|
Hi! I'm Anita!
 Got
a question about Walt Disney World? I probably have the answer! Deb's
Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide is the most comprehensive
guide to the World on the Web, but if you still can't find the information
you're looking for by using the Site Map,
the Search
Function, or the Anita Answer Archives, drop
me a line and I'll do my best to find the answer for you. Since
there are only 24 hours in a day, I can't answer every email I receive
- however, I do read every one and try to answer as many as possible.
Check back weekly and see if your answer is waiting, and be sure to check
out my blog, Anita Talk. Meanwhile,
I'm All Ears!
Christina
writes:
This is
probably an odd question and it mainly has to deal with a movie but
I thought it would be really interesting to ask. I was just watching
Beauty and the Beast, my favorite movie of all time. One of my favorite
scenes in the movie is the prologue with the stained glass windows.
On the first stained glass window, I had never noticed before a set
of words that I believe say "Vinete Qui Be Vinete". I can't
seem to figure out what they mean or why they are there as they are
very obscure and I believe the only words found on any of the windows.
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Anita!
Hi
Christina!
With the
help of Minnie Answer and my dear friend Flo, we checked out the Beauty
and the Beast DVD to see what the window really says. With my expert
command of freshman-year Latin, I deduced that the phrase as you wrote
it made no sense, so this required further investigation. Since I am
a techno-dolt, Minnie Answer and Flo helmed the remote control and zoomed
in on the phrase. The motto actually says:
"Vincit
Qui Se Vincit" - "He conquers who conquers himself."
This pretty much sums up the theme of the movie in one sentence. In
an interesting twist, this phrase is apparently also the motto of a
copious number of high schools across the U.S. Who knew?
A.A.
Hi
Everyone!
A few weeks
ago, in the March 10 column,
I wrote about the construction methods used in the Polynesian and Contemporary
Resorts. Long-time AllEars reader Bob, who has a formidable knowledge
of WDW history, sent me this interesting quote he had found in an old
in-house publication. The quote is regarding the Contemporary's UMC
(Unitized Modular Construction) rooms. The publication, called "Visions,"
was given to guests upon check-in at the Contemporary.
"The
initial concept was that when the time came, it would be relatively
easy to remove a room, remodel it, and then replace it back into its
"slot."
As Bob
pointed out to me, the key words in this quote are "initial concept,"
meaning that it may have been part of a very early design idea, but
it definitely was not carried out in the final design and construction
of the resort.
Bob also
reminded me that there is some evidence that the Epcot monorail may
have had a planned extension to the Studios
when that park was in the planning stages, and that may be where the
Swan and Dolphin
monorail stories have their origin:
"In
an old map of Epcot and the surrounding areas that I think was made
for the planning of the studio park, it shows a monorail running from
the Epcot station to the studio park."
I've also
seen either this same or a similar piece of concept art and it does
indeed show a monorail spur heading southwest from the Epcot station
and looping around the general area of Crescent Lake and the Studios.
I don't know the age of the piece or what it was drawn for. Neither
the Studios nor the Epcot resorts were shown on the artwork I saw, so
I also have no idea where or what the shown spur was intended to service.
(For a reference point, the Studios opened in 1989, and the Swan and
Dolphin opened in 1989 and 1990, respectively.)
So what
does all of this mean? It means that in a very early concept, there
were possible plans to extend the monorail to this area, at least in
someone's artwork. There could have been real plans for a spur, or it
may be an artist's Blue Sky musings. Bob and I have both heard stories
about monorail beam pylon footings that were laid underground in the
area, but I unfortunately have no proof they really exist outside of
the word of the stories which say they do. If anyone has more information
about these footings, I'd love to hear from you!
Anyway,
what all of this doesn't mean is that the monorail would have gone through
the Swan and Dolphin like the persistent story claims. Those black-windowed
areas in the buildings are a design element architect Michael Graves
used often in his late '80s and early '90s buildings all over the U.S.
The areas behind these windows are filled with rooms, hallways, utilities
and elevator shafts and aren't just empty caverns. In addition, the
area is located far too high in the buildings to hook up with the rest
of the monorail's beams without climbing a steep incline. The Contemporary
station is the highest point on the existing track, and it's only on
the 4th floor. The black areas on the Swan and Dolphin are at least
double that height, with the bottom edge of the areas near the 8th floor.
Perhaps there was an early plan that called for the monorail to have
circled around Crescent Lake with stops at the area's planned hotels
and the Studios, but it was not designed or intended to go through the
Swan and Dolphin hotels.
The bottom
line in both the UMC and monorail tales is that, just like Urban Legends,
there is sometimes enough of a grain of truth in the stories to make
them plausible, and that's what makes them so tantalizing.
Many thanks
to Bob for the additional background information on these stories!
A.A.
Scott and Many Others write:
I was just
looking on eBay and saw two people selling Fastpass re-entry tickets.
One was charging $50 for seven and the other was charging $149 for eight.
I don't believe these type of tickets exist. One seller claims they
can be purchased at Disney, but as I'm there multiple times each week,
I'm pretty sure Disney does not sell Fastpass re-entry tickets. These
are free with park admission. Could you please clear this up?
and Still
Others write:
I've seen
Walt Disney World tickets for sale on eBay. They're much cheaper than
buying them from Disney or other ticket brokers. Are these really a
good deal?
Hi
Scott and Everyone!
These are
some of those questions that I get all the time that need to be addressed
frequently so no one gets taken for an expensive ride they didn't bargain
for. You're correct that "bargain" sales of these items anywhere
should set off alarm bells in your head.
Fastpasses,
etc., for sale on eBay:
First of
all, let me explain that there are at least four kinds of "Fastpass"-type
ride entry passes in use at Walt Disney World on any given day, and
each is given to guests free of charge, but for a different reasons.
Disney does not sell any sort of "front of the line" pass
or Fastpass privileges to guests.
After a
quick search, I found every one of the four types of passes illegally
for sale on eBay. I strongly caution readers against buying them. As
the old saying goes, "Penny wise, pound foolish."
Fastpasses
are readily available free of charge to every guest with valid park
admission. Fastpasses are only good for the day on which they were obtained
from the machine, and the date is clearly printed on them. Cast members
check the dates carefully, and also check the Fastpass to make sure
it isn't counterfeit.
The
Attraction Re-Entry Pass is given to guests for various reasons
including ride breakdowns, inclement weather, or other problems guests
might encounter in the parks.
The
Rider Switch Pass is given to guests who must wait with other non-riding
guests while the rest of their party rides as described elsewhere in
this column.
The
Year of a Million Dreams "Dream Fastpass" is a prize given
to guests in the parks. It allows one Fastpass entry to all Fastpass
enabled rides in the park in which it was awarded, on the day it was
awarded. It is clearly dated and can't be used on any other day.
Please
note that it is illegal to sell any of these passes anywhere. They are
not transferable, and most of them have dates printed on them so that
they can't be used on other days. If you buy these on eBay or elsewhere,
you run the risk of being ripped off by paying high prices for useless
pieces of paper. Not only that, you are participating in fraud, and
if caught trying to use passes that are counterfeit or were not obtained
legitimately, at the very least you'll suffer public embarrassment by
being turned away from the ride. You could also be escorted from the
park and have your tickets voided at the discretion of park management.
I wouldn't want to risk that to save a few minutes in line, would you?
Get your Fastpasses the old-fashioned way, by using the machines. As
Zazu says, "Cheetahs never prosper."
So is
it a good idea to buy park tickets from eBay or other sellers to save
a few dollars? No, no, and did I mention NO? This is never a good
idea!
First,
there is no way to tell if the ticket you are purchasing has any valid
days left on it, or if it has already expired. Since this information
is encoded on a magnetic strip that is indexed to a database, you can't
check this until you arrive on property. When you find out there is
nothing left on that ticket, you'll have to purchase new tickets. Since
you didn't buy this ticket from Disney or an authorized agency, Disney
has absolutely no responsibility to replace the bogus tickets you bought,
so you're on your own for replacement. Do you want to take the chance
that you'll pay twice for your "bargain" tickets? No, I didn't
think so. See "Penny wise, pound foolish" above.
Second,
even if the tickets do have valid days left on them, park turnstiles
use biometric readers to link the ticket to the original user. If you
buy and try to use a partially used ticket, and the information in the
database doesn't match the information you provide to the reader, the
turnstile locks. You may be sent back to Guest Relations to find out
what's wrong with the ticket, and if GR determines that this ticket
did not originally belong to you, it may be confiscated. Disney installed
the biometric readers specifically to prevent people from selling partially
used tickets to other guests and to keep guests from using tickets that
don't belong to them.
Third,
and most important of all, it is illegal in the state of Florida to
resell tickets unless you are an authorized agent. It clearly states
on the back of every ticket that it is not transferable, as well.
Clearly
the risks far outweigh any pennies you might be saving. If you really
want to save a little money, do it by buying your park tickets with
a discount from a legitimate outlet like Maple
Leaf Tickets, AAA, or CAA. Use AllEars'
Ticket Comparison charts to compare pricing and ticket options.
A.A.
Anne
and Other Parents write:
My husband,
7-month-old daughter and I are going to WDW soon. I am very excited,
as I can't wait to watch my daughter experience her first trip to Disney!
I want to be able to do as many things with her as possible, including
rides. Can you tell me what rides she will be allowed on? She can sit
up on her own and does not necessarily need to be a lap child. I will
be devastated if she can't ride on anything!
Hi Everyone!
You'll
be happy to know that the number of attractions that infants can experience
is fairly large. An easy way to tell which rides are not for little
ones is if the ride has a height restriction. For all other rides and
attractions, it's OK in principle (in other words, it's physically safe
for an infant to experience) but be aware that there may be scary noises
or images that small children may not like. Only the parent can determine
what their child should or should not experience. For a list of attractions
with height restrictions and potentially scary elements, see AllEars'
Ride Restrictions pages.
If a child
is too small to experience an attraction, parents and caregivers can
opt for the Rider Switch program. For details on how this works, please
see my next answer.
Have a
magical trip!
A.A.
Amy and Others write:
Hi Anita.
I hope you have an answer for this one! We watched our Disney Vacation
DVD close to 30 times now, and I just don't understand what they mean
by traveling with a young toddler and switching off riders. While my
husband goes on a ride with my oldest child and I am "stuck"
waiting for them while holding onto our youngest child, what happens
next in order for me to ride again with the older child? In the DVD
it shows this uber happy mom handing off her child and basically cutting
through the line to go on the ride with the child that just came out.
Is this new, and is it legit? It was quickly glanced over in the DVD
without much explanation! Thanks for taking the time to read my long
winded question. Have a great day!
Hi Everyone!
This answer
picks up where the Infant question left off. Using AllEars' list of
ride restrictions, you've already determined which rides Baby can't
go on, so what if you and your older kids still want to go? This is
where the Rider Switch comes into play.
NOTE:
The Rider Switch is usually handled in the following manner, but not
always. Please check with the cast member greeter at the entrance to
determine how to proceed on each ride or attraction.
In general,
here's how the Rider Switch works: Everyone in the family goes to the
greeter at the ride queue's entrance. They explain to the greeter that
they wish to use the Rider Switch option (aka "The Baby Swap"
in some guidebooks). The greeter will give the parent who opts to stay
behind with Baby a Rider Switch pass, good for up to three guests. The
Rider Switch pass resembles a Fastpass, but clearly says "Rider
Switch" on it.
Next, Parent
A takes Junior through either the regular queue or the Fastpass
line, if a valid Fastpass was procured beforehand, and is within
the entry time window printed on the Fastpass. Meanwhile, Parent
B and Baby wait for Parent A and Junior to return to whatever area the
greeter asks them to wait in. When Parent A and Junior return, Parent
B hands Baby to Parent A, who then goes to wait in the designated area.
Parent B takes Junior by the hand, and armed with that Rider Switch
Pass, they are allowed to use the Fastpass queue to gain quicker access
to the ride. Junior is the clear winner here, since Junior gets to ride
twice!
For more
information, tips and advice about traveling the World with little ones,
please read AllEars' Infant and Toddler
FAQ pages.
Hope you
have a wonderful time at the World!
A.A.
Marie
writes:
Hi Anita.
If you love the memories that Disney pins can bring back every time
you see them like I do, I hope you are interested in my question.
Back in
2001, I was given a pin by my manager at Disney Institute and told that
it was the resort's character mascot, I think, or maybe he represented
one of the classes they used to offer. I NEED to know his name. I remember
something like Sketch McDraw or Draw McSketch, or I could be way off.
He resembles a man with a big, round nose. He wears a green cap and
jacket, blue pants, orange shirt, white shoes and red socks. He has
a pencil in his hand as if he is about to draw something. The back does
say, "Disney 1/5000 DI." Because my job was throughout the
parks and only had headquarters at Disney Institute, I was not very
familiar with the location. It drives me crazy that I have a pin with
an incomplete memory behind it. Can you help? Thanks!
Hi Marie!
The character
on the pin is Squash McStretch. Squash was originally created by the
Disney Institute's Managing Instructor of Animation, Larry Lauria, and
his friend Steve Macken for a CD Rom that never came to fruition. Squash
McStretch was later refined and resurrected as the mascot of the Disney
Institute. The character gets his name from two elementary animation
principles: "squash" which is intended to illustrate contact
and weight, and "stretch" which illustrates speed and exaggeration.
The "1/5000"
on the back means that it was 1 of 5000 pins made, although it's unclear
exactly how many were actually made. There are two versions of the Squash
McStretch pin. They are very similar, but the coloring of the clothing
is different, and one has the pencil closer to the nose. They were created
for sale at Dabblers (the DI gift shop) and were also sometimes given
away to cast members and guests.
The Disney
Institute operated from February 1996 to February 2002. The site is
now occupied by Disney's Saratoga Springs
Resort and Spa.
A.A.
That's
it for this edition!
Gotta
question?
Then you need an answer!
Anita Answer, that is.
Check
back weekly for Anita's latest answers,
and be sure to visit Anita's blog, Anita Talk,
on AllEars.net's Blog Central!
|
Subscribe to AllEars®.Net's RSS feed