Greetings all! Welcome to the all new Worldwide: The Walt Disney World Newsletter. This is the premiere of the newly designed Worldwide, and boy is it great! I've taken out most of the old sections of Worldwide, and replaced them with all new pieces of great Disney information. I think everyone out there should enjoy the new changes, and just to be sure everyone understands the new sections, I've included, in this issue only, a brief description of each section at the beginning of each one. In other news, Worldwide now has its own section on the Walt Disney World bulletin board (Keyword:Disney). So, if you ever have the need to say something about Worldwide, you can just post it up in the folder. Well, that just about covers all of this month's big news. Now, read on and experience what you've all been waiting for (for the last 2 minutes anyway), The all new Worldwide!
~Attraction Review~
I suppose you all know what this section is. It's the famous Attraction of the Month section from previous issues of Worldwide. The only difference here is that I've included a section of hints & tips for the attraction at the end of the review. Enjoy!
In honor of the upcoming Halloween holiday, I've decided to review one of the all time greatest haunted houses around. Of course, I'm talking about the Haunted Mansion. From the moment you enter through the decrepit old gate in front of the ominous looking house, an eerie air seems to fill the air. This mansion isn't really all that spooky though, in fact it's quite amusing. From the corny tombstones out front, to the comical paintings in the now famous stretching room, the Haunted Mansion has come to be known as one of the all time best from Disney. Who can forget the immense ballroom with the dancing ghosts, or the spooky attic with the blue bride in the corner, and who can forget that annoying raven that seems to appear every other second throughout the ride :). For me, it seems that a trip to the Magic Kingdom is not complete without a quick tour of the Haunted Mansion. Perhaps it is the amusing audio-animatronics throughout, or maybe the amazing special effects, or perhaps it is just because it has that Disney touch. It doesn't matter which it is really, for as long as ghosts shriek, and doombuggies continually crawl onward, the Haunted Mansion will always be...a scream.
The Haunted Mansion's Trick's & Treats
------------------------------------------
*The best times to tour the mansion are in the first hour or two of the park's opening, around 12:00noon or 1:00pm (when other visitors are eating lunch), and often after sunset
*The line for this ride is often long, but don't be fooled, it moves very quickly
*Did you know that the ghosts in the ballroom are not made with holograms?
*The voice of Madame Leota (the lady in the crystal ball) is the same as the wicked stepmother in Cinderella and Malifocent from Sleeping Beauty
*How about that stretching room Huh? Did you know that in Disneyland in California the room actually does descend, but at Disney World in Florida, the ceiling rises upward.
*Does that singing head sound firmiliar to you? Well, the main singing head in the graveyard (the one that's broken in half) also does the voice of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes commercials.
*Finally, how many ghosts do you think are in that house? Well, according to Disney legend, there are approximately....nope, I'm not going to tell you. Read this month's trivia question to find out.
~What's New?~
This section is pretty basic, I've listed some of the up and coming projects coming soon to Walt Disney World. Now, this section will include gossip as well as fact. So, if something listed here doesn't show up, I'm sorry.
Alrighty, it's time for this month's "What's New?" section. Here's a few little tid bits for you to think about for a while (till next month anyway).
* The Race Track at Walt Disney World is coming along on schedule, and overnight packages are already being sold for the races. I currently don't have much info on the track at the moment, but I plan to have a lot more on it next month
*Here's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Horizons will be opening again in January of 1996, but the bad news is that the World of Motion will be shutting down at the same time to make room for an even bigger, more elaborate attraction. Sounds interesting.
*Coming in November: An all new parade at the Disney MGM Studios featuring the stars of the soon to be released Disney film Toy Story, it promises to be a very entertaining show.
That's about all I got for this month, but watch this section next month for a lot more information. I'm going to be heading over to WDW myself and I should be able to get a lot of info from the cast members there, let's hope so.
~Hint of the Month~
This is definitely the shortest section of the new Worldwide. It will contain one or two small hints that are meant to make your next trip to Disney World a little better.
OK now, this month's hint is good for people who really enjoy the theme parks (like myself :).
Short & simple, the hint is that on days when the parks open an hour early for Disney Resort guests, they really open an hour and a half early. This extra half hour isn't advertised by Disney, so it is extremely uncrowded most of the time. I know most of you probably don't want to get up and go over to the parks at 7:30am, but just being able to walk through the Magic Kingdom with about 2 other people in view makes it all worth it. Also, If you want a REALLY nice time in the morning, try going in early December when all of the decorations are up and the weather is cool, it is the best!
~Secrets of Walt Disney World~
This is a section devoted to little known facts and stories about Walt Disney World. Basically these are just fun little things to think about and look for when at Walt Disney World.
*The next time you're on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (formerly the Wed Way People Mover) listen to the bulletin being announced when you near the Carousel of Progress. It's paging Mr. Tom Morrow, now wasn't he the scientist from Mission to Mars? You bet he was. Ha ha, Mission to Mars, it's the attraction that wouldn't die.
*Did you know that there's an apartment in Cinderella's Castle? It's true, originally it was planned to be the home of Walt Disney and his family. Sadly though, it is currently being used for storage. Any buyers out there? :)
~Special Section~
This area is wide open to change. I would like it if you, the reader, could contribute a small article to be placed in this section. Perhaps it could be a trip report, a story about a memorable time at Walt Disney World, or maybe something else altogether. Don't worry, you will receive full credit for your work. So come on, now's your chance to be a writer, and what better subject to write about than Disney!
~Trivia Contest~
This is pretty self explanatory. I'll ask a question each month, and if you know the answer E-mail it to me, Disnymania. You won't get a new car or a trip to a fabulous vacation spot (hint hint), but you will get your name posted in the next issue of Worldwide. So what have you got to lose? Send in your answer today.
Last month's question was: <<On Main Street USA there are windows above many of the buildings with the names of people who helped build the park on them, even Walt Disney has his own window. The question is, where is Walt Disney's window located?>>
And the answer is...above the Main Street Ice Cream Shop.
That one was a bit difficult, I only had two people who answered correctly, and those people were...
NASANUT & Drenchy (the lost dwarf)
Now, on to <October's Question>
Alright, I've decided to give you all a real easy one this month, so you better be able to get this one. According to Disney legend, how many ghosts live in the Haunted Mansion. Remember, E-mail your answer to me at Disnymania
~Next Month~
This is, very simply, the end.
Well, we've come to the end of the first issue of the redesigned Worldwide. I really hope you enjoyed reading it, anyway now that it's over let's proceed to the next issue. Next month I plan to review one of the MGM Studio's older (but still great) attractions, Star Tours. Also, I plan on having a lot of info available in the What's New section for all you curious readers out there, and of course there's be more trivia, secrets, hints, and hopefully, an article written by one of you. So be on the look out next month for issue 6 of Worldwide: The Walt Disney World Newsletter.
