Characters In Fight is one of the newest attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort.  It is based at Downtown Disney, but was recently spotted from Epcot.

The Characters In Flight Balloon is 72 feet in diameter and is the world's largest tethered gas filled ballon.

It was built by Aérophile S.A, headquartered in Paris, France. It was made to be similar to an attraction created for Disneyland Paris. 





















Ticket Prices:
•$16 Adult (tax included) - Guests ages 10 and up
•$10 Children (tax included) - Guests ages 3 - 9
•Guests under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
•Gondola is wheelchair accessible with assistance. Guests must transfer from an Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV).
 
See and Be Seen
The Characters In Flight balloon has a circumference of 240 feet, and a height of 105 feet, making it easy to spot from Epcot as we did in the earlier photos.

For those that are not afraid of heights this would be a great addition to your Disney World vacation, and a chance to see Disney World from a whole new perspective.

This Christmas season Disney World has added the opportunity to take a sleigh ride through the 700 acre backwoods of the Ft. Wilderness Resort.

The sleigh ride will be a 25-minute horse drawn journey through the scenic woodland paths.

Since snow is not very likely in central Florida, Disney has modified their sleigh to have wheels instead of the traditional runners.  It will be drawn by a horse from Disney World's Tri-Circle D Ranch based at Ft. Wilderness.  It is painted fire-engine red and will be decked out in Christmas lights and garland for the Holidays.

The sleigh is sized to hold up to 4 adults or 2 adults and up to 3 children.  Each sleigh ride will cost $60 total whether it is a romantic trip for two or your family of up to 5.

You will board the sleigh at the Blacksmith's Shop near the Settlement area of Ft. Wilderness Resort and Campground.  You can either drive to Ft. Wilderness or take Disney World transportation to get there.  Once you have arrived at Ft. Wilderness, you can take the internal shuttles to get to the Settlement area.

The sleigh rides are only available for a limited time during the Christmas Season, running from November 29th through December 30th.  You can make reservations by calling (407) WDW-PLAY.

During your next Disney World Vacation take the path less traveled and try a relaxing boat launch ride to a resort you've never visited or return to an interesting favorite like the Wilderness Lodge or the Polynesian Resort.

The Electrical Water Pageant debuted at the Walt Disney World Resort in October of 1971. It started its daily presentation on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon within one month of the official opening of Disney World.

This parade at sea consists of 14 floats on barges that contain screens with lights and speakers to broadcast the music for the parade.

Since the parade occurs on the water the theme is aquatic in nature and the screens display images that have to do with the water. The images depicted include: Sea Serpent/Dragon, Whale, Turtle, Octopus, Dolphins, Crocodile, Brachiosaurus, and King Triton being pulled by 4 Seahorses.

The Electrical Water Pageant was originally conceived as an entertainment for guests as they left the Magic Kingdom at the end of the day and a way to illuminate the Seven Seas Lagoon as they departed.

The Pageant passes by the Magic Kingdom, but also makes appearances for guests at the Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian Resort, Contemporary Resort, Wilderness Lodge, and the Ft. Wilderness Campground. The schedule changes depending upon when the Wishes fireworks show plays, so check at Guest Services for the Magic Kingdom or your resort for the schedule for the particular night you wish to see the EWP.

Despite its longevity the parade has only gone through minor changes during its 38 years of existence. The technology used is not state of the art, but the whimsical nature of the parade makes it entertaining nonetheless.

The current rendition plays a different musical tune as each of the Water Floats are illuminated. The musical selections are coordinated to match the theme of the image shown.

The Show
The approximately 10 minute show proceeds as follows:
It starts with no lights and the playing of “Fanfare” from The Little Mermaid. Then The first 4 floats light up to create a Sea Serpent while "Boo Bop Bop Bop Bop (I Love You Too)" from Pete's Dragon plays.

The Sea Dragon is followed by a playful Whale that is accompanied by the song “Whale Of A Tale” from the movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

Next to be illuminated is a Turtle that raises and lowers its head ( I have not been able to determine the song for the Turtle – comment if you know!).

A bright, happy Octopus is coupled with Ursula’s dark rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid.

The next 3 floats show 3 spirited Dolphins playing in the surf. (I have not been able to confirm this song either unfortunately.)

Although not known for swimming a Brachiosaurus follows the dolphins to the music of Was (Not Was) - "Walk the Dinosaur".

Disney Classic Peter pan is represented by a Crocodile and the song "Never Smile At a Crocodile" from the movie.

Last, but certainly not least, King Triton is being pulled along by a team of four Seahorses to the songs - "Fanfare" & "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid.

The Finale
For the finale the Electric Water Pageant transforms the Sea Creature images to those of United States Flags and red, white, and blue stars as patriotic music ensues. You will hear excerpts from "You're a Grand Old Flag", "Yankee Doodle", & finally "America the Beautiful".

Great Free Entertainment
All in all it is a fun activity to see. The Electrical Water Pageant consistly gets mentions in lists of great FREE things to do at Disney World.

Whether you see it at the end of your day at the Magic Kingdom, or if you catch the show from the beach at one of the resorts bordering the Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake, the Electrical Water Pageant should be part of your list of activities to do during your next Walt Disney World Resort vacation.

Have you heard about the Walt Disney World Resort's 5-legged goat?

It's true, there is a 5-legged goat in the Contemporary Resort.

OK, it's not a live goat, but rather one that is incorporated into the magnificent murals that are part of the Grand Canyon Concourse in the resort.

Before we see the goat let's learn a little about the person that brought the infamous animal to the mural and why.

Mary Blair

Mary is one of the Disney Legends. She was recognized with that honor posthumously in 1991.

Mary's stylized artwork and influence is recognized in many of the classic Disney animated movies and Disney World and Disneyland attractions.

Movies that she provided art for included: "The Three Caballeros", "Song of the South," "Make Mine Music," "Melody Time," "So Dear to My Heart," "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Peter Pan."

She is also known for her contributions to the "look" of the "It's A Small World" attraction. She also created murals for Disneyland in addition to the one at the Contemporary Resort.

Why The 5-Legged Goat?
So we come back to the question about the 5-Legged Goat. In these massive 90 foot high murals that were painted in time for the Contemporary Resort opening in 1971, why did she feel the need to give one of the goats 5 legs?

The story goes that Mary believed that no piece of artwork should be perfect because only God was perfect, so she purposely created the mistake, aka the 5-legged goat, in the mural.

How Can I Find The Goat?
If you would like to see the 5-legged goat in person, first travel to the Contemporary Resort. In the Grand Canyon Concourse, which is the expansive area that the monorail travels through, you will notice that there are massive murals on each of the sides of the center structure.

The murals are breathtakingly impressive, so take the time to check them out and not just look for the 5-legged goat.

To find the "special" goat, you must look on the side of the mural that faces the monorail station, but furthest away from the Magic Kingdom. There near the top of the mountain will be the goat with one of its normal companions.

Join me as I represent Only WDWorld at the final running of the "Race For The Taste 10K" at Disney World which will occur on Sunday October 11th.


The race has been held the last several years in conjunction with the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Registration for the race is currently 82% full and October 4th is the last day to sign up, so there is no more time to procrastinate. You can sign up at Disney Endurance Series.


You don't have to be a professional runner to participate. If you have the will to persevere and can meet the 15 minutes per miles pacing requirement, then you can compete.


If you are like me, the event is not about winning, but rather experiencing the journey. This event really sounds cool, so I am training in order to be able to experience it firsthand.

DISNEY’S RACE FOR THE TASTE 10K Features:

Where else do you have the opportunity to go through Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot all before 8:30 am? Ok, you don't get to ride any of the attractions or take in a show, but it is still cool to be in the parks at that hour before they are officially open.


The race course starts at Disney's Wide World of Sports then travels through Disney's Hollywood Studios. Then you run along the walkway to the Boardwalk, past the Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts before continuing on the Epcot's International Gateway. A quick trip around the World Showcase lagoon and out the front on Epcot to the Finish Line.

Other Race Highlights:

• Along the way Disney will provide on course entertainment.
• Athlete refreshments at the finish line.
• Timed event with online results.
• Awards presented to the top three male, female, military, and age group winners and male and female champions in the masters and wheelchair divisions.
• Canned food drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.
  

Post Race Picnic

At the Disney’s Post-Race Picnic runners can choose 3 of the following 4 Food & Wine Festival Offerings (just announced) :

• Argentina Beef Empanada with Tomato Salsa (Buenos Aires)
• Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice) (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
• Maple Glazed Salmon with Lentil Salad (Montreal, Canada)
• Strawberry Shortcake (United States)

There will also be Disney entertainment face painters, Kids’ Races and the Awards Ceremony. This is included with race entry.

10K participants will also receive:

Collectible pint glass

Personalized bib (if registered before September 15)

Goody bag

Disney's Race for the Taste 10K finishers’ medal (New medal design for 2009!)

Bonus for 2009 - Fall Race Challenge:

If you compete in the Race For The Taste and at least one of the other two Disney Endurance Series Races this Fall: Expedition Everest™ Challenge OR The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror 13K, you will receive the exclusive bonus medal (pictured) for your achievement in addition to your individual event medals.

Don't Miss Out

This looks like a really fun event, and an experience that you will remember for years to come.

Sign up before its too late and you miss out. Be sure to leave a comment on this Blog Post if you are participating, so I know to look for you.

I hope to see you there!

• A campfire where you can roast marshmallows.
• A fun sing-a-long session with old favorite songs that make you feel like you are at camp.
• A chance to see Chip & Dale and have your photograph taken with them and have them sign your autograph books.
• After the sing-a-long a Disney Movie is shown on the big outdoor screen, like the drive-ins of the past.

The rustic setting of the Ft. Wilderness Campground makes a great setting for this event. You do not have to be staying at the campground to participate. Any Disney Guest can attend for free.

To get there either drive to the main Ft. Wilderness parking lot or take a bus from one of the parks or Downtown Disney to Ft. Wilderness. Then board one of the Yellow line internal buses to the 1500 area Bus Stop.

If you don't remember the stop, tell the bus driver that you are going to the Chip & Dale Campfire and they will let you know where to go.

1. Disney has implemented energy-saving fixtures and other changes throughout the property in order to become an EPA "Energy Star Partner.
   Result: The original implementation of the program saved enough energy to power Disney’s Animal Kingdom in its first year of operation.


2. Disney World is changing out the light bulbs used in the Resort guest rooms to the more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
   Result: when completed 176,325 bulbs will have been changed out.


3. LED lights are being used to replace neon lights in many signs, decorations, and holiday trees. These LED lights are use far less energy and last longer.


4. The lighting of Cinderella's castle during the Christmas holidays is done with LED lights instead of traditional incandescent lights. Over 170,ooo LED lights are used.
   Result: The entire castle is lit using the energy equivalent of 12 microwave ovens.


5. All 23 resorts on the Disney property had receive Florida's Green Lodging certification.
   To achieve this special designation, resorts must focus on five categories: water conservation, education and awareness, waste reduction, energy conservation and indoor air quality.


6. Disney World has instituted a Resort wide recycling program.
   Result: in 2007 they recycled:
   1,048 tons of scrap metal;
   1,255,090 pounds (628 tons)of cooking grease; and
   14 million pounds of cardboard


7. The Disney World Resorts have instituted a water conservation program that focuses on reducing overall usage and using reclaimed water wherever possible.
   Result: Over 30% of the resort's overall water consumption is met with reclaimed water.
   
8. Disney World Resorts and restaurants have gathered excess prepared food and donated it regularly to the Second Harvest Food bank to be distributed in central Florida.
   Result: Over 1,000 children are fed weekly through this program. In 2007 this program donated over 625,000 pounds of food to the local hungry in central Florida.


9. Disney World even makes use of the animal waste that is produced by the animals in Animal Kingdom and the Tri-D Circle Ranch (Ft. Wilderness).
   Result: In 2007, over 3,520 tons of manure was sent to the composting facility leading to the production of almost 542,000 pounds of compost daily.

• Over 400,000 Walt Disney World guests proudly wore their celebratory Disney Happy Birthday Pin to share their special day this past year.
• Approximately 1,600 couples tie the knot each year at Walt Disney World Resort in various storybook settings throughout property.
• Since September 1991, Walt Disney World Resort has hosted more than 30,000 fairytale weddings.
• The Wedding Pavilion can host up to six weddings per day, and up to 12 weddings can occur each day at various locations on Walt Disney World property.
• Walt Disney World is a honeymooner’s paradise with some 10,000 lovebirds enjoying romantic bliss and fun times at the Vacation Kingdom each year.
• Culinary wizards whip up more than 2,000 decorative wedding cakes a year for couples exchanging vows at Walt Disney World Resort.
• More than 300 soon-to-be-grooms have popped the question --"Will you marry me" at Cinderella’s Royal Table this past year.
• Some 80,000 high school seniors will celebrate graduation during the annual Grad Nite party at Walt Disney World Resort. Disney has hosted the event for 36 years with a variety of acts from KC and the Sunshine Band to Jessica Simpson.
  

Helping people Celebrate their special moments is a daily event at the Walt Disney World Resort. Thousands of people each year choose to do their celebrating at the "Happiest Place on Earth"....and who can blame them!

Disney is known for its innovation, inventing new technologies to enable it to build what its Imagineers dream up.

When designing the ride vehicles for its DINOSAUR (originally known as “Countdown to Extinction”) attraction in Disney World and Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye attraction in Disneyland, they brought realistic simulators to the next generation.

The U.S. patent that was granted for the Dynamic Ride Vehicle(#5,623,878), gives details of the technology used in those rides and other potential uses that the technology could be used for.

The basic premise of the invention was to combine the technology that was previously used in multi-axes simulators like Disney World’s Body Wars and Star Tours attractions and makes them smaller and mobile so that the simulator vehicle can travel along a path and greatly increase the potential realism.

Once mobile they removed the barrier of needing to project images on a movie screen. Now the simulator can travel through the lifelike environments and encounter limitless situations. Each simulator vehicle can be programmed to react differently, creating a greater variety of ride experiences for the guest, thereby encouraging repeat visits.

Disney also presented in the patent that the ride vehicle could take on many different forms, including that of an animal.

Here in figure 1, you see the example of an Elephant ride vehicle.






















In Figure 2, you can see how the passenger area actuates separately from the base, allowing the riders to “feel” that they are actually riding an elephant. I thought it was very interesting that Disney thought it was important to specifically call out that this technology could be placed in the form of an animal.




































Figures 7 & 9 Demonstrate the invention using a ride vehicle that looks more like a SUV can move and down and side to side. The actuators work in concert with computers to raise and lower when signaled to do so. This can be accomplished through timing, reading sensors in the path or location, or reacting to rider input.




In all up to 6 axes of movement can be incorporated into the simulator. 6 axes are represented in the following diagram showing movement: in the normal 3 dimensions (forward-back, left-right, & up-down) and rotating around each of those directions as shown. Bottom line is that they can have full range of motion for their simulator.



Figures 23 & 26 show how the ride vehicle can simulate high speed turns and climbing up and descending down hills by having the upper part of the vehicle move while the base remains in contact with the path. This allows for more thrills at slower, and safer speeds.





















Lastly Figure 28 shows how the vehicle can react to an imaginary log in the path, using all of the actuators in sequence to simulate that motion.





















The engineer in me comes out when I look at the details for this patent that Disney received. The possibilities for ride applications are limitless. It is also a platform that is easily re-programmed, allowing for less expensive redesigns and ride modifications. Hopefully we will see Disney's next use of this technology again at Disney World soon.

If you would like to read the full text of Disney’s patent # 5,623,878 just follow this link: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=CzwTAAAAEBAJ

Summer is a great time to visit the Walt Disney World Resort.

With Florida's very hot sun, frequent, but brief rain showers.and high crowd levels, you can ruin what should be a wonderful vacation at the “Happiest Place On Earth” if you don’t plan properly.



Here are some tips to help you have a fantastic summer vacation:

Start Early
Plan to get to the parks when they open (also referred to as “rope drop”). You want to do this for three reasons:

• The park is coolest during the morning, so take advantage of it.
• You can get to ride the most popular rides before the crowds settle in later in the day.
• There is usually a small park opening performance that you will only get to see if you show up then. (See the picture from Magic Kingdom Opening Performance above.)

Stay Dry

Bring ponchos and/or compact umbrellas with you to the parks each day. Plan on brief rain showers to come each day, so be prepared. Having the rain gear will allow you to continue to enjoy your day instead of having to either make an unscheduled purchase at the parks or head back to the resort to change wet clothes.

Give The Kids A Ride
If you have young children, bring a portable umbrella stroller to give them a place to rest after all of that walking.

These collapsible strollers are relatively inexpensive and easy to get on and off of the Disney World transportation. This also avoids the expensive rental fee for strollers rented at the parks.

Don't Burn

Bring plenty of sunscreen. The Florida sun is hot. Even if you want to get a tan, bring the sunscreen. Nothing can ruin a trip faster than a case of sun poisoning or bad sun burn. Also remember to stay hydrated on those hot days. That will keep your body functioning properly and in shape for enjoying all there is to see.

Take A Break

Plan on taking a mid-afternoon break. When the parks are the most crowded and the sun is at its hottest, take a break back at the resort. Either take a nap or perhaps cool off in the resort pool. This will keep the stress levels low and make sure that you get a chance to relax. It is vacation you know.

Enjoy The Night

Return to the parks in the evening as the sun goes down. The temperature will start to drop, making it much more comfortable. Many of the attractions take on a new perspective when they are lit up at night. Also take advantage of special night time entertainment such as Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, “Illuminations” at Epcot, or “Wishes” at the Magic Kingdom.

Summary
By following these tips you will be able to stay cool, dry, avoid the major crowds, have time to relax, and enjoy the attractions.

Now that certainly sounds like a vacation at the “Happiest Place On Earth.”

Disney's Photopass has been a great idea that you should take full advantage of during your next Disney World Vacation.

Photopass involves a card that is similar to a credit card that you can reuse during your entire Disney World Vacation. At each park there are several locations that Disney Photopass Photographers can take pictures of you and your family and scan your card. Either at a Disney photo shop location or from the comforts of your home after your vacation, you can look at the pictures that were taken and decide if you would like to purchase any.

The best way to make full use of the Photopass photographers is to have them take pictures of your family whenever you see them. After they take the Photopass pictures, have them take a picture of your family on your personal camera. I have never had a Disney Photographer refuse to do so.

This way you will have pictures of your entire family available from the professional taken on their camera, and on your camera. You have the option to decide what you want to get prints of after your vacation is over. No need to make a spur of the moment decision.

This is a great way to get your entire family included in your personal vacation pictures as well. Although most Disney World vacationers are willing to take your family's picture on your camera, by having the Disney Photopass photographer do it, you will get some of the most scenic backdrops in all of Disney World included in your shots.

So next time that you are worried that you will not be in any of your family vacation pictures because you are the designated photographer, remember the Photopass photographers and let them help include you in the memories.