Skip to content

walt disney world

ESPN RISE Girls Showcase Inaugural Event Coming to ESPN WWOS in June

This June America’s top female athletes will compete in a multi-sport festival at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will include national championships and elite-level events in basketball, gymnastics, softball, taekwondo and volleyball. This is the inaugural year for the three-week event and is expected to draw nearly 15,000 nationally-ranked and recreational female athletes to Walt Disney World.

“ESPN RISE is proud to expand its commitment to high school girls through the inaugural ESPN RISE Girls Showcase,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW and ESPN RISE digital and publishing. “The educational and leadership opportunities are just as important to the student-athletes as the competition.”

Among the events taking place will be national championships such as the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championships, USA Gymnastics Open Championships, U.S. Rhythmic Classic, Junior Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Optional Championships and Invitational, and the USA Taekwondo Women’s Invitational Cup. Other elite-level events will include the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase, the USA Softball National Qualifier, the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Tournament Qualifier, and the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials, in addition to several recreation-level competitions.

The showcase will also include leadership and education components involving current female athletes as well as marquee former athletes and coaches such as former UCLA softball head coach Sue Enquist, whose teams have won 11 national titles.

“To bring together this many female athletes at an event featuring the nation’s best in a variety of sports will be a unique and inspiring experience for these young girls,” said Gail Brown, senior sports event manager for Disney Sports. “Disney and ESPN RISE value and support female athletes at every level and this event will give these talented young athletes a great opportunity to showcase their skills on a national stage.”

Portions of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will be shown online at ESPN3.com, including the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championship, the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase Championship, the USA Gymnastics Open Championships, the USA Basketball U19 National Team game against Brazil and the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Qualifier.

The creation of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase comes on the heels of the instantly successful ESPN RISE Games at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The annual ESPN RISE Games made its debut in 2009 and features some of the leading high school athletes and teams in the nation competing in baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse and softball in a two-week-long sports festival style event. This year’s event, July 13-27, is expected to draw more than 13,000 athletes from around the country.

The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase adds to the growing list of elite-level national youth sports events taking place at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is widely recognized as the leading multi-sports venue in the nation. This event further cements the sports complex as the preeminent sports destination for female youth athletes, who make up a little more than half of the nearly 300,000 athletes who compete and train annually at the sports complex.

Event details below the jump:

Read More »ESPN RISE Girls Showcase Inaugural Event Coming to ESPN WWOS in June

The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World makes Vacation Planning a Snap

When it comes to planning a vacation to Walt Disney World there are two books the you hear mentioned over and over again as the best – The Unofficial Guide which has a long history and many versions, and The Complete guide, which features beautiful… Read More »The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World makes Vacation Planning a Snap

Disney World reveals plans for Princess themed rooms

Disney World has been experimenting with lightly themed rooms at its resorts for the last few years. You may have stayed in a Pirates or Little Mermaid themed room at the Caribbean Beach Resort. They’re even building a whole new resort (Art of Animation) with… Read More »Disney World reveals plans for Princess themed rooms

Annie Leibovitz captures Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

Annie Leibovitz and Disney Parks are back again with more photos from the Dream Portrait series. This time the subject matter is Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth movie in the series. As part of a special layout appearing in May issues… Read More »Annie Leibovitz captures Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

Lady Gaga meets the Evil Queen at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

Little Monsters prepare, the worlds of Lady Gaga and Walt Disney World collided after the Mistress of Magical Performances took time to visit the Magic Kingdom following a tour stop in Orlando. Above, Grammy Award-winning singer Lady Gaga poses April 16, 2011 with the Evil… Read More »Lady Gaga meets the Evil Queen at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

Mickey Economics

The Walt Disney World Resort just released an interesting report that looks at the economic influence Team Mickey had on Florida in FY 2009 (which ended Oct 2009).

The $18.2 billion in annual economic activity generated locally by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts accounts for a staggering 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product for the entire state.

Of the 7.2 million Floridians in the workforce in 2009, more than one out of every 50 had a job that can be directly or indirectly tied to the operations of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Locally, 6 percent of all jobs in Central Florida can be attributed to Disney’s operations.

Those are some big numbers. But it has to be put in perspective. The end of 2007 saw a contraction of Florida’s economy that only grew worse through 2008 and 2009. While housing and auto sales plummeted dramatically, tourism was not as impacted as an industry. So Disney’s percentage of the GDP for the entire state is probably inflated. Similarly the percentage of the workforce.

Is it a little manipulative for Disney to release these numbers right now or justified crowing about legitimate economic impact? Let’s call it Mickeynomics – a little of both.

Sure without Disney, Florida’s economy would really be in a shithole. But to pick those particular numbers to crow about without sharing how that compares to similar numbers in a healthy economy is less than straightforward. Still, can you blame them?

Now let’s look into the near future a bit.

2011 is shaping up to be a lot like 2008. Gas prices are rising, which threatens to impact Disney’s family vacation based business. But 2011 is different than 2008 in that we’re coming out a recession, not heading in.

I have a theory about gas prices. When planning a vacation, families are actually more concerned with the overall cost of the vacation than the price at the pump. As gas prices go up so do airline tickets, making it significantly more expensive to fly a family of four to Orlando. So expensive that driving, the time it takes, and the wear and tear on the car begins to look like a better option. If you do the math, it actually is far less expensive.

This economic equation means families who live within a days drive of Disney World are now more likely to drive to Disney for a vacation instead of flying somewhere  (Mexico or the West Coast, for instance). That’s new traffic for Disney, and it can actually come close to replacing the volume of visitors who live more than a days drive away and are instead choosing to vacation closer to home.

What Disney saw in 2008 was that those who drive, tended to stay in Orlando a day or two longer on average. But they didn’t travel as frequently throughout the year, rather they saved it up for one long vacation. This means that the number of visitors to the parks only declines slightly, and it also tends to spread the visits out over the whole year. That’s the pattern we saw in 2008 and 2009 and the pattern we’re seeing now.

My only question is with the economic recovery just barely underway, are families saving more and passing on travel this year in order to rebuild their savings? What Disney needs is for the Southeast US to recover quicker than the rest of the nation. Those are the customers Disney World needs to covet for the foreseeable future. DVC members are already locked in, but everyone else wants maximum entertainment value for their vacation dollar. Disney can provide that, but they must continue to offer the highest quality as well.

I’m sure Disney would prefer to continue to ween its market off the discounts it offered in 2008 and 2009 to bring in business, so the only other option is improved entertainment value. To me this means, more rides per capita, more shows and parades, tastier food options, longer park hours, and better festivals. I think we’re seeing some of this already. What else would you like to see Disney do, excluding discounts, to increase the value for your travel dollar?

Read the rest of the 2009 Mickeynomic numbers released by Disney below the cut:

Read More »Mickey Economics

EPCOT Double-Decker Bus for sale – yours for a cool $400,000

Disneyana fans get your wallets (and probably your second mortgage) ready. A rare piece of Disneyana has come on the market. This double-decker bus was one of six such buses used at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center as part of an in-park transportation system. It… Read More »EPCOT Double-Decker Bus for sale – yours for a cool $400,000

Monorail Pilot Family’s Lawsuit Against Disney Voluntarily Dismissed

The wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Walt Disney World resort over the death of a monorail pilot on July 5th 2009 has been voluntarily dismissed by the pilot’s family. This is very likely a sign that a settlement has been reached between Disney and… Read More »Monorail Pilot Family’s Lawsuit Against Disney Voluntarily Dismissed