Volume 1, No. 18. October 5, 2001
[Photo of Disney-MGM Studios' Sorcerer's Hat icon.]
Prevailing Memories
Monday was supposed to be the national
kick-off of the "100 Years of Magic" celebration at Walt Disney World
in Florida honoring the 100th birthday of founder Walt Disney. However, given
current nationwide circumstances in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks,
Disney officials decided to postpone the national media launch until December
5, Walt Disney's actual birthday.
Still, the 15-month-long celebration did inaugurate Monday, with new parades at each of the four major Disney World theme parks, new topical shows, new souvenirs and a new icon for Disney-MGM Studios, a 12-story Sorcerer's Hat, the kind Mickey Mouse wore in "Fantasia." The company also installed 10 trivia game computer kiosks in each park. The touchscreen units, called "Discover the stories behind the magic kiosks," offer 10 questions covering topics that tie into each kiosk's particular location.
The company's cast members also gost their own personalized memento of the celebration with new nametags that include a personal magical memory of a Disney experience engraved on the badge in place of the employee's hometown. Cast members choose one of 100 different memories, ranging from "Magic Kingdom" to "Mickey Mouse Watch" and "Disney Lunch Box." Imagineer Roger Holzberg, for example, picked "64 World's Fair" for his nametag because that exhibition is where he first saw the animatronic Abe Lincoln, a moment that inspired him to become a Disney Imagineer.
"It's another way to interact with guests," said Walt Disney World Public Relations Representative Michelle Baumman. "Instead of having the hometown you can have these memories you can talk about with guests, and they can tell you theirs." Baumman's new nametag bears "Winnie the Pooh," the first stuffed Disney character she owned as a child. "I kept it for a very long time, and it's still my favorite stuffed animal, and now it's my daughter's favorite."