========================================================================= /^\ | | IDEALS, |-| DREAMS, /^\ | | AND _/^\_ /^\ / [_] \+-+ _/^\_ HARD |___| |---||-------| | |___| FACTS | |\\ |/^\_| [_] |_/^\_ //| | | | \\|___||_______||___|// | | The on-line | | \| |===========| |/ | | DISNEY |_|\ | | /^\ | | /|_| Newsletter \ | | | | | | / \|_|___| |___|_|/ VOL I, NUMBER 5 (March, 1996) ========================================================================= "To all who come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past ... and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. "Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts which have created America ... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world!" -Walter Elias Disney July 17, 1955 ========================================================================= Publisher Paradise Information Services Editor Chris Harrower Contributing Editors Rich & Carol Koster Richard Pearlstein Ed Sterrett Contributors Hal Ellis Russ Dyreng You! Graphics Don Bertino ========================================================================= See last page for copyrights, submissions, and additional information. ========================================================================= CONTENTS: 1> FROM THE DESK OF... {Editorial} 2> BEHIND THE EARS (Sort of) {Rich & Carol Koster} 3> VACATION SMARTS (PART FIVE) {Ed Sterrett} 4> MICKEYMANIA GRAND MARSHALL {Hal Ellis} 5> A TRIP TO DISNEYLAND {Russ Dyreng} 6> WDW NEWS AND UPDATES {WDW P/P} ========================================================================= FROM THE DESK OF... Editorial - Chris Harrower Yep, we're back again. Your favorite semi-yearly Disney publication is back, continuing where we left off last October. I was going to write a scathing editorial, full of hot air about my favorite anti-hero, Jeffrey Katzenberg. But his first attempt for ABC hasn't done so well, and nothing important has come from Dreamwerks yet on the Motion Picture front, so I'll save all the Sparky jokes for another time. Instead, I want to thank a couple of people, and apologize to you all for our absence for the last few months. Last fall, after many months off due to the death of my mother, ID&HF returned, and nobody seemed to care. I made some suggestions, waited for articles, and nothing came in. I had a few things in storage from the prior issue, and one piece from r.a.d, but nothing new came in. So I figured that ID&HF was a dead issue, and let it drop. I spent my time developing our websites [shameless plug time:http://www.welcome.com / padutch.welcome.com / gettysburg.welcome.com / hhc.welcome.com / readingberks.welcome.com (coming soon) / www.worshipcenter.org (coming soon)], and let my Disney interests fall by the wayside. But people did care, and did miss what we're trying to do. Out of the blue, I received a letter from two old friends...one a contributing editor to this publication, and the other one of the people who handles posting ID&HF to a major online service. They used one of those new Phonebook CD-ROMS to try to find me, and wrote just to say that they, and many along with them, missed ID&HF. I would like to dedicate this issue to Laura Sterling, "Laura237" of America Online, one of their travel hosts, who went out of her way, working with our own Rich Pearlstein, to locate me, slap me around a few times, and remind me that I have a job to do. I promise to stop wollowing in self pity, which will never change the past, and will begin to crank this rag out on a regular basis again. I already have an article from Rich for next issue (I forgot I already had stuff for this issue!), and will start working on that one as soon as I finish this one. And I'm working on other ideas...which I'll delve into when they come a little closer to reality. But enough of this...there are people who have waited far too long to share their thoughts with you, so on with the show! ========================================================================= Behind The Ears - Rich Koster [EDITORS NOTE: No column from Rich and Carol this time around, but I guess we will be understanding. For those who have been visiting another planet, or have been somehow out of touch, Mr. and Mrs. Mouse have a little Mouselet! On January 2, 1996, at 6:42am, Michael Colby Koster was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. I'll spare you the "proud papa" facts and figures, and simply say that, at last report, Mama and Baby were doing very well. On behalf of everyone here at "ID&HF CENTRAL" (all 6 of us, counting our most recent addition), we wish the Kosters all the very best, and may God richly bless the entire family. ========================================================================= Vacation Smarts, Part 5 - Ed Sterrett Out and about.. Unless you're the adventurous type, you've probably planned your vacation pretty well. Where to go, what to see and do, and when to do it. To get the most enjoyment out of your trip, remain flexible. You're supposed to relax on a vacation, not subject yourself to more of the rigid Day-Planner scheduling you waited so long to get away from. Every hotel or motel has a display rack in the lobby with all sorts of brochures, pamphlets and assorted goodies, designed to attract you to the location described. Many of these attractions are those which you may never see in the average guidebook. Take a few back to your room to browse through after you've tired of the fire drills and safe moving. In the same display, you may also find 'magazines' geared for tourists. You will find these to be chock full of discount coupons and special offers. You will also find maps guaranteed to get you lost if you use them to find anything other than the business or attraction they were designed to get you to. You should obtain a 'regular' map of any area you intend to drive around in. For those visiting Orlando, the map should depict all of Orange county and north Osceola county (Kissimmee). These maps can be found in drug stores, tourist information centers, and just about anywhere else you'd expect to find them back home. If you rent a car, you may be provided with a small map, but in most cases it is too small to read easily and very limited in scope. Staying out of trouble.. It doesn't matter where you are, or where you visit- everyone has something that someone else wants. The best weapon available to safeguard yourself and your family against crime is also the easiest to carry and use. No license or permit is required to own, use, or otherwise display this weapon. This wonder weapon is (usually) inexpensive, and can be used successfully by young and old alike. Some training is preferred, but not required. Amaze your friends! Be the envy of all you survey! Use common sense! It's sad, but true. The things that most people wouldn't dream of doing back home are the first things they do on vacation. "Getting away from it all" all too often includes safety awareness. Before you depart for your dream vacation, take a few moments to note your environment. As a matter of routine, do you normally carry such items as guidebooks, attraction brochures and a motel/hotel parking permit on your dashboard? How about luggage in the back seat? If you don't do it at home, don't do it on vacation. Those that seek a living from feeding off of unwary travelers look for such things. Vacationers tend to carry large sums of money, as well as electronic toys such as video cameras, notebook computers and the like. This makes them more tempting targets than the "average local". The idea here, obviously, is to make yourself as indistinguishable as possible from the "average local". Get rid of those "tell-tales" and you've gone a long way in that direction. Another point worth mentioning that dovetails nicely with that subject. Video cameras, luggage, notebook computers, large sums of cash and the like do not belong in your car unless you are transporting them from point A to point B. Trunks are designed to hold spare tires, jacks and to serve the occasional need to convey small cargoes. They were never intended to serve as safe deposit boxes. Contrary to "conventional wisdom", a crook needs only to have access to the passenger compartment of a vehicle to gain entry into the trunk. Many vehicles make it as easy as opening the glove box and pressing a button. Placing valuables in your trunk serves to place them out of sight, but offers no more protection than is provided by a typical glass window. If your vehicle has "TOURIST" written all over it, the smart crook will not pass up a look in the trunk (especially since everyone believes it to be an excellent storage space for valuables). [NOTE: One more segment of this series to go, but Ed asked me to pass along that the entire series is archived at his website. The URL for it is , and the site comes highly recommended for any Disney fan! ========================================================================= MickeyMania Grand Marshall!! - Hal Ellis [EDITORS NOTE: Hal posted this a while ago to the rec.arts.disney newsgroup, and I asked him for permission to share it here with those who don't read that group. He graciously agreed, and I want to thank him, and hope he will contribute more in the future!] When my wife, Jan, and I planned our vacation to WDW for late July, we knew it was going to be a unique experience. This trip was to include ten family members ranging from Jan's parents (ages 70 and 68) to our two grandsons (ages 4 and 1). Our first park day was to be Saturday, July 29th, and was to visit the Magic Kingdom using Early Entry as we were staying at the Polynesian Resort. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 7:15 a.m. to be near the front of the line in order to get the grandsons into Fantasyland before Dumbo and other rides had long lines. We found ourselves to be the third family in line at one of only two entry centers that were staffed at that time. Jan and I had watched the "Walt Disney World, Inside/Out" on the Disney Channel which covered a family being selected as Grand Marshals. We knew that there was a man who selected the family and that our chances were somewhere between slim and none that we would locate him and that he would choose us! This possibility was not high in my thoughts as we stood in line. I noticed that a Disney Employee had gone to another entry center to our left and looked like she was going to open it. As soon as she indicated that this center was going to be open, I quickly moved our group to be first in line at her center. While we were standing there waiting for the park to open, Jan asked the lady how they selected Grand Marshals. The lady stated that Disney looked for families that seemed interesting and selected them by 8:30 a.m. Jan went on to tell her about our group of ten, our home furnished in over 5,000 Disney items, our group picture that is to be published in the autumn issue of The Disney Magazine, and how much we love Disney. I asked her how many people they could handle and she said "about ten". A little later she asked me where we thought we would be at 8:30. This gave me the first sign that we had a chance! At 7:30, the gates opened and we entered the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we passed through the gates, the lady asked if we would like to be the Grand Marshals that day! She was the person assigned to select the family! We were very excited as she asked for all our names and told us to meet her in front of City Hall at 2:15 p.m. We were standing in line for The Legend of The Lion King at 9:00 when we heard the announcement in the park about the 3:00 MickeyMania Parade and when our names were announced as the Grand Marshals. It was very exciting to hear this and to spend the rest of the morning in anticipation for what the afternoon would bring. At noon, we returned to the Polynesian to rest and freshen up for the parade. At 2:00 we returned to the Magic Kingdom and at 2:15, the lady that had picked us named "Cindy" was there to meet us with a bag of unknown items in her hand. Cindy gave the two grandsons each a small toy and told us to follow her to the Train Station to ride back to Frontierland where the parade was to originate. She took us directly to the train, bypassing the lines, and we rode to Frontierland. She asked us to move to a position marked by a yellow cloth on the curb which was right outside where the parade began. After a few minutes, Cindy joined us there and began handing out Mickey Ears with our first names inscribed on the back of them. She took photos and videos for us as we waited and then boarded the small vehicle that resembled a fire truck that was to take us in the parade. It was very exciting to see the Disney Marching Band pass by us as we waited and then to see the first parade "float" with Donald, Pluto, and Roger Rabbit pull right behind us. This is the float which has the ramps that the skaters and skateboarders use for tricks. Several of the skaters came over to our vehicle to speak to us and to enjoy our one year old grandson. Then came time for us to move down the parade route. The driver explained that the route was broken into seven zones, each with a spotter. When an element of the parade reached a zone, the spotter radioed a control center to play the sound track associated with that element of the parade. As we reached each of the seven zones, we heard the announcement of our names as the Honorary Grand Marshals. Cindy used my video camera to document the entire parade for us. As we move down the parade route, it was an unusual feeling to see thousands of people lining the route, waving, and taking pictures and videos of us. We had spent many times lining that same parade route seeing some other family in the same position we were in. It was special to see the joy on the faces of our older family members and our young grandsons as they participated in this once in a lifetime experience. At the end of the route, we left the vehicle for our special viewing location just in front of the "Fire Station" where the parade ended. As the parade passed by, all the characters on the floats would wave to us, and those on the ground would come over to us for pictures with our grandsons. It was the most special way to view the parade and we were treated special too. Overall, Cindy and everyone from Disney that we encountered were the nicest people. Cindy indicated that in about a month we would receive certificates commemorating that day. We can't wait to get them. The photographs and videos Cindy took for us will allow us to relive the feelings of that special day for years to come. I wish that each of you could experience this honor. Good Luck. It seems to be a matter of being in the right place, at the right time, and don't be afraid to let the Disney employees know how interested you are. Who knows, you might be telling the "right" person! ========================================================================= A Trip To Disneyland - Russ Dyreng It's 4:30 a.m. on what to many is a typical Saturday morning in Northern Utah. I awaken slowly to the sound of my alarm clock. 'Who gets up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning'? I wonder to myself. 'After all, it's not a workday.' Laura, my wife is still asleep beside me. 'No need to nudge her just yet,' I figure, 'she'll wake up soon enough.' I sit on the edge of the bed for just a moment, as if gathering the strength to begin a new day. Just as I am about to stand, the door to my bedroom opens and in step two sweet young girls with wide-open eyes and big smiles on their faces. 'Hi Dad!' they say with unbridled enthusiasm. 'Aren't you and Mom up yet'... We're all dressed and ready to go.' 'Go'... Go where'' I ask in a seemingly innocent tone. 'To Disneyland! You didn't forget did you'' they reply with a bit of concern in their voices. 'Don't worry sweethearts, Mom and I still remember that this is the morning we leave for Disneyland. Go gather up your things and give us a few minutes to get up and get dressed. ' 'All my things are already in the van,' is the quick reply of eight year old Heather. 'I put them in there last night...all but my blanket and stuffed Donald Duck, and I've got them right here.' 'Me too,' chimes in ten year old Meggan. 'I've got Daisy with me, everything else is ready. You and Mom need to get up and get going.' 'Okay girls, we're getting up,' says Laura in a still-groggy voice. 'You girls need to give your mother and I a few minutes to get out of bed and get dressed. Go wait in the living room for a few minutes.' 'Okay Dad.' The tone of their voices has an almost musical quality. As they leave the room I notice that they do not walk as much as prance in eager anticipation of the day's events. It seems as if their feet rarely touch the ground. While getting dressed, my wife and I can hear the sounds of excited chit-chat going on in the room next door. After a few minutes, Meggan reminds me, 'You said that you wanted us to leave by 5:00 a.m. Dad.' 'I know I did dear. And we're still going to make it. Just give Mom and me a few more minutes.' A few seconds later I hear, 'Daaaaad'''' 'What is it Heather'' 'How long does it take us to get to Disneyland'' 'Including rest stops, it's about 13 hours Heather, just like I told you yesterday.' '...and the day before and the day before and the day...' Meggan quickly adds. Heather continues to quiz me. 'Well, then, how many rest stops will we be making.' 'We'll probably make five rest stops, each about two hours apart...just like last time,' I tell her. 'OOOOHH! I'm just so excited, I can hardly keep it in any longer!' Meggan tells me as her entire body begins to quiver and shake. 'ME TOO!' says Heather as she continues to bounce up and down indefatigably. Both girls appear as if they are ready to burst with the pent-up enthusiasm they are each carrying within themselves. Finally the moment arrives. 'Mom,' I say, 'I'll get Erik out of his crib. Why don't you go get the camera and the diaper bag and take these girls downstairs and get in the van.' 'YES! YES! YES!' whisper the girls as loudly as they dare to, without waking their slumbering brother. As I go in to Erik's room, I see a sweet young boy, all of 18 months, lying in his crib, sleeping undisturbed. I reach down and pick him up. He takes a deep breath and squirms a bit as he gets comfortable again on his Daddy's shoulder. It is now almost 5:15 a.m. and Erik is completely unaware of the upcoming events that have caused excitement to stir within his sisters. I carry him down the stairs and into the garage. He continues to sleep. I place him in his car seat. As I put the straps around him, his eyes open momentarily and he fusses a bit. Heather, in a soft, re-assuring voice, tells him, 'Don't cry Erik, we're going to Disneyland.' Erik makes himself comfortable and quickly dozes off again. I quietly close the van's sliding door and take my seat as well. Almost silently we pull out of the garage into the coolness of a late summer's morning. It is still dark, but a few of the sun's rays are just now beginning to peek out over the tops of the mountains. We drive past the homes of friends and neighbors. All are still dark. 'How could they sleep'' we wonder. 'After all this is the most exciting day of the year, isn't it'' Soon we leave our neighborhood, and turn onto the highway. This normally noisy road, so often congested with cars and smog has somehow transformed itself. It now reveals its new identity to us. Gone for now are the traffic and the noise. The highway is now quiet, peaceful and inviting. It propels us quickly and happily along its now-open stretches of road, as if saying 'Godspeed and have a good time.' We continue to move swiftly and silently down the highway. I look back from time to time to see what the kids are doing. Erik is still asleep, still oblivious to our big plans. Meggan and Heather are awake, but very tired. They rest their heads against their pillows and are beginning to doze. I see smiles of contentment on their faces as they contemplate arriving at the gates to the Happiest Place on Earth, later this evening. To me, this is what being a dad is all about; doing things that make your children happy, and in return, their happiness making you feel even happier. As her eyes begin to close, Meggan notices me keeping watch over her in the rear-view mirror. She smiles, and in her happiest, cuddliest voice says, 'Thanks Dad.' 'You're welcome sweetheart. Pleasant dreams.' ========================================================================= WDW News And Updates - Courtesy of the WDW Press/Publicity Department The Polynesian Luau, which takes place twice nightly at Disney's Polynesian Resort, recently introduced a new menu that includes fresh fruit and bread, flame-broiled chicken and stir-fried vegetables. Dessert and beverages also are included. The meal is served picnic style. Prices are $31 per person for adults, $24 for ages 12-20 and $16 for children ages 3-11. @@@@@ The Disney Vacation Club Resort at Walt Disney World Resort has been renamed Disney's Old Key West Resort. The name change distinguishes it from the growing Disney Vacation Club ownership interests including Disney's Vero Beach Resort and Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. For information or reservations, call 407/827-7200 or a travel agent. @@@@@ Disney's Toy Story Restaurant & Arcade is open and serving pizza, pasta salad and other goodies at Disney-MGM Studios. Guests can play video games, indulge in photo ops in front of murals depicting scenes from "Toy Story" and sip cafe au lait. Also celebrating "Toy Story" is the daily "Toy Story Parade". Bo Peep and her sheep have recently joined the parade, participating along with the Green Army Men, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and many more in this parade of playthings, featuring musical numbers from the film. @@@@@ New at Innoventions at EPCOT, Disney guests can try their hand at painting a picture without messy cleanup, morphing their image with images of others, and exploring the ocean with the touch of a fingertip in IBM's "Thinkplace" exhibit at Innoventions. Also included in this test of IBM's newest computer and software applications is KidRiffs, a musical CD-ROM which guests can use to create their own music. At the FamilyPC exhibit, families of all ages can send live messages and on-line photographs to neighboring booths or map their way home via on-line information from Walt Disney World. @@@@@ May the luck of the Irish be with you during the celebration of St. Patrick's Day at Pleasure Island on March 17. Featuring authentic Irish music, an invasion of Leprechauns and four leaf clovers, festive food, specialty drinks, and prizes. @@@@@ Joan Lunden and Regis Philbin are back for a visit with the Easter Bunny on April 7 as they again host the "Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade" from the Magic Kingdom for broadcast on ABC-TV. Mickey Mouse, Roger Rabbit and many other popular Disney characters will appear. @@@@@ EPCOT Gardens will be ablaze with color for the third annual EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, which attracts garden enthusiasts from around the world. The festival will include more than 30 million blossoms in flower beds around World Showcase and Future World, a topiary display of Disney characters, gardening demonstrations, guided tours, guest speakers and world-class horticultural displays. @@@@@ As Summer, 1996 rolls in, guests can expect to see a new show at the Disney-MGM Studios based on Disney's animated film to be released this June, "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame." Through Gypsy theatrics, the theme-park audience will travel from the Bell Tower of the cathedral to the streets of Paris for the Festival of Foods and experience Quasimodo's feelings for Esmerelda and his struggle with oppression by evil Frollo. In July, Disney's new BoardWalk village begins a three-month preview season prior to its grand opening October 1. The new vacation center is actually three resorts in one: Disney's BoardWalk Inn (378 rooms), Disney's BoardWalk Villas (532 one- and two-bedroom suites) and an exciting waterfront entertainment area, including ESPN SportsBar, Atlantic Dance Hall, dueling piano bar, restaurants, shops and lounges. Recapturing the charm of a 1920's coastal arts village, BoardWalk is located on Crescent Lake in the EPCOT Resort area. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ideals, Dreams And Hard Facts" is published bi-monthly [I PROMISE!] by and for a loose conglomeration of Disney enthusiasts spread across the length and breadth of CyberSpace, and is distributed electronically throughout the same. It is a compilation of individual articles and columns contributed by their authors. The contribution of articles and columns to this publication does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed are those of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, Paradise Information Services, or any facet of the Walt Disney Company. Authors retain copyright on individual works, otherwise "Ideals, Dreams And Hard Facts" is copyright 1996 by Paradise Information Services. All rights reserved. Duplication/distribution for noncommercial purposes _only_ permitted. For use in any other means, including distribution on CD-ROM, contact Paradise Information Services at one of the addresses below. Copies of "Ideals, Dreams, and Hard Facts" are available from a wide variety of sources. To be placed on the Internet mailing list, send a request to silver@welcome.com (NOTE: not an automatic processor!) with the subject line reading SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST (in all caps). Copies are also posted to rec.arts.disney, FidoNet's DISNEY conference, RIME's DISNEY conference, Portal's DISNEY Conference, America Online's Travel Forum library, Delphi's Theme Park Forum (#384), and many other places. (If you are assisting in the distribution of "ID&HF", please send a message to one of the addresses below so that we can let people know!) Back issues are also available by mail sent to the above address with the subject line of BACKISSUE REQUEST and the body of the message listing the back issues desired. This is not a listserver, so it may take a day or so, but it'll get to you! Back issues will be made available via anonymous ftp soon. Printed copies may be obtained by sending a SASE to the USMail address below. Your submissions are welcome, as are letters to the editor for publication! Submissions and letters may be sent by the following methods: InterNet Mail silver@welcome.com US Mail Paradise Information Services P. O. Box 233 Ronks, PA 17572 Submission deadline for the next edition is March 25, 1996 (as we try to get back on track)! Paradise Information Services is an independent entity, with absolutely no connections to The Walt Disney Company, or any of its subsidiaries. The Walt Disney Company is acknowledged as holder of trademarks and copyrights on many of the names, products, services, and attractions identified in this publication. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~