A sea of more than 400 Disney VoluntEARS helped clear 1,080 pounds of trash from the Brevard County coastline on Sat., Nov. 7 as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort to improve the health of the ocean and waterways. Disney VoluntEARS, working with the Ocean Conservancy, Keep Brevard Beautiful, United States Coast Guard and the Canaveral Port Authority, represented the largest group participating in the community-wide cleanup event.

“We really appreciate Disney VoluntEARS coming out here to help as one large organization,” said John Porter, chairman of Keep Brevard Beautiful. “It makes a huge impact for our county and will make the beaches nicer for everyone.”

Joined by friends and family, Disney VoluntEARS from Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney Imagineering helped protect the environment and preserve the natural beauty of nearly four miles of beach near the Disney Cruise Line terminal in Port Canaveral. The majority of items picked up were cigarette butts, bottle caps and fishing line.

“Small objects – such as cigarette butts and fishing line – may look really insignificant, but they can be life-threatening to marine animals,” said Jackie Ogden, vice president of Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “Picking up trash on the beach is a simple action that people can take to really make a difference for wildlife and wild places.”

Coastal Cleanup participants are acting locally as part of a global mission to eliminate ocean debris, protect marine life and make the beaches more enjoyable for everyone. This year, the Ocean Conservancy estimates 500,000 volunteers – one million helping hands worldwide – will join in on the effort.

“Trash along our beaches and waterways threatens marine wildlife and undermines tourism and other economic activities,” said Dianne Sherman, director of the International Coastal Cleanup. “The Cleanup gives everyone a chance to be a part of an important global movement to end the tide of ocean trash.”

Disney’s involvement in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup spans six years; since 2003, more than 1,700 VoluntEARS have picked up more than 26,000 pounds of garbage at Florida Coastal Cleanup events.

The Walt Disney Company, through the Disney VoluntEARS program, provides opportunities for Cast Members to contribute their time and expertise toward positively impacting their communities. Disney VoluntEARS are active in Central Florida; in 2008, they gave more than 204,000 hours in service to the community ranging from serving meals to the homeless to coaching Little League.

Don’t forget that beginning January 1st you can register online with Disney to get a free days admission in exchange for a volunteer shift.

As many predicted after the Walt Disney World Monorail accident that resulted in the death of one cast member, the two trains will be salvaged to make one new train with the color teal. Both Pink and Purple will be retired out of respect for the cast members and the families who were involved in the accident.

I believe there is precedence for this. An earlier version of the Monorail had some safety problems. After a train unit caught fire, it was combined with the rest of a unit that was damaged coming into the barn.

I also heard that Monorail Teal will be the first train to feature a new touch screen pilot control system currently being explored by Disney. Update: note that the current system is touch screen too. But it’s mostly an overlay on the old control system. They’re working on a new system for monorail control.

Will you feel uncomfortable the first time you see Monorail Teal around the resort? Is this the right move by Disney officials?

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland resorts in 2010? Disney wants you to give back to the community and they’ll give you a free ticket to celebrate your participation. The “Give A Day, Get A Disney Day” promotion celebrates the volunteer ethic by matching you with an approved nonprofit to make a difference. Hopefully this will light the volunteer spark under some who have yet to experience the joys of doing good for others.

GADGADD replaces the 2009 ‘Celebrate Today’ promotion where you could get free admission (or a replacement gift if you were an annual passholder) on your birthday. That promotion ends Deember 31, 2009.

The GADGADD promotion is fairly simple. Beginning January 1, 2010 you must sign up at Disney’s website and search for an available volunteer opportunity. Once you’ve completed your shift at the organization, Disney will verify your session and send you an email that will allow you to get one free ticket (allow at least two weeks for verification). You can only earn one ticket a year through this promotion and supplies are limited.

To get an idea of what shifts will be available search HandsOn Network’s list of approved volunteer opportunities for a something near you. Feel free to volunteer today and help out a great organization, but it won’t count toward the promotion until after you sign up for Disney’s promotion. Even if you already regularly volunteer, you still have to sign up at Disney’s site for your shift to qualify.

There are many more details in Disney’s FAQ for the program. For instance, if you’re an annual passholder you can choose an alternate gift such as a special fastpass or a collectible set of mouse ears with a matching pin. The whole program wraps up on December 15th, 2010. You’ll have to use your ticket voucher by then. Plus there are a few blackout periods ( Walt Disney World® Resort: March 29 – April 8 and July 4, 2010 AND The Disneyland® Resort: February 13-14, March 21, June 21-22, July 4, November 21, December 11-12, 2010 ).

Disney plans to use the Muppets to promote the campaign. Check out the launch site. It’s actually pretty cute and full of downloads and even a contest to win a free trip.

What do you think? Is this a good follow up to 2009’s promotion? While I don’t have Disney’s numbers for the event, I have to wonder how successful the free birthday ticket was at driving new traffic to the parks. Probably more successful in Anaheim where more people live within driving distance.

I don’t see this promotion driving a lot of new traffic either. It certainly is a great idea though.

Disney has a long history of volunteering in the community. The cast member army of VoluntEars is always out and about in the community and Disney’s Conservation efforts makes an impact every day all around the globe. I hope that the GADGADD promotion will now create millions of new ripples in the pond and you never know if one of those will become a tidal wave of change.

The folks out west must be jealous that EPCOT has just kicked off it’s food and wine festival. They’ve released this video that provides a peak backstage at a unique opportunity for Disneyland Resort cast members – a culinary academy.

Disney’s Culinary Academy is a four-day, high energy program that instructs Disneyland Resort Cast Members on a number of culinary skills. Participants even receive 30 hours of accredited class time that can be used to pursue a career in the culinary arts. On the fourth day of class, six teams have to beat the clock to create a three-course meal from scratch.

The new National Transportation and Safety Board Chairwoman has only been on the job a week, but she’s already given at least one interview regarding the Walt Disney World Monorail Accident that resulted in the death of a cast member. So far, Disney appears to be doing a good job, said Debbie Hersman, NTSB Chairwoman.

She said that Disney seems to be going above and beyond to help investigators do their job and the company is doing its best to make sure the accident never happens again.

“We know they are going to be putting some changes into place as we speak. I know they are working on some operational changes,” Hersman said.

Most of these changes ones we’ve heard about already. Requiring pilots to face forward through the track changes, requiring a supervisor to be in the command post during those track changes, and more visual and audio confirmation reports required to confirm safety of trains. But I’m waiting the report to see what else Disney might be planning to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again besides restoring old policies and procedures.

A performer in the Magic Kingdom’s Captan Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial has passed away after an injury occurred during a performance.

The Orlando Sentinel has reported that Mark Priest, 47, slipped on a wet spot during a performance and was taken to the hospital on Thursday, August 6th. His vertebrae was broken and he required 55 stitches. Priest passed away on Monday.

The fall took place during Priest’s first performance Thursday morning, Priest told (friend) Breslauer. The actor playing Captain Jack Sparrow was supposed to kick Priest’s comic-sidekick character in the buttocks at the end of a sword fight.

When Priest stepped afterward, he slid on a wet patch and careened headlong into a wall, Breslauer said. He was bleeding and could barely see, but he went backstage quickly so children would not be upset.
–Orlando Sentinal

Disney officials have contacted the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Our thoughts go out to Priest’s family, friends and co-workers.

Former Disneyland Cast Member Anne runs the amazing blog – “The Best Possible Job“. It’s full of her amazing memories of working at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Anne’s latest post is a little time capsule that takes one back to 1984. Stroller rentals were only $2, the Bank of America in Town Square was still an operating bank, and the Tobacco shop was still open on Main Street.

All this information and more was available on the Wallet Fact Card. The little folding card was meant to be carried around in your costume and pulled out if a guest asked you a question that just had you stumped.

Thanks Anne for making this available.

In a letter sent to the local press today the NTSB has updated the status of the investigation into the Monorail accident of July 5th at Walt Disney World. In addition to interviews with the employees involved, they’ve begun to review documents provided by Walt Disneyworld.

Interestingly the letter claims they’ve received ‘most’ of what they requested. This includes: “employee records showing training, work history and work hours; monorail standard operating procedures; and mechanical maintenance and inspection history of the trains and switch mechanism.” The investigators are being thorough, that’s good to see. Let’s hope they’re also looking at comparisons to historical practices versus what was in place at the parks at the time.

Look for the report to be finished in about 6 months.

The full text of the letter is below the cut:

[Read more →]