Tag Archives: forums

A letter to Walt

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Dear Walt,

I decided to sit down and write you a letter as 2011 draws to a close. I wanted to let you know how Disney magic has filled my life this year, and how some very magical people have continued to keep your dream alive.

I’m not sure how you would feel about the world if you were still with us today but I think you would be amazed at how technology brings us closer together on a daily basis no matter where we happen to live. The internet and its ability to connect us all via podcasts, websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter has become a big part of my daily life this past 12 months, so much so that I took that first tentative step and launched my blog in July 2011.

I think that my magical year actually started for me in December 2010. I had just returned home after two amazing weeks at Walt Disney World. During my visit Mark and I had recorded a podcast with Lou Mongello from WDW Radio at the UK Pavilion in Epcot. By the way Walt, I think you’d really like Lou, he reminds me of you. First and foremost he is a family man and he works tirelessly to achieve his dream, keeping the magic alive for so many others. Lou believes that anything is possible if you try hard enough, and just like you he is an inspiration to us all.

Anyway back to that podcast. Lou released it as show no.202 for the week of December 26, 2010. It was so strange to hear our voices on the podcast but it reminded me of such a great day and I hoped that others would enjoy our discussions. And because of that show 2011 started with making many new friends via the WDW Radio forums and Facebook. It was a lovely way to start what would turn out to be a magical year.

I’ve met (either in person or virtually) so many great people this year because of Disney. And Walt I know you’d be pleased to hear that Disney fans are such a kind, warm, generous group of people. I’ve met people who moved to Florida to be closer to the magic, I’ve met people who are lucky enough to work as Imagineers keeping your dream alive and I’ve met people who share my passion whether they live ten minutes or 4000 miles from WDW.

As I mentioned earlier, this year saw me set up my own blog. I didn’t even know if I could write blog posts, let alone write things that others would want to read, but I knew that I had lots to say about you and your vision and that was enough to give me the courage to try. And at the end of 2011 I can say that not only have I managed to keep my blog going but I’ve also been a guest blogger for the WDW Radio website as well. And yet again I’ve met more wonderful people because of my writing.

One of the greatest things to happen this year was the UK meet in London for fans of WDW Radio. Some of us aren’t able to get over to the parks as often as we’d like so what better way to share the magic than to meet up and talk Disney! I arranged for Lou to join the meet via Skype and the group also toured Europe’s flagship Disney Store.

There were several park happenings this year too. Sadly Mickey’s Toontown closed but it’s making way for the Fantasyland expansion. Mickey moved into his new meet and greet area on Main Street and Star Tours had a technology update that continues to attract hundreds of guests every day. More attractions now have the interactive queues, plus there is a new resort being built for 2012. Magic Kingdom celebrated its 40th birthday and although I couldn’t be there in person I was able to join the party via the on-line WDW Radio 40 hour show.

Oh, and I also got my first Disney tattoo ;)

So that’s just a little bit of how my 2011 was filled with Disney magic, without even being at Walt Disney World. 2012 promises to be even better with my trip planned for October and so many exciting changes coming to WDW during the year.

Thank you for leaving us your legacy and allowing us even as adults to daydream of magical places and moments. I can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for my Disney friends and me :)

Your friend, Emma xx

It’s the Disney countdown!

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** Update – Unfortunately the Disney Vacation Connection ceased to operate from February 2012…I think Disney has other things planned for us when it comes to counting down to our vacations! **

 

Us planners love a good countdown. Whether it’s on our desktop, on our forum signature, or just a good old paper calendar on our wall at work, we love seeing how many days we have left until our next WDW trip.

So many websites offer desktop countdowns but the one that I like most is the official Disney version. Not only does it feel safe (no threat of any nasties crawling into your computer) but it has lots of options in addition to the actual countdown.

It can be downloaded via www.disneyvacationconnection.com and then displayed on your desktop screen or the system tray at the bottom right of your screen.

The actual image shown on your desktop is a suitcase. It can be opened for additional Disney information or left closed to display your own personal countdown. Once opened there are various tabs across the top that show ‘Home’, ‘My Destination’, ‘Events Calendar’, ‘Trip Tools’, ‘Help’, and ‘My Settings’.

‘Home’ shows Disney information, sweepstakes (unfortunately for US residents only), and various Disney videos (to make you feel the magic!).

‘My Destination’ gives you pre-arrival tips, a checklist for Disney things to do before your trip (like booking dining reservations and pre-ordering your Disney Photopass cd), and magical messages. All of these items have a link to the main Disney website for more information. The other section under My Destination is Fun Polls and Quizzes. Here there will be a daily Disney related question which if you answer right you will score points. These points can be exchanged for downloadables, skins, wallpapers and printables. I used 1000 points to change my default ‘suitcase’ design to a Disney Princess version :)

In ‘Events Calendar’ you can get Events and Park Hours for various destinations and dates (as and when they are published by Disney).

‘Trip Tools’ is very similar to the ‘Home’ tab; you’ll see some tips, links, and interesting videos.

Now the most important tab is ’My Settings’. Here you can add the date and details of your next vacation, and additional info about your favourite Disney destination, DVC etc. If you add a US Zip code it will give you the weather forecast for that place in addition to your destination; for UK visitors I suggest just using the zip code of your hotel / resort. Once you’ve completed those details the countdown to your next trip will show on your desktop every time you start up your computer.

Now you’re ready to ensure all your friends and family know EXACTLY how many days you’ve got to wait until you get back to WDW!

Oh, and don’t forget to click on the ‘Magic’ button on the left hand side. Obviously I’m not going to spoil it for you….but it’s amazing how far away from WDW that pixie dust will work ;)

What time is the 3 o’clock parade?

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Been on the Keys To The Kingdom tour? Chatted to a cast member about working with WDW guests? How many times have they been asked “what time is the 3 o’clock parade”? Well this post is about people who genuinely need to know the answer!

I love being a Disney fan in the 21st century. I can connect to fellow Disney geeks from all over the world through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites, forums, live broadcasts etc etc. I love the fact that my closest friends live in various states across America. And because of technology we can be at WDW any time of the day, no matter where we live.

I really enjoy taking part in live broadcasts from the parks. I remember watching Lou Mongello do his first live broadcast from within WDW; it was from Magic Kingdom on a very cold January day. I couldn’t believe that I was sitting in my living room, in front of my laptop, watching and interacting with people that were in Magic Kingdom right at that moment; it was brilliant!!

But…there’s a problem with live broadcasts…and it’s time zones!! I now know that different states in America are in different time zones and that makes it very interesting for us here in the UK. Every time a new event or broadcast is announced I hop on over to a useful website http://www.timeanddate.com/. It gives me current times, future times, a meeting planner, and anything else I need to know about setting the UK time for a broadcast.

I now also have their World Clock app on my phone; which allows me to set up my favourite places and instantly see the current time, relevant time zone, and whether they observe Daylight Saving. It’s worth noting that different places put their clocks forward and backward at different times…so we’re not always 5 hours ahead of Orlando…but the app lets me know that.

And so, now I know the time differences and I can plan my diary accordingly. Sometimes it’s frustrating that we’re 5 hours ahead of our friends at WDW but sometimes it can make for magical experiences. Like the time that I set my alarm for 1.45am. I sat up in bed, in the dark, and reached for my laptop. Not wishing to wake anyone else in the house I plugged in my headphones. I logged into Beci Mahnken’s live stream account just before 2am and waited, in the dark, in silence. And then it happened. The screen came to life, and there in front of me was IllumiNations, taking place in Epcot at that very moment. It was a surreal and magical moment for me…and perhaps makes me a little strange, but aren’t we all?!! When I saw Beci in December I retold that story and she also thought it was magical; she couldn’t believe that someone had set their alarm to wake up in the middle of the night just to watch something she was broadcasting from the parks.

So because of us all wanting to take part in the magic of Disney as often as we can perhaps we should change that original question to “what time is the 3 o’clock parade in the UK?” ;)