Disney and Earth Day

Disney's 60-Year Pledge to Environment Continues

With an environmental legacy that spans more than 60 years, The Walt Disney Company&reg is dedicated to preserving the planet for future generations. Building on this legacy, Disney recently announced long-term environmental goals to reduce emissions, waste, electricity and fuel use, as well as the company's impact on water and ecosystems. The Company is committed to minimizing its overall impact on the environment while encouraging and activating environmentally responsible behavior on the part of Cast Members and employees, guests and business associates throughout the world. This edition of MouseMail highlights some of the many ways Walt Disney World&reg Resort celebrates the environment on Earth Day and throughout the year.

Environmental Initiatives Impact Bottom Line

Conserving resources isn't just good for the environment, it's good for business. In fact, numerous Walt Disney World environmental initiatives are making an impact on the bottom line. For example, modifications to the company's linen washing process is saving 29 million gallons of water each year - enough to fill the aquarium at The Seas with Nemo and Friends six times. Similarly, the replacement of 194,000 incandescent light bulbs with more efficient lighting in resort hotels is saving 26 million kilowatt hours annually, enough to power 1,450 homes. Walt Disney World Resort also is reducing food waste by distributing approximately 700,000 pounds of excess prepared food through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Florida's Fifth Graders Show Green Spirit

Encouraging all Florida fifth-graders to protect the environment, Disney's Environmentality Challengerecognizes students who show why it is "cool to care" about the planet. Judging is currently underway for the statewide competition, which honors class projects that demonstrate a significant commitment to conservation. Last year, a class from Tradewinds Elementary School in Coconut Creek was recognized for its efforts to help fund and support a water conservation project in South Africa. Now in its 11th year,Disney's Environmentality Challenge is a partnership between Walt Disney World Resort and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Since the program's inception, more than 120,000 fifth-grade students have participated.

Merchandise Locations Offer New Eco-Friendly Products

Throughout April, additional eco-friendly products have debuted at merchandise locations across Walt Disney World Resort. Examples of some of the new products include pencils made of recycled plastic, denim and currency; pens made from recycled tires; plush toys and t-shirts made from organic cotton; organic canvas bags; and colorful Eco-Mochila totes made from discarded plastic shopping bags. Guests can also find other unique merchandise, such as recycled candy wrapper bags, t-shirts made from coke bottles and baskets made from telephone wire. A new line of plush called “Tales 4 Tomorrow” can also be found at Disney Outfitters inDisney's Animal Kingdom, where five percent of the proceeds from each purchase are donated to Conservation International.

I love working at a place where they work so hard to help the environment. Everyday I walk past recycling binds, conservation boards, and there is a whole park dedicated in the promotion of awareness for the Earth we live on and importance to keep protecting it for ourselves. Disney is a great place for a hippie like me to work at.

work, work, work

No joke I have a 75 hour work week this week, and next week I am scheduled for 76 hours!!!

I know its sounds crazy, and well it is, but I love it. Ok, maybe I don't love all the bruises I get, and the fact that my feet are screaming in protest most of the time; but I do love the people I work with, and my job. 

I created a new character on Sunday because it was the end of the night, my throat was hurting and I got into a boat with BAD audio. If you have ever seen the SNL skit "Shweaty Balls" the women's personality thats kinda like the way I act mixed with a hopeful school teacher that talks about death. lol. Its basically like "whoa thats a big snake (fact like) snakes can grow to be 24 feet long, (sweet sounding with a bit of laughter) and they can swallow children whole hehe. 

I have gotten a majority of positive responses from this character, i think because people expect it to be an easy going boat ride, and its nice that there are some funny parts too.

In the end it really matters what boat I am in, what mood Im in, and how the crew responds to me in loading which character I portray. 

I know some people who work on different spiels, and some people who work on different characters. I think I would like to work on making a really good spiel and different characters. 

Figment!!

I have always been a fan of Figment... the good old figment, not the garbage ride they have now at EPCOT. Figment always inspired me to be more than I am, and to think beyond my boundaries. He is the coolest dragon ever. Well now he can be yours for a special price. 

Disney is selling him as a 6 1/2" Spaceman from The Art of Disney store April 25, 2009. There are only 750 of them, and they are selling for $140. Now I love Figment and I love Disney, but I think its ridiculous that they sell these little figurines for sooo much money. 

BRING BACK THE GOOD OLD FIGMENT IGER!!!!

Guess that pic!!

Yep ipastor was right, the song lyric was from "Just Around the Riverbend" from Pocahontas.

Now guess where and at what park this pic is from:

Lets Play!!

Ok so after following along with Lou Mangello twitters while here was at Disney the past week, and playing all the Disney trivia games recently I decided to take my blog to an interactive level. Especially with the majority of the people following my blog you guys are Disney nuts like I am, I am going to start posting random Disney Facts, Where in Disney am I, and other Disney fun stuff. I feel like I am not giving you guys enough info recently, so now I am going into over drive!!!

Where is this lyric from:

"What I love about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice the water's always changing, always flowing...."

Song title:

Movie:

 Stay tuned for more fun Disney Trivia!!!

Good Day/Bad Nite

Yesterday started off as a good day, despite the fact that I woke up with no voice and a painful knot in my throat. Every time I got into a boat at work I was only in it for 2 rotations, which was as long as my voice could handle. 2 of my favorite people were working. Plus I got a 15 min break, then bumped out for my Basics Class which wasn't for another hr then the class was 2 hrs long, which means I got paid for 3 hours of sitting down in an A/C room!!! Then when I came back from class I got a 30 min break!!! After that it was all down hill

I was at Fast Pass return when we had a big back up, and so the line was really long and people were asking the same questions "Is this really the Fast Pass line?" "wouldn't it be faster to wait in the Stand by line because this one is longer?" So I had to tell people "Yes this is the fast pass line, and no it wouldn't be shorter to wait in the regular line because the fast pass queue is short so it gets backed up easier, where stand by line is like a series of mazes you walk through."  Then the people that were suppoesed to be greeting and Fast Pass Distribution left. So instead of 3 people handling the chaos it was just me running around while the flick cards (the red cards we hand to guest to keep track of the wait time while they are in line) are beeping!! 

Then when we were about an hr away from closing (which they extended an hour) I got into a boat, and after 2 times, which was my voices limit, I told my coordinator that I couldn't go around any more because I had no voice, she said I had no choice because there wasn't anyone to take my place. After that I went around 6 MORE TIMES!!! while I went around i saw 2 people doing closing procedures which is checking that things were done from a checklist!! Really?!?! Like neither of those people could have gotten into my boat and switched with me!?!? I almost cried the last 3 times i went out.

At least 2 of my extra boats were awesome, and laughed at almost everything i said, and were really polite when they left. And when I had to flush out by Splash Mt (make sure everyone left at closing time) people told me thank you for letting them stay the extra hour, and thank you for making their trip awesome!!! I was blown away because i was just standing there trying to remind myself to think happy thoughts, and they thanked me!! yeah it made it all worth it. 

In the end its not about me or my flawed Coordinator, its about the guests and making them feel like they are in a Magic Place, and that they are worth everything, because they are. Intrinsically we are worth so much more than this world leads us to believe!! And none of us should ever forget that!!

SIGNAL 25!!!!

There was a Signal 25 in the Jungle last week. A Signal 25 means fire, and we give a code (why that code I am not sure of but) it is because you don't just scream "FIRE" in front of guests. 

So I was standing at load with a fella Skipper and it was about 8:50pm, because it was a little bit before Wishes our Fireworks show. So we were standing at the front dock waiting for guests to come and I smelled smoke. I thought out loud "Its funny, I smell smoke but Wishes isn't supposed to start yet, and you get smoke after the fireworks not before." and the Skipper next to me said "You smell a Signal 25?" I laughed and we made fun of 'smelling' a Signal 25. Then I walk over to the unload area and see all this smoke, and still thought to myself thats too much smoke for Wishes that just started. Well when I get to someone back there they tell me that there really was a Signal 25!!!!

On my way to my break I saw Firefighters with fire extinguishers!! Then when I came back from my break I ran into another fella Skipper that said she was the one who found the fire, and reported it. She said apparently someone through their lit cigarette into a pile of dead leaves over by Shrunken Ned's the boat game. Hello people A) The Jungle Cruise is not a smoking area, so they shouldn't have been there. B) We are in a draught, you don't throw lit cigarettes into a pile of dead leaves!!!

Anyways the Jungle was saved before most people noticed. But that was just the end to a very strange weekend. 

PS the other things that happened that weekend.

- We called a ambulance for 2 people

- I person fainted

- there were 3 Protein Spills (throw up)

-Pirates had to be Evacuated (I don't know why) and the Jungle helps Evac the people

-Someone kicked(?!?!) the crates at Chief Namee in the river

All that in one crazy WEEKEND!!! 

Be careful guys... its a Jungle out there!!!