LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Walt Disney was an entertainment pioneer, introducing families to groundbreaking cartoons, feature films, theme parks and more. Most everyone knows when he was born (in Chicago on Dec. 5, 1901), his first motion picture (a 1928 short titled "Steamboat Willie") and his other landmark family-entertainment ventures ("The Mickey Mouse Club," "Davy Crockett" and "The Wonderful World of Disney").
But did you also know that:
Walt Disney only attended one year of high school.
In 1923, in California, Walt and Roy formed the Disney Brothers Studio. At Roy's insistence, the company soon became the Walt Disney Studio, since he felt that Walt's name should be emphasized. This is officially recognized as the starting date of The Walt Disney Company.
He grew his famous mustache at age 25.
He was the voice of Mickey Mouse for two decades.
He often ate lunch at his desk -- his favorite meal was chili and beans, which he ate with tomato juice and soda crackers.
He admitted to being "scared to death" when he had to face the camera to introduce episodes of the "Disneyland" television series.
He won more Oscars than anyone else -- 32.
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Each ride vehicle weighs as much as 8,580 Woody dolls.
It would take 5,026 toy soldiers lined up end-to-end to make up the total track length.
Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Walt Disney Imagineering is creating an attraction for two Disney Parks simultaneously.
It has been estimated that, each day, guests may break over one million virtual plates using the spring-action shooters.
Riders in the Sky, the award-winning group that wrote the songs that Mr. Potato Head performs as part of the attraction, is the same group that wrote "Woody's Roundup" for the "Toy Story" feature films.
This is the first attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering designed where the Imagineers had to wear 3-D glasses to art direct all the black-light paint elements.
The murals located in the load area at Disney's Hollywood Studios are the largest murals painted since Epcot was built.
At Toy Story Mania!, every guest gets to experience life at the size of a toy. So in Andy's room, a 5-foot 6-inch person will feel about 14" tall.
Guests feel like they have shrunk to a toy size as they queue amid rounded TINKERTOY “connectors” two feet in diameter, TINKERTOY rods that are four inches around, View•Master reels nearly four feet across and holiday lights each 13 inches long.
In order to create a show that responds not only to every pull of a guest's spring-action shooter but also every move their midway tram makes, there are more than 150 computers communicating over multiple networks throughout the attraction.
More time was spent programming Mr. Potato Head than for any other Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
Mr. Potato Head will be able to say more lines of dialogue than any Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
"It's a ride that's a game. It's a game that's a ride," says Mr. Potato Head to queuing guests. "Step right up and see what's inside."
The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure is the first time that an Audio-Animatronics figure can remove a body part and re-attach it (in the case of his ear).
The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure has new, highly expressive and animated eyes that can look directly at a particular guest in the queue when speaking to him/her.
Mr. Potato Head marks the first Audio-Animatronics figure whose mouth appears to form words and vowel sounds.
Game:
In each of the Toy Story Mania! games, there is at least one "easter egg" -- targets that can trigger the appearance of bonus high-value targets and other changes in the scene.
Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Woody and Buzz Lightyear (along with some of their friends) from the Disney-Pixar "Toy Story" films appear together in a ride-through attraction.
Watch for loose change in the prize scene -- Hamm is carrying more than $6 in coins when his cork pops.
Nice to Know:
Because of the indoor nature of the attraction and to keep the guest experience fun for all, flash photography or video is not allowed on Toy Story Mania!
Everyone can play! There is no height or age restriction for guests to experience Toy Story Mania!, creating a multi-generational experience the entire family can enjoy together.
There is even an offline loading area for guests with disabilities. Guests traveling in wheelchairs or using other mobility aids have as much time as they need to board.
A beeline to fun! At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Mania! utilizes Disney's FASTPASS, a return voucher offering little or no waiting time at select attractions.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- October 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Following are 25 remarkable facts about Epcot:
It took nearly 3,000 designers and 4,000 construction workers to build the first phase of Epcot.
54 million cubic feet of dirt was excavated to build the park.
Epcot had its soft opening Sept. 28, 1982, at 4 p.m.
Spaceship Earth, the visual and thematic centerpiece of Epcot, weighs 16 million pounds, measures 165 feet in diameter and encompasses 2.2 million cubic feet of space. The outer "skin" of Spaceship Earth is made up of 11,324 aluminum and plastic-alloy triangles.
At Spaceship Earth, Mickey Mouse is hidden in his own constellation just beyond the attraction's loading area.
The fountain at Epcot Innoventions Plaza can shoot water 150 feet in the air -- within 30 feet of the top of Spaceship Earth. If all of the shooters were fired at once, there would be 2,000 gallons of water in the air.
The ride technology for the Soarin' attraction was based on an erector set model created by Walt Disney Imagineer Mark Sumner. One million pounds of steel provides the ride structure and 37 tons are lifted during each ride cycle.
It took more than 650 Walt Disney Imagineers more than 350,000 hours (the equivalent of 40 years of time) to develop Mission: SPACE. The Imagineers' efforts took place over a five-year period.
At Mission: SPACE, there are 13 quotes by space explorers and visionaries on the attraction's wall of honor. The most recent was added in September 2007 by teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, reading "Reach for your dreams . . . the sky is no limit."
At nearly a mile long and reaching a top speed of 65 mph, Test Track is the longest and fastest ride at a Walt Disney World theme park.
The body of water at The Seas with Nemo & Friends provides a home to 3,000 fish and other sea creatures and contains 5.7 million gallons of water, one of the largest man-made ocean environments in the world.
More than 30 tons of fruits and vegetables grown at The Land pavilion each year are served in Walt Disney World restaurants.
The Land has a "tomato tree" that is the only one of its kind in the United States. The massive plant has produced a world-record harvest of more than 32,000 tomatoes from a single vine.
World Showcase promenade stretches 1.2 miles and World Showcase Lagoon spans 40 acres.
The gardens of Epcot are among the most extensive at Walt Disney World Resort. The themed landscapes are maintained year-round by a horticulture staff of more than 50.
At United Kingdom's Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room in World Showcase, a specially designed ale warmer can heat your Guinness to 55 degrees, the temperature favored by Brits.
26.2 miles of bratwurst are served every 60 days at the Biergarten restaurant in the Germany pavilion. That, by the way, is the length of a marathon.
The Eiffel Tower replica in the France pavilion is 103 feet tall.
The castle in Japan is a replica of the Shirasagi-Jo, a 17th century fortress overlooking the city of Himeji, known as one of the most well-preserved castles in Japan.
A Disney crew carried a 300-pound camera up 4,500 steps of the Huangshan Mountain in the Annui Province to film the Circle-Vision 360 film seen in the China pavilion.
From bonsai to roses, there's something for every gardening guru at the annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Disney horticulturists rotate the crops twice during the festival to keep the 30 million blossoms colorful and fresh.
Each year at the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, more than 33,000 bottles of wine and champagne are uncorked, 1.2 million hors d'oeuvre plates are served and 100,000 miniature desserts are dished up.
More than 26,000 feet of lights outline the World Showcase pavilions for the "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" nightly fireworks show -- a string long enough to stretch across the Golden Gate Bridge more than six times.
Earth Globe is a 28-foot-diameter sphere on World Showcase Lagoon and the centerpiece of "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth." The globe weighs 350,000 pounds and is wrapped in more than 180,000 Light Emitting Diodes arranged in the shape of Earth's continents.
Some 2,800 firework shells are used during each "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" show.
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At United Kingdom's Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room in World Showcase, a specially designed ale warmer can heat your Guinness to 55 degrees, the temperature favored by Brits.
Well I wasn't going to let that one go by without comment was I?
There does seem to be a common misconception in America that the English like warm beer - which I think has come from a blurring of the definitions of beer, lager and ale.
The stuff you guys seem to call call beer (Bud, Coors, Michelob and so on) we call lager (or sometimes lager beer). Americanisms are creeping in here however and, just to confuse ourselves, we too are starting to call those kind of drinks beer as well now!
Traditionally though, I guess what we'd call beer, you'd call ale.
Our beer (your ale) is traditionally made from hops and is much heavier and far less gassy than the lighter, fizzier lager style drinks (which you'd call beers) which tend to be made more from barley.
Using British definitions, chilling a hop based beer completely kills the flavor and so we Brits drink our "beer" at a less cold (again - less cold, not warm!) temperature than we would a lager.
I do recall finding Newcastle Brown Ale on sale at a hotel we stayed in once in the Berkshire Mountains. Unfortunately though, it was served ice cold, in a frozen glass with a layer of the frozen beer in the bottom. Sacrilege!!! Needless to say, it tasted like ditch water!
Whilst I love our British beers, in baking hot Floridian weather, you just can't beat an ice-cold American beer!
Back to the thread though, I never knew we Brits had a prefered temperature! How cool is it though that the proper temperature for beer (or ale!) is used? Typical of Disney's attention to detail!
Thanks for these facts Rick. Love 'em!
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Can't let your comment go, either, Winkster. The reason mainstream American beer is served ice cold is that it's disgusting if served at the temperature you'd serve, let's say, a Guinness (which would lose flavor if served ice cold, I think).
But please don't judge American beer by those mainstream brands. Branch out a bit and try the different lagers and ales from American microbreweries. There's an absolutely HUGE selection.
Sorry to go off-topic. Those are great facts! There's so much I didn't know. Thanks, MC!
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TALK DISNEY MODERATOR
DL: At least 5 times in '80s WDW: '72, '77, '88, May '03, May '04, Nov '04, Jan '05, Feb '05, Dec '05, Jan '06, May '06, Oct '06, Nov '07, Nov '08, Feb '09, Dec '09, Mar '10, Dec '10, Mar '11, May '11, Oct '11, Dec '11, Jan '12
“Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” Fun & Really Fast Facts
Grand Opening: The official premiere of "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" was May 5, 2005.
Location: Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The show is presented in a 6.5-acre, outdoor stunt arena with seating for 5,000 guests.
Show Cast: Approximately 35 stunt drivers, actors and technicians.
Show Summary: A 30-minute performance, created and designed by Walt Disney Imagineering. The premise of "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" centers around the filming of a spy thriller, with production crew members, stunt managers and a director and assistant director on the "live" set. It is performed for theme park guests multiple times a day, based on season.
Disney's FASTPASS: The show is one of the attractions that features Disney's FASTPASS, the system that reduces guests' wait time for popular attractions.
Design: Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney World Entertainment designed the show.
Set: Construction of the stunt arena began in February 2003. The design of the giant, outdoor set for "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" takes its inspiration from a seaside village marketplace in southern France. The massive and detailed show set was designed and created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
Vehicles: The complete inventory of vehicles at "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" includes more than 20 custom-built cars, 10 stunt motorcycles and two high-powered personal watercrafts.
Did You Know?
The cars featured in "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" are custom-built in Europe.
The cars are equipped with a 1,300 cc, 150-horsepower motor built inside a custom racing chassis.
Show cars weigh just 600 kilograms (approximately 1,322 pounds) and consume one liter (approximately one quart) of fuel per show.
The cars weigh less than half what a standard production car does. (An average mid-size car weighs approximately 3,500 pounds.)
In addition to four forward speeds, the cars are equipped with a custom-designed transmission gearbox that also allows four reverse speeds. This enables the cars to go as fast in reverse gears as they do in forward gears.
Design components in the cars include the latest in safety and technology. Among the features: a NASCAR-style fire-suppression system, speed sensors and an on-board computer that assists drivers with maintaining proper speeds for precision stunt jumps. On-stage pyrotechnics during the show include fireballs that billow 40 feet in diameter.
Drivers wear the same driving suits as professional race car drivers.
Guests aboard the Disney's Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour can sometimes get a glimpse of the excitement going on as part of "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show." The backlot tram tour route passes right by the stunt show arena.
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"Mickey's PhilharMagic" features one of the largest seamless projection screens in the world, representing the most immersive wrap-around image Disney has ever created. The screen measures 150 feet long and 28 feet high.
Donald's voice as heard in the show was created out of classic performances from the past by Clarence "Ducky" Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck. Tony Anselmo, the current voice of Donald, added a few lines that were not recorded by Ducky in the past, such as humming the melody to "Be Our Guest."
The entire production of "Mickey's PhilharMagic" was created totally on computer, representing the first time the featured classic Disney characters were completely modeled and animated by computer.
The show features the largest cast of classic Disney animated stars who have ever performed together in a single 3-D show.
Animator Nik Ranieri, who brought Lumiére to life for Disney's animated classic "Beauty and the Beast," returned to render him in 3-D for "Mickey's PhilharMagic." Animator Glen Keane, creator of the magical Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," also returned to develop her in 3-D for this spectacular experience.
The long mural that spans the lobby is a composite of imagery from animated classic Disney movies with musical themes: "Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom" (1953), "Melody Time" (1948) and "Fantasia" (1940).
The show is in the same theater as the "Mickey Mouse Musical Revue" in which Mickey made his Magic Kingdom debut as an orchestra conductor in 1971. In 1980, the show moved to Tokyo Disneyland, where it became an opening day attraction in 1983. It continues to play at Tokyo Disneyland today. The 3-D film "Magic Journeys" and the live puppet show "Legend of The Lion King" occupied the theater until the installation of "Mickey's PhilharMagic."
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In preparation for creating Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a core team of seven Walt Disney Imagineers, led by executive designer Joe Rohde, crisscrossed the globe in search of the essential look of life in the wild, amassing more than 500,000 miles . . . a distance equal to circling the globe 20 times.
Sixty dump trucks of dirt were delivered to Disney’s Animal Kingdom construction site every day for two years straight, equaling 4.4 million cubic yards of dirt.
Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life. Sculptors had between six and 10 hours to create the finished image before the plaster hardened.
The Tree of Life is topped with more than 103,000 transparent, five-shades-of-green leaves that actually blow in the wind.
Some 1,500 2-to-3-foot-long fanciful hand-painted wooden folk art animal carvings -- a fusion of pre-Columbian, Peruvian, African and Polynesian forms -- were crafted on the island of Bali by native craftsmen, and can be seen adorning the architecture of Discovery Island.
More than 4 million trees, plants, shrubs, ground-covers, vines, epiphytes and grasses from every continent on Earth -- except Antarctica -- were planted.
The largest tree replanted in the park is located in Harambe village and tipped the scales at 90 tons . . . that’s equal to the weight of 16 male elephants.
Planting Kilimanjaro Safaris was a challenge. With a ride-through attraction and live animals roaming throughout the landscape, planting patterns were based on what designers thought the animals would do, and what the guests will experience. Paul Comstock, principal landscape architect, laid out the plant bed lines on a motorcycle (using spray paint) riding at the same speed as the ride vehicle, “because guests will experience the landscape at that speed,” he said.
The rutted safari road also is part of the landscape design. Imagineering’s design team matched concrete with the surrounding soil, then rolled tires through it, and tossed stones, dirt and twigs into it to create an appropriately bumpy experience duplicating a remote African road.
In order to support the incredibly large and sophisticated dinosaur Audio-Animatronics at DINOSAUR in DinoLand U.S.A., their dino-size bases were built clear through the structure down to their own large foundations in the ground.
There’s one million square feet of rockwork at Disney’s Animal Kingdom . . . that’s twice the volume of rockwork in the Mt. Rushmore sculptures or a volume that could create a monolith 10 feet by 10 feet by two miles high.
To keep 1,000 animals happy takes about four tons of food a day . . . that’s a four-and-a-half year supply for the average person.
There are 27 million gallons of water in Discovery River . . . that’s an amount equal to 1,800 average-sized backyard swimming pools.
There are 2.6 million gallons of water contained in various water features that come in contact with animals. On average, the entire volume of water is treated and filtered five times daily, which means that 15.6 million gallons of water are treated and filtered every day.
The cycad collection along Cretaceous Trail in DinoLand U.S.A. represents the third largest such collection in North America, including direct descendants of the four botanical epochs of plant evolution dating back hundreds of millions of years, including ferns, mosses, conifers, broadleaf plants and the first flowering plants on earth.
Like a snapshot from an African safari, towering acacia trees and tall grasses paint a familiar picture of the Serengeti on a vast stretch of rolling landscape, but this is Central Florida, not east Africa, and the acacias are really 30-foot-tall Southern live oaks with a close-cropped crew cut.
Company founder Walt Disney’s love of animals began when he was four years old and his family moved from his Chicago birthplace to a 45-acre farm in Marceline, Mo., where he helped take care of farm animals, as well as learned to draw pictures of his animal friends.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to the largest groups of Nile hippos and African elephants in North America.
The first birth at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was a kudu, a large African antelope.
The number of species that have reproduced since the park opened is more than 150.
Seventeen Micronesian Kingfisher chicks were hatched at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, raising the world population of these birds by 20 percent.
The arrival of two black rhino calves born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom made them two of only approximately 200 in zoos worldwide.
Animal Programs veterinarians have successfully performed surgery on a tarantula spider, placed an artificial eye in a fish and removed a golf ball from a hungry snake rescued at a Disney golf course.
The Animal Programs team performs more than 600 wellness checks per year.
Lab technicians have analyzed more than 40,000 samples of animal °°°° since Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened.
More than 2,000 pounds of vegetation and browse is fed to the animals every day, and several varieties of worms are provided to the animals, including super mealworms, yellow mealworms, red wigglers, night crawlers and wax worms -- 40,000 in a week! Dieticians also order 80,000 crickets per month as part of the healthy diet for the animals.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom scientists have discovered two new vocalizations never before reported in elephants.
Since 1995, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund has devoted more than $14 million to conservation efforts around the world and has supported more than 850 projects.
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The Tree of Life--I think it may just be my favorite "structure" at WDW. How they carved so many animals onto a seemingly small tree...and they run into the ground too!
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Past Trips to WDW:
October, 2002
November, 2005
February, 2009
July-August, 2010
Cinderella Castle: Regal Icon of Walt Disney World Resort
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It inspires awe and wonderment. Its fairy-tale finesse captures the imagination of millions of Disney guests every year. Lights bathe it in rainbow hues, and Tinker Bell flies gracefully from its turrets. Hundreds of fireworks perform a celebratory dance above it. Once, it was transformed into a giant pink birthday confection.
Since its storybook spires first graced the Florida sky in 1971, Cinderella Castle has been the magical centerpiece of Walt Disney World Resort.
From its subtle color palette to rich gold detail, Cinderella Castle exudes fairy-tale charm. In the castle breezeway, more than 300,000 pieces of colored Italian glass and enamel make up the five-panel mosaic tiles that tell the rags-to-riches story of Cinderella. A sculpted coat of arms and a clock of ancient styling add authenticity.
Cinderella Castle, the regal icon of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, radiates magic inside and out with its salute to medieval European styles from 13th century French fortresses to late Renaissance palaces.
Before designing the castle, Walt Disney Imagineers studied famous European palaces and castles, including Fontainebleau, Versailles, and the chateaus of Chenonceau, Chambord and Chaumant. Chief designer Herb Ryman also turned to the original designs for the 1950 film, "Cinderella," prepared by the Disney animation staff.
Imagineer and master color stylist John Hench carefully selected castle colors that would complement, not compete with, the strong blue skies of central Florida. Seven shades of gray were used for trim pieces, and the subtle color palette has since been warmed to let the castle stand out even more against its brilliant natural backdrop.
Cinderella Castle Fun Facts
Towering Height: Cinderella Castle soars 189 feet into the sky and can be seen from two miles away.
Architectural "Wows": The castle boasts 18 towers and its spires are topped with sparkling gold-painted finials.
Mosaic Masterpiece: Five tile mosaics designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond tell the story of Cinderella just inside the Castle Breezeway. Each of the panel tile mosaics is 15 feet high and 10 feet wide.
Wishing on a Star: The nighttime fireworks extravaganza "Wishes" explodes in a dazzling display of color each evening, with sage Jiminy Cricket narrating to classic Disney film tunes.
Flight of the Fairy: Tinker Bell, the mischievous pixie of "Peter Pan," wows guests as she "flies" from a castle turret each evening during "Wishes."
"A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes": As part of "The Year of a Million Dreams Celebration" through 2008, Imagineers built a fourth-floor castle suite with centuries-old charm and modern amenities. During the celebration, a Walt Disney World guest and up to five members of his or her party were selected randomly to experience a dream-come-true overnight stay in the suite.
Disney Family Salute: The sculpted coat of arms posted over the castle front and rear entrances belongs to the Disney family.
Clock Oddity: The numbers on the face of the clock on the front of Cinderella Castle all are Roman numerals except for the number "IV," which instead consists of four straight lines. Why? Ancient Romans used "IV" interchangeably with "IIII" (which can be seen above one of the Coliseum's doors), and it's easier to differentiate "IIII" from the number "6" or "VI" on a clock or sundial.
Castle Confection: In 1996-97, to celebrate Walt Disney World's 25th anniversary, the castle was transformed into a huge "cake" with large decorations and more than 400 gallons of pink paint.
Royal Feast: Cinderella's Royal Table, featuring one of the most popular Disney character dining experiences, is located upstairs inside the castle. Formerly known as King Stefan's Banquet Hall (with a nod to the father of Sleeping Beauty), the restaurant was renamed in 1997.
Makeover Magic: Inside the castle breezeway, fairy godmothers-in-training at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique perform magical makeovers on kids eager to become a "Disney Diva," "Pop Princess" or "Cool Dude."
Fairytale Garden Fun: In the shadow of the castle, Belle of "Beauty and the Beast" gathers guests for story time in the Fairytale Garden several times daily.
Sincerest Form of Flattery: Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland features an exterior that replicates the one at Walt Disney World Resort. Instead of housing a restaurant, the Tokyo castle interior features the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour attraction.
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It's Not a Small World, After All . . . Covering 40 square miles, Walt Disney World Resort is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands. Of the more than 25,000 acres, less than 35 percent has been developed with a quarter designated as a wilderness preserve.
A Cast of Thousands . . . around 62,000 to be more precise. That’s how many people it takes to create the magic at the Vacation Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Walt Disney World Resort is the largest single-site employer in the United States.
What the Well-Dressed Mouse Will Be Wearing . . . depends entirely on the occasion. Mickey Mouse himself has more than 290 different sets of duds, ranging from a scuba suit to a tuxedo. Minnie Mouse’s wardrobe contains more than 200 outfits, including everything from a cheerleader ensemble to evening gowns.
Suds ‘R Us . . . If you were to wash and dry one load of laundry every day for 52 years, you’d clean as much as the folks at Walt Disney World Laundry do in a single day. The cast members there launder an average of 285,000 pounds each day. In addition, between 30,000 and 32,000 garments are dry-cleaned daily.
Smile! . . . With millions of visitors annually, it’s no wonder the Disney parks are among the most photographed places in the United States. On any given day, Disney’s PhotoPass photographers take between 100,000 and 200,000 photos of guests at Walt Disney World Resort. The PhotoPass service allows guests to view, share and order their Disney photos online and create Disney products such as PhotoBooks and mugs.
I’m Dreaming of a “Green” Christmas . . . The 1,500 Christmas trees at Walt Disney World Resort won’t be the only “green” holiday delights this season as each Walt Disney World resort hotel will glow with new “conservation” lighting – more than 700,000 LED lights in all. String the bulbs end to end and the strand would stretch for 96 miles or light the path from Jacksonville to Orlando, all while using 1/10th of the power of traditional incandescent bulbs.
Who’s Still Thirsty? . . . More than 75 million Cokes are consumed each year at Walt Disney World Resort along with 13 million bottles of water. Guests also gobble 10 million hamburgers, 6 million hot dogs, 9 million pounds of French fries and more than 300,000 pounds of popcorn.
Ears to You . . . When laid end to end, there are enough of the famous “Mouse Ear” hats sold each year to stretch 175 miles or cover the head of every man, woman and child in Orange County, Fla. There are also enough Disney character T-shirts sold to put Mickey Mouse’s smiling face on the chest of every resident of Montana.
Sign Here . . . If you stacked the number of standard autograph books sold annually, it would match the height of 200 Cinderella Castles. Add the Princess-style autograph books and, end to end, the books would reach 88 miles into space.
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2011- Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village, 2009- Boardwalk Villas, 2007- Saratoga Springs Viallas, 2006- Hilton Head, 2006- Off property (band trip), 2004- Wilderness Lodge Villas & Ft. Wilderness, 2003-Disneyland, 2001- Boardwalk Villas, 2001- Vero Beach, 2000-Dixie Landings (became DVC Members) 2000- Vero Beach, 1997- Dixie Landings (1st Trip)
Overview Nostalgic memories of childhood playtime translate into over-the-treetops family vacation time with the addition of Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. The treehouse villas combine a dash of luxury and comfort with the nostalgic memories of a childhood fortress. Nestled in natural forest glens, this new phase revives Walt Disney World “treehouse living,” a cherished tradition from 1975-2002.
All the Comforts of Home All 60 three-bedroom vacation homes, elevated 10 feet off the ground on pedestals and beams designed to blend into the forest environment, sleep nine and offer modern luxuries such as partial cathedral ceilings, a barbecue grill and flat-panel TVs, all presented in a style dubbed “cabin casual.”
Resort Amenities
Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa features its own planned pool area, in addition to sharing all that the main resort has to offer, including boat transportation between the Downtown Disney area and the Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa dock, tennis courts, bicycle rental, a children’s playground, Surf's Up restaurant, a nearby spa and fitness center, and High Rock Spring Pool, which boasts its own water slide and whirlpool spa.
Quick Facts
Date Announced:
Sept. 16, 2008
Date Opened:
June 2009
Location/Geography:
Treehouse Villas is located within Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa near Downtown Disney.
Number of Units: 60 three-bedroom villas accommodate up to nine guests
Fun Facts Environmental sensitivity was extremely important to Disney Imagineers when constructing the new treehouse villas. As a result, 5,178 tons, or 65.22 percent, of materials from demolition were recycled, including concrete and metals.
When it comes to wiring, Disney Imagineers working on the treehouse villas went to great “lengths” to ensure every vacation home runs smoothly. Consequently, there are 87,858 lineal feet, or 16.6 miles, of wire for fiber optics, copper, telephones and CATV.
To support all 60 treehouse villas, there are a total of 480 concrete columns.
To reduce the footprint of each villa, the team used modular construction to create the stand-alone structures.
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"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our childen"
Gone But Not Forgotten . . . Walt Disney World Lost and Found is one busy place. Every day an average of 210 pairs of sunglasses are turned in and, since 1971, an estimated 1.65 million pairs of glasses have found their way into the “lost” bin. On an annual basis, Lost and Found cast members collect more than 6,000 cell phones, 3,500 digital cameras, 18,000 hats and 7,500 autograph books.
Curious Claims . . . According to long-time Lost and Found staffers, the most unusual items turned in have been a glass eye, a prosthetic leg and a potty trainer. Each, incidentally, was claimed (but not by the same person).
Busman’s Holiday . . . More than 270 Walt Disney World buses transport guests around the Vacation Kingdom, making the Walt Disney World fleet the third largest in Florida behind Miami and Jacksonville.
Fly Me to the Moon . . . Since 1971, the total miles logged by Walt Disney World monorail trains would be equal to more than 30 round trips to the moon. One dozen new cars were put into service along the 14-mile beamway in 1990 as the original fleet received a well-deserved retirement.
Here’s Looking (Down) At You . . . From the air, Walt Disney World Resort boasts a number of “heady” sights. For instance, the unique “Mouse Trap” on the 6th hole at the Magnolia golf course that looks like a famous corporate symbol. Over at Disney’s Osprey Ridge Golf Club, Mickey’s profile greets golfers on the large practice green. The famous mouse is the model for the courtyard and area in front of the Chinese Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Room With a View . . . Disney’s Wedding Pavilion was designed to provide the bride and groom a view of Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle while standing at the altar.
THEME PARKS
Boulder Builder . . . Here’s one to stump your friends with. How many stones are there in Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom? NONE. The whole shell of the building is fiberglass.
Green Thumb . . . More than 30 tons of fruits and vegetables grown at The Land pavilion at Epcot are served in Walt Disney World restaurants.
Finger Food . . . More than 1.6 million turkey drumsticks are devoured every year in four Disney theme parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Spaced Out . . . Spaceship Earth, the visual and thematic centerpiece of Epcot, weighs 16 million pounds – more than three times that of a space shuttle fully fueled and ready for launch. The outer “skin” of Spaceship Earth is made up of 11,324 aluminum and plastic-alloy triangles. Also, did you know that rainwater never falls off the sphere? It’s channeled into the ball and funneled away.
Water, Water Everywhere . . . If you emptied the water from The Seas with Nemo & Friends pavilion in Epcot into one-gallon milk jugs and laid them side by side, they would stretch from here to New
Orleans, Knoxville or Raleigh – 540 miles. And the recipe for the artificial seawater called for 27 truckloads of sodium chloride, or common table salt.
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2011- Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village, 2009- Boardwalk Villas, 2007- Saratoga Springs Viallas, 2006- Hilton Head, 2006- Off property (band trip), 2004- Wilderness Lodge Villas & Ft. Wilderness, 2003-Disneyland, 2001- Boardwalk Villas, 2001- Vero Beach, 2000-Dixie Landings (became DVC Members) 2000- Vero Beach, 1997- Dixie Landings (1st Trip)
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Needless to say, it tasted like ditch water!
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow 
