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AllEars® is published by Deb Wills, a recognized Walt Disney World expert who also publishes one of the worldwide web's most popular sites, AllEars.Net, which receives more than 7 million page views per month from visitors around the globe. Find out more about Deb by clicking here! BEHIND THE EARS
Debra Martin Koma
Kenny Cottrell
Jack Marshall
Michelle Scribner-MacLean
Brian Martsolf
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WELCOME TO THE HOME OF Established September 1999 |
Click here to start receiving AllEars®, the FREE weekly electronic newsletter with the most current, accurate and comprehensive information for folks interested in Walt Disney World. Each AllEars® is chock full of facts, helpful tips and, of course, the latest Walt Disney World news, as well as restaurant and resort reviews, previews, interviews, snippets of timely information and insightful guest columns. Once you've subscribed, don't forget to set your preferences to receive our special promotional mailing called EARS THE DEAL™. Once or twice each month, we'll send you a bonus email with money-saving offers and promotions for Walt Disney World and the Orlando area, exclusive to you, our AllEars® subscribers! (Click HERE for instructions on subscribing to Ears the Deal™!) AllEars® (available in plain-text or HTML format) is delivered each week to more than 98,000 subscribers who share an interest in the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. You should be one of them! Sign up today!
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To get a taste of what ALL EARS® has to offer each and every week, click on the links below -- these tidbits are from our June 2008 "WDW Bits and Bites" issue: |
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Ever wonder what Walt Disney World was like way back when? Each month we visit a time gone by in Walt Disney World history. This month we take a look at some interesting openings and other milestones reached in the month of June over the years: June 1972: Columbia Harbour House in the Magic Kingdom opened. (It was
originally planned as a Disneyland restaurant.) |
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Epcot: Say goodbye to Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival: This coming weekend, May 31 - June 1, the festival's theme is Farewell. Jon Carloftis, author of First a Garden and Beyond the Windowsill, offers ideas for integrating plants and nature in every aspect of life, from interior spaces to urbanscapes. Great American Gardener series 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. at Garden Town. Tony Orlando "ties a yellow ribbon" to wrap the Flower Power concert series. Shows at 5:45, 7 and 8:15 p.m. at America Gardens Theatre. Surprise craft activities let kids enjoy end-of-festival fun. Sounds Like Summer concert series: The shows, performed by tribute or "sound-alike" bands, take place daily at America Gardens Theatre at 5:15, 6:30 and 7:45 p.m., and are included with regular Epcot admission. Scheduled for June (subject to change): June 9-15: 2U -- A Tribute to U2 For more information about the Sounds Like Summer concert series, call 407-W-DISNEY or visit disneyworld.com. Magic Kingdom Mickey's Pirate and Princess Party: June 4 -- Embark on a quest for beads and treasures immersed in a world of pirates and princesses during "Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party" at the Magic Kingdom. Pick up a treasure map and bag, then choose your course of Princess or Pirate. Disney's Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekends will be held every weekend in June: June 6 - 8; June 13 - 15; June 20 - 22; and June 27 - 29. In addition to actor Warwick Davis, who will host all four weekends, the following will be featured (subject to change): June 6-8: Jeremy Bulloch ("Boba Fett") and Daniel Logan (young
"Boba Fett") Disney's Wide World of Sports Six N Sun Soccer Fun -- June 13 -15, 2008. The state-of-the-art Jostens Center is set to open this summer. The multi-sports field house is expected to host events such as basketball, volleyball, wrestling and martial arts, allowing Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex to double the number of indoor events that can be held at the facility. The venue will encompass more than 75,000 square feet. In addition, Jostens Center will offer personalized memory books and other memorabilia to recognize athletic achievements and preserve memories for the teams and athletes that compete at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. UNofficial Gay Days in Orlando: The first weekend in June, this is NOT a Disney-sponsored event. It is an annual gathering in Orlando with designated park days. There are two websites with related information: http://www.gaydays.com/ and http://www.gayday.com/ NFFC, The Club For Disneyana Enthusiasts Orlando Chapter meeting June 21. Each meeting has a special speaker, live auction and more. Doors open at 6 p.m. at the Quality Inn and Suites, Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando. For more information, call the Club Phone Line: 407-ASK ARLO (407-275-2756). -=-=-=-=-=-=- Don't forget to check our Events page for periodic updates. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Magic Kingdom Pirates of the Caribbean will be closed for refurbishment June 5-18, 2008. Disney's Hollywood Studios Journey into Narnia is closed and will reopen in mid- to late June 2008 as Prince Caspian. Epcot Nine Dragons Restaurant in China will be closed from May 29 - November 30, 2008 for rehab. Look for major renovations, including an exhibition kitchen where diners will be able to interact with the chefs. Animal Kingdom PetriFries will be closed for refurbishment June 1-20, 2008. Animal Kingdom Lodge Phase I contruction is now completed. This was the renovation of existing rooms in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, called the Jambo House. Outside construction of a new animal barn and Disney Vacation Club Building, Kidani Village, continues and is expected to last until Spring 2009. Caribbean Beach Resort The themed pool, Old Port Royale, closed for refurbishment January 7, 2008 through September 15, 2008. Small, child-size, pool slides will be temporarily added to the pools at Villages of Jamaica and Barbados. Contemporary Resort The North Garden wing has been demolished. The tennis courts and playground are also gone. Although there has been no OFFICIAL announcement, the Orlando Sentinel has reported that the new construction at the resort will be a DVC site called Bay Lake Tower. The Concourse Steakhouse is scheduled to close for good as of May 31, 2008. The area will be rehabbed into a new permanent quick service restaurant, which will open soon after the Concourse closes. Pop Century Classic Concoctions, the bar/lounge area in the lobby of Pop
Century, officially closed on May 6. It will be converted to the Package
Pickup area for guests sending items from the parks and some of the hotels.
It is set to open on July 26. -=-=-=-=-=-=- Bookmark our frequently updated list of Rehabs. |
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The Year of a Million Dreams, which began Sunday, October 1, 2006, has been extended through 2008, and as part of that celebration Disney cast members are not just dispensing "dream" prizes, but are also creating an unprecedented number of "Magical Moments." These include guests being tapped to help with the pixie-dusted opening of Magic Kingdom, getting the star treatment at a celebrity-style handprint ceremony at Disney's Hollywood Studios, or being named Official Wildlife Spotters at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We have some reports of guests at Walt Disney World and Disneyland receiving "dreams" from the Dream Squad and some of these Magical Moments: -=-=-=-=-=-=- Noelle Walter: I've read your site for years, so I wanted to share the Year of a Million Dreams "Dream" that I received... . My fiance and I booked a honeymoon with Disney, and decided to use the Disney Honeymoon Registry as one of our gift registries. One of the gifts we registered for was a rather pricey gift basket containing wine, cheese, and bride/groom Mickey and Minnie ears from the Disney Florist. (I didn't even know there WAS a Disney Florist prior to this.) My family chipped in and bought the basket for us. So this past Monday I called the Disney Florist to order the basket to be waiting for us when we check into the Port Orleans French Quarter. Apparently I was the first person to ever try to redeem a honeymoon registry item from the Disney Florist, and it turned out the order program would not accept the order. The woman at the florist called me back a few hours later to let me know they had contacted the IT department and would let me know the status of my order later in the week. Working in IT myself, a) I found this extremely funny, and b) I highly doubted they could get an issue like that resolved in time to handle my order. Thursday morning, three days before my wedding, I received a phone call from the Disney Florist. They told me that as part of their Year of a Million Dreams, they would be giving my fiance and me the gift basket for free, and that I could use the large sum of money my family had put on the honeymoon registry gift card for something else in the park. This was not only an example of good customer service, but it made us that much more excited to head off to Walt Disney World for our honeymoon! -=-=-=-=-=-=- Charlie and Joni from Clark, NJ: Our Magical Moment came on April 15. We had just spent a few hours at Animal Kingdom and were on our way back to Old Key West. When going to the parks now, my wife will usually rent an electric scooter to get around and I will struggle along walking. We both have bad backs and knees. Animal Kingdom to me is the hardest park to walk. The walk from the main entrance to the handicap parking is quite a way. As we were limping along, a Cast Member approached us in a golf cart-type vehicle. The CM, Ronda, asked if she could give us a lift to our car. These welcome words were never more appreciated than at that moment! After dropping us off at our car, Ronda presented us with a certificate stating we were now an Honorary Family and gave us each a large pin that made us an Honorary Citizen of Walt Disney World Resort. After coming to the World since 1972, this is one of the nicest things to happen to us. Many thanks go to Ronda and the Animal Kingdom Parking Cast. -=-=-=-=-=-=- Debbie Gash: We had two magical moments in one day! On walking into the Magic Kingdom, my daughter (18 years old) who is a big Robin Hood fan, saw Friar Tuck and ran screaming to him and making a big fuss. As my husband was taking pictures, a cast member, Brian, came to me asking if my daughter and family would like a personal meeting with Cinderella. Of course I said yes, and he commented on her response to Friar Tuck. He hadn't seen that much excitement for the character ever. I explained that she was a Robin Hood fan, that we knew he didn't have a meet and greet, but knew he was in the parade. I asked if he knew what side of the street he came down on so she could be closer to him. We came back for the Cinderella meet, and Brian asked if we could come back to City Hall after the parade. Of course I said yes again. After the parade we made our way to meet him. Brian brought us to the back of the counter and had my daughter open the door to the room, and lo and behold Robin Hood was there. Brian had made arrangements to have a photographer there as well! The cast members said afterward that they had never seen such excitement or enthusiasm from a teenager and luckily it was all caught in pictures. As if that wasn't enough, Brian bought her a frame for her certificate! She said that this was the most special thing that anyone outside of family had done for her and she would remember this forever! =-=-=-=-=-=-=- EDITOR'S NOTE: If the Dream Squad bestows a "dream" upon you, or if you receive an official "Magical Moment," please let us know! We'd love to hear what you won, how you were chosen, and don't forget to send any photos if you have them! Email us at allearsnet@yahoo.com |
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Editor's Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.
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