Disney This Week - 24 June 2012

AJ Wolfe digs into some of the decadent desserts of the Boulangerie Patisserie for The Disney Food Blog.

Speaking of the France Pavilion, Melissa Loflin and Makin’ Memories take a closer look at the Morris Columns.

The EPCOT Center 25th Gallery is investigated further by George Taylor at Imaginerding.

Jeff Heimbuch gives a detailed history of Mickey Mouse in video games in The 626.

Imagineering Disney features photographs of one of our favorite subjects, the construction of Walt Disney World.

Sarah Holodick explores the Gurgling Suitcase for Eating WDW.

Continuing their tale of Disney at home, Adam and Andrew show that it doesn’t have to have ears to be from Walt Disney World at the Disney Hipster Blog.

Andy Jackson hangs out with Merida at Eating (and Drinking) around the World.

Zannaland and Suzannah DiMarzio have your future fashion fix with a look at upcoming Dooney & Burke releases.

The ages of Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the topic covered by Matt Hochberg on Studios Central.

Silent Saturday - Restaurantosaurus Airstream (January 2011)

From toenail to howdah

Careful observers wandering the halls of Disney’s BoardWalk will notice that the resort isn’t just a tribute to the shore hugging entertainment empires, it is a museum of the weird and wonderful that have populated the boardwalks. Included among these artifacts are a couple of items from another famous hotel, the Elephantine Colossus.

Found in BoardWalk’s lobby, a model of a stately elephant with windows and a stylish lady’s silhouette rests near a photograph featuring the fifteen story tall pachyderm inn. Known as Elephant Colossus, Colossal Elephant, or the more apropos Elephant Hotel, it was actually one of three elephant structures. The other two were known as Lucy the Elephant and The Light of Asia. The Elephant Hotel had 43 rooms, though admittedly some of them were oddly shaped or cramped in size.

The Elephant Hotel was based off of the designs of J. Mason Kirby and James V. Lafferty with construction began in 1884. While word of the novelty hotel spread far and wide, especially in a pre-Statue of Liberty era, it would become all but deserted by the mid-1890s. On the evening of September 27, 1896, the elephant took its last breath when it caught on fire and howdah and all, it burned to the ground.

While history would remember the past of Coney Island and its ilk, there are whole worlds of individuals who would never have had an inkling of the wonderful and colorful chapters that have come before. Luckily, guests who take the time to explore Disney’s BoardWalk can find the Elephant Hotel and a whole host of interesting tidbits to help them dip their toes into the ocean that is the boardwalk!

Disney Friends for Change Launches Ambassadors Program

It isn't often that I feel compelled to post a press release from Disney, it generally would have to involve something from Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund or the Walt Disney Family Museum. However, any time Disney strives to do real and good work in local communities with today's youth as the key component to the movement, I'm all in! I know that some of you may have to look past the saccharine glossed ambassadors from Disney Channel programs, but there is some substantial good that can be done through this program, and I hope it thrives going forward!

DISNEY FRIENDS FOR CHANGE LAUNCHES AMBASSADORS PROGRAM

TO INSPIRE MILLIONS OF KIDS AND FAMILIES TO

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

Disney Channel Stars Debby Ryan (“Jessie”), Bella Thorne and Zendaya (“Shake It Up”), and Ross Lynch and Laura Marano (“Austin & Ally”) Serve as Inaugural Ambassadors

$750,000 in Grants Awarded as Part of Program Launch

BURBANK, Calif., June 18, 2012 - Disney Friends for Change, a global initiative that inspires kids and families to take action and make a difference in their communities, today announced that Disney Channel stars Debby Ryan (“Jessie”), Bella Thorne and Zendaya (“Shake It Up”), and Ross Lynch and Laura Marano (“Austin & Ally”) will serve as Friends for Change Ambassadors, encouraging kids and families to make a lasting, positive change by helping people, communities, and the planet.

(Editors please note, images are available on Disneychannelmedianet.com; registration is required.)

In collaboration with select non-profit organizations, Disney Friends for Change Ambassadors will lead campaigns to engage millions of kids to take action and volunteer. Each nonprofit will receive a Disney Friends for Change grant to further the reach and impact of the themed campaign.  In total, $750,000 will be awarded to the following three efforts:

·         “Helping Communities – Volunteer,” led by Debby Ryan and in collaboration with Free The Children (from June 29  – August 16)

·         “Helping People – Be a Leader,” featuring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, and in collaboration with Free The Children (from August 17 – September 27)

·         “Helping the Planet – Green Your Scene,” championed by Ross Lynch and Laura Marano, and in collaboration with TreePeople (from September 28 – November 30)

“We are so excited about the real difference kids are making every day using our action kits and volunteering in their communities,” said Leslie Goodman, senior vice president for Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at The Walt Disney Company. “Through the leadership and encouragement of our Disney Friends for Change Ambassadors, we hope to inspire millions of more kids to take action and change their worlds.” 

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, said, “The bond our viewers have with our talent is deep and powerful.  As ambassadors of Friends for Change, our talent can serve as a megaphone for the importance of pro-active community involvement, motivating kids and their families to discover the many rewarding ways we can all make our world a better place to live.”  He continued, “I often talk to my team about extending our value as a company beyond the TV screen, and this initiative does an exemplary job of that –  and for this, I could not be prouder.”

As part of the program, Disney Channel will debut a series of interstitial messages, featuring the Disney Friends for Change Ambassadors beginning MONDAY, JUNE 18. Disney Channel, Radio Disney, and Disney.com will chronicle the Ambassadors throughout the summer as they volunteer and inspire kids of all ages to lead. Also part of the interstitial series and debuting FRIDAY, JUNE 29, Debby Ryan will share her personal experience volunteering in India through Disney Friends for Change with Free The Children, where she helped build a new school for a local village. Inspired by the stories and efforts of Disney Friends for Change kids, Debby helped to start the Ambassadors program.

To coincide with the on-air interstitials, Friends for Change will offer tools and resources at www.disney.com/friends where kids and families can discover additional ideas on how to make a difference. Site visitors are able to download action kits, learn more about the Ambassadors’ campaigns, and participate in the new Shout Out Module, an online forum that allows kids and families to motivate each other and exchange tips on actions to help their schools and neighborhoods. Families can also vote online to further support each Ambassador’s campaign and help thousands of more kids as a result.

Depending on what food is more plentiful

A while back, we turned our appetites toward the Bunny Chow served up at Jiko. Today, we’re heading back to Jiko for something for our internal carnivores, the Grilled Berkshire Pork Loin.

The menu at Jiko is known to shift regularly, based upon the freshest meats and produce that are currently available. Which means that the same version of pork reviewed here may not be available, it’s likely that there will be a comparable dish. This incarnation comes with Tanzanian “Grits,” Wilted Heirloom Mustard Greens, Tomato Preserves, and Mustard Jus.

The pork, sliced on the bias, is juicy and smoky with a flavor-filled crust that melts in your mouth and made me wish the medallions were pure crust. Honestly, if they were trim off the shell of the loin and offer it up as its own dish, I would dive in head first. To offset the sharpness of the pork and mustard jus, the tomato preserves offers a sweet and tart companion, which makes for a brilliant combination. Meanwhile, the heirloom mustard greens add a bit of bitter roughage, perfect for balancing the textual offerings of the dish. Lastly, the grits offer a strong, creamy starch component that plays well with the other components of the dish.

The Grilled Berkshire Pork Loin may not always be on the menu, but I would recommend it anytime that it is on the menu. No matter what dish you choose to partake in at Jiko, the kitchen team at the cooking place will not disappoint!

A resort community like you've never seen before

As I started today’s article, an in depth look at the once grand Villas of Lake Buena Vista, I came to a sudden realization. There is simply no way that I could compile a more thorough picture than the one already crafted in Michael Crawford’s terrific piece: Lake Buena Vista Chronicles - Selling The Magic, 1972.

As I read through this narrative, it was the imagery that accompanied the piece that really made it strike home with me just how grand a stay in the villas must have been in the 1970s. If anything, that was the area where I felt I could add something to the conversation, to further delve into what life was like in those villas. With that in mind let’s take a tour of the villas, circa 1978. Oh, and while we are on our tour, please try not to gawk at the fashion sense of the guests, they weren’t told any better!