April 2001 WDW Bits and Bites

Feature Article

This article appeared in the March 30, 2001, Issue #79 of ALL EARS® (ISSN: 1533-0753)

Now it's time to say goodbye…… To the Main Street Electrical Parade

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Walt Disney World proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination in thousands of sparkling lights and electrosynthomagnetic musical sounds . . . the Main Street Electrical Parade!"

On Sunday evening, April 1, 2001, the MSEP will bid Walt Disney World farewell after more than 500 performances! Pete's Dragon, Casey's Train, Dumbo, Cinderella, the Blue Fairy, the Eagle Honoring America and all the floats will be dimming their lights.

The MSEP had been at Disneyland until 1996. It underwent a rehab of more than half a million lights and traveled clear across the United States for a return engagement at WDW that began June 1999. (Back in 1977, there was a different version of the MSEP that ran for 15 years before traveling to Disneyland Paris.)

Join me and many other Disney fans on the evening of April 1 on Main Street as we bid adieu to the Main Street Electrical Parade. See http://wdwig.com/radp_met.htm for meet details.

Photos of the MSEP can be seen at: http://allears.net/tp/ml/msep.htm

SpectroMagic makes its return on April 2. Photos of SpectroMagic as it was last seen at Walt Disney World can be found at: http://allears.net/tp/mk/spectromagic.htm

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

DISNEY'S WILDERNESS PRESERVE

There's a little-known part of the Disney empire in Florida, just to the south of the theme parks, that few people know about. It's probably the absolute best bargain with the Disney name attached to it. It's called the Disney Wilderness Preserve. Covering 12,000 acres of wetlands, it's located 15 miles south of the parks on the border of Polk and Osceola counties at the headlands of the Florida Everglades. The wildlife preserve/sanctuary was purchased by Disney in the early '90s. Currently owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, they offer a Conservation Learning Center, hiking trails and guided walks and buggy tours. General admission is only $2, with the tours being extra and offered only on certain days. You can visit their website at http://www.nature.org/florida for more information. They are open daily from 9-5 except on major holidays. It's a place of quiet and solitude that is very rarely visited since it's off the beaten path. Escape from the noise and crowds of the parks and drive on over for a visit.

by Mike Corbo

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Play It! Opening April 7!

Yes, now you have a chance to sit in the Hot Seat — when Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Play It! opens April 7 at the Disney-MGM Studios.

Everyone in the audience can play the "fastest finger" round, and the winning Guest makes the trip to the Hot Seat. Just as on the popular television show, there are three lifelines: 50/50, Ask the Audience, and… Phone a Complete Stranger. That's right, there is a phone installed on Mickey Avenue at the FastPass station, and one in the tour corridor overhead; the Millionaire show's host rings a Cast Member at that phone, who then hands the phone to a random Guest.

Unlike the TV show, you won't win any money. There will, however, be a wide range of prizes, from pins to a trip to New York to see the live TV show!

http://allears.net/tp/mgm/m_million.htm

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Spring is almost here and that means it is time for the annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival!

More than 30 million blooms and 100 Disney character topiaries will be on display during the eighth annual Flower and Garden Festival, which runs April 20 through June 3, 2001.

Pick up a festival guide at Epcot and savor all the plants and exhibits or attend one of the numerous daily workshops and demonstrations offered. Don't miss the chance to step back in time and listen to one of your favorite 1960s or '70s rock groups at the America Gardens theatre in Epcot!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Walt Disney World Pin News
(Courtesy of www.dizpins.com)

The March Downtown Disney Pin Celebration Countdown was a huge success! Many new pins were released, both limited editions (LE) and open stock.

The April Pin Celebration Countdown will be held at Disney's Animal Kingdom on April 22, 2001. Three LE pins will be released, including an Artistry of the Animals pin, an Animal Kingdom dangle pin and an Animal Kingdom exclusive pin. The edition sizes will range from 1,000 to 2,500.

Disney will also release many other pins beginning April 1. There will be the Zodiac Pin of the Month featuring Ferdinand the Bull, as well as a LE April Fool's Pin. The zodiac pin is a LE of 5,000 and the April Fool's Pin is a LE of 3,000. A third MSEP LE pin (of 3,000) will also be released at the Magic Kingdom on April 1 to commemorate the parade's last showing.

In addition, a special "Land Series" of pins will be released, featuring favorite characters in each of the "lands" at the Magic Kingdom. There will be a total of six pins in the series, each of which will have a LE of 3,500.

April will also see the release of three special pins tying into the annual Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot: a Flower and Garden Tool Box (LE of 6,000), a Flower and Garden Flower Pot (also LE of 6,000) and the "Flower Power" pin (LE of 3,000).

Of course, a new attraction means a new limited edition pin — The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!! attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios will open in April and its LE pin (2,500) will be released to coincide with its opening.

We also heard that the Easter Bunny just may have a pin surprise or two for everyone!!! But he isn't talking yet!!

And, if that isn't enough, about a dozen open stock core pins will also be released!!

Dizpins' Pin Tip of the Month If your pin back breaks off, don't throw it away. Go to a craft store and buy a product called E-6000. Clean both the back of the pin and pin stud that broke off. Apply just a VERY small amount of E-6000 to both pin and stud. Place stud on pin and let sit for 48 hours. DO NOT TOUCH. Pin will be good as new.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.