Banks Lee attended the “What’s New, What’s Next for Walt Disney World” press conference on Wednesday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and has plenty of photos from the event to share:
The ESPN globe is in place
Read More about Banks Lee’s 2/10/10 “What’s New, What’s Next” Photo Report
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2010) – The “Main Street Electrical Parade” lights up the streets of Magic Kingdom and headlines a season of after-dark excitement coming to Walt Disney World Resort.
“After the sun goes down, our Walt Disney World parks will light up the night with ‘Summer Nightastic!’, ” announced Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World Resort, at a media event Wednesday.
Disney magic will shine and shimmer in a whole new light. Here’s a look around:
From the Disney Parks Blog:
Big news today…we’re thrilled to announce that one of the most beloved attractions in Disney history, the Main Street Electrical Parade, is returning to Magic Kingdom Park this summer – and it’ll be better than ever. The classic parade will feature new LED lights and new audio technology when it begins its limited engagement at Walt Disney World in early June 2010.
Tinker Bell will lead the parade waving from the basket of a magical balloon aboard a new float. The parade’s return is part of Summer Nightastic! — an amazing lineup of new and enhanced entertainment planned this summer at Walt Disney World theme parks. For example, there will be new lighting effects and a new addition to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Also, Magic Kingdom will treat guests to a special summer fireworks spectacular.
There’s plenty more planned and we’ll have more details in upcoming weeks but we wanted to tell you what we knew first on The Disney Parks Blog. Check back here for more.
A update on the ongoing dispute between Disney hotel workers and management…
The workers union finally agreed to meditate as reported by the OC Register.
The Disney hotel union agreed to meet with a federal mediator shortly before members began a hunger strike Tuesday night to draw support to their side of a two-year contract dispute.
Outside Disney hotels, about 100 union members and backers marched in the rain, held a candlelight vigil under a tent and prayed as they supported 10 people who plan to consume only water for a week. Protesters, many wearing rain ponchos, presented flowers and candles in front of a picture of a Disney hotel worker who had a fatal heart attack on the job.
About an hour before the protest, Disney received a letter from the union, Unite Here Local 11, saying members would go along with mediation. Disney had sent a letter requesting the joint session Jan. 29. Union officials have said they doubt a resolution will be reached.
“Actions like this are not productive,” said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, about the hunger-strike event. “We think a more productive path to resolve this issue is through mediation.”
The union got support Tuesday from a prominent labor-movement figure: Dolores Huerta, who co-founded United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez. Huerta attended the event and pledged to fast at home for as long as she could.
“Hopefully, this fast will reach their hearts,” Huerta told the crowd about Disney.
Fasters decided to spend the night at the union’s offices, instead of in tents in front of the Grand Californian Hotel, because of the weather.
Brown said Disney planned to offer them a hotel ballroom if they had ended up camping in the rain.
Police determined that tents on public sidewalks are legal, as long as pedestrians can pass.
About 2,150 hotel workers have been working without a contract for two years. The main contention is over health-care costs: The union wants to keep its own health plan, which requires no employee contributions. Disney prefers that the members join the company program that deducts money from employees’ paychecks.
Mouseplanet reported on the Hunger-Strike and has several photos of the strike…
Update on the strike and meditation…
Disney and the hotel union are trying to set a mediation date as early as next week while members continue a hunger strike over a two-year contract dispute.
Ten members of the union, Unite Here, began a hunger strike Tuesday night. One participant, Eddie Carrington, had to drop out of the hunger strike on Wednesday night because his blood pressure was too high, said Leigh Shelton, a union spokeswoman. Carrington works in the laundry department at the Disneyland Hotel and recently hurt his shoulders on the job.
The strikers have set up tents outside the Grand Californian Hotel where they are staying during the week-long fast in which they are only consuming water. Some participants are blogging about their experiences on the union’s Web site HERE.
Disney reached out to the union Jan. 29 to request that the parties meet with a federal mediator, saying the company’s proposal from June still stands. Union members have agreed to meet with a mediator, but asked Disney to improve its offer, Shelton said.
Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, said Disney officials are ready to meet with union negotiators as soon as possible to begin discussions.
Unite Here Local 11 is holding daily events during the hunger strike, including a rally Thursday night that U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, attended, Shelton said.
At 3 p.m. Saturday, guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine is set to perform on Magic Way near the Disneyland Hotel. See a full schedule HERE.
In response to an overwhelming response from our followers, we are providing a number of ways to keep in touch with live updates from tonight’s announcements from the “What’s New, What’s Next for Walt Disney World” press conference from 5:30 PM through 6:45 PM ET. You can either follow the updates on Twitter by following us @wdwnt, by the special live interactive chat on WDWNTunes, or by refreshing this post that will be updated with information as it is provided. The updates will begin below shortly, we hope you enjoy our live coverage.
6:42 PM ET – Fireworks show at Magic Kingdom will be never seen before, not Magic, Music, and Mayhem.
6:29 PM ET – Summer Nightastic will also include extended hours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom seven days a week, Main Street Electrical Parade will be the version of the parade that performed at Disney’s California Adventure in 2009
6:20 PM ET – Presentation ended, more details coming from post conference events, so stay tuned
6:10 PM ET – Tower of Terror additions may be temporary for Summer Nightastic or permanent, not sure
6:07 PM ET – Wide World of Sports talk – http://twitpic.com/12h4e8
6:06 PM ET – Disney Cruise Line stuff, not our bag 😉
6:00 PM ET – Parks Blog has info already on June 2010 MSEP return: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/02/main-street-electrical-parade-returns-to-walt-disney-world-resort-this-summer/
5:59 PM ET – Now on to Fantasyland Forest: http://twitpic.com/12h2tq
5:58 PM ET – Electrical Parade will have new floats that debuted at Disneyland in 2009 for WDW 2010 return
5:57 PM ET – Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios to get new drop sequences and effects, Magic Music and Mayhem fireworks coming to Magic Kingdom
5:56 PM ET – MSEP officially returns for Summer Nightastic: http://twitpic.com/12h25z
5:55 PM ET – Main Street Electrical Parade to return to Magic Kingdom
5:54 PM ET – Talking about recent changes
5:50 PM ET – Talking about Give a Day, Get a Disney Day
5:48 PM ET – Crofton Begins Presentation: http://twitpic.com/12h0kz
5:46 PM ET – Still waiting: http://twitpic.com/12gznv
5:37 PM ET – Another look at the stage: http://twitpic.com/12gy1i
5:35 PM ET -Meg Crofton and Al Weiss have arrived and taken a seat.
5:26 PM ET – Banks Lee has a front row seat: http://twitpic.com/12gvnp, http://twitpic.com/12gvmx
5:04 PM ET – Matt Paul intimidated by Channel 6’s equipment 🙂
4:54 PM ET – Another pic from inside the grill: http://twitpic.com/12goob
4:50 PM ET – Blurry picture of new ESPN Grill at Wide World of Sports: http://twitpic.com/12gocx
4:45 PM ET – WDWNT is checked in: http://twitpic.com/12gndc
4:40 PM ET – The event is being held at the new ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, which will be dedicated as such later this month: http://twitpic.com/12ghsy, http://twitpic.com/12gigp
An enhanced podcast is a podcast with added features that standard podcasts do not have. Enhanced podcasts include advancements such as Chapter listings, this allows you to skip through segments or see all of the contents of this show. Enhanced podcasts also contain images allowing you to differ the chapters by or actually see a picture of what the podcaster is talking about. Enhanced podcasts have only one negative feature, you can not play them on most basic mp3 players. The file format for an Enhanced Podcast file is .m4a, which can play on an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune. If you need or would like a standard show, download the normal edition listed below this file. We hope you enjoy this WDWNT Network Enhanced podcast.
Join me, Sean Dickey, and a cast including Brian Martsolf, Jamie Nakagiri, Stephen Katherman, and Homan Hashemzadeh for a variety show dedicated to the Disneyland Resort and its many fans. Plenty of Disneyland information and fun awaits you on this edition of the Disneyland News Today Podcast!!!
On this week’s show, we’ll have the return of the weekly Disneyland Resort News & Rumor Report, a Special Valentine’s Day Segment, the return of Dining-land featuring the Blue Bayou, This Week in Disneyland History, The Events Calendar, and a special edition of Town Square Talk.
If you would like to contact us with any questions, suggestions, comments, or concerns you can email us at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail message at (206)-666-2982.
Discuss this show, see our show notes, and vote for the segments you want to hear every week by going over to the WDWNT Network Community Forums at www.wdwnewstoday.com/forums.
Please visit the official “WDWNT: The Weekend” website and sign up for the WDWNT: The Weekend event newsletter at WDWNTtheWeekend.com. Be sure to visit often as event details are updated quite regularly.
Be sure to visit the entire WDWNT Network of Disney inspired websites and podcasts by visiting WDWNT.com, where “Anything is Possible!”
Enhanced Podcast [76:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Join me, Sean Dickey, and a cast including Brian Martsolf, Jamie Nakagiri, Stephen Katherman, and Homan Hashemzadeh for a variety show dedicated to the Disneyland Resort and its many fans. Plenty of Disneyland information and fun awaits you on this edition of the Disneyland News Today Podcast!!!
On this week’s show, we’ll have the return of the weekly Disneyland Resort News & Rumor Report, a Special Valentine’s Day Segment, the return of Dining-land featuring the Blue Bayou, This Week in Disneyland History, The Events Calendar, and a special edition of Town Square Talk.
If you would like to contact us with any questions, suggestions, comments, or concerns you can email us at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail message at (206)-666-2982.
Discuss this show, see our show notes, and vote for the segments you want to hear every week by going over to the WDWNT Network Community Forums at www.wdwnewstoday.com/forums.
Please visit the official “WDWNT: The Weekend” website and sign up for the WDWNT: The Weekend event newsletter at WDWNTtheWeekend.com. Be sure to visit often as event details are updated quite regularly.
Be sure to visit the entire WDWNT Network of Disney inspired websites and podcasts by visiting WDWNT.com, where “Anything is Possible!”
Standard Podcast [76:39m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download
World of Color is getting closer and closer, and we can only expect a huge test and adjust period for a show of this scale. Here are two very beautiful videos of World of Color testing showing the magnificent water screens, fountains, and lighting features that will be sure to dazzle audiences.
The OC Register reported on the earnings report that Disney released earlier today…
Attendance at Disneyland Resort parks jumped about 15 percent in winter months compared to the same period the previous year — the second quarter in a row that Anaheim venues experienced the same increase.
The Walt Disney Co. today released its earnings for the first quarter of 2010, which runs from Oct. 4 to Jan. 2.
Top Disney officials credited the attendance hike partly to the big-drawing New Years holiday, which fell in the second quarter of the previous year. The week between Christmas and New Years Day is traditionally among the busiest of the year at the Disneyland Resort.
But late summer and early fall months also had a big jump in attendance with a 15 percent hike in the last quarter of the 2009 fiscal year.
Without the shift of the New Years dates, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure’s attendance would have jumped about 15 percent and Florida parks would have seen a 1 percent drop in attendance, said Jay Rasulo, chief financial officer for the Walt Disney Co., during a conference call with investors.
Overall, domestic park attendance went up 9 percent in the first quarter.
Fewer visitors, however, stayed at Disneyland Resort’s three hotels: Grand Californian, Paradise Pier and Disneyland hotels. There, occupancy was about 78 percent — 7 percent lower than the prior year, Rasulo said. Disneyland Resort hotel guests also spent less money.
So far since January, hotel bookings are down 10 percent compared to the previous year, Rasulo said.
Last year, Disney parks ramped up discounts, offering free nights, dining and gift cards with hotel packages as a way to bring in more tourists during the economic downturn. Southern California residents also could get multi-day passes at reduced rates. But Disney officials are starting to reduce the discounts and are unsure when they will stop offering such promotions.
“We look at every quarter as we can, gauge the response to the consumer and act accordingly,” Rasulo said.
Worldwide, revenues stayed flat for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, taking in about $2.7 billion. Profits dropped about 2 percent to $375 million, mostly because of decreased attendance and hotel stays at Disneyland Paris.
Last month, Disney released its annual report, which gives more specific figures for the Disneyland Resort. Here are some of the key numbers from fiscal year 2009:
- Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure’s attendance jumped 7 percent. Overall, domestic parks’ attendance was up about 2 percent, the same as the year before.
- Disneyland Resort visitors spent 9 percent less than they did the previous year.
- Occupancy and spending also were down at the three local hotels. About 80 percent of the rooms were filled on average, compared to 88 percent the year before.
Hotel visitors per room spent about $315 on average — $24 less than the prior year.
You can find the official report from Disney Here
Update: Disney attendance jumped 20%, not 15% as reported above
I took a trip to Disneyland on a very busy Superbowl Sunday and took many newsworthy photos so lets get started…
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor’s front facade is behind walls
