Disney And Clean Energy

For many years I have been amazed by what the power of the sun can really do for us.  Many years ago I started going on the Epcot attraction “Universe of Energy.”  This ride is partially powered by solar electricity.  This saves some serious money as far as I am concerned.

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The original Universe of Energy pavilion itself was an innovation in energy technology, as the entire roof was covered in 80,000 photovoltaic solar cells that partially powered the ride vehicles. Visitors were transported through the pavilion in large battery-powered “traveling theatre cars” that followed guide-wires embedded in the floor as opposed to riding along conventional ride tracks. The original attraction featured numerous films that presented information on the subject of energy in a serious fashion as well as a ride through a primeval diorama complete with animatronic dinosaurs.

So why hasn’t Disney put more solar into their parks?

I am sure that there must be some reason that Disney hasn’t implemented solar into the parks, but they have not released any formal answer to this question.  From everything that I have read the only “Green” thing that they have accomplished to date is the replacement of light bulbs with LED bulbs.  This is a big savings.

I am taking the leap ahead with solar.  I started by checking out all of the options for New Jersey energy savings.  I couldn’t afford to purchase the system, so I am doing a lease.  I still get all the benefits of lower priced electric.

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Winnie The Pooh BluRay & DVD Review

I was always a big fan of Winnie the Pooh.  My wife and daughter also love the entire Pooh family.  When they announced a new movie was coming I was a little skeptical, but also quite happy.

Seeing the story unfold on the screen in fashionable Winnie the Pooh manner was a pleasing sight.  A lot of the animations looked just as good, if not better than the original animations from the earlier films.  This was a brilliantly funny movie.  I was a bit surprised to see that the movie was only 60 minutes in length.

I think that this movie goes to prove the ever growing problem of “Jumping to conclusions.”  The storyline was straightforward without any deviations.  The movie kept our attention, and also the children that watched with us.  No boring parts.

The Ballad of Nessie was a very cute mini movie.

I recommend getting this video for your whole family to enjoy.  Winnie the Pooh movies will always be loved by all.

Here is the official release…

ALL THE BELOVED CHARACTERS

FROM THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD ARE BACK!

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DELIGHTFUL ALL-NEW MOVIE COMES HOME TO BLU-RAY,

DVD AND MOVIE DOWNLOAD OCTOBER 25th

Includes an Exclusive Short, Sing-Along Option and Hours More

of Exciting Bonus Features!

Walt Disney Studios proudly invites families and audiences of all ages to return to the HundredAcre Wood with some of the world’s most beloved characters, as “Winnie the Pooh,” the delightful all-new animated feature film comes home to Blu-ray Combo Pack for the very first time, as well as DVD and Movie Download on October 25, 2011.  Reuniting audiences with Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore (who has lost his tail), “Winnie the Pooh” is a honey of an in-home release containing hours of immersive bonus features, including exclusive animated shorts “The Ballad of Nessie” and “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon;” a sing-along viewing option; an informative behind-the-scenes featurette for the whole family and deleted scenes with director commentary – all available on Blu-ray Combo Pack.

Inspired by the beloved stories from A.A. Milne’s books and crafted in Disney’s classic style, “Winnie the Pooh,” is the most critically-acclaimed animated film of 2011*.  It is narrated by the voice of John Cleese and features the vocal talents of legendary voice actor Jim Cummings(over 350 voices including Gnomeo & Juliet) and a host of other distinctive actors including Craig Ferguson(TV’s ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’), Tom Kenny (TV’s ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’), Bud Luckey (Toy Story 3) and musical performances by Zooey Deschanel (indie folk band “She & Him”).

* RottenTomatoes.com, as of 9/9/2011

The all-new “Winnie the Pooh” brings back to life the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes and characters.  Sure to become a family favorite for every household, it is directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet The Robinsons) and Don Hall (The Princess and The Frog) and Executive Produced by John Lasseter.

Blu-ray ™Bonus Features:

· Exclusive bonus short “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon” – In this charming short, Pooh comes up with a daring plan to get a hold of some honey by fooling a group of bees.

· “The Ballad of Nessie” – The animated short film included in the theatrical release is the heartwarming tale of how Nessie found her new home in the Loch Ness.

· “Winnie the Pooh and His Story Too” – A fun and informative behind-the-scenes look at the film, designed for the whole family. Hosted by John Cleese (narrator of the film), and with occasional help fromPooh himself, this featurette explores Winnie the Pooh’s history from his beginnings as a character in a book, to his continued life in the movies. The filmmakers reveal how they worked to keep the look of the characters and settings in this movie consistent with their first appearances on-screen in1966. Pooh, being a bear of very little mind, finds much of this confusing, but the Narrator and the filmmakers make it all clear to Pooh – and you!

· Deleted Scenes introduced by directors, Stephen Anderson and Don Hall – 5 deleted scenes including “The Tummy Song,” “”Rabbit’s Friends and Relations,” “Original Eeyore Intro,” “Original Tigger Intro” and “Pooh Searches for a Tail”

· Sing-Along with the Movie – Follow the red balloon and changing word colors to seven song lyrics featured in the film.

· Disney Song Selection – “Winnie the Pooh Theme Song,” “The Tummy Song, “A Very Important Thing To Do,” “The Backson Song,” “It’s Gonna Be Great,” “Everything is Honey” and “The Winner Song Finale”

DVD Bonus Features:

· “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon”

· “The Ballad of Nessie”

· Deleted scenes introduced by directors, Stephen Anderson and Don Hall – 3 deleted scenes including “The Tummy Song,” “”Rabbit’s Friends and Relations” and “Pooh Searches for a Tail”

Movie Download Bonus Features:

· “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon”

· “The Ballad of Nessie”

· Deleted Scenes introduced directors. Stephen Anderson and Don Hall – 3 deleted scenes including “The Tummy Song,” “Rabbit’s Friends and Relations” and “Pooh Searches for a Tail”

Disc Specifications:

STREET DATE:                         October 25, 2011

Direct prebook:                           August 30, 2011

Distributor prebook:                     September 13, 2011

Suggested retail prices:               3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)
$44.99 U.S. and $51.99 Canada

2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD)
$39.99 U.S. and $46.99 Canada

1-Disc DVD
$29.99 U.S. and $35.99 Canada

High-Definition Movie Download
$39.99 U.S. and $44.99 Canada
Standard-Definition Movie Download
$29.99 U.S. and $35.99 Canada

Feature Run Time:                      Approx. run time 60 minutes

Rated:                                       G

Aspect Ratio:                             1.78, 16×9

Sound:                                      5.1

Languages:                                English, French and Spanish

Social Media:

Stay connected with the latest news and information on Winnie The Pooh.

· “Like” us on Facebook  at www.facebook.com/WinniethePooh

· Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/disneyanimation

· View exciting trailers, video clips and more at www.Disney.com/WinnieThePooh

Film Synopsis

Disney returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh.” Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo – and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail. “Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win, Eeyore?” asks Pooh. Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey. Disney’s all-new “Winnie the Pooh” movie is inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art.

About The Filmmakers:

Directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet The Robinsons, The Emperor’s New Groove) and Don Hall
(The Princess and the Frog, Meet The Robinsons), the film was supported by a variety of industry and highly-creative Disney veterans including Producers Peter Del Vecho (The Princess and the Frog, Chicken Little) and Clark Spencer (Bolt, Meet The Robinsons), Executive Producer and two-time Academy Award®-winning director John Lasseter (Toy Story franchise, WALL●E, Bolt) and senior story artist Burny Mattinson (Academy Award®-nominee for Best Animated Short Film, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, 1983 and key animator on the 1974 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!).

About The English Language Voice Talent:

The “Winnie The Pooh” movie is narrated by funnyman John Cleese (Shrek Forever After, A Fish Called Wanda) and voiced by the talents of Jim Cummings (Gnomeo & Juliet, The Princess and the Frog, Shrek) as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Craig Ferguson (TV’s ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) as Owl, Tom Kenny (TV’s SpongeBob SquarePants) as Rabbit, Travis Oates (TV’s My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too) as Piglet, Bud Luckey (Toy Story 3) as Eeyore,
Kristen Anderson-Lopez (TV’s The Wonder Pets,Off-Broadway’s ‘In Transit’) as Kanga, Wyatt Hall (seven-year-old son of director Don Hall) as Roo and Huell Howser (this was his first role as an actor) as Backson and Jack Boulter (this was his first role as an actor) as Christopher Robin.

About The Music:

The amazing musical scores featured throughout the film were created by Tony® Award-winning songwriter Bobby Lopez, and his wife Kristen, who wrote all of the six spirited new songs for Pooh and his pals, including “The Tummy Song,” “A Very Important Thing To Do,” “Everything Is Honey,” “The Winner Song,” “The Backson Song,” and “It’s Gonna Be Great.” Lopez is behind the Broadway hits “Book of Mormon” and  “Avenue Q” and together they’ve written for Nickelodeon and Disney, including the stage version of “Finding Nemo” and composed songs for several episodes of “The Wonder of Pets,” which earned him two Daytime Emmy® Awards in 2006 for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.

The original score, a special rendition of the beloved “Winnie the Pooh” theme song for the film was composed by Henry Jackman (“The Da Vinci Code,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Monsters vs. Aliens”) and sung by actress, musician, singer and songwriter, Zooey Deschanel (Indie folk band, “She & Him”). Deschanel also provided vocals for
“A Very Important Thing To Do” and “So Long.”

About Disney Blu-ray Combo Packs:

To provide consumers with unprecedented quality, value and portability of their favorite Disney classics, in 2008 Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment pioneered the Combo Pack – a Blu-ray Disc plus a DVD and in some cases plus a Digital Copy of the movie in a single package. To date, the company has released almost all their films as Combo Packs. Recent Disney titles released as Combo Packs include Tangled, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bambi, Santa Paws, Beauty and the Beast and Fantasia.

About The Walt Disney Studios:

For morethan 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which TheWalt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings qualitymovies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Through the Home Entertainment division, innovative distribution methods provide access to creative content across multiple platforms. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced underWalt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!  For more information, please visit www.disney.com.

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Special Events happening at Disney World in November

What special events are going on in November at Disney World?

Signalling the start of the festive season, there are a number of exciting November events at Disney World held at various locations.

Magic Kingdom Theme Park

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

November 8- December 18

On select nights, the Magic Kingdome theme park is filled with spectacular fireworks, live entertainment, visits from Santa Klaus, magical snowfall and a jolly holiday parade. This is an evening sure to make the whole family get into the holiday spirit.

Epcot Theme Park

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

September 30 to November 13

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is paradise for any food and wine lover, where you can dine your way around the world with tempting tapas, chef demonstrations, refreshing beverages and live performances. There is something to suit and delight every tastebud.  Online reservations are available for certain festival events.

Candlelight Processional

November 25 – December 30

Epcot Theme Park becomes an international celebration of all that is Christmas over the holiday period. The park is festively decorated and live entertainment allows visitors to delight in the sights and sounds of the festive season. The Candlelight Processional tells the story of Christmas, along with an orchestra, mass choir and celebrity narrator. The event is held on select nights and booking in advance is advised.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

November 10 – January 3

Held on the Streets of America, this show is a spectacular seasonal display of synchronised lighting and music. Entire buildings are glittering with lights, and about every 10 minutes, the lights are choreographed to holiday music.

Downtown Disney

The Festival of the Masters

November 11 – November 13

This open-air art festival is held in Downtown Disney features over 150 award-winning artists and showcases all kinds of artwork, from sculpture, to painting, to jewellery and photography. This is one of the most well known outdoor art events, which also features live demonstrations as well as sidewalk chalk art; you do not to miss the special event.

The Festival of the Seasons

November 9 – January 8

Christmas cheer is to be found all over Downtown Disney, with light trimmings, carollers, live performances and visits form Santa to incite the holiday spirit in the whole family. Down the corridor of novelty shops, you can also pick out the perfect Christmas gift for someone special.

November is a great time to come to Disney World and book one of the many Disney Vacation packages. Since the crowds are a little less during November, it is a great time for Disney to hold many of their Christmas parades. This way they are able to really iron out all the details so when the large crowds start rolling in during the later part of December the parades and other Christmas themed events go off without a hitch.

In addition, if you visit during November you should find the hotel rates greatly reduced as compared to what they are going to be in December. Not to mention there is many vacaincies at the rental homes near Disney World, and you should find the price for these homes being much less as well. Come visit us this month at Disney World, we know you will have a great time!

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Outlook for Orlando vacation home industry in 2012

Ever since Walt Disney decided to build Disney World in Orlando, Florida, tourism has been at the center of the city’s economy. Today, Orlando has more entertainment attractions and theme parks than any other city in the world.  With such a buzzing tourism industry and so many places to see and things to do, there are a large number of vacation homes in the city. There are hundreds of vacation home rentals just minutes from the major attractions.

The figures

Although these figures are representative of the hotel industry, we can still recognise general tourism trends that are likely to impact the vacation home industry. Hotel Horizons magazine published a variety of predictions for the 2012 year. These figures and estimate are courtesy of PKF Consulting USA, a real estate firm and advisory that specializes in the hospitality industry.

  • All markets will exceed the previous peak level of demand in 2012.
  • Demand for vacation accommodation will rise an estimated 3.1%, with a 0.7% increase in room inventory. This shows that although new accommodations are still being developed, the demand for them is rising by a much higher margin.
  • Occupancy in hotels in America is expected to rise to 61.2% in 2012, as the demand for growth surpasses that supply.

These figures indicate that the amount of tourist is growing much quicker than the amount of room space available. This means that there is scope for a more extensive hospitality industry in Orlando, including that of vacation homes.

In the midst of a recession, the rental of vacation homes in Orlando may become even more popular as people shy away from expensive hotels and expensive meals and choose self-catering options.

 

The benefits of renting a vacation home

  • Many have amenities such as pools, spas, and more so you don’t miss out on hotel facilities.
  • Cooking your own meals means saving money.
  • Orlando Vacation rentals are often cheaper over a longer stay.
  • Parking is usually free and accessible.
  • You have your own private space.

In these times of real estate crash, one could even consider buying a rental home in Orlando, as real estate prices are far less than they were three or more years ago.

Considering all these benefits, the outlook of the vacation rental industry in Orlando is a positive one, as people continue to seek some Disney magic in an economic downturn.

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Staying Fit In Disney And With Disney

Each year we go to Disney World my wife and I discuss going down to the exercise rooms.  Well… That never actually happens.  (Getting there.)  Recently my wife started her dieting, and exercising again.  She tries hard.  I told her that when we go to Disney World this Christmas we can both go to the fitness room and workout.

I think that Disney could do a lot of good if they started offering things like workout classes, and other things like the ever growing zumba work out.  I know nothing about Zumba, and don’t think that I want to, but I will support my wife 100% if she decides that she wants to do something like that back at home.  Disney could make some money at this if they thought about the idea. It surprises me that they don’t even have things like zumba on the cruise.  I have read many peoples posts on some sites about how they wish the cruise had zumba.

If you want to get in a little bit of sweating and exercise just look around whatever Disney resort you are staying in.  There is almost guaranteed to be a fitness room.  Some properties even have bicycle rentals.

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