Disneyzone News - Feb 2002 Issue - TEXT VERSION This is the text-only version of the DZ News. This version will not include any photographs, special charts, calendars, or graphs. Please note that Disneyzone is not affiliated with Disney in any way. We are a group of Disney World enthusiasts who want to assist you in making the most of your next Disney World vacation Newsletter and content Copyright © 2000, 2001 & 2002 Disneyzone - Please do not alter or copy any or all of this material, or use it on a website, or printed media without prior written permission, from Disneyzone or from the individual article's author.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interesting Facts By Tony I have compiled a list of interesting facts that I would like to share. Dedication Plaque says: WALT DISNEY WORLD is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney . . . and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place . . . a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together. Size of the parks: Entire property is 47 square miles, 30,000 acres! Most is not developed! Magic Kingdom is 107 acres Epcot is 300 acres Disney MGM is only 54 acres Animal Kingdom is a whopping 600 acres Disney Weddings Disney's Wedding Pavilion was designed to provide the bride with a view of the Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle while she is standing at the altar. Popping the Question Disney offers nine different Engagement event packages. They all include an exclusive private romantic setting, Cinderella glass slipper, a bouquet of red roses, sparkling cider or champagne and chocolate truffles. Great idea. Mickey Watches There are over 200 designs of Mickey Mouse watches available at any given time. Costumes Mickey has over 175 different costumes and Minnie has over 200! Employment Disney employs approximately 50,000 people! It’s the largest employer in Florida! Food More than 46 million Cokes are consumed each year at Walt Disney World Resort. 7 million hamburgers, 5 million hot dogs, 5 million pounds of French fries and 265,000 pounds of popcorn. Food Production More than 30 tons of fruits and veggies aree harvested from The Land pavilion's greenhouses each year. Several Epcot restaurants serve these fruits and vegetables! Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom Over 325 animals are carved on the Tree of Life and over 100,000 leaves were individually placed on the branches. Rock N Roller Coaster Limos They are launched from 0-60 mph in 2.8 blurring seconds -- similar to the feeling of sitting atop a supersonic F-14 Tomcat as it blasts off the deck of an aircraft carrier. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit the Message Boards! One of the most popular sections on DZ just happens to be the Message Boards! You can post questions/answers/advice or just hang around and read what others say! We have a very friendly, helpful group on the boards! Give it a try www.disneyzone.net click on the FORUMS link! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Park Hours Theme Park Hours will be omitted from the DZ News for the next few months, or until Disney goes back to a regular schedule. Park hours are being released about a week ahead of time. I suggest calling (407) WDISNEY the day before you leave to get current hours for the parks! You can also check their site: www.disneyworld.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tips for Families with Young Kids More Tips from Allison I have been to Disney World 4 times in the past 3 years with my family. We have small children and I have been there pregnant, too. So I have a lot of tips to share. We are in the midst of planning a trip for this summer. I was discussing things with my husband and kids. They are really too young to understand most of it, but my son was intently listening to all the details I was discussing. We talked about hotels, and flying down, and where we would like to eat. My son didn’t really say a word, just listened. I had said that I wanted to write a list of requests to the hotel this time. My husband agreed. Then my darling son piped up that he, too, wanted to write a letter! I had him dictate his letter to me, and I typed it up for him. Here is the letter that my 6 year old son wrote to Disney just last week. I thought it was so cute that you might like to read it. Dear Mickey Mouse. I am coming to visit you in the summer and I want you to make it not so hot. I want you to make it not so crowded so we don’t have to wait in really long lines for all the good rides. I want you to let us have a good hotel with a good pool and a hotel room that has room to play on the floor with my toys. I don’t want to go on the airplane but we have to. Dad wants to have dinner at your place again so we can see you and take a picture with you. Thank you that you made a really good place for us to come in the summer. Mommy is going to write a letter too so make sure you open it. See you soon. I think I am going to make this a new tradition, have each of the kids write a note prior to the trip and then a thank you note after we return home! I will keep copies, of course! More next time……. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Restaurant Review By Kay I must tell you about our wonderful experience at the Hollywood and Vine brunch. We didn’t make any PS for that day, just decided to do what sounded good. Walked over to H&V and they were able to sit us right away. The place was about 3/4 full. We were seated right near the food, which was great. They have a nice buffet. It was a late breakfast meal so they offered many typical breakfast foods. Pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fruit, bagels, pastries, cereal and things like that. Everything was fresh tasting and they kept the buffet well stocked. It wasn’t the food that made the meal so special however. Not that it wasn’t tasty, it was good. But the service we received was fabulous! Our waitress, Ann, as the most attentive, fun, and nice person ever. She saw my picky daughter standing by the food indecisively and she actually went over and helped her choose and get her food. She made my son ‘Pluto Chocolate Milk’ the same kind Pluto drinks! She just went over and beyond any expectations. We ended up leaving her about a 40% tip! This was the meal my kids remember the most from the entire trip. More than Chef Mickeys, more than Crystal Palace! You just never know which restaurant will have the most ‘Magic’ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A Magical Honeymoon" By Appen I want to take just a moment to share a few very special memories, and hopefully some helpful tips, with you. I would like to start by wishing my husband, Brandon, a very Happy 1st Anniversary! We were married February 24, 2001, in our hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent our first week as husband and wife at Walt Disney World! It was wonderful! We stayed 6 nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort in the Jamaica section. It was the perfect resort for us because Brandon also wanted to spend some time at the beach. The atmosphere at the Caribbean Beach was a perfect solution for us. The beach hammocks are heavenly and not to be missed. One of the most exciting things we did while at Disney World was to parasail with Sammy Duvall's Watersports at the Contemporary Resort. I planned that as a surprise for Brandon and I am so glad we did it. We got to experience some awesome views of the whole "World". I would definitely recommend taking a waterproof camera to capture the view. We also spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon just relaxing. It was so peaceful to ride the lazy river and fall asleep in the sun. Our Dining Experiences While at Walt Disney World, we enjoyed 2 character breakfasts - one at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort and one at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom - and a special dinner at The California Grill on top of the Contemporary Resort. Chef Mickey's was such a fun place to eat and the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet was great. All the characters visited us right at our table and made for some very special pictures. The second character breakfast, at Cinderella's Royal Table, was magical. The food was good and plentiful. Our server brought over a certificate proclaiming that it was a very special day because we were celebrating our honeymoon. All of the characters signed it and had their pictures made with us. Our special dinner was our last night and we ate at The California Grill. Brandon & I are not "food experts", but we ate enough to know that the food at the Grill was exquisite, as was the service. The observation deck from the Grill was one of the best views we had of the Castle at night. We watched the fireworks and after eating spent some time watching the Castle change colors. There is so much I could say, but I will try to keep it short. If you are considering a Disney honeymoon - Go for it!! And if you are already planning a Disney trip - Get informed. There is so much to do at Disney that it would take weeks to do it all. It is good to have a plan and know what your "must-do list" consists of before you go. But be flexible and enjoy the time you have. My husband and I used several websites and guidebooks to get informed. Disneyzone.net is the perfect place to get your questions answered. The wealth of knowledge that comes from just everyday people is the best advice one can find. Another website, www.mousesavers.com, is an excellent site to find information about discounts. The guidebook that we used - "Walt Disney World for Couples, with or without kids" by Rick & Gayle Perlmutter - is one of the best I have seen on the market. This couple has traveled to Disney several times and stayed in all of the resorts and ate at most of the restaraunts. There book lists several romantic things to do while at Disney and has tons of information to plan the perfect getaway. I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and Good Luck planning your "Magical Vacation". Please feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments Browneyz8@msn.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kids Views Calling all kids-here is the place where YOU can share your disney experiences, or talk about disney, or ask questions about Disney! All letters are published just as they were received. DZ does not edit them, except for size of text. We get many emails commenting on how much people enjoy reading what kids have to say! So encourage your kids to write a short article and email it to us at: kids@disneyzone.net who knows, their article might be in NEXT months issue! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Travel Polls Please send me an email and list the following items: Favorite Disney Theme Park Favorite Disney Restaurant Favorite Disney Character Favorite Disney Movie Favorite Disney Song Reason why Disney is a great vacation spot! Send to kimmi@disneyzone.net and in the title of the email put .. My favorites! I will compile the results and post them on the site and /or next months newsletter! Will be fun to see the results! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Birthday to: Tim, 11, Colin, 3, Josh, 11, Michael, 2, Ray, Lisa, Christian, 4, Brad, Sharon, Diane . . . and every other DZ’er that has a birthday in Feb! If you would like a birthday announced in the DZ News, send name, and birthday (and age if you want that in, too) kimmi@disneyzone.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THANKS to all the Disneyzone visitors for their help with the newsletter and the site!!! Tell your friends about Disneyzone! They can get their own copy of the Disneyzone News emailed to them each month, all they have to do is go to the site and register. They will automatically be put on the list. If you would rather, you may print it out or forward it. Newsletter and content Copyright © 2000 & 2001 Disneyzone - Please do not alter or copy any or all of this material, or use it on a website, or printed media without prior written permission, from Disneyzone or from the individual article's author.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLASSIFIEDS DZ now has a DZ Classifieds section! Please visit our advertisers, and tell them that you saw their ad in the DZ News :) If you are interested in advertising, or would like to comment regarding this issue, please email me at: kimmi@disneyzone.net Articles, restaurant reviews, kids articles always needed for the newsletter! E-mail if you would like to contribute! ***********TRAVEL AGENTS AND COMPANIES ******** MouseEarVacations.com Unparalleled attention from Disney Experts will make your vacation extra magical! Best Prices plus: Insider tips- Suggested daily itineraries - Disney gifts Visit www.MouseEarVacations.com A division of Cruising Co Etc Look at our customers' comments - see why they come back to us for every Disney vacation! Disney World - Disney Cruise - Disneyland Free online quotes or call toll free: 800-886-8601 to request that a Disney specialist contact you. Magical Journeys Your Attraction Destination Specialists Coming Soon:Magical Guild Specials . More Value for Your Vacation dollars.570-785-3283 www.yourmagicaljourneys.com **********GIFT IDEAS*********************** Disney Character Watches. Mickey, Minnie, Daffy, Donald, Pluto, Movie Themes and More. Wholesale prices available to dealers. Individual watch sales to collectors and retail customers. Visit our site and order on-line. www.watchcloseouts.com **************RADIO STATIONS****************** KMIN980 is an oldies radio station that broadcasts live on the internet. Not the same old songs over and over. Come listen to our Sound Souvenirs while you are surfing on DZ ! www.kmin980.com ***************HOME SERVICES********************* Interior Redesign Industry Specialists. You can have a beautiful, comfortable, and inviting home that is easy on your wallet and you can have it in just one day. 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Relief organizations tell us that they most need cash donations to fund special resources and personnel. To make a donation or learn more about these different organizations visit www.helping.org ********************************************* Put your ad in the DZ News and reach Disney fans! Email us for info! Advertising@disneyzone.net Please note that all ads on this page are paid advertisements and DZ, Disneyzone does not endorse their products or services.