Cinderella Castle Suite

I'm sure many of you have heard of the Cinderella Castle Suite within Cinderella Castle, but for those who haven't, I decided to do a post on it.

The Cinderella Castle Suite was originally built into the castle with the intention of providing an apartment for the Disney family, however in 2007, it was transformed from an apartment into a palatial suite for guests. It is decorated with a 17th century style, but of course, with 21st century technology.

The suite was built for WDW's "Year of a Million Dreams" as a prize for guests. Here's how it worked:

Each morning a magical time and place were randomly selected from anywhere on Walt Disney World property to find the winner of one night in the suite. For example, it could be the 24th person to enter the line of "Splash Mountain," or the person who sat in seat 25 of the "Laugh Factory." A Disney Dream Squad of cast members were advised of the location and were there to identify and inform the guest of their prize.

If they chose to accept, (and who wouldn't?!?) than the winner and up to five guests would head back to their hotel to pack an overnight bag and re-enter as royalty. They would then have a photo session on Main Street, U.S.A in Magic Kingdom where they were officially proclaimed royalty for the day and led down the street to their suite. When they arrived, the Royal Concierge would check them in and give them a formal tour, which included the magical history of the suite.

After they had time to explore their royal chambers, the family was given the title of Grand Marshals for the "Disney Dreams Come True" parade. The family later had a feast at Cinderella's Royal Table and meet-and-greet with Cinderella. The meal ended with a VIP viewing of the "SpectroMagic" parade and the "Wishes" fireworks spectacular.

If that wasn't enough, for up to two hours after the scheduled close of the park, the family had access to the Magic Kingdom with a VIP Guest Relations cast member. During this time they could do anything they wanted around the park, including special tours. After the two hours of magic, they returned to their suite for the night (which was stalked during that time with royal sweets and drinks). They were awakened in the morning by a personal wake-up call from Cinderella, and then they checked out of the suite and left it to be readied for the next royal family.

HOW FUN? The most magical thing about the Cinderella Castle Suite is that it is not able to be rented, no matter how much money a person has, it is only offered through special prizes or events. Now that the "Year of a Million Dreams" is over, there are still many contests and promotions throughout the year that offer the suite as a prize, but it never has and will never be able to be auctioned or bought. Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain said that they will continue to evaluate all options for the suite adding, "It's all about the 'right fit.' Not unlike a certain glass slipper."

If the pictures weren't enough, here is a video tour!

Update on Magic Kingdom Renovations

About a week ago I blogged about the renovations being done in the Toontown section of MK. The new Fantasyland will include a few new rides and attractions and will double its size and will open in phases in 2012, with full completion coming in 2013. The imagineers are very excited about the expansion. They said, "We're thrilled about the expansion because it'll allow us to tell our treasured stories in new ways and give you the opportunity to interact with some of our beloved characters like never before."

Here's a few updates that give us more information on what is going in there:

The new attractions will include:

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will feature a train of ride vehicles that swing back and forth as they whisk along track. The journey will naturally feature songs from the movies as well as the animated characters of Snow White and her dwarf friends. This will surely be a good addition - Disney could use a few more coasters, and a part of me wonders if they are trying to make up for getting rid of Snow White's Scary Adventures. Here are some pictures of the ride:

Storybook Circus (including Dumbo and The Great Goofini)

The same Dumbo ride we know and love will become part of a section of the new Fantasyland known as Storybook Circus. Within the circus will also be the Barnstormer and Toontown Fair train station. The Barnstormer will now contain The Great Goofini roller coaster! Inside the circus will be a Big Top tent with (of course) be interactive games for kids "of all ages."

Fairytale Hall


In place of the current Snow White's Scary Adventures will be Princess Fairytale Hall which will be home to Aurora, Cinderella and other Disney princesses, including Tiana and Rapunzel. It'll be a place where we can go to meet the characters.

Belle

I am most excited for this portion! Disney is building Belle's village which will include Gaston's Tavern, a new restaurant, and Bonjour! Village Gifts. Also in town will be Belle's cottage where Belle, Lumiere and park guests will be able to interact with the characters as they retell the "tale as old as time." Across a stone bridge from Belle's village will be the Beast's castle which will be home to Be Our Guest Restaurant (which will seat up to 550 guests!)

The Beast's castle is already in the works! Using forced perspective the imagineers are able to create a castle that looks far bigger than it actually is (so don't worry, it won't overshadow Cinderella Castle!) Forced perspective is an artistic technique which creates a sort of optical illusion, tricking your eye to, in this case, believe the castle is much larger.

Above shows the forced perspective, see the man?

Here is a picture of the plans, and what is being executed! SO interesting!

Little Mermaid


We're still not done! The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Adventure mimics Disney's more classic rides, with updated technology. The same ride is currently being built in Disney California Adventure theme park so all my pictures come from there.

These are models of the chairs guests will ride in on our journey. They remind me of the Haunted Mansion ghost-mo-biles!

Here's a fun video on the animatronics:

It seems like it is going to be a wonderful addition! I can't wait to be there as the phases open. From what I read the Belle section will be opening first, so we'll probably be there for it's opening! SO exciting. I can't wait. That's all for now! Enjoy!

Flower Show!

Beginning March 2, and continuing through May 15, is Disney's annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. During this time the fabulous groundskeepers and florists that work for Disney set up beautiful displays of Disney characters! The event has over 75 Disney character topiaries among over 100 topiaries arranged throughout Epcot.

A fun video from Disney:

Here are a few photos of the finished products:

The Disney website says that this is the first time the festival will include Disney Pixar character topiaries! This, of course, includes Buzz, Woody, even Lotso from Toy Story and Lightning McQueen from Cars!

However, there is more than just flowers (because it's Disney) and they also have Bambi's Butterfly House where you can walk in and see beautiful butterflies also enjoying the flowers.

That must be so fun, especially for children! For moms (and maybe some dads) there are presentation by HGTV designers, who were responsible for some of the designs. The flower show itself is actually brought to Epcot by HGTV.

These are the things that I am especially excited to take advantage of while I'm there. I will be able to see all the festivals and special events (such as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!) that we are not normally there for. Victoria and I really want to make sure we take advantage of the things we wouldn't be able to do as guests (unless we were FL residents, or had a lot more money than we probably ever will). I'll be posting about more special events in the future!

If Your Actions Inspire Others to Dream More...

This is such a beautiful story that sums up what I believe Walt truly wanted the employees of the Disney corporation to be like, and I couldn't help but share.

In this excerpt imagineer Eddie Sotto, who was the designer for Main Street in Disneyland Paris, as well as the Indiana Jones Adventure ride and Adventureland re-vamp in Disneyland, among others, shares a wonderful story of how "dreams really do come true."

"When I was a young boy I fancied myself as a 'Disneytologist,' dreaming of one day becoming an Imagineer. It was January 1971, our family was vacationing in Florida and through a friend of the family we were introduced to Don Edgren, the project director of Walt Disney World. Although he didn't know us and was over-his-head busy, Don graciously gave us a VIP tour of what was taking shape.

I still remember gazing at the raw steel and white fibergass facades of Main Street through the rear window of his dusty Chevy Impala. We saw the whole park the way Walt saw it, in a state of becoming. To experience that at age twelve was extraordinary, never to be repeated.

Fast-forward to March of 1986 and my first week at WDI as an Imagineer. Everyone was piling out early to attend the retirement of a Disney Legend. I decided to tag along and see if I could meet this guy. When I got there a man took the stage that looked familiar. It was Don Edgren! They asked if anyone had any stories about Don. To his shock, a much older twelve-year-old stepped up to the mic. It was a short tory of inspiration and a man who didn't have time, but gave enough to inspire a young mind with a ride down Main Street, only to find that twenty years later that same kid would get hired as the show producer/designer for the next Main Street in Paris!

We had a great reunion, and years later, on that French construction site, I remember many happy times walking alone after the crews had gone, strolling through the steel framing of Main Street waiting for that familiar feeling to come over me. I was twelve again."

I have to admit, when I first read this my eyes welled up with tears. Mainly because of all the things I have read about Walt, and what he wanted his company to be. This is an example, of what I took Walt's dreams to mean.

It's incredible to me that one man's high standards for all of his employees remain true today. As I've blogged about before, the employment process is VERY difficult, and once you are hired, the "Disney Look" requires their employees to look a certain way (for women, almost no makeup, natural hair color, and for men no facial hair, and a short, well-maintained haircut - those are just a few.) All these elements help to make Disney stand apart as a very different type of theme park, it is so much more than that, still.

An element of training I am particularly excited about is Traditions, which I will blog more about at a later date, but for the purpose of this entry I will say that it is a course all employees must complete where we learn all of the history of the theme parks, and about Walt himself.  From a business perspective, he is a genius.

Here is a picture of Sotto around age 12 with a aerial view of, I believe, Disneyland, next to him.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

When Nate and I went to Disney over this past winter break to visit my friend Joe (who is "good friends" with Goofy, Tigger, and Woody :) ), we learned that Disney is re-working and adding on to the Toontown area in Magic Kingdom.

When I was younger, a very exciting part of Toontown was seeing Minnie and Mickey's houses. I loved going into Minnie's kitchen and looking around, and hearing the radio in Mickey's living room; it was so fun for me.

Sadly, we learned that Disney is changing this, and from what I've read and been told, Mickey and Minnie's houses may be disappearing indefinitely. I've also heard mixed responses as to what will be replacing the Mickey's Toontown Fair section of Toontown, but my best source is Joe and he says that he knows part of it will be some form of the princess' houses. My guess is it will include the houses of the five main princesses in MK: Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel. However, in place of Ariel (since she already has her grotto in MK, perhaps Tiana? or Rapunzel? - both have been met with huge support from the Disney audience so I would consider both as potentials).

Here are what some news sites are saying:

"As many of you know, we’re in the midst of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland. In order to make way for this transformation, it’s important to let you know Mickey’s Toontown Fair will close in early February.


Fantasyland construction will be completed in phases with most new experiences open by 2013. This expansion is particularly exciting because it will enable us to share treasured stories with you in a whole new way. We’ll share more with you here as our work progresses."

(from Disney's website)

Another website shows posters that are up in MK of "Storybook Circus", the new section they are building in place of "Mickey's Toontown Fair", however it doesn't say exactly what will be included. It does give us some ideas on features and rides:

"In 2012, as part of the New Fantasyland expansion, Mickey’s Toontown Fair will become Storybook Circus, featuring the highly-anticipated double Dumbo and a revamped roller coaster. Little is known about what else will be featured in Storybook Circus, though new preview posters hint at what we can expect...

While it has been announced that Storybook Circus will include "The Great Goofini" roller coaster as a makeover to Goofy’s Barnstormer, Pete’s Silly Sideshow and Big Top Souvenirs are new and may or may not actually appear inside Storybook Circus when it opens in 2012. But it is possible (and likely) we’ll see these posters adorning construction walls when they’re erected by the park’s opening Saturday morning."


(from Inside the Magic)

Of course we never know exactly what they're up to because it's Disney, however, I will be able to update while I'm there!

I feel as though I am teasing you to add some fun facts from The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World on Toontown since it will not be possible to check them out, however there were a few cute things I thought I'd mention:

At Goofy's Wiseacre Farm:
"The glass lamp inside the barn is a subtle joke, based on the industrial lighting term jelly-jar lamp. Here at wiseacre, they take the term literally."

At Minnie's Country House:
"Head into the kitchen next for a few surprises. If you look in the oven, you see the cake she is baking, and it's definitely falling. Luckily, she has a backup for tonight's treat. Hear the popcorn popping in the background? If not, press the button."

More to come! Here is a picture of Nate, Joe's "friend" Goofy, and I from winter break:

As you can tell, we were VERY excited to see Goofy, almost as excited as he was to see us!

A Waiting Game

As graduation approaches I'm feeling increasingly more sentimental towards my time at Gordon. I find myself actually going to Lane and Jenks (those who know me know that I have avoided both buildings since freshman year), and trying to take in my last few weeks (!!) here at Gordon. Just when I started to wish I was continuing to be a student, I read my Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World and those desires almost immediately faded.

It's becoming more of a reality that Victoria and I will be living in Florida in the fall. I found a gym called Anytime Fitness (which is open 24 hours! - hence the name) that has Zumba, Pilates, and Yoga classes. For those who don't know, I am taking my PE class this quad (yes, I waited until 4th quad of senior year), and I chose Zumba. It is SO wonderful. I absolutely love it. If you want to get some exercise AND have fun, you need to take a Zumba class. I honestly don't even feel like I'm working out, and it feels good to be dancing again. Zumba is a Latin dance inspired aerobics class that focuses on total body fitness, and man does it target every muscle in your body! I was sore in places I didn't even know you could be! They advertise Zumba as a "dance party", which I thought was corny, but it's true! I literally feel like I'm a part of a fun Latin/Caribbean party dancing with the islanders. Needless to say, I am VERY excited that I found a gym within miles of my Disney apartment where Victoria and I can take classes (when we're not getting exercise from walking around Epcot's World Showcase of course!).

The whole point of this entry was to update you on a few more Disney facts I learned from my book. I'm still in the Magic Kingdom section (it's 63 pages, and I'm taking my time) so here are some facts I thought were especially interesting (and I of course am including pictures - for those who haven't been, and Stevie):

On Tom Sawyer Island:

"As you explore, you may come across a paintbrush carelessly left by Tom as he rushed off to the swimmin' hole. If you turn the paintbrush in to an Island Cast Member, you'll be rewarded with a Fast Pass for a Frontierland attraction. You need to arrive first thing in the morning for the best chance at finding the brush."

How fun? I am especially excited to share this information with some younger cousins who will be going to Disney in the fall! (Although there are a few "big kids" who might enjoy finding Tom's paintbrush as well... :) )


On Tom Sawyer Island is a section called Fort Langhorne. Anyone know off the top of their head who this is named after? I'll give you a hint: his full (and real) name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. You've probably guessed correctly that it is Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer!

If you ever go to Disney and pay a visit to Tom Sawyer Island, my dad and I learned that right around midday when the weather becomes very hot and you're ready for a nice break to cool down, there is a wonderful ferry ride around the island, that is breezy and refreshing. The entrance, I believe, is actually in Liberty Square (which borders Frontierland), and it is called the Liberty Bell Riverboat. Perfect in the afternoon when the sun is high!

As you travel from Liberty Square to Frontierland, you are symbolically traveling, just as some Americans did, from the thirteen colonies on the east coast across the frontier to California. In the book it says:

"Having reached the West Coast and the train station at the terminus of the transcontinental railroad, you can't miss the two mountain ranges reaching skyward...head up the stairs to the train station itself, then stop and listen. You will hear Morse code emanating from the telegraph office, transmitting Walt Disney's opening day speech at Disneyland in California."

I love learning these little things, I think it really makes you appreciate the parks that much more. It also helps gain even a slight understanding of the work that went into the imageneering of the parks.

All this reading about Magic Kingdom is really making me want to work in that particular park. It's possible that I will work in multiple parks, and it is also possible that I will want to work at whichever park I'm reading about on a particular day. But for now, Magic Kingdom sounds wonderful.

That's all for now! I'll post soon with some more fun facts about Walt Disney World. Since it is the section I read today, here is a picture of my dad and I at the foot of Splash Mountain my sophomore year of college.

"I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination." - Walt Disney