Disney's Animal Programs Top 10 Accomplishments

Animal Kingdom is unique in that, as a theme park, it can set goals besides park attendance and make an impact in the world. Trying to discern which of their conservation and educational objectives have had the most impact on the world, or a singular species, is a daunting task, yet, in honor of their tenth anniversary, Animal Kingdom has done gone ahead and done just that by devising their own Top 10 List of successes. The full article is presented below for your viewing pleasure.

Celebrating a Decade of Animal Magic -- Disney's Animal Programs Top 10 Accomplishments

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., March 25, 2008 – During its first decade, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has entertained millions of guests with one-of-a-kind shows, adventurous attractions, unique shops and distinct restaurants. But some of the most remarkable accomplishments have taken place behind-the-scenes through the efforts of Disney’s Animal Programs team. Disney’s 550 animal care experts have traveled around the globe, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to conserving wildlife and wild places. These veterinarians, scientists, educators, curators, and zookeepers have enhanced the world knowledge base of animals and bettered the lives of animals and their habitats here in Central Florida and in the most remote areas of Africa, Asia, North America and South America.

TOP TEN ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. Repatriating White Rhinos
In 2006, two Disney-born white rhinos became the first-ever to repatriate from the United States to Africa. The two white rhinos joined four others at the Ziwa Sanctuary in Uganda to re-establish a population that became extinct in 1972 due to civil unrest in the region. Just this year, veterinarians, scientists and animal care experts from Disney’s Animal Kingdom returned to Uganda to follow-up and monitor them. The goal: to assist the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Rhino Fund Uganda with the establishment of a breeding facility for rhinos that can be reintroduced to the wild.


2. Spreading the Conservation Message
Since 1999, the Animal Programs team has delivered more than 29 million conservation messages to inspire guests to care about wildlife and wild places. These efforts include fun, educational activities at six Kids Discovery Clubs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as well as an annual Party for the Planet on Earth Day, and a special Leap Day event to celebrate 2008 as the Year of the Frog.


3. Bringing Back the Micronesian Kingfisher
Through a successful long-term, captive breeding program, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has produced approximately 25 percent of the total world population of the Micronesian kingfisher. This tiny bird, native to Guam, is nearly extinct because of predatory snakes introduced to the island more than 50 years ago. Since the program started in 2000, the Animal Programs team has successfully hatched 22 baby birds.


4. Caring for Elephants
Disney has been at the forefront of efforts to better understand and care for endangered elephants. One of the most significant contributions of Disney scientists and engineers is the development of an elephant transmission collar that – for the first time – is enabling scientists to record elephant vocalizations that are too low for the human ear to detect. Through this effort, Disney scientists discovered two new vocalizations in 2004 that had never been reported for elephants in the wild or in zoological settings. The “rev,” which is short in duration and usually followed by a rumble, may indicate surprise. The “croak” is generally given when the trunk is used to manipulate an object.

Researchers also found that closely bonded females use low frequency “rumbles” to communicate with each other when they are out of sight and when they greet each other after having been apart. Disney’s Animal Kingdom also has also played a significant role in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Program for African elephants.

Three African elephants have been born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, adding to the largest herd in North America. African elephants are very difficult to breed, and having a successful birth of this endangered species is a significant and lengthy event. Ironically, another area of focus for Disney’s Animal Programs team has been helping to control the growing elephant population in some areas of southern Africa. Although elephants are endangered, their populations have expanded in some areas, and this growth threatens wildlife habitat. In 2006, veterinarians from Disney’s Animal Programs led a coalition of experts to Africa and their work has since resulted in the creation of a new surgical procedure and device that effectively sterilizes male elephants with little trauma or side effects.


5. Conserving the Cotton-top Tamarin
In 2007, Disney scientists conducted the first population census of cotton-top tamarins – a species found only in Colombia -- and found fewer than 6000 animals remain. The long-term survival of these rare primates is threatened by habitat destruction in South America and capture for the pet trade. Government officials and environmental groups are using this information to develop conservation areas and plans for this endangered species. For example, Proyecto Titi, a conservation group that works in Colombia, has influenced local communities with the use of “bindes,” which are small cookstoves that require two-thirds less firewood for cooking and the development of a cooperative that makes eco-mochilas, which are tote bags made from recycled plastic bags. As a result, more than one million plastic trash bags have been removed from Colombia’s environment.


6. Funding to Save Wildlife and Wild Places
Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund (DWCF) has given more than $11 million in support to a total of 650 projects in 110 countries since 1995. Many of the organizations concentrate their activities on ”biological hotspots” – areas rich in plant and animal life at risk of imminent destruction. Florida-based projects and groups have received more than $2.9 million in DWCF grants.


7. Administering World-Class Health Care
Animal Programs veterinarians have successfully performed surgery on a tarantula spider, placed an artificial eye in a fish and removed a golf ball from a hungry snake rescued at a Disney golf course. In all, more than 6,000 wellness checks have been performed at Disney’s Animal Hospital since 1998. State-of-the-art veterinary facilities include an x-ray room, ultrasound equipment, surgical suites and full-service laboratories. Disney’s Animal Care team has blazed new trails by using positive reinforcement to train animals to cooperate in their own care. For example, gorillas extend their arms for vaccinations, big cats open their mouths for keepers to examine their teeth and even storks step up on scales to be weighed.


8. Saving Sea Turtles
Over the years, Disney animal care teams have nursed 232 endangered sea turtles back to health. Disney scientists have collaborated with other experts to pioneer new satellite technology enabling them to track the travel patterns of rehabilitated and released turtles. In 2006, this sophisticated technology allowed scientists at the Wildlife Tracking Center to compile an entire year’s worth of tracking data – the longest period ever for a juvenile green sea turtle. Nicknamed Little Crush, the turtle was rescued and brought to Disney after he was found near death in the Indian River Lagoon.


9. Testing “Animal I.Q.”
Disney scientists have led the way in learning more about how animals learn and to understand their cognitive differences as they age. Gorillas, mandrills, and ground hornbills are very different animals, but they are all extremely smart. Continuing research indicates that mandrills, the largest species of monkey, are able to complete memory tasks on touch-screen computers. In addition, Disney scientists have discovered that ground hornbills have an ability to remember how to complete a task even after months have passed between trials.


10. Reaching out to the Professional Community
Committed to the zoological and conservation community, Disney has made significant effort in building the capacity of animal care and scientific professionals. Disney’s Animal Programs has more than 65 advanced internships in a variety of fields, ranging from conservation education to veterinary medicine, as well as pre-and post-doctoral fellowships. Thousands of zoological and conservation professionals have been trained through Disney’s Animal Programs staff and resources, with more than 50 scientific meetings and conferences hosted since 1998.

Young Adventurers - The Haunted Mansion

As evening approaches, and the lights of candles appear in the windows, you here the eerie howl of a distant wolf calling to you from beyond a mansion on the hill. Quietly you make your way around the front of the mansion to the other side. There you find a family cemetery, where gruesome deaths seem commonplace. You realize that you are not the only person who has ventured this way recently, as a rose sits perched upon the headstone of Master Gracey. Suddenly, and shockingly, a servant of the house summons you inside, where you are met by an ominous and foreboding voice.

This voice, a self-appointed Ghost Host, conducts you through a room that stretches disturbingly, and then into a doombuggy to tour the mansion. Through portrait galleries with shocking secrets, libraries and conservatories filled with unseen presences, and a never-ending series of stairways the Ghost Host beckons you to come further into the house, even though your heart and every hair on your body is calling for you to find a way out. Some of the 999 residents attempt to contact you, they go as far as to plead for you to help them. As you make your way down endless hallways you stumble upon a séance, presided over by the striking and farseeing Madame Leota, who resides inside of her crystal ball. Here the Ghost Host leaves you to discover a rowdy and uncivilized clan of ghost cavorting about in all sorts of party frivolities.

Your path turns and leads you up to attic, and to the grim truths of the bride and her former husbands, before you crash through a window and into a much larger graveyard at the rear of the manor. The cemetery is filled with the lively phantoms, all in search of a good time. There are ghost on bicycles, spirits using tombstones as a teeter-totter, even a phantom choir, in perfect harmony, crooning about Grim, Grinning, Ghosts. When the Ghost Host finally catches up to you in the mausoleum he offers you one final warning, that hitchhiking ghosts have been known to follow guests home.

As a hauntingly beautiful voice calls for you to hurry back, you follow the beating of your heart and race through the mausoleum, past the pet cemetery, and a far as your feet will carry you away from this Haunted Mansion.

Every bite you take

Spring has sprung which can only mean one thing; the smoldering embers from last year’s last cook-out are beginning to heat up. Soon grills everywhere will be firing up on the weekends, and they will be filled with burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and ribs. As all Master Grillers know, when it comes to ribs you need a good rub and the secret is in the sauce.

Some of my favorite ribs on Walt Disney World property come from Animal Kingdom’s Flame Tree Barbeque. These are ribs done right. For all of you Master Grillers looking for the perfect recipe to kick off your barbecue season, may I suggest Flame Tree’s formulas:


BARBECUE RUB

Ingredients:

2 Pounds Sugar
8 Ounces Season Salt
2 Ounces Chili Powder
2 Ounces Ground Black Pepper
2 Ounces Paprika
1 Ounce Cumin
1/2 Ounce Garlic Salt
1/2 Ounce Onion Powder

BARBECUE SAUCE

Ingredients:

58 Ounces Ketchup
16 Ounces Water
7 Ounces Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Ounces Molasses
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons Garlic Salt
2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
2 Tablespoons Paprika
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
2 Teaspoons Turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Directions:
For both the rub and sauce combine all ingredients, this is the only step needed for the Barbecue Rub before applying to the ribs. For the Barbecue Sauce, after all ingredients have been mixed together thoroughly, allow them to simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.

My people

For Epcot purist, looking towards the films of World Showcase can be heart-wrenching. On opening day only China, France, and Canada were the only pavilions that came complete with films. Norway would add a fourth film to World Showcase when its pavilion opened in 1988. Of the three original films, only France’s Impressions de France has remained unchanged for the past twenty-five and a half years. Both Wonders of China, now Reflections of China, and O Canada! have seen updates in the past few years. While opinions vary on what is and isn’t effective in these films, they are, without a doubt, not the films that originally graced World Showcase.

In honor of the sole-surviving film of EPCOT Center’s original World Showcase, today we look at some facts and figures from Impressions de France.

¤Impressions de France is shown in the Palais de Cinéma, a theater which can accommodate three-hundred and fifty guests.
¤The eighteen minute film is projected onto five screens, each of the five pieces measures twenty-seven and a half feet wide by twenty-one feet tall. By using these five screens, audience members are given a 200-degree view.
¤Locales observed in the film’s forty-nine scenes include, but are not limited to, Loire Valley, Vezelay Church and village, Monbazillac Vineyard, Versailles, Chaumont Castle, Charmonix, La Rochelle Harbor, Normandy, Mt. Blanc, and various landmarks and vistas of Paris.
¤The score from Impressions de France is composed of music from Camille Saint-Saëns, Claude Debussy, Jacques Offenbach, by François-Adrien Boieldieu, Maurice Ravel, Éric Satie, and Paul Dukas. Additonally, original scoring was done by Buddy Baker.

Hoppy Easter

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit stopped by today and wanted to wish all of the Main Street Gazette readers a "Hoppy Easter!"

Oswald was a Walt Disney creation. After the Alice Comedies, and before Mickey Mouse, Oswald was Disney's focus. Walt Disney created 26 Oswald cartoons, but, when Disney went to renew his contract with Universal he was told by his distributor Charles Mintz that Disney would take a twenty percent budget cut or else the studio would find someone else to create the cartoons. This was due to the way contracts were written up at the time. Not only would Walt Disney lose the character of Oswald, but Mintz also revealed he had hired away nearly all of Disney's animators. These negotiations instilled in Walt the desire to never again allow his creations to be controlled by another party. On this idea, he would stand firm throughout his life.

On the return trip home from losing Oswald, Walt Disney created a little mouse named Mortimer Mouse. So the story goes, Lillian Disney did not like the name and it was replaced by Mickey Mouse.

Oswald's tale with Disney was not done, however. In February 2006 it was announced that the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit would be returned to Disney, now under the watchful eye of Bob Iger. Alongside Oswald, Disney, more specifically ESPN, would gain the rights to expanded highlights of the Olympic Games (through 2012), Notre Dame Football (through 2011), and the Kentucky Derby and Preakness (both through 2011). As well, ESPN also gained the rights Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup, along with extended highlights (through 2014). For Universal's part, they received Emmy-winning sportscaster, Al Michaels in the deal.

Consumer oriented research and development

I am not sure what it is, aside from the brilliance of marketing, but the advertisements of Walt Disney World and Disneyland always seem to find a special place in my heart. I love that Disney is willing to go to such great lengths to promote one of the most well known brands in the world. Here are a few of my favorite advertisements from the past year.

It happens to everyone

Ah, the first day of Spring. Little April showers, the air is always filled with orange blossom smells, the Flower & Garden Festival, and twitterpation. Wise Old Owl tried to warn the boys (Bambi, Thumper, and Flower, not Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) , but they didn’t listen, did they? To avoid being twitterpated, be sure to heed Wise Old Owl’s twitterpated gospel.

IF you’re walking on air because she looks at you “THAT” way…

WHEN your head’s in the clouds because your heart’s in a whirl……

AND if you can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t think because the love bog’s got you……

BROTHER, you’re TWITTERPATED! and when you’re “Twitterpated” you’re sunk!

Beyer and Quinn: Screenwriters

The dust in the room sat so still and thick that it was a wonder that the sunlight could even squeeze through the broken blinds at all. The curtains had fallen into a heap on the floor long ago, and there the still sat. The cushions on the couch had become so worn that a bag of cotton balls would have better suited any occupant of the sofa; even the chairs and desks had lost their varnish, though this last sign of decay was lost beneath the common sign of neglect, dust.

Two men sat in the dilapidated chairs at the dilapidated desks. Their collective gazes alternated between staring at the yellowed sheets of blank paper before them, jammed haphazardly into the typewriter, (one of which, consequently, was missing the ‘E,’ while the other had lost its ‘S’) and then back to the man on the opposite side of the desk. This routine was occasionally broken by a loud gulp of water quenching a cracked throat or a smack of gum, but never by the click of a single key of the typewriter. This lack of productivity explained the declining state of the offices of Beyer and Quinn, Screenwriters.

“What if we tried adapting something rather than writing something new,” offered Burt Beyer.

“Adapt? We’ve been down this road before,” Ernie Quinn sighed as he used his head to signal towards the bookshelves. Overlooking the obvious unkempt order in which the books had been kept, there were a staggering amount of books to work through.

“Yeah, but what if we find something new, something that hasn’t been done before, a book we haven’t read?”

“If you’ve got ants in your pants, then do us both a favor and go for a walk to the library, but I guarantee you there ain’t nothing there we ain’t already though of,” Quinn quipped before returning his attention back to the blank paper, as if it held some secret.

“You know what, I think I will,” Beyer said as he got up from his chair. He threw on his brown blazer hastily, pulled his fedora, complete with inky smudges, down firmly on his head, and closed the door behind him. He made his way down from the second floor and began monotonous trek around Echo Lake.

“Hey, Book boy! Make sure you check the mail on your way back in. We may finally get that big offer we’ve been waiting for!” Quinn shouted from the window. He didn’t wait for a response before he closed the window, laughing. Beyer waved him of and turned back to the sidewalk in front of him.

Beyer made his way over to the library, where he studied the stacks intently. He randomly opened the card catalog hoping to find a muse in whatever card he happened upon, he consulted with the librarian, and he even sought the advice and recommended reading lists of visitors who seemed to be in the library as often as he was, most of whom were screenwriters as well, and most of whom were uninspired to help another struggling writer. Not having any luck, but thankful for the time away from Quinn’s delightful disposition, he decided to head for the park.

A vendor was selling bags of breadcrumbs for the local indigenous fowl, pigeons, and Beyer decided someone, somewhere needed a break, and bought a bag. The way he saw it, his generosity would bring some happiness to the vendor and the birds, and two for one wasn’t bad. Besides, doing good things had a way of coming back around. All the benches were occupied, but he meandered over to a bench by the lake with only one gentleman sitting on it.

“May I sit here?”

“Oh, by all means,” came the response from behind the newspaper.

As he tossed the crumbs to the crowd of pigeons that had made their way to Beyer’s feet, he aimlessly looked around for something, anything to motivate him. There was a girl sleeping on a bench whose boyfriend was leaning over to kiss her and wake her up, a little girl walking a dog who’s fur, in the evening light, appeared blue, and a cat chasing another dog, this one had a string of sausages trailing from his mouth, but none of this could ever make a story he and Quinn could sell.

Suddenly, he became aware that the buzzing sound in his ears was the man sitting next to him. Embarrassed, he stuttered an apology and asked if he didn’t mind repeating himself.

“Quite alright. I asked what you thought of this year’s Academy winners. Quite the eclectic bunch, eh?”

“Oh, oh, yes they are,” replied Beyer who, truth be told, had not even paid attention this year. Someone had won for screenwriting, and all he knew was that it wasn’t him. He continued talking with the gentleman, Henry was his name, for several more minutes. The conversation ran from entertainment to world politics to the diet of ‘tramps,’ or homeless dogs.

“Well, Burt, I am afraid I must be going,” Henry said as he folded his newspaper, placed it under his arm, and stood up. It was then that Beyer became aware of what this very worldly individual was wearing, an over-sized brown fedora, a khaki shirt, and deep brown work pants. This was not the attire of an educated man, which Henry most certainly was.

“Henry, before you go, what do you do for a living? That is, if you don’t mind my asking.”

“Not at all, I am a studio stunt man.”

“A stunt man? But you know so much and seem so well spoken,” Beyer’s shock was thinly veiled.

“True, but man may not live by brains alone,” explained Henry, who turned to go with a tip of his hat.

This conversation, and realization, had sent Beyer reeling. He sat for a long while thinking over what he had learned from Henry, and slowly a story began to form. Up he jumped and made a dash straight back for the office. He blew by the mailboxes, there wouldn’t be any mail anyway, and besides, the lock had been rusted shut for months now. Up he ran to the corner office, number 201, and straight over to Quinn’s desk, he hadn’t even stopped to shut the door or hang up his hat and coat.

“I’ve got it! I have the perfect story!” he exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, bookworm, what’s this perfect story? I don’t see no book any where?”

“No, no, no, I didn’t find anything in the library. I found it right outside the window here, down in the park.”

“Well, out with it then,” Quinn was beginning to lose his patience.

“It’s about this professor, see. He teaches archeology or paleontology or something like that. And he is a good guy, well educated, well spoken, right, but half of the time he is digging up ancient tombs or idols or dinosaurs or something. And when he is searching for these things he always finds a girl to fall in love with and he always ends up in these nasty situations because someone else wants exactly what he’s after. And,… and,… and, yeah, that’s it. What do you think?”

“There ain’t no stuffy professor that is ever going to get beautiful women to fall for them, especially if they’ve been digging around in the dirt all day long. This has got to be the most dimwitted idea you have every come up with Burt!”

“Quiet down over there,” came the muffled yell from the wall, along with repeated thuds.

“Sorry, Mrs. Zovich!” Beyer shouted back.

By now the sun had set and the lamps had begun to turn on outside. Quinn walked over to the door and drew up his coat.

“If you’ll excuse me professor, I’m heading home. Maybe I’ll dream us up some magic fairytale this evening. How about that?” Quinn asked while shutting the door.

Beyer waited until he heard Quinn hit the bottom of the stairs before he mumbled, “I bet it would have made millions.”

When springtime comes, how can you tell?

Today is the first day of this year’s Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, the fifteenth year the event has been held. Fun in the Sun, the theme of this year’s event, begins today and will run through June 1st. As always, there are exhibits, tours, demonstrations, guest speakers, the butterfly garden, the lady bug release, and something I am forgetting,… oh, Flowers and Gardens!

The most well known of all the gardening forms, at least when it comes to Walt Disney World, is the topiary. We discussed how the topiaries of Disney past are disappearing a while back in a Save the Swirl article (Please note: if you are looking at the previous article, you are correct, my parents do look like they would fit right in with the Flower Power Concert crew). Today, let’s see what Disney has to say about their topiaries:

“To create such varied forms, Disney’s gardeners practice several different styles of topiary. The oldest and most basic style, free form, consists of pruning trees and shrubs into unusual shapes, like cones, gumdrops, mazes, pyramids, and poodle puffs. Striking examples include the famous Dixie Cup Oaks of Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort and the platform trees that ascend like stairways to heaven in from of Disneyland’s It’s a Small World (sic).

The shrub topiary style uses metal frames to help shape shrubs into characters. Shrubs are planted in large wooden boxes at each point where the frame touches the ground. For instance, to create the giraffe for Disneyland’s It’s a Small World (sic), Disney’s horticulturists would use four shrubs – one for each foot. As the shrubs grow, the gardeners trim the weekly until they completely engulf the frame. Depending on the size of the figure, the process can take three to ten years.

To speed things along, Disney’s horticulturists perfected sphagnum topiary. Much faster to grow than shrub topiary and far more versatile than free form, this style allows gardeners to produce elaborate living sculptures in minimal time. To create sphagnum figures, Disney’s artists first design a heavy steel frame to look like a specific character, such as Goofy or Simba from The Lion King. Gardeners then cover the frame with plastic mesh and pack it full of sphagnum moss. Next, they use an awl-like tool called a dibble to punch six to nine holes per square foot into the moss. Finally, they pack a fast growing plant, such as English ivy or creeping fig, into each hole. Gardeners trim and prune the plants until the foliage covers both the moss and the frame. To create effects like clothing or long hair, they contrast the vines with colorful plants like begonias and carnations, along with special grasses. Using the sphagnum technique, Disney’s green-thumbed magicians can produce a mature topiary in as little as three months.”

pp 102 – 103, Secrets of Disney’s Glorious Gardens

This process has been showcased for the past few years in an exhibit (Tricks of the Trade) during the Flower and Garden Festival, and is one of the many activities I plan on enjoying this year. Other activities on my radar for next month include Going Green in Your Own Backyard, Rachel Tribble’s artist signing, the English Tea Garden Tour, and Peter Pan’s Never Land Garden, just to name a few.

Planning an alternate route

While away at my wife’s conference this weekend, I found myself wandering around the hotel grounds. When it came time to return to the room I always took the same route, due exclusively to the fact that there was only one way to get to and from our room. This got me to thinking about the various ways I have always found to return to a room or campsite at Walt Disney World. No matter how many times I can walk the same route through the Magic Kingdom, when I step off of the bus in the late afternoon there are always a variety of paths back to my room, and shortcuts to be found.

Unless you stay in the same room, at the same resort, for every trip you take to Walt Disney World, you know this feeling too, even if you haven’t explored it. You can cut between the center of buildings to catch an adjoining walkway, or through entire resorts at the All-Stars rather than wait for the bus to stop at your resort. When returning to Port Orleans you can again wander from one resort back to your resort, taking the long way home as it were. On the other hand, you could cut around one of the squares and find that it is faster than walking the straight and narrow roads to the Floatworks. Even when it comes to reaching your floor, chances are there is a choice of direction involved. Do you climb the stairs on the ends of the building, or wait until you get towards the middle? The point is, every trip offers a new trail or shortcut to discover, a new ‘choose your own adventure’ for each trip.

This concept is never more present than in the campgrounds of Fort Wilderness. As children, one of the first things my sister and I did, once we had helped set-up the campsite, was to find the trail behind our site that created the most direct route to the Comfort Station on our loop. Not only was this essential to good camping, at ten o’clock at night you don’t really want to wonder what the best way is to wander to the bathroom, but it also gave the trip a subtle, but defining, characteristic, and it created a landscape for us to craft our own stories in.

It is on these quiet walks of discovering, or raucous runs of adventure, when you aren’t rushing to a bus or bed, that some of the most magical things can happen. Besides finding a shortcut, you may stumble onto a rabbit or family of ducks making their own way home, you may discover that, while out of the way, this path leads to a quiet bench where you can take in the joy of others who are also experiencing the magic, but then again, you may find nothing more than a sidewalk with some fabulous details. I hope that when you take these walks, and explore the paths you will tread every day of your trip, you do so with all of your senses and make a lasting memory.

Kermit, oh, Kermit

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a fungus that can kill eighty percent of any exposed amphibian in just a few months, and it has now spread it every continent where amphibians make their homes. This, along with the news that as many as one-third of all amphibians are endangered of becoming extinct due to the effects of pollution, invasive species, and the loss of their natural habitats, has Kermit the Frog on the move. But, instead of going on the run, Kermit has gone to Washington.

In order to raise awareness of his family’s declining population, our fearless frog has recently visited with Washington D.C. Scientist from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) sought Kermit’s assistance since he is the world’s most recognizable amphibian, and is able to reach into the hearts and minds of the public where the AZA might not. The knowledge and resources of the aquariums and zoos that work with the AZA, along with their conservation partners, are taking immediate action and may be the last hope for our amphibian friends.



In lighter news for Kermit and his Muppet friends, a new Muppet movie has been given the green light. While Kermit and Fozzy try to explain to Gonzo that this is not a real green light, it is just an expression, the rest of us celebrate the renewed interest in not only a Muppet movie, but one that will not be sent directly to television or DVD, but to the big screen (And yes Gonzo, it is actually a big screen).

Don't close your eyes, and don't try to hide

There is a creature that lurks high in the Himalayan Mountains, a creature that has seldom been seen, but is the foundation of terrifying tales, a creature that feasts on herded animals and makes off with female villagers, a creature with a proclivity for the dramatic. The abominable snowman, or yeti.

The yeti has never been zoologically classified. This is not surprising since one has never been studied, and since most conversations about the yeti dissolve into a dissection on various myths. But today, I think we are going to march into the snowy caves of the Matterhorn and boldly cross beyond the Temple of the Forbidden Mountain, and drag this creature’s snowy behind, myths and all, into the daylight.


Abominable Bumble

Right away let us deal with the westernized version of the yeti, the abominable snowman. Peeling back the layers of this myth reveals a 1920s British reporter who mistranslated the word migyu, the Tibetan word for yeti, as “abominable snowman.” The term migyu is more accurately translated as “wild man” or “wild person.”

The coat of the abominable snowman is almost consistently seen as white, this is a logical adaptation for a creature that is considered to live high in the snowy terrain of the Himalayans. Upon further inspection however, most local legends discuss that the yeti, or abominable snowman, has fur in varying shades of brown. Also common in the stories available is that this creature, the yeti, lives below the snowline in forests. They only cross the snowline the in order to traverse the glaciers that link one mountain valley to the next, and they only do so in the summer season. Though snow could become matted in the fur during these crossings, it is unlikely that any creature who remained south of the snowline for so long during the course of a year could be conceived has having only white hair.

So, the abominable snowman is just that, an abomination. From head to toe this creature is a myth of, mostly, western thinking. If there is to be any further investigation of the creature known as the yeti, it must be done so with the stories and descriptions of the abominable snowman placed firmly on the shelf, alongside other great works of fiction.


History of the Myth

The yeti has been a much sought after creature dating back to the times of Alexander the Great, who coveted a yeti during his conquest of the Indus Valley. Unfortunately, as he was told at the time, yetis could not breathe at the low altitudes at which Alexander’s forces were traveling, and so Alexander had to go without. Westerners began telling tales of the yeti as a “wild hairy man” in the fifteenth century and, as mentioned above, these tales should only be consumed with a healthy dose skepticism.

Yet, even native information can be just as susceptible to criticism. Like any highly devout people, the Tibetans, including the Sherpas, find it very difficult to separate their reality from their religion. On religious scrolls and in artwork, the yeti is pictured as the divide between man and animals. In Tibetan if one is “playing yeti,” it can be construed as either a negative (“to rob”) or a positive (“to protect”). The yeti is all at once a damned monster and a sentry, which only adds to the debate and confusion. With these thoughts in mind, it is best to stick to common facts among all yeti tales.


Bear versus Ape versus Man

Since even experts argue over what is considered true fact and what is considered fiction (most likely due to the fact that they are selecting only criteria that meet with their perception of the yeti), we can only combine the details of various sightings and the stories of the local inhabitants to reach an amalgamation of the yeti. After all of this sorting, we are left with a creature that has the characteristics of an apelike bear. This may be a rather bizarre combination to conjure up, even to the most imaginative of us, but let’s take a look at some characteristics attributed to the yeti.

¤The word yeti possesses enormous powers, it powers the imagination and it powers emotions. So, to put the yeti into a more tangible form, let’s look at the origin of the word itself. One possible, and the most likely, translation of the Tibetan word yeti is “snow bear.”
¤The yeti, we are told, can move, and attack, upright on two legs. Though, when paired with its size, it is not inconceivable that it would have to move on all fours at times.
¤In the region the yetis said to inhabit, the local indigenous people eat things such as berries, barley, vegetables, fruits, roots, and meat. This is also the preferred diet of the yeti.
¤The head of this creature is domed, creating support for the large jaw muscles needed to support a jaw with large fangs. This is similar to the Gigantopithecus, a large extinct ape, and a chemo, a type of Himalayan bear, which is also rarely seen.
¤The approximate size of a yeti, when standing on two feet, is a little over seven feet.

In the end there can never be a clear picture of what a yeti is, only what it isn’t. There may be a true creature which these legends revolve around. After all, as much as we have cannibalized the lands of the earth, there is still much in the wildernesses that we do not know. But whatever this creature is, it is not the yeti. The yeti is not one creature or one idea, it is a story. And, as Reinhold Messner wrote “…I knew that it meant that the tale of the yeti – in some form – would exist forever.

Storytellers die; their stories live on.”


For further reading on the yeti, both of theme park origin and Himalayan descent, I recommend:

The Disney Mountain: Imagineering at Its Peak by Jason Surrell
My Quest for the Yeti by Reinhold Messner

Dis-tionary: Yeti Edition

I am going to be out of town (my wife has a conference in Greensboro, NC) all day tomorrow and Saturday morning, but this weekend the Main Street Gazette is going to explore some of the myth and history of the Abominable Snowmen and Yetis, as seen while on the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Expedition Everest. To whet your appetite for all things yeti, here are a few terms to become acquainted with.

Sherpa – Tibetan term meaning Eastern People. Sherpas migrated from Tibet to Nepal. The men of the Sherpa are common guides for mountain climbers in the Himalayan area. Other mountaineering guides in this region are also referred to as Sherpas, though they do not have to be of Sherpa lineage.

Abominable Snowman – A westernized term commonly used to refer to yetis. The term abominable snowman is a mistranslation of the word yeti.

Yeti – Tibetan term for a creature of unknown origin in the Himalayan region. The word chemo (Tibetan term translated as “bear”) can be used interchangeably for the word yeti. One possibly interpretation of the word yeti is “snow bear.”

Release from drudgery

Ray, the man to know over at Grumpy's Hollow, has been writing some fantastic things about the music of Walt Disney World (see: here, oh and, of course: here, and his latest one: here). Also, I recently read this journal post over at Disfriends (sadly I could not find the actual article or author after much searching), which talked about treating everyday as if they were going to Disneyland and how, even though they were actually moving along with the daily lives, it made their days seem a little bit brighter. Then, surprisingly and quite unknowingly to your author here, these two ideas met in my neck of the woods yesterday and I was lifted from the plight of my normal day and had what could only be described as a lovely day.

To describe yesterday as lovely is laughable. I worked from sun-up to sun-down with a staff that were anything but happy, we are severely understaffed at the moment, dealt with some not so thrilled parents, and had some temper-tantrums the likes of which could make a sailor blush and a dinosaur scared. However, on my way in to work yesterday morning I happened to pop Disney’s Happiest Celebration on Earth (Disneyland version) into my CD player. There I found There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, which was picked up by my subconscious and played continuously throughout the day. I whistled the song while I put chairs down and set up breakfast for my preschool horde. I belt it out as if it were opera during our outside play time. I even hummed it on my way to a meeting I did not want to go to.

What happened? For starters I never got discouraged, and a smile was fastened firmly to my face. And my attitude seemed to spill over into even the darkest corner of my center. Staff members who normally wouldn’t have cooperated with me, or each other, seemed less confrontational after we talked. Then they began to find solutions (compromises even) on their own. Children who were looking for something, or someone, to hit, saw me and melted into my arms (arms which usually get bruises, not hugs). By the end of the evening, I was beginning to become aware of the fact that There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow had saved my day.

This song, which had just happened to fall into my personal soundtrack yesterday, not only changed my environment, but the environment of those around me. To honor this monumental accomplishment I thought I would give the spotlight over to this song today with some lyrics and a little history.

There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, another triumph by Richard and Robert Sherman, debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair as a part of the Carrousel of Progress. After the conclusion of the World’s Fair, the attraction, complete with its uplifting anthem, moved cross-country to Disneyland, where it opened in Tomorrowland in 1967. In 1973 it again made the long trip across the country to Florida, and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. From 1983 until 1994 the song was removed from the Carrousel of Progress. In its place The Best Time of Your Life could be heard, but There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow would make a triumphant return in 1994. In the interim, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow could be heard in Horizons, which opened in 1983 and closed in 1999.


Lyrics

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away.

Man has a dream
And that's the start.
He follows his dream,
With mind and heart.
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true,
For you and me.

So, there's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away.

Grab your camping gear and meet us right here

There are words I have waited years to hear, and a press release from Walt Disney World has just uttered them, “Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground Gets a Facelift!” The resort wide renovation will include work to campsites, cabins, pet facilities, and even the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool.

Campsites can expect updates to picnic tables and grills. A new “Premium” campsite will be available for RVs. Citing the expanded length of RVs, RVs have gained twenty-seven feet on average since Fort Wilderness opened in 1971, as well as the awnings that most modern RVs have on their sides, these new Premium sites will have a larger concrete pad to accommodate these vehicles’ needs.

Around the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool, a hot tub, child’s water play area, and a themed slide will be added. These additions are following the recent remodeling work which decreased the depth at the deep end of the pool.

For those who want creature comfort without the creatures, the Wilderness Cabins have always offered a home away from home. During this update, the cabins will be receiving new furniture, linens, fixtures, carpeting, and paint.

For the canine crowd, the article mentions the recently opened Waggin' Trails Dog Park. Waggin’ Trails is an off-leash playground built specifically for the active pup in your family.

Fort Wilderness was the site of all of my family trips for a number of years, and I am glad to see the ‘grounds getting some much needed love. The fact that they are updating sites to coincide with the additions to RVs lets me know that there is a deep appreciate of Fort Wilderness, and it will be with us for many years into the future. I was already expecting to catch up with Fort Wilderness and relive some very fond memories when I am at Walt Disney World next month, but now I have even more reason to check in on my old stomping ground. I’ll have an update on how the work is progressing after my trip near the end of next month. And should you see this newspaperman wandering around, be sure to say hello.

Correction

Earlier this week, in the article about the World Showcase galleries, specifically The American Adventure’s National Treasures exhibit, I inadvertently implied that the moon rock on display belonged to the astronaut Gus Grissom.

Virgil “Gus” Grissom” was tragically killed alongside Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee during a training for the first mission of the Apollo program. The Apollo program did eventually reach the moon, long after we had lost the Apollo 1 crew. Gus Grissom, who had been a part of both the Mercury and Gemini programs, was presented with this moon rock posthumously.

The integrity, and quality, of the articles of the Main Street Gazette is of the utmost importance to me, and I apologize if the original article caused any confusion.

To all who come to this happy place

It appears that some of the B.P.O.M. and our blogging brethren (Lou, George, Jeff, and Eric) have gone off to the West Coast. We hope they have a wonderful trip, but we have these words to offer to the wise…

Beware the Toontown Safe Company.

Do not get on this train. It cannot get you to Splash Mountain any faster George, I promise!

And, above all, take time to enjoy the little pleasures and the company you keep in the house that Walt built.

And speaking of Jeff, I’m sure if he were here he would mention that today is the 53rd anniversary of the day Disneyland’s (the television series) Man in Space program aired. A program which set the stage for all we would see when Tomorrowland opened, a land I’m sure he is enjoying today. Check out Jeff’s article on Man in Space from last year.

Pride is one of our national passions

World Showcase is full of galleries, most of which the average guest passes by without a second thought. These archives serve as another piece, beyond the architecture and attractions, of the ambassadorial presentation of each country in World Showcase. These exhibits are a key component to a deeper understanding of the history, culture, and customs of their home country.

Yet, inside these galleries are not just art and artifacts, but a story waiting to be heard. Like any respectable art exhibit, the galleries of World Showcase present pieces that revolve around a central theme. A period of time, when Vikings were at the pinnacle of their reach for example, a known traditional trade, such as the works of a coppersmith, or a gallery of a known artist’s works could all be found within the walls of these galleries, all with a specific story to tell.

In late September 2007, a new exhibit opened just off to the side of The American Adventure called National Treasures. For those of you that keep up with Disney’s film projects, while the naming of such a gallery would conjure up images of secret books, maps on the Declaration of Independence, and colored spectacles, the contents of this display are much more valuable, and much less fiction. Enshrined inside are pieces of our heritage and history, memories of the glorious and ghastly moments of our past. Abraham Lincoln’s unmistakable hat, portraits of Chief Joseph, Rosa Park’s Congressional Medal and arrest record, Mark Twain’s writing tools, and even a moon rock held in honor of the astronaut Gus Grissom are among the many true treasures found within these walls.

The American Adventure has been known to make adults weep, myself included, not only for the trying and terrifying times we have been through, but for giving us a sense of pride in who we are and what we have already accomplished in our short history. The National Treasures exhibit compels the same reaction. And while the other galleries of World Showcase may not present an American with the same sense of patriotic pride or awareness of our past, they do bestow such gifts upon their own countrymen and women, and present us with a chance to further our knowledge of our place in this world.

The next time you are wandering through the shops, dining on regional fare, or taking a boat or movie trip through time, remember that further answers to what makes this or that country unique are only a few steps away, in their galleries. Then, take those steps to visit some of these quiet and hidden troves.

Discover the challenges facing wild animals and wild habitats

Recently, we have been looking back at the history, heritage, and messages of Disney’s Animal Kingdom in anticipation of the park turning ten next month. Today I present to you the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund’s fact sheet.

Overview

The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund (DWCF) began a significant annual grants program in 1995 on Earth Day (April 22) for the study and protection of the world's wildlife and ecosystems. The DWCF distributed its first grants in 1996 and has since continued to provide annual awards to US nonprofit conservation organizations working alongside their peers in other countries. Many of the recipient organizations concentrate their activities on "biological hotspots" -- areas rich in plant and animal life at risk of imminent destruction. In 1998, as Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park opened, the DWCF made its first grants.

DWCF Support

¤ Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund is supported by Guests who choose to add a dollar or more to purchases at Walt Disney World Resort locations.
¤ Locations include Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Living Seas merchandise locations, many Disney Vacation Club Resorts and aboard Disney Cruise Line.
¤ Funds are supplemented by Disney’s Office of Worldwide Outreach ensuring more than $1 million annually for the program.
¤ To ensure that all of the guests donated money goes to wildlife conservation, Walt Disney Company covers all administrative costs.

Fund Distribution

¤ Since 1995, DWCF has distributed funds to 553 projects from 150 organizations in 105 different countries.
¤ Projects are accepted annually and are evaluated on specific criteria, including scientific methodologies, but also components to educate local communities and communications efforts with policy makers to share the findings.
¤ A “rapid response” account supports emergencies throughout the year, including cash assistance for animal welfare and wildlife organizations responding to natural and environmental disasters, including hurricanes, oil spills and tsunamis.
¤ DWCF awarded $1,401,000 in 2005 divided between North American, African, Asian, Latin American and marine projects.
¤ In April 2006 the DWCF celebrated a contribution milestone of $10 million since Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened.

Details of criteria and projects can be found at www.disneywildlifefund.com

Searching the universe for sounds, colors, ideas

Disney knows a thing or two about educating the masses while entertaining them, I would even go as far as to say that they are the hallmark of the edutainment industry. Yet, when it comes to their smallest audience, I am starting to see a glaring, but specific, lack of insight. Disney’s Hollywood Studios has Playhouse Disney, Beauty and the Beast, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and, soon, Toy Story Mania, enough to please any small one. The Magic Kingdom is tailored to families and children, you only have to check the queue lines in Fantasyland to buy in to this one. Animal Kingdom has Finding Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, the Boneyard, and lots of wild animals. Yet Epcot, which has always appeared as the most adult themed park at Walt Disney World, has very little to offer the very little.

In an attempt to change this, the Kidcot Fun Stops were brought to World Showcase. The Fun Stops were a great way for children to kill a little time while their parent(s) ran amuck shopping, dining, and taking in the atmosphere. The first attempts to entertain the young masses at these Fun Stops were, at best, plain and lacking appeal. Over time these generic crafts gave way to activities that were more appropriate to the home country each Fun Stop was so meticulously themed to. Italy had paper gondolas, Norway constructed cork trolls, and Japan had very thin paper swans. For the past few weeks we have been looking at the crafts from Epcot’s Kidcot Fun Stops (a trip we will continue on). And while these are fabulous activities to bring the ideas and spirit of diversity into your home or classroom, they are lacking in terms of what one would expect from the vast resources of the Disney family. The point is, children do not go on vacation to see what they experience every day. They want something new, an adventure, an escape, a broadening of their horizon.

To see edutainment for the younger set done right, you do not have to look far. A few miles down the road is Disney’s Animal Kingdom and their Kids’ Discovery Clubs. Again the settings for these pit stops are meticulously themed, but there are messages to be delivered. As a “researcher” each child is actively engaged in questioning and developing their own ideas as they interact with the Cast Members in each area. At the end of the experience the children have and idea or concept to take away with them and think about, not a craft that will most likely be damaged in a suitcase on the way home because it was buried at the bottom of the bag.

I would love to see an overhaul of the Kidcot Fun Stops. In fact, I’d love for Disney to call me and ask me for my ideas, and how to implement such a change. As for ideas, the new direction couldn’t be simpler. Take the lessons learned from the Kids’ Discovery Clubs, engage your audience, and develop individualized activities that harvest the vast history of each country, without talking down to children. What child wouldn’t want to learn a few basic moves of Karate or Tae Kwan Do (you know, just enough to take that bully of a big brother down)? Every child can learn to keep a beat with a set of maracas in a mariachi band. Let them get dirty by planting a few plants or seeds in an English Garden. Let children release their inner-artist with some sugared water-colors to paint a beautiful, and delicious, work of art in France.

Every country has a soul, a spirit that Epcot’s World Showcase attempts to capture, which it does in fine fashion for adults who already know something of the corner of the world they are visiting. Why wouldn’t Disney want to find a way to pass that spirit on to a child? A child who could one day turn that moment, that spark, into a true voyage they would never forget.

Tremendous demand on our resources

Innovation has always been a prominent feature for Disney and its brand. From the multi-plane camera, the monorail, the storytelling of Walt’s features, the 9-acre utilidors complex, and even the Experimental Prototype Community of tomorrow (Walt’s plans not EPCOT Center). But some of the most interesting, and ingenious, ideas to ever come from Disney, specifically from Walt Disney World, receive little or no publicity. The AVAC (Automated Vacuum Collection) trash-disposal system, a system which uses pneumatic tubes to direct refuse from various positions to a central collection area, the installation of the first 911 telephone system in Florida, and perhaps the most obscure, and today’s topic, the Water Hyacinth Project.

In a nutshell, the Water Hyacinth Project was a ten year research program, which began in 1978, that studied the use of water hyacinths to treat waste water and to produce useful byproducts. Sewage, in various stages of treatment, is sent into one of five quarter-acre canals (based upon their current treatment level) which are then filled with water hyacinths. The water hyacinths’ roots feed on the material in the water. When the plants had completely filled themselves, they were removed and replaced by fresh plants. On average, a ton and a half of plants were removed daily and fifty-five thousand gallons of water was treated (90 percent of material in the water was removed, in accordance with EPA standards for treatment) daily throughout the ten year program.

But what of the approximate five-thousand four-hundred and sixty tons of water hyacinths that were harvested from the treated water over the years? This plant matter was put to many productive uses. The first attempted use of the used plants was as animal feed, unfortunately, the animals did not develop a taste for the water hyacinths. For the next five years the material was used as fertilizer. In 1983, the Gas Research Institute developed a method which turned the water hyacinths into pipeline-quality methane gas. Other uses for the plant matter included paper, particleboard, and the like.

Who then, could benefit, or would show interest, in a research study such as this one? When the Water Hyacinth Project began, it had the support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was followed by NASA’s interest, in short order. As stated above, the Gas Research Institute also took on a role in the program in 1983. In the years following the ten year project, the cities of Orlando, Florida, San Diego, California, and Austin, Texas have all implemented treatment plants based off of the data compiled from Walt Disney World’s Water Hyacinth Project.

In the end, this may not be a solution most cities can look to. Disney itself cautions that, or rather focuses on how, this project is best suited for smaller metropolises that cannot afford the larger, and more commonly seen, water treatment plants. And while this may not be a practical way to condition water in our future, it is nice to know that Walt Disney World, among other companies, are always look for new, and better, solutions to old problems.

Merrily on our way

Mr. Toad has a very eclectic library of classics and contemporaries at his one-track west-coast abode. Though it is unclear how many of these books he has read, the collection is still worth taking note of. Some of the treasured pieces of his collection are (and their real world counterparts), Mother Toad (Mother Goose), Ivantoad (Ivanhoe), and, my personal favorite for obvious reasons, 20,000 Thousand Toads Under the Sea (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). Make sure you take some time to catch up on these classics, and the other timeless toad titles, in Mr. Toad’s library.

When it becomes a reality

According to sources we are not alone. To be perfectly honest, we aren’t even here any longer, at least not by the time we meet WALL•E, the Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class. That’s right, seven hundred years in WALL•E’s past, all human life left earth, making WALL•E our planet’s future. What does this mean? It means we should all become accustomed to seeing WALL•E and his friends around Walt Disney World.

A while back we talked about the animation invasion of Tomorrowland. To sum up, I am not thrilled with what Tomorrowland has become, but I am not yet ready to write off the entire land yet. I have been waiting for the right vehicle to come along to restore some since of order to the future. I didn’t think that a little robot from Pixar’s next triumph (as it is already being touted) would be the key, especially with the current disdain amongst enthusiasts about the current state of Tomorrowland, but it truly looks like the right time and place for WALL•E.

Before going any further let me say that I have no inside information that says WALL•E is going to be fixture of any kind in Tomorrowland. In fact, WALL•E would be just as much at home in Future World, perhaps a message of conservation in The Land, replacing the much employed Simba and friends. Speaking of conservation, maybe WALL•E is the future of Animal Kingdom’s cautionary tales. The point is, I have no hard facts on this topic these are just well thought out opinions.

Looking at the arguments against the existing Tomorrowland, we find two trains of thought. One, characters have no place in Tomorrowland, as Fantasyland is the home to characters and their stories. Two, the characters who are in Tomorrowland have little, if no, true connection to the future. We discussed characters being in Tomorrowland previously, so we won’t rehash that old tale. But what of the setting, the time and place of Tomorrowland?

Making your way through Tomorrowland from the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway (let’s not linger here too long, this place just feels like a shift in the space-time continuum), to Space Mountain, and finally down towards Stitch’s Great Escape and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and you find no real sense of time or place. While the architecture still speaks to the Future That Never Will Be, the overall environment does not. So we are left with a bland and general impression of the future. With WALL•E we at least have an idea of where he comes from, seven hundred years after we have abandoned planet, and that is definitely in our future. He also has a defined story, yet to be revealed, that we can draw from.

So whether it is as a free-roaming audio animatronic (in the vein of Lucky the Dinosaur), or as a walk around character (with what I’ve seen him do to trash so far, he’ll put PUSH to shame), or even, dare I say it, as an attraction tie-in, I look forward to seeing more of WALL•E. I think he may be the bridge to tomorrow that Tomorrowland is missing.

Going off road - Part II

Yesterday's discussion and map caused quite a stir, and our good friend George asked if I had any other maps I could share. Well, who am I to say no? Below are the maps for Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom's Utilidors. Disney-MGM Studios (remember these maps are a few years old) was presented yesterday.




Once completely unfolded, the Atlas reveals a map of the entire property. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried (including scanning each individual section and then trying to piece them together like a puzzle), I could not get a quality image for you to view. However, should you ever see me in Walt Disney World, chances are I will have the Atlas with me. And if you ask real nicely, I might just give you a peak!

On a side note, or side trip as the case may be, resident Walt Disney World dissectionist Foxxfur reminded us about a trip around the Magic Kingdom you could take. For those of you who haven't had a chance to check back at yesterday's comments, here's her idea for some backstage magic.

"Folks, if you want a "backstage tour" then do the following: drive through the MK toll booth past the parking lot and towards the Contemporary. Right at the Contemporary is a traffic light, go THROUGH it and ignore the sign that says "Authorized Vehicles Only" because it's unenforceable and lost guests do it every day. You'll drive right past Space Mountain. After about 1/3 of a mile you'll pass Pluto Lot on your right - this is where maintainence and third shift cast members park. Then the road will curve and you'll see the Monorail Barn on your right - all the monorails go here, as well as the MK steam trains.

You'll cross the Walt Disney World Rail Road tracks and come to a four way intersection. Look left and you'll see the back of Mickey's Toontown Fair and the Magic Kingdom security gates. Right and you'll see the storage warehouses and bus barns. Go straight and keep on driving.

After about a mile you'll pass a little right turn and you'll be able to see the back of Splash Mountain for a moment. Keep on driving straight through a S curves, past the Reedy Creek fire station, and suddenly you're at the Grand Floridian.

Guests who are lost or jogging do it every day. It's no big deal, but neat if you've never seen it."

A magical journey into the movies

My wife and I have a list of movies. It is filled with films that we really want to see. Since we typically rent, or purchase, one movie every weekend, this list is always in flux. It includes classics, Academy Award nominees and winners, and a bunch of what I have dubbed Saturday afternoon B-movies, the type of movies that require no thinking and are mindlessly violent, funny, futuristic, or a combination of these variables. Recently though, I have added a second list to our Box Office Bookshelf, a list filled with movies that are visited in the Great Movie Ride. I have currently put on hold the idea of including the movies viewed during the finale, which seems more like a lifetime pursuit.

For those of you, like myself, who cannot remember every scene off of the top of your head, or those of you who want to start your own Great Movie Ride collection, here is the rundown:

Footlight Parade
Singin' in the Rain
Mary Poppins
The Public Enemy
The Searchers
Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly)
Alien
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1930s and 1940s horror films
Tarzan the Ape Man
Casablanca
Fantasia
The Wizard of Oz

To give you some perspective on how the various studios are represented throughout the attraction, both MGM and Warner Brothers are both represented in four scenes, Disney has two scenes, and Paramount and Fox round out the roster with one scene each. Not surprisingly, Universal is represented exactly zero times. Presumably this is because they have their own film park down the street. The one scene I have yet to assign a film/studio to yet is the horror films. If anyone can pinpoint the precise movie, or movies, that are represented in the ride, please drop me a line so that I can feel my list is complete. Even if you don’t know which move this is, feel free to let me know what 1930s or 1940s horror flick you think we should check out. Just make sure it would fit in the great movie ride, in other words, the classic monsters of Universal have to stay undead.

Meanwhile back at my secret plan, mwah ha ha ha ha ha! That’s right the plan is secret! I have been adding a film here and there from my list to the main list we take with us when looking for a weekend movie, but not mentioning to my wife why I felt we absolutely needed to see them. This plan worked well for Casablanca, but she has been hesitant of films like The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and Public Enemy. My hope is to complete the list before the end of the year, reveal my brilliantly evil scheme to the heroine of my life’s picture, and then have a marathon weekend where we watch all thirteen classics in a row.

Checking in on my progress, I only have five movies left to pick up:

Footlight Parade
Singin' in the Rain
The Searchers
1930s and 1940s horror films (taking requests)
Tarzan the Ape Man

I will keep you updated as to my progress, and hopefully we won’t get hijacked by Mugsy along the way!

Going off road here for a little bit

Driving in Walt Disney World is, for all intents and purposes, a fairly simple task. As we’ve talked about before, the signs are easy to distinguish, and your paths are marked out for you. There are no side streets, maps, or wrong turns to speak of, your path is laid out before you like a red carpet to the World. But what about the Cast Members? Do they follow the same purple and red eared signs we do on their daily drive to work?

Additionally, I began questioning the use of the utilidors. Utilidors are the series of tunnel complexes used by Cast Members beneath the Magic Kingdom. These tunnels are used by the Cast Members to make their way to the appropriate land, dispose of trash, and deliver food, without the entire process taking place in front of the guests. This way, there would never be a cowboy in Tomorrowland, a sight which irked Walt in Disneyland, and one he sought solutions for. Yet, in the remainder of the Walt Disney World parks, there are no tunnel developments. Aside from the possible dilemmas this could cause in crossing thematic elements (i.e. what would a Hollywood Tower Hotel bellhop be doing near the Voyage of the Little Mermaid?), other questions began to bubble to the surface as well. In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you never see a Cast Member from Conservation Station on the Wildlife Express, so how do they get to back to the farthest reaches of the park? Occasionally when viewing a truck on an access road, I would wonder where the connecting road had been to get over to this secondary road, or had the truck simply gone off road for a little while?

The question of back roads for Cast Members has wandered around inside my brain for a number of years. My Aunt Keeni took me down a few back roads, specifically Backstage Lane, in 1997, when the then delayed Test Track was still being built and tested. Since she was not in uniform at the time, and had a couple of teenagers with her, she told the gentleman at the security booth she had made a wrong turn and needed to turn around. As we turned around, she pointed out the extended track that ran outside of the old World of Motion building. This was the first time I realized that there was a whole world behind the carefully crafted stage I had been a guest of, and I began to take more note of the areas unseen, or rather unnoticed, to the average guest. One answer to the multitude of questions I had came in the form of the Cast Atlas, a guide to all the back roads and backstage areas in Walt Disney World.

To be honest, I didn’t know such a thing existed until late last year, when my father brought it to me from some of my Aunt’s belongings. Over the years I had discerned that there was a system of roads beyond the colorful fanfare that most guests cruised through. There had been discussions on various forums about this happening or that happening off of a road out of public view, a video even surfaced showcasing the whereabouts of the Epcot wand’s remains. Then, I received the Cast Atlas, and whole new avenues opened up.

I now knew where roads were and where they went, I discovered backstage pathways that kept the show in one area from bleeding into another, and I even was able to deduce what was beneath me when I stood in Fantasyland (locker rooms and the Character Zoo for those of you wondering). I felt as if I could go anywhere and do anything, it was exhilarating! That is, until you realize just how many security booths there are on property. While most back roads had nothing but miles and miles of empty driving space, they also had very little value to guests seeking a glimpse behind the scenes. The roads guests would love to travel down are generally guarded, leaving open the sole option of tell the security guard you are lost and that you need to turn around, much in the same manner my aunt gave me the fleeting glance of Test Track.

So the guide falls short of giving guests like me, with no real need or right for clearance, little hope of being allowed to wander aimlessly backstage. This, in the end, is a relief, knowing that while we are enjoying the stories in every corner of Walt Disney World, we are relatively safe, and free to worry about whether or not to have hamburgers or chicken fingers for lunch.

So then, what becomes of such a fabulous guide in the hands of the Disney nerd? It becomes a treasure trove of little wonders. The placement of the Character Zoo in the Magic Kingdom, the clever names of roads and cast cafeterias, the various spots on property where the horticulturists practice their art, and many other little peaks into the realm beyond the witty Cast Member doors. Here are a few treats to savor and discover.

¤Walt Disney Imagineering has a building between The Magic of Disney Animation, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Rosie’s All-American Café.
¤Besides the locker rooms and Character Zoo, a hair salon named Kingdom Kutters also resides below Fantasyland.
¤Both Epcot (again off of Backstage Lane) and the Studios (behind Playhouse Disney) have a Company D. Company D is a store exclusively for Cast Members.
¤Cafeteria names include: Discovery Diner, Mouseketeeria, and Take Five Café.