Downtown Disney Orlando recently added a tethered balloon experience, Characters In Flight. It takes guests 400 ft into the air for a glorious panoramic view of the Lake Buena Vista area. When it opened the attraction was notorious for closing down for safety with even a light breeze in the area. It’s rumored that they brought in a new operations team and these days the balloon flies in even a stiff breeze.

Of course, this can make things interesting from time to time. From what I’ve seen the flight up is fine, but sometimes the landings can be a bit shakey. The video below wasn’t even the roughest landing I saw all day, but it’s still an e-ticket experience. Check out the passengers clapping at the end. Happy they all survived it sounds like.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking turkey. I know I’ve been thinking about dining out this year instead of preparing a meal at home. I’m just too tired to cook after the craziness of this year. So it’s a good thing that some of Downtown Disney’s finest restaurants are featuring scrumptious Thanksgiving menus on Thursday, November 26, 2009.

Fulton’s Crab House

Executive Chef Ron Cope has crafted a decedent Thanksgiving menu guaranteed to surpass even your wildest dreams of the perfect turkey-day feast. Guests will start their meal with either Butternut Squash soup (topped with cinnamon whipped cream) or a Baby mixed greens salad with candied pecans, roma tomato & Maple ginger vinaigrette. The Thanksgiving entrée goes classic with a Roasted Turkey Breast with sage stuffing, turkey gravy, homemade cranberry relish, whipped sweet potatoes, Yukon gold mash. As always, end on a sweet note with Homemade Pumpkin Pie! Kids also have the option to make their own sundae with vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookie crumbs, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate sauce.

Fulton’s Crab House is located at located at 1670 Buena Vista Drive Lake in Downtown Disney. The Thanksgiving Day hours are 11:30 am- 11:00 pm. $29.95/person. Kids under 10 $12.95/person.

Portobello

This Thanksgiving at Portobello, Chef Steven Richard & Consulting Chef Tony Mantuano will serve a traditional three course dinner with a creative twist. Priced at $33.95 per person and $14.95 for children 10 and under, the first course offers options such as Caesar Salad or Sweet Potato Bisque. Enjoy an entrée of Roasted Turkey Breast with Rosemary Gravy, Pancetta and Apple Dressing, Haricot Verte, Whipped potato and cranberry relish. And of course, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be complete without dessert so dig into Portobello’s delicious Pumpkin Bread Pudding.

Portobello is located at located at 1670 Buena Vista Drive Lake in Downtown Disney. The Thanksgiving Day hours are 11:30 am- 11:00 pm.

Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe

Chef Sinclair Thorne & Consulting Chef Wolfgang Puck have created an immaculate Thanksgiving menu to be offered in their gorgeous upstairs dining room. Start with an Amuse Bouche of Duck Comfit (long island duck in puff pastry with toasted Hazelnuts and orange cranberries sorbet) before you move on to the first course with a choice of Seared Scallop (Creamy celery root puree and duo pepper puree) or Duck Napoleon Slow braised duck layered with herbed goat cheese, Crispy wontons and apple-raspberry chutney. The Second Course offers a choice of Lobster Bisque with crispy prosciutto and lime chive crème fraiche or Tomato Mozzarella Salad Butter lettuce, heirloom tomato, arugula, shaved parmesan cheese Buffalo mozzarella, balsamic reduction and basil aioli. Wolfgang Puck has created a tradition main course consisting of Oven Roasted Free Range Turkey (with mushroom duxelle, garlic mashed potato, turkey dressing baby vegetables Orange spice cranberry relish) and Braised Short Ribs (with Herb and goat cheese polenta and fall vegetables.) End on a sweet note with Pumpkin Crème Brule (Spiced pumpkin custard with caramelized sugar)

Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe is located at located in Downtown Disney. The Thanksgiving Day hours are 11:30 am- 11:00 pm. $69.95/person. $16.95/person for children 12 and under.

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.

It’s plenty windy today around Walt Disney World, but this is nothing compared to what a Hurricane could bring to the area. Hurricane season doesn’t technically wrap up until the end of November and Hurricane Ida has just entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm could possibly be heading toward Central Florida mid-week, although current forecasts say it’s moving in a more northerly direction.

If you’re coming to Walt Disney World this week you might want to call and see if the 2008 Hurricane Policy is still in force. But basically, just come prepared for rain with a couple ponchos and good water proof shoes or Keen like sandles you can wear without socks (my personal preference).

The best advice is to stay safe and follow any advisories Disney or your hotel might give out.

I’m proud to say that The Disney Blog is up for an Orbbie for best Theme Park blog over at the Orlando Sentinel. I’d certainly appreciate it if you head on over the place your vote on the blog’s behalf.

Remember, Vote daily! Thank you!

This week yet another sexual assault incident at a Water Park, this time Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, was covered by the local press. It may seem like there have been dozens of reports this year, but it’s really just a handful. That’s not to downplay the severity of any incident, but it shouldn’t be taken as a trend.

As it turns out, where you really have to be careful is crossing the roads. The Orlando-Kissimmee has been rated the worst for pedestrian safety. An average of 2.8 annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 was cited. With 48 million tourists visiting the area each year, the numbers really start to add up.

At one time Las Vegas was known for its terrible pedestrian safety record. Particularly in the popular area of Las Vegas Blvd, aka The Strip. Then the region got serious about the safety of its customers, aka revenue stream. It made streets more pedestrian friendly and where traffic was very heavy, built pedestrian overpasses to totally remove people from the streets. It’s been a very successful strategy.

Maybe it’s time to look at this same solution here in Orlando.

Blooloop continues its series of movers and shakers at Walt Disney World, both past and present. This week, we meet Brad Rex who was Vice President of EPCOT from 2001-2007. Brad dishes a little inside ball on two major events of his reign, 9/11 and the 2002 blackout.

When we closed the park, our Cast Members, without being told, went out and lined the promenade. They knew what had happened, and the tough reality many Guests would soon face. As the Guests left, the Cast smiled and waved goodbye, to give our Guests one last positive memory of the day. When I saw this, I knew we had very special people working at Epcot, and I had much to learn from them.

It sounds like Rex still holds a special place in his heart for EPCOT and its cast members.

Portobello Restaurant at Downtown Disney Orlando is introducing a cute new promotion – Meatball Mondays. Visit Downtown Disney and see the new hit movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs then present your movie receipt to receive 50% off any item from the reigning meatball menu every Monday.

Menu

Appetizer

Roasted meatball, mushrooms, polenta, tomato sauce 8.95

Soup

Miniature meatballs, pasta, chicken broth 4.95

Pizza

Sliced meatballs, fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce 9.95

Pasta

Traditional Spaghetti with Meatballs 21.90
Child’s portion 5.95

Side order

Add a meatball to any item .99 ea

Every Monday

11:30 am – 11:00 pm

Portobello restaurant, located at the Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island, 1670 Lake Buena Vista, has recently completed a transformation into an eatery reminiscent of the Italian countryside. The revamped trattoria offers authentic regional fare and warm rustic décor with a reinvigorated wine list.

A little Meatball History from Portobello

Although the meatball origin is not easily ascertained, our food history does support the fact that the meatball was originally rare across the world and was enjoyed mostly by the rich. In Italy, meatballs have continuously grown in popularity and we thank the Italians for bringing their meatball recipes to America. Even though Italians did not initially serve meatballs with spaghetti, the American phenomenon of spaghetti and meatballs was nevertheless created and is now enjoyed globally with numerous recipes with a wide variety of options.

Portobello is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and accepts all major credit cards. Portobello is owned and operated by Levy Restaurants.