Disney Squeezes Rivals

ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) – Walt Disney World's Magical Express airport shuttle is on track to handle nearly 2 million passengers this year, but its success has come at a price for small rental-car, limousine and bus companies. The first-of-its-kind free service shuttled 186,238 passengers in April – its peak month – from Orlando International Airport to the Disney resort, with eight of the past 15 months tallying more than 155,000 passengers. The figures underscore Disney's significance as a driver of airport traffic. Vacationers heading to Disney accounted for more than 10 percent of all passengers who flew into the airport during the first six months of this year. For the airport, there is no significant change in revenue as a result of the service, which launched in May 2005. Money the airport takes in from ground-transportation companies, including Disney, is up 2.3 percent for the first seven months of the year over the same period last year. That growth is consistent with the 2.4 percent increase in the number of passengers flying into Orlando during that time. "So it's pretty much even-steven," Deputy Executive Director Chris Schmidt said. "It looks to me like everybody's doing well." A closer look at the numbers, though, shows some small companies are struggling.

· Rental-car companies that cater to budget-conscious leisure travelers report downsizing their fleets and staffs to stay out of the red. They say the service gives Disney and its bus operator, Mears Transportation Group, a monopoly on lucrative trips to the resort.
· Feeling even more pressure are rental-car companies at the airport. Only one – Vanguard Car Rental USA Inc., which operates as Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental – showed a revenue increase for the summer months of May, June and July compared with the same period last year.The other four experienced flat or decreased revenues despite a 3.6 percent increase in incoming passengers for the three-month period.
· In addition, Beeline Ground Transportation, the bus and shuttle-van company that competes with Mears, is also suffering. Beeline has laid off 50 employees since Magical Express started 16 months ago and is now operating with a skeleton crew, owner Dr. Owen Fraser said. "We're not getting any walk-up business at the airport," Fraser said. "Magical Express is taking away all of that business. We're doing maybe 100 passengers or 200 passengers a day. Very, very little."

In a way, that business should go away. why shouldn't Disney get to pick up their own guests. The Beeline (Beachline 528 now) isn't complaining about the times I pick up my family at the airport. If Disney is serious about their claim to treat all guests as "cherished friends", picking them up at the airport is the least they can do.

Disney Senior Vice President Jerry Montgomery said the shuttle is a boon to the region and that there are no plans to begin charging passengers directly for the service. "After only a year of operation, Disney's Magical Express has set new travel-industry service standards, created more than 600 new jobs in Central Florida, reduced crowding and wait times throughout Orlando International Airport, and cut down on area roadway congestion," he said in a statement. "Overall, we've received very positive feedback about Disney's Magical Express." The financial data also for the first time shed light on just how many people who fly into Orlando visit Disney. Because Disney does not publicly release attendance figures, the passenger numbers for Magical Express offer a rare glimpse into the ebb and flow of crowds at the resort. According to the data, it's not uncommon for Disney to transport more than 7,000 people in a single day from the airport to its resort. The number reached a high at 10,439 people Oct. 1, 2005.

Disney's Not a Small World, After All

(Florida Today) – How would you like to walk down Main Street and gaze at Cinderella's Castle without so much as a hat obstructing your vision? It can be done, and you won't even be arrested for trespassing in the process. I am talking about Disney's Keys to the Kingdom backstage tour. It costs a few dollars extra, but they throw in a free meal. Why not? Our tour began with a few preliminary facts. There are 55,000 cast members at Disney World and 11,000 characters. The portion the public sees is called Onstage and everything else is Backstage. Along Main Street, our guide pointed out dozens of interesting trivia items.

• For example, at one end of the street are bronze statues of Roy Disney sitting with Minnie Mouse and at the other end of Walt Disney standing with Mickey Mouse.
• Also, there is a second-floor sign indicating the location of Walt's old office above his favorite food source: The ice cream stand.
• Some of the company names you see in the windows are the front corporations used to buy up ranch land at $80 an acre. The day after Disney announced the theme park location, land in the area began selling at $80,000 an acre. This forced me to contemplate the sorrow of those poor farmers who sold to Disney without knowing it. I also thought about the joy of their former neighbors.
• Did you know the flags around the park resemble American flags? These flags stay up during all kinds of weather and at night. Disney has changed the flags in subtle ways to keep from desecrating our nation's symbol. Heartwarming, in a public relations kind of way.

Interesting...

About this time, a few costumed characters walked by. They can't talk to visitors, but I devised a way to see whether they were cranky. I walked up and asked, "Where does your costume chafe the most right now?" I could almost always provoke a groan. It was a fun day learning Disney secrets and seeing its fa-mous underground. I still would like to work for Disney and learn more. Does anyone know the name of a good tattoo remover?

'Pirates of Caribbean' a Zionist Plot

(World Net Daily) – A new campaign on Middle East television tells viewers that Disney is linked to Zion-ism and its newest "ammunition" is "Pirates of the Caribbean," the popular movie starring Johnny Depp. On a new video from Iran's IRINN channel, and released by MEMRI, an anchor introduces the critique with the comment that, "Zionist ideology uses all means to impose its cultural control," and then a reporter starts talking about the "Pirates" movie, and how it is an attempt to "gain control." "Disney and its produc-tions have been associated, more than anything, with the Zionist lobby in Hollywood," the report says. "This clearly influences the content of this large company's productions, as well as its policies and guide-lines. The 'Aladdin' animated film series is one example of Disney creations that present Arabs in a negative light," the MEMRI translation quoted the reporter saying. "Cinema is considered another, subtle, weapon in the hands of those who support this corrupt ideology," the reporter says on the newest video. "In Hollywood, Disney is the manufacturer of this weapon, and the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is its newest ammunition." The reporter also criticized Disney for supporting the "Bush administration's expansionist policies," and noted that the company "refrained from screening the film 'Fahrenheit 9/11'" which criticized that policy.

Food and Wine Time

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Orlando Sentinel) – The beer, wine, food samples and nostalgic music start flowing at Epcot Friday with the opening of that park's 11th Annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. More than 100 wineries and 250 Disney and guest chefs will be serving up food and sprits from 25 international marketplaces that add such countries as South Africa, Poland and Thailand to those already showcased in Epcot's World Showcase. The festival runs through Nov. 12, with extended park hours. In addition to the usual Epcot attractions, special exhibits and entertainment will be provided with concerts at the America Gardens Theatre, starting with '80s rock band Survivor this Friday and Saturday night. Future acts range from the FamilyStoneExperience to Three Dog Night to Gloria Gaynor to Southside Johnny. While the festival is open to all who enter Epcot, and free samples are available from some stations, much of the food and spirits being served up by 250 Disney and guests chefs come with charges. Appetizer portions range from $1.50 to $4.50.

See the World, One Disney Park at a Time

HONG KONG (AP) – The rain was pouring, the skies were a murky gray and Mickey's magic wasn't work-ing on the visitors cursing and scampering for cover at Hong Kong Disneyland. But Keith Simpson and his six friends from Sydney – all Disney fanatics sporting matching polo shirts that show Mickey ears over Australia's map – couldn't have been happier. The group was in Hong Kong on the second leg of their Disney-themed round-the-world tour, realizing months of planning for a 32-day trip that takes them to every Disney park in the world – from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Paris, to the US flagships, Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. It was a dream come true for the "Down Under Disneyana" fan club members, who have all been to one or more Disney parks before but have never done them all at one go. The idea of a world tour was especially appealing for Australian fans because they live so far away from all the Disney parks, Simpson said. "We can't go to Disneyland every week. We can only go once every year, and that's if we're lucky," said Simpson, 36. The nearest park – Hong Kong – is more than eight hours' flight away. The fans also organized the trip so that it coincided with several important dates for Disney. The group was in Hong Kong for the first anniversary celebrations at Disney's newest theme park on Sept. 12. They planned to finish on Sept. 30, the last day of 50th anniversary fes-tivities at the original Disneyland in Anaheim. Along the way, members expected to mark the occasion with group photos in front of all the iconic Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella castles, said Wayne Godfrey, the organizer of the trip. They also planned to spend minimum time sightseeing outside the parks, while trying to go on every single ride at every single park they're visiting. In fact, discounting time spent on-board flights and transfers from airports, virtually every minute of the month-long trip was to be spent in one Disney park or another. The world trip cost about $4,661, inclusive of discounted rates for hotels, transfers and passes to the parks, Godfrey said. The Tokyo leg cost an extra $526, because the air miles went over the prescribed mileage limit in the round-the-world airfare, he said. "Coordinating the airfare was the trickiest part," he said. "But once we decided to go with a regular round-the-world airfare, it all came together really quickly." Godfrey has a word of advice for anyone trying to organize a similar trip. "I would book a round-the-world airfare. I would try to stay at the moderate (Disney) hotels. I'd also make sure I go out of season, not on holidays when the parks are crowded," he said.