

During our last visit, I started to pay attention to all the places in the mall where Disney’s presence could be found.  Here are a few that easily popped out at me:

1) The Disney Store – That’s an easy one!

2) AMC Theaters – Another easy one.  There’s usually at least one movie running from either Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures, or any of the other affiliated production companies.  This time, it was “John Carter.”

3) The Apple Store – My daughter likes to poke around on the iMacs that are setup on kid-friendly tables.  They have a “Disney Digital Books” interactive menu loaded on them so children can read from a huge assortment of Disney books.

4) TGI Friday’s – The TGI Friday’s in our mall isn’t enclosed, so it spills out into the mall.  Not only could we smell the food, but we could also see and hear the wall of TVs that were playing ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament.

5) The Verizon Wireless Store – I saw a sign featuring the Disney Parks Mobile Magic app for the iPhone and the Android phones.

Clearly, it’s very easy to stumble upon Disney in your travels as a consumer.  However, my list above is especially interesting if you read the official description of Disney’s business in it’s 2011 Annual Report.  (Click here to see it in its entirety.)

Upon reading the annual report, you’ll see that they describe the company as, “a diversified worldwide entertainment company” with five main business units: (1) Consumer Products; (2) Studio Entertainment; (3) Interactive Media; (4) Media Networks; and (5) Parks and Resorts.

Now do you see why my list is so interesting?

1) The Disney Store connected me with their “Consumer Products” business unit by offering various Disney-branded products.

2) AMC Theaters connected me with their “Studio Entertainment” business unit by showing “John Carter.”

3) The Apple Store connected me (and my daughter) with their “Interactive Media” business unit by featuring the Disney Digital Books at their children’s iMac station.

4) TGI Friday’s connected me with their “Media Networks” business unit by having the various ESPN networks playing on their TVs.

5) The Verizon Wireless store connected me with their “Parks and Resorts” business unit by featuring their Disney Parks Mobile Magic app, which made me excited for my upcoming Disney World vacation!!

As a Disney shareholder, I read the 2011 annual report after it came out.  However, when I read it at the time I was almost overwhelmed by the breadth of Disney’s business.  A routine visit to the mall made me realize that despite that breadth, they can easily contain it all under one roof.

Contributed by Derek Hoffman (NDD #243).  Derek is the creator of DisneyMBA.com and writes business-themed posts for The Disney Driven Life.

All these new attractions sport a circus motif and theme. The back story of the new area is that a circus arrived in the newly rehabbed train station along with all the new rides and attractions. If you look on the ground, you will see different animal footprints leading to these new rides. (There are even peanuts embedded in the walkway!) Goofy is now the stuntman for the circus and his new Great Goofini” roller coaster (the track layout is not changed) is totally re-themed in a circus atmosphere reminiscent of the old Carnivals and Circuses of the 1920s. There are many billboards around the new attraction showcasing Goofy’s new “talents.” Many of the props come from the Goofy shorts of the 1950s. Guests will still recognize the old Mickey’s Toontown area, and the Great Goofini attraction has a different entrance and exit queues.

The new Dumbo ride is another classic guest favorite which will be twice as nice as soon as the second Dumbo ride is added to the area. The old Dumbo attraction is being refurbished and will be placed right next to the present one later this summer. In the rear, you will see a large red and yellow striped circus tent that will be the new indoor interactive queue area for both the Dumbo rides. Again, this should be up and running by mid-summer.  Sharp-eyed guests will note the intricate details on the attraction. The colors are vivid and you will see storks on the top of the ride, and a ring of elephants, a nod to Jumbo, who was Dumbo’s Mother in the movie. You will also notice that the shade of gray in Dumbo is a bit lighter than the original.

This whole new land is in a place called “Carolwood Park” (the new name of the land-Elevation 102 ft) which all Disney fans should recognize as Walt’s “Carolwood Pacific” railroad he had constructed in his back yard. Even the costumes of the Cast Members here in “Storybook Circus” now sport a circus theme, all colorful and bright. The new train stations, suggestive of an old barn and even the rest rooms have this rustic, old time feel. The whole area is alive with color and excitement! Disney set out to make you feel you are in a circus and they have succeeded in spades. The lines for both attractions were long and steady, and several cast members and managers told me that the Guest response in the short two days of the soft opening was positive and enthusiastic.

The new land will be opening in staged phases as more and more of the construction is completed. Disney has no set timetable for the next phase openings, but there is a target for the mid to end of 2013. With this much excitement with this first phase opening, I cannot wait for the rest of the expansion to be completed. With the addition of the Seven Dwarfs Mine train, the “Be our Guest Restaurant” and the new “Little Mermaid” ride, Disney will be thrilling guests for years to come.

Stay tuned to The DisneyDriven Life, as I will be covering other phases of the Fantasyland Expansion as it happens with pics and a quick review. I have uploaded pics for your enjoyment!

Photo Credit: Disney Studios

OK this is a little late because I was convinced I was going to see John Carter by now.  In fact I had planned to see it opening night, then the next night then even tonight (Tuesday) and I just cannot get around to it.  Anyone want to fly up to Knoxville and check this sucker out?  Anyway by now we know that it might not have been the best opening Disney had hoped for.  I personally was shocked to see the Lorax beat John Carter.  I know Disney spent at least 6 million dollars on Super Bowl ads alone.  Word of mouth seemed much better (especially among Disney fans) than much of the critical reviewers thought.  Even some critics who are generally harsh gave decent reviews including none other than Rolling Stone’s own Peter Travers (who hates plenty of mainstream fare).  So what’s going on?  Who has seen John Carter and what do you think?

When I saw the tentative numbers of 30 million for the 1^st weekend I immediately assumed that the sequels that already appeared green lit were quickly turned back yellow but then I looked at the international take and saw that the movie did pretty well overseas.  John Carter took in another 40 plus million overseas and as I write this Hollywood.com is reporting that it has broken through the 100 million mark worldwide so it’s not all gloom and doom, but I’m curious if you think Disney has a problem here.

The shareholders meeting was today and the room was abuzz for The Avengers (as they should be) which is Disney’s real first full marketed Marvel movie.  The new trailer is incredible and the movie will likely explode out of the gate as it kicks off the “summer” season.  In fact it was reported today that there were just too many good parts that it was difficult to pick what to use for a trailer.  After an uphill battle for John Carter to break even, this is exactly what nervous shareholders need to hear.

It just shocks me that Green Lantern (which looked awful even in trailers in my opinion) pulled in about 20 million more dollars on opening weekend.  So again I ask you fearless Disney Driven Life reader – what’s up with John Carter and please convince me to go see it!  I’ll post another comment when I finally get there which will likely be sometime next week now.

So what else is going on as far as ABC is concerned – well a whole heck of a lot as pilot season gets ready to ramp up.  But before we can look ahead to Fall 2012 let’s talk about the end of this season which has shaped up to be another positive when it comes to ratings.  Here is a list of season finales:

May 1: Last Man Standing at 8p

May 6: GCB at 10p

May 7: Castle at 10p

May 13: Once Upon a Time at 8p; Desperate Housewives (special two-hour series finale) at 9p

May 15: Cougar Town (special one-hour finale) at 8p; Private Practice at 10p

May 16: Suburgatory at 830p

May 17: Missing at 8p; Grey’s Anatomy at 9p; Scandal at 10p

May 18: Shark Tank at 8p

May 20: America’s Funniest Home Videos at 7p

May 21: Dancing with the Stars (Performance Show) at 8p

May 22: Dancing with the Stars (two-hour Results Show finale) at 9p

May 23: The Middle at 8p; Modern Family at 9p; Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 at 930p; Revenge at 10p

I got into both Revenge and Once Upon a Time and will be sad to see these go for the summer.  I just recently may have found my favorite new comedy though in “Happy Endings” – I swear it is like a sketch comedy show smashed into “Friends”.  Good stuff and a great companion piece to Modern Family in my humble opinion.

So what else?

Well here’s some big news for all you Harry Potter fans (and not of the ride but the movie … tisk tisk for you to think of Universal in these parts J). ABC Family will be hosting a 5 day Harry Potter Marathon starting tomorrow night – here’s the schedule:

Wednesday, March 14th

7:30 PM – 11:00 PM ET/PT –  “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”

Thursday, March 15th

3:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET/PT –    “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”

7:00 PM – 11:00 PM ET/PT –  “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

Friday, March 16th

4:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET/PT –    “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

8:00 PM – 11:00 PM ET/PT –  “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”

Saturday, March 17th 

2:30 PM – 5:30 PM ET/PT –    “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”

5:30 PM – 9:00 PM ET/PT –    “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”

9:00 PM – 12:00 AM ET/PT – “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”

Sunday, March 18th 

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET/PT – “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”

2:00 PM – 5:30 PM ET/PT –    “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”

5:30 PM – 8:30 AM ET/PT –   “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”

8:30 PM – 12:00 AM ET/PT – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

This new Beauty and the Beast show sounds promising:

Irish actress Ruth Bradley snagged the title role of ABC’s Beauty and the Beast playing Grace, an embattled princess.  Bradley will star along with Darius Campbell who will play Shiro, Grace’s “beast” of a bodyguard and Chris Egan will play her fiance Gorrick.  This spring, Bradley will be seen playing Mary Maloney in the ABC miniseries Titanic scheduled on April 14 and 15.

Karen LeBlanc was added to the cast of ABC’s Beauty and the Beast project.  LeBlanc will play Ehren, the leader of the rebel band that wants to see Emperor Dorian (F. Murray Abraham) dethroned.

I would like to credit Cynopsis which I read religiously first thing ever morning with all of this news:

Fresh off her stint on FX’s American Horror Story, Connie Britton (also star of Friday Night Lights) landed a role in the ABC drama pilot Nashville.  Britton will play Rayna, considered the top female country music performer.  The pilot is from Callie Khouri and director/producer R.J. Cutler and is described as a family soap set amongst the music scene of Nashville.  The plot follows one star at her peak (Britton) while following another rising star (Hayden Panettiere).

ABC Family said has acquired ABC’s comedy series The Middle from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution.  The sitcom, starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn, will premiere on the cable network in fall 2013.  In addition, the off-net sitcom has been sold to stations covering more than 92% of the US, also for a fall 2013 launch.  The Middle has been picked up by station groups including Tribune, Sinclair, CBS, Communications Corp., Raycom, Newport, Belo, Cox, Local TV, New Age Media, Titan, Grant, News Press & Gazette, Barrington, Mission, Venture, LIN, Pappas, Weigel and Acme among others.  The Middle is produced by Blackie and Blondie Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Former soap opera star Susan Lucci (All My Children’s Erica Kane) joins the ABC primetime soap drama Devious Maids from Marc Cherry.  The drama is about four maids (Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Roselyn Sanchez and Dania Ramirez) who all have ambitions and dreams of their own while working for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Lucci will co-star as Genevieve Delacourt, a wealthy and somewhat crazy employer of one of the maids.  ABC Studios is producing.

Film actor Michael Nyqvist, who recently starred in the Swedish film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its two sequels as well as Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol will next star in ABC’s drama pilot Zero Hour.  The plot centers on Hank Foley (Anthony Edwards) who after spending 20 years as the editor of a skeptic’s magazine and following a strange twist of fate, is pulled into one of the most compelling conspiracies in human history.  Nyqvist will play White Vincent, one of the villains in the center of the conspiracy.  ABC Studios is producing.

ABC’s supernatural drama pilot 666 Park Avenue tagged Vanessa Williams to play Olivia, who with husband Gavin (Terry O’Quinn) owns the historic luxury apartment building that sports supernatural activities.

Claire Forlani (CSI: NY) was cast in the central leading role in ABC’s drama pilot Scruples based on the novel by Judith Krantz, reports TVLine.  Boris Kodjoe and Jessica McNamee also join the cast.   Forlani will play Billy Winthrop, a powerful fashion designer; Kodjoe was cast as Josh Hillman, the attorney of Billy’s late husband; and McNamee will portray Maggie, a celebrity journalist and Billy’s best friend.

Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond, ‘Til Death) takes on a new sitcom role in ABC’s comedy pilot How to Live With Your Parents For the Rest of Your Life.  Garrett will play the dad Max married to Elaine (Elizabeth Perkins). Max and Elaine’s daughter Polly (Sarah Chalke), a recently divorced single mom moves back in with them.

Also for ABC, two regulars were added to the comedy pilot The Smart One starring Portia de Rossi and Malin Akerman, reports THR.  Matt Oberg and Stephanie Beatriz join the cast that also includes David Arquette and Jean Smart.

ABC’s untitled comedy pilot starring Mandy Moore has added Stockard Channing and Kurt Fuller.  The comedy is about a young newlywed couple, Annie (Moore) and Ben who get the chance to run a hip restaurant in Annie’s hometown, bringing her close to her needy and high-maintenance family.  Channing and Fuller will play Annie’s parents.  20th Television is producing the single-camera comedy.

That’s about it for now.  I hope everyone has recovered from losing that hour of sleep and is ready to enjoy some GORGEOUS weather.  Anyone posting pics from the EPCOT flower festival hit me @WDW_Weather on Twitter I want to see them!

Until next time thanks for reading – please comment if you have any questions, I love the interaction with like minded Disney fans!

The following are journals I have collected over the years.

Photo Credit: EH

Unofficial Walt Disney World ‘Earbook 2011: One Fan’s Review in Pictures, Kevin Yee, Ultimate Orlando Press, 2011

Unofficial Walt Disney World ‘Earbook 2011:  One Fan’s Review in Pictures, Kevin Yee, Ultimate Orlando Press, 2011, 164 pp.

I have to remember to ask Kevin Yee whether he ever served on his high school’s Yearbook Committee. It’s a pity if he didn’t because it is clear he not only understands, but has mastered the genre. In a much broader sense, Yee simply gets Disney. The more I read his Disney-related work, the more I am impressed by his objective passion. Yee’s love of, and belief in, Disney is apparent. Yet his studied approach gives his work validity and a weight not often found in writing about Disney. He isn’t merely a fan or tour guide, but rather an observer and historian.

Yee is a former Disneyland cast member, current University of Central Florida professor and prolific author of several Disney-related books including the meticulously researched, Walt Disney World Hidden History:  Remnants of Former Attractions and Other Tributes, which I reviewed here a little more than a year ago.

Thinking that someone should document the many changes that occur each year at Walt Disney World, Yee came up with the idea of a yearbook. It is a strikingly simple idea, and one that many Disney authors surely regret they didn’t think of first.

With more than 600 color photos and Yee’s distinctively clear narrative, ‘Earbook 2011 is a thorough, month by month review of each major (and most minor) alteration, modification and, using Yee’s term, “evolution,” occurring within “The World” in 2011.

The book begins with a detailed timeline from November, 2010 through the first part of December, 2011 when it was actually published. Then, starting in the Magic Kingdom, Yee examines each area of Walt Disney World, in turn.

I found myself gawking at the first few pages which contained vibrant descriptions and vivid photos of Disney’s “Let the Memories Begin” campaign and “The Magic, The Memories and You!” castle projection show. If you’ve seen the show but, like me, live too far away for frequent visits, Yee’s photos of “The Magic, The Memories and You!” will keep it fresh until you see it again. If you’ve never seen the show, the photos will convince you that you must.

But, to be perfectly honest, that is the takeaway from each and every page of the book. Just as we use our own high school yearbooks to relive the “glory years,” so too will Yee’s ‘Earbook 2011 provide us with a way to remember the significant events at Walt Disney World in 2011:  the last year of Mickey’s Toontown Fair, Walt Disney World’s 40^th Anniversary celebration, Haunted Mansion’s new interactive queue and significant and identifiable progress in the Fantasyland expansion construction, to name but a few.

That Yee has included a chapter on attractions, events, restaurants and entertainment offerings that met their demise in 2011 is further evidence of his intent to provide a complete and objective historical account of the year. But one of my favorite inclusions is a section detailing prices found on property in 2011. In addition to providing the cost of a one-day park admission ($85 for an adult), theme park parking ($14 per day) and a weekend, garden view room at Polynesian Resort during peak season ($470 per night), we will forever know the cost of a bacon double cheeseburger at the Electric Umbrella in 2011($8.09).

Now if Yee could just find a way to retouch my old high school yearbook photos, he’d really have something special.