“I want to thank Disney for all that they’ve done to support “Let’s Move” and to make sure our kids are eating right and being active,” Obama told the audience before joining Disney Channel and Disney XD stars for the new dance, “The Platypus Walk,” inspired by the hugely popular “Phineas and Ferb” character Perry the Platypus.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson welcomed the crowd of nearly 1,500 children and families, demonstrating his own commitment to physical fitness by completing 50 push-ups on stage.

After addressing the audience, Obama welcomed the children to visit five Disney Magic of Healthy Living activity stations along with Disney Channel Stars Debby Ryan (“Jessie”), Roshon Fegan (“Shake It Up”), and Disney XD stars Doc Shaw and Kelsey Chow (“Pair of Kings”) and Olivia Holt (“Kickin’ It”). There, professional athletes helped children hone their physical fitness skills. Children ran sprints with renowned football coach Tom Shaw, completed drills with members of the Orlando City Soccer team and practiced their tennis serve with tennis professional James Blake.

Brandon Delfosse, a 13-year-old student at Orlando Science School and member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Florida, attended the event and was pleased Obama and Disney supported healthy living. “It’s very cool knowing someone cares about you… It’s smart. Disney is popular, and it helps get the word out.”

Disney Magic of Healthy Living provides children and families with engaging content, useful tools and unique experiences to help make healthier lifestyles simple and fun. The 2010 launch of Disney Magic of Healthy Living included a series of public service announcements featuring the first lady that inspire children to take control of their own health, fitness and nutrition, and encourage their families and friends to do the same.

For more information about the program, as well as recipes, tips and videos, visit Disney.com/TryIt and Family.com/TryIt.

Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative has made significant progress since launching in February 2010. Parents, businesses, educators, elected officials, members of the

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Post tags: ESPN, Events, Michelle Obama, Wide World of Sports, WWoS

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We have obtained what is essentially concept art for the next generation (NextGen) interactive queue for “it’s a small world” at the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. Taking advantage of the NextGen infrastructure in which guests will be able to personalize their experiences at Walt Disney World, the “it’s a small world” interactivity begins at home. Using their computer or smart phone, guests will design their own “it’s a small world doll.” When they visit the attraction at the Magic Kingdom, monitors placed throughout the attraction will virtually ride along with the guest (or the monitors may be installed in the vehicles, this is an unknown at this time). Guests will also be able to send e-cards spotlighting their virtual trip aboard the happiest cruise to have ever sailed the seven seas.

Below is our gallery of art we have obtained for the NextGen queue which highlights some of the options available when creating the virtual doll (in the Mary Blair style, naturally) as well as some sample virtual postcards.

[View with PicLens]

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While all of the trademark applications describe the terms as nothing more than ‘Education and entertainment services,’ their names lend themselves to the looming XPass experience in which certain guests will be able to micromanage their Disney vacations months in advance and the fabled ‘NextGen’ project integrating RFID, customizable wristbands that will help customize and cater to individual guests.

The terms applied for include: MyMagic+, My Dream Maker, My Memory Maker, Personal Magic, My Story Maker and My Disney Experience.

With the XPass system being widely considered responsible for the Parks-wide mandate that late FASTPASSes will no longer be accepted beginning March 7, 2012, we may be finding out sooner than later what plans Disney Parks has for these project names.

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At the heart of the complaint is the employment of ‘Temporary Employee Referral Program’ (TERP) employees at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in which the IATSE claims Walt Disney World deliberately went outside the agreement to hire on their own from sources unknown to the union. According to the mediation awards, Walt Disney World must use a list of qualified TERPs supplied to them by the IATSE. The IATSE asserts that not only did Walt Disney World not adhere to the previous rulings, but to date have neither asked IATSE for such a list nor have been willing to provide a list of their sources and number of TERPs hired and the required qualifications for said hirings, which is in direct violation of additional rulings by the mediator.

The lawsuit seeks to have the mediation rulings enforced by the court.

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The cel is hand-painted with an unknown edition size. As an extra bonus, the first 750 framed pieces sold will be accompanied by a matching limited edition pin created for the release.

The event will take place at the Studios Animation Gallery at Disney’s Hollywood Studios from 10 am – 1 pm and 2 pm – 5 pm on March 17, 2012.

For those unable to attend the event, you may contact Walt Disney Event Services at 407-827-7600 to pre-order your cel. Artist signatures will only be available for orders placed before or on Friday, March 17 by 3:00 pm ET.

Prices are as follows:

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Post tags: Art, Collectibles, Events, Ink and Paint, Merchandise

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The fourth annual contest, which kicks off today and runs through April 13, 2012, asks students in grades 1 through 12 to nominate their favorite teacher by writing a brief essay of no more than 300 words and submitting it via www.downtowndisneyhotels.com. The essay should explain how the teacher has made a difference in the student’s life and will be judged on its relevance to theme, creativity, originality, and the merit of the teacher’s accomplishments as outlined in the essay.

Seven winners will be chosen, and those students and their favorite teacher nominees each will win a vacation prize package that consists of:

Five-day / four-night accommodations (for up to four family members) at one of the Downtown Disney® Resort Area Hotels

Four free Walt Disney World® one-day, one-park passes

Four free tickets to the DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive theme park

Complimentary breakfast at the hotel each day (for up to four family members)

One $100 gas card

“We’re excited to kick off our fourth annual contest to celebrate those teachers who truly make a difference in the lives of their students in spite of the many challenges their schools are facing,” said Kevin Renzi, chairperson of the organization’s marketing committee. “We’ve been amazed by the stories we’ve received in prior years, so we look forward to selecting even more gifted teachers for the recognition they deserve.”

Downtown Disney® Resort Area Hotels has awarded 60 vacation trips to deserving teachers and their students since starting the annual essay contest in 2009. Prior winners have been recognized for home schooling students struggling with challenging illnesses, persevering in their teaching careers despite life-threatening medical conditions, supporting the work of non-profit organizations, helping their students excel academically, inspiring learning in the classroom, and other professional and personal feats.

This year’s A+ For Teachers at Downtown Disney contest winners will be notified directly by May 1, 2012 and also announced on the hotels’ website and Facebook page.

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‘We pride ourselves in giving our guests a unique experience at Downtown Disney through different retail and food offerings,’ said Tony Bruno, vice president of Resort Hotels and Downtown Disney. ‘This will be the only Earl of Sandwich in California and it is sure to be a favorite among our guests as it has been at Walt Disney World for nearly eight years.’

The new restaurant, which continues to have historical ties to the inventor of the sandwich, the Sandwich family, will be adjacent to AMC Theatres. Signature hot sandwiches will be available including The Original 1762, a sandwich of freshly roasted beef, sharp cheddar and creamy horseradish sauce all on freshly baked artisan bread. Soups, salads, wraps and desserts also are on the menu. Earl of Sandwich offers a vast array of hot and cold beverages including The Earl’s Grey Lemonade. Breakfast sandwiches and pastries will be available in the morning and a variety of catering options will be offered at this location.

‘We are looking forward to the grand opening of our newest location at the Disneyland Resort,’ stated Robert Earl, chairman of Earl of Sandwich. ‘The success we’ve experienced at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and our other 15 locations has proven that the quality of our food and our dining experience will bring guests back time and time again.”

Earl of Sandwich joins approximately 50 retail, dining and entertainment venues that comprise Downtown Disney. Bridging the two theme parks and hotels, the 20-acre entertainment, dining and shopping district offers an eclectic experience that includes the World of Disney store, Build-A-Bear Workshop, ESPN Zone and House of Blues.

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Post tags: Dining, DTD, Earl of Sandwich

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Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be the first to know when changes that potentially affect your trip occur by signing up with ReSearch! The only Disney Parks refurbishment schedule that covers attractions, dining and resorts, lets you drill down to your own specific dates and even emails you when your dates are affected — and it’s completely free!

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Post tags: Closures, Liberty Belle, Refurbishments, Refurbs, Rehabs

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The screenings will take place at the Premier Theatre at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (the site notes valid theme park admission is required, but.. uh, it’s a passholder event) on the weekend of March 3 and 4. Showtimes will be at 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm each day. Space is limited and registration for the event will only take place online. The film, which is rated PG-13 by the MPAA, will be shown in 3D.

Based on the registration process, guests of passholders are not allowed. This means not only does each passholder in a family must register independently, but that due to capacity issues, families risk not all being able to sign up for the same screening. Registration appears to be fully functional and produces a PDF voucher, but it does not officially open until February 1, so we advise to wait until then (or an official announcement from Disney Parks) to register for your best chance to attend.

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Unfortunately the site offers zero information as to whom the screenings will be offered to and it’s not possible to sign up for any of the screenings as of yet, but a likely possibility is that it will be an opportunity offered via the official Disney Parks blog. If this is the case, it’s also reasonable to expect that other surprises such as an introduction to the film could be made.

The only information currently available is that the screenings will be held on both March 3 and March 4 at 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm each day.

From Academy Award®winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes John Carter — a sweeping action adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

UPDATE: This is now confirmed as a Passholder event

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Photos courtesy of Disneyland Resort

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Photo courtesy Walt Disney World Resort

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The first item worth noting is that the official InsidEARS Facebook page is now live. The page encourages visitors to Like it as a way of knowing when the program will be accepting new InsidEAR applicants.

In other news, Disney Parks has released two four new videos via its YouTube page featuring the InsidEARS moniker. Hosted by Walt Disney World social media community manager (and former ‘The Bachelor’ contestant) Marissa May, the videos take a look at activities beyond the parks at the Walt Disney World Resort.

First up is a visit to the Downtown Disney District where Marissa helps us explore Little Miss Matched, the popular boutique that encourages its customers to ‘think outside the socks.’ Here Marissa shows off many of the shop’s fashions including a look at its Disney line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSIrPxQJ-dM

Second is a video that was actually posted a while ago but was quickly hidden (we caught the upload, but didn’t catch the video itself in time). It’s a look at some of the water-oriented activities offered at the resort through Sammy Duvall’s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnpo7IiGOHk

This video features the Disneyland community manager, Kelly, as she looks at the fairy tale suites at the Disneyland Hotel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvSMZepr5E0

Lastly (and actually first), this video from July 2011 features both community managers as an introduction to the Disney Parks InsidEARS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcr61ZIeBh0

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Today, we are pleased to announce that we have discovered that the official ‘Disney Parks InsidEARS’ website has gone live. Currently there appears to be no movement on the Facebook and Twitter accounts (assuming they are even legitimate), although the InsidEARS website does mention them as specific locations one could find an InsidEAR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcr61ZIeBh0

Which leads us to wonder what makes a Disney Parks InsidEAR. The program is currently by invitation only and presumably the initial group of invites will go to existing Walt Disney World Moms Panels, along with a few other bloggers and contributors that the Disney Parks public relations team deems fit. The site explains ‘with so many places to turn, we know finding answers to your individual questions is sometimes as tough as finding a Hidden Mickey’ so it is an official one-stop location to find answers from ‘enthusiasts who may be willing to share their opinions regarding the Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort.’

In order to qualify, potential InsidEARS must first be invited (whether this will change or not in the future is unknown, but the site makes it clear that initially it will be the case) and pass either a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort quiz (but not both). There are also supplemental specialty quizzes, for which an InsidEAR will be awarded a virtual ‘specialty pin’ for their online profile. Once they are logged into the Disney Parks InsidEARS website, InsidEARS will be able to chat online with fellow members of their respective resort.

The program is open to legal residents of the United States, Puerto Rico or the United Kingdom, 18 years or older. Current and former Cast Members (since June 2010) and their immediate families are ineligible as are any one who works or worked at a travel agency promoting Disney vacations.

The Disney Parks InsidEARS website can now be found online at

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Actress/model Uma Thurman poses here with Donald Duck this past weekend in a 1900s-inspired fire engine while visiting the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Thurman, star of films including Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, will be seen in the upcoming film Bel Ami, which also stars Twilight actor Robert Pattinson.

Photo by Preston Mack, courtesy Walt Disney World Resort

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