D23 Expo Update: Iger opens up first ever Expo

http://d23.disney.go.com/articles/091009_NF_FS_D23BobIgerPres.html

The D23 Expo kicked off with a presentation by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

"The stories, characters and experiences we've created over the last 86 years are loved by millions of people like you — and me — all over the world. There are so many things that are wonderful about Disney: unforgettable music… beloved characters… thrilling theme park attractions. But the excitement that keeps us going year after year and generation after generation comes from you — the fans. It's your passion for Disney, your respect for our legacy, your fond nostalgia for our past and your anticipation of more fun in our future that make all of this work — that keeps the magic alive," said Iger.

After Iger's welcome, the Disney Company formally announced and recognized the 2009 Disney Legends.

Keep watching for more D23 Expo Updates!

Applications now accepted for 2010 Disney World Mom's Panel

If you're interested in becoming a Disney World Mom (or Dad) and joining the 2010 Disney World Mom's Panel, now's the time to submit your application.

http://disneyworldmoms.com/2010

Good luck!!!

Tip Tuesday: To AP or not to AP...

Welcome to another...

Oh, who am I kidding? It's WEDNESDAY!!! Why am I just now getting to Tip Tuesday?!?!?

Mea Culpa, my friends.

Anyway, on with the show and this week's tip...

When friends and co-workers hear that my family and I are WDW annual passholders, they often ask me, "Why?" or "Is it worth all that money?"

The answer really depends on how much you plan to visit Walt Disney World in a 12-month period.

Take my family for example. My wife and I have three children. In Disney's eyes, we are three adults and two children (under 10). We knew that we were going to WDW in January 2010 for the half-marathon and we knew we wanted to take another family trip in the spring/early summer to experience both Disney and (dare I say it!) Universal's new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As we looked at the ticket costs for those two trips alone we started thinking about the usefulness of an annual pass.

Let's look at this in a bit more depth.

In January, we were planning to get a four-day park hopper pass (per person). The cost for three adult and two child hoppers is $1,319 (at $69.25 per adult and $61 per child).

This spring/summer, we are planning at least seven days at Disney (maybe more, but we'll go with seven for now). The cost of five seven-day park hopper passes is $1,364 (at $40.86 per adult and $36.14 per child).

Adding these together, we get a total ticket cost of $2,683.

Now let's look at the cost of annual passes.

Annual passes (for this year) are $489 per adult and $432 per child. For my family, annual passes cost $2,331 -- a savings of more than $300.

As you can see, it was readily apparent that we should consider the annual pass (which we did).

But wait, there's more.

We quickly realized that we had tickets for an ENTIRE YEAR! So the question was when to start that year. Originally we weren't considering a WDW trip for the summer of 2009. With the annual pass, all of the sudden, that summer trip was possible. We had to shoulder the financial hit of the passes, but knew we were saving in the long run.

The next thing we know, we're heading down to WDW every chance we can get!

For less than the cost of our two originally planned trips, we've already taken one WDW trip and are planning three more. That's four trips for the original price of two.

But wait, there's more.

WDW annual passholders also enjoy some serious discounts. How about 10% off all purchases at the World of Disney in Downtown Disney, discounts at certain Epcot restaurants, discounts on tours, discounts on theme park tickets (for friends or family), and HUGE discounts on room-only rates at many of the Disney resorts. The room-only savings can be as much as 40% off the rack rate.

So before you head down to Walt Disney World on your next trip -- think ahead. If you might be going more than once in a calendar year or going for longer than 10 days, you might want to think about getting an annual pass. The savings could be well worth the investigation. Do the math.

For more about annual passes, see the official Disney Web site.

Report: Marvel characters not likely at WDW

Don't look for Marvel characters to show up at any of the Florida-based Disney parks anytime soon.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Financial Officer Tom Scaggs told analysts today that the company will focus on the use of Marvel characters at other theme parks instead of Walt Disney World because of the existing licensing deal between Marvel and Universal Orlando. That deal gives Universal exclusive rights, east of the Mississippi River for several Marvel characters including Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Hulk.

More on this story from The Orlando Sentinel.

D23 - previews and LIVE coverage!!!

The D23 Web site just released a few previews from the D23 Expo.

Check here!

Also, Lou Mongello of the WDW Radio Show is going to be broadcasting LIVE from the D23 Expo at times. Keep an eye on http://wdwradiolive.com/ or http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wdw-radio-your-walt-disney-world-info-station to watch Lou's live updates.

If you want to join in the chat on WDW Radio LIVE, here are a few tips:

Go to http://www.ustream.tv/

At the top of the page, beside the green "Broadcast Now" button, is a Log In / Sign Up section.

Click "Sign Up"

A screen pops up. Fill out the New Account section (Login is your username; continue through the entire form, including the verification text, and you must agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Make sure you write down your Login and Password; you will need it to sign in and chat with Lou live!)Click "Submit".

Fill out your profile information (name, gender, country, postal code) and "submit"
the next step, (Importing Contacts and Send Twitter to Followers) you may skip (click the link at the bottom of the page) You're taken to a page to start setting up your first show. At this point, you can close the window from Ustream and go back to the chat window for Lou's live broadcast. Click in the chat bar at the bottom of the chat area and a screen pops up. Type in your Login and your Password from Ustream, submit, and you should be good to go. (thanks to Sandy McGowan for these instructions!)

Disney finds new voice for Mickey Mouse

With the passing of Disney Legend Wayne Allwine earlier this year, Disney conducted a search to find the new voice for the most central character in the Disney genre - Mickey Mouse.

That search apparently is over. Bret Iwan has been named the new voice for the head cheese, according to a recording house in Kansas City. Iwan has done some previous recordings used at the Disney Cruise Line.

The master of Hidden Mickeys releases 4th edition

Steve Barrett’s day job as an Orlando-area emergency room physician is deadly serious. But on his days off, he heads to Walt Disney World Resort on a merry mission: to track down, authenticate, and document those elusive creatures known as “Hidden Mickeys.” He’s even written a book on the topic.

In the latest (4th) edition of his Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide To Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets (Intrepid Traveler, $12.95), he has added some 100 previously unknown Mickeys for a grand total of nearly 900.

Barrett’s interest in writing a Hidden Mickeys guide was piqued when he noticed groups of Mickey hunters carrying loose sheaves of printed lists, passed from fan to fan, arguing over whether a particular Hidden Mickey was actually there or not, and wishing aloud that they had a book to make the whole task easier.
Hidden Mickeys filled the void. Based on his own obsessive searching and tips supplied by a growing number of fans, each Mickey is personally verified by Barrett, who then tests his observations against those of friends and family members. To add to the fun, Barrett has arranged the book as a series of six scavenger hunts, complete with clues, hints, and points to be scored.

In the Walt Disney World theme parks, it’s not unusual these days to see families and groups of friends, Barrett’s book in hand, fanning out to compete in spotting the most Hidden Mickeys. Many of them spot new Hidden Mickeys, which they report to Barrett, who meticulously records and verifies their sightings, separating the merely “wishful thinking” from the genuine article. The new edition of his book, in true scholarly fashion, acknowledges more than 900 fellow hunters for their contributions to the effort.

“Hidden Mickey mania is contagious,” says Barrett. “Searching for them has escalated into a bona fide vacation mission for many Walt Disney World fans, and even beginners have happened upon a new, unreported Mickey or two.”

Hidden Mickeys is available in the Walt Disney World theme parks and at bookstores everywhere. Barrett maintains a site where visitors can report sightings of new or suspected Hidden Mickeys. The address is http://www.hiddenmickeysguide.com/.

Disney Magic rescues overboard passenger from another ship

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/20700998/detail.html
According to Orlando's Local 6, a 34 year old man fell overboard from the Carnival Sensation and treaded water for over an hour before being rescued by the Disney Wonder at around 12:30 a.m. this morning. This happened about 28 nautical miles off the coast of Port St. Lucie.

How the man fell overboard is not known. It is believed he fell off the stern of the ship.

"This gentleman is very lucky he was found alive and well in a reasonable amount of time. We're just very pleased that this story has a happy ending," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen told Local 6.

Click here for video.

Tip Tuesday: KidCot

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

I can't tell you how many times I hear from people with younger children saying that "Epcot isn't for kids," or "there's nothing at Epcot for kids to do." I've even heard this from people in my own family.

Sigh. How wrong they are.

Epcot (full disclosure -- it's my favorite park) has so much for kids that I'll bet kids can't get to it all in one day!

From the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure (my own three kids absolutely LOVE this!), to the different character meet-and-greet opportunities to attractions aimed at younger guests (think Nemo and Figment), kids will have a fantastic time at Epcot.

One activity at Epcot that has been very popular with kids (and doesn't cost anything) are the KidCot stations located all around FutureWorld and World Showcase.

What is a KidCot station? Well, I'll just talk about the World Showcase KidCots (the FutureWorld ones have a different theme). A KidCot station is a place where kids can work on crafts related to each host country. Every country in World Showcase has a KidCot station.

Here's how it works:

Pick a country, any country, to begin your KidCot adventure. At the first country (for most it's either Mexico or Canada), younger guests will get a blank, white paper mask on a stick (very similar to those old Italian Venetian masks, which you can get in Italy -- but I digress). Kids then can decorate their mask any way they wish. At the KidCot station in each country, a cast member will stamp the mask with a symbol representing that country and attach a paper die-cut image that represents that country to the top of the mask.

As kids move from country to county, more stamps and paper symbols are added to the mask until the final country. If younger guests manage to visit all 11 KidCot stations, they usually get an additional bit of recognition -- sometimes it's a certificate, sometimes it's a special Epcot mini-poster.

Part of the charm of the KidCot program is that it requires kids to explore the different pavilions in order to find the KidCot station. At each station cast members native to the host country talk with kids about their respective homelands. This makes KidCot a great way for kids to become exposed to people of different lands and learn about different cultures, which is the whole reason for World Showcase to begin with.

Quick tip for parents: The KidCot stations are (at least as of this post) sponsored by Sharpie, which means kids will be using Sharpie permanent markers to decorate their masks. It might be a good idea to put younger kids into a shirt that can withstand a bit of mess or one that can be sacrificed, because there is a good chance clothes might get a bit messed up.

2009 Disney Legends announced

The D23 Web site today announced the 2009 Disney Legends, and some very big names will earn Legend status this year:

• Robin Williams, who has played in several Disney movies, most notably as the Genie in Alladin and Professor Brainard in Flubber, also was the Timekeeper in Tomorrowland, along with other roles in park attractions.


• Golden Girls stars Estelle Getty, Rue McClannahan, Beatrice Arthur and Betty White. (posthumous for Getty, and Arthur).


• Tony Anselmo, current voice of Donald Duck and a Disney animator.


• Bill Farmer, current voice of Goofy and Pluto.


• Don Iwerks, son of Ub Iwerks, who created revolutionary film systems for projects like Mary Poppins, Circlevision 360 and Star Tours.


• Leota Toombs Thomas, who was the model for Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion. (posthumous)


• Harry Archinal, former president of Buena Vista International.

Each honoree receives a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients also participate in a hand-print ceremony, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company's Burbank headquarters.

The first Disney Legend was actor Fred MacMurray, named in 1987. Since then Disney has named 237 Legends. For a complete list of all Disney Legends, visit the Disney Legends Web site at http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/index.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post indicated the Legend award was posthumous for Rue McClannahan. This was an error. My sincere apologies to Mrs. McClannahan for the error.