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Walt
Disney World International Press Event Itinerary Breakfast with Pal Mickey Ride on Mission: SPACE "The Sky's the Limit Party" at Epcot (with various celebrities) Be sure to visit our HOME PAGE: Your portal to hundreds of Disney-centric web pages! |
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Today's events began at Disney's Animal Kingdom, with a
photo-taking safari on Kilimanjaro Safaris, followed by a breakfast buffet
along Harambe's main street. Many DAK cast members were on hand to
entertain, including a number of Disney's famous characters. Agenda during
breakfast? To introduce journalists to Pal Mickey.
Though we had "met" Jennifer Watson and Deb Wills via e-mail before, we were able to meet them in person shortly after breakfast as we waited for our respective in-depth briefings. As many of you already know, both are wonderful folk, and we look forward to the early December event. |
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Notice Minnie holds Pal Mickey in Harambe as he is
introduced to almost 2000 journalists. We're wondering how long it will be
before Disney introduces Pal Minnie. It seems a good idea for little girls
who may not relate to Mickey quite as easily.
Before we traveled to the Odyssey in Epcot for our in-depth briefing about Magical Gatherings, we were treated to a special early performance of "Festival of The Lion King" in its newly-enclosed performance arena. As you can guess, the light show is fantastic (I guess it was always fantastic--except that we were often unable to get the full effect during daylight hours), and both audience and performers remain comfortable. We don't have photos of this event because we were seated in the nosebleed section of the theater, and the pix wouldn't have come out properly. |
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Though we wonder whether this new marketing concept is worthy of having a brand new celebration formatted around it, Magical Gatherings hones in on a "new definition of family vacationing," and offers an online opportunity for extended and multigenerational families, friends and business associates to collaborate on vacation plans at WDW. The downloadable vacation planning tool will be located at disneyworld.com/magicalgatherings--but not until October 15, 2003. (So you may wish to save this URL for future reference.) Though solo travelers and groups smaller than eight may feel a tad left out, we applaud the fact that Disney has developed several new shows and character meals around the Celebration. "Rita Book" provides a retelling of Alice in Wonderland at the new character meal at Epcot, called International Storybook Dinners. During the dinners, international chefs provide a wonderful buffet of diverse menu offerings, samples of which were provided during the event. (Very nice meal.) (We will have a complete chapter devoted to Magical Gatherings in the 2004 edition of Making Memories.) |
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"Every nine seconds, someone turns 50 years of age," said one of the presenters at the Magical Gatherings in-depth briefing. So, with this "age wave," Disney intends to target a segment of the population with not only more leisure time, but also more wealth. Here, a performer tells about the Magical Gatherings opportunity at Tony's Town Square Cafe in the Magic Kingdom. Interested parties of eight or more can schedule character dining experiences with Pluto, Chip and Dale, Goofy and Mickey Mouse. |
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"Gathering a family together for a reunion is like
gathering stray cats," said a travel agency representative. And
Disney's online tool will help groups plan their vacations--with or
without the help of a travel agent (though Magical Gatherings offers great
opportunities for the travel industry). In fact, travel agents can help
groups plan as an "unbiased third party"--particularly when not
everyone agrees on a vacation itinerary.
Here, a cast member tells about a wonderful Disney's Animal Kingdom Magical Gatherings opportunity. During the Safari Celebration Dinner--which may occur after the park closes, though we haven't confirmed that--Terk and Timon participate in African-inspired meals at Tusker House restaurant. Other live entertainment complements the appearance of the characters, and "Gatherers" will also have up-close animal encounters during their event, along with a guided safari after the meal. |
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Alice Norsworthy said that she has worked with a team to do
"Magical Gatherings" research, and has determined the story of
"how a multi-generational group would experience Walt Disney World.
Guests want to come together at mealtimes, and to participate in
customized and other special events--private events." She stressed
the evolving nature of this concept, with a promise to make the product
even more special as the program gathers steam.
Here, characters tell us about the Magical Fireworks Voyage. On a chartered boat in the Seven Seas Lagoon, large groups can enjoy the new "Wishes" extravaganza from a unique perspective. "What does a pirate do on his vacation?" "He gets a little Aaarrrh and Aaarrh!" |
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Here, you see an example of a Magical Gatherings
group.
Disney's term for parties that would be eligible for the shows and experiences listed above is "Grand Gatherings." It is our understanding that, to be able to purchase any of these new offerings, you must be traveling in a party of eight or more. |
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Then it's on to Mission: SPACE, for the Final Training
Mission, which featured fifteen NASA astronauts. The Final Training
Mission was basically a photo op for print and broadcast journalists prior
to the "Sky's the Limit" party tonight. (The review of the party
will be posted on Friday afternoon.)
Here, you see the astronauts as they come from backstage. |
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A group shot of the astronauts. Tonight, entertainment will feature Sugar Ray and the B-52s, along with rides on Mission: SPACE. |
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A special treat was an opportunity for these middle school
and high school students to ride Mission: SPACE with the astronauts as
well as talk to them. It was great seeing these kids running back into the
attraction with the astronauts to take their mission to Mars. All of these
teens and pre-teens have expressed interest in pursuing a
space-exploration-related career.
The adventure continues tonight. |
E-mail us with any questions or concerns about the Press Event. We'll reply to your message as quickly as possible.
