Mouse Extra

TouringPlans.com raised the possibility this weekend of an online check-in system coming to Disney World Resorts as well as the Disney Vacation Club properties.  Keep in mind this is still in the rumor phase of reporting.

Disney’s Online Check-In service enables Guests to simplify their arrival by allowing them to go online and provide information related to their upcoming stay. On a Guest’s scheduled arrival date, since check-in information will have been provided previously online by the Guest, they may experience a streamlined check-in at select Walt Disney World® Resort hotels or Disney Vacation Club resorts. A welcome folder with their Key to the World Card will be waiting at a designated Disney’s Online Check-In area in the resort hotel lobby. Guests will need to present valid photo ID to pick up the folder and complete check-in. Guests may check-in online beginning 10 days prior to their arrival date.

This is one of those things that I can’t believe has taken this long to develop.  I mean, if you can check-in online for an airline flight you should be able to do so with a hotel.  Plus, I can’t be the only one who has waited on ridiculous lines for check-in, especially at the value resorts.

But whether or not I take advantage of this, should it become reality, depends solely on the flexibility of the system.  For a couple of resorts the location of my room is critical to the reason I picked it.  If I can not somehow influence which specific room on get with this system then I simply would not be interested in using it.

As we reported last week, yesterday marked the official groundbreaking for Disney’s much anticipated new Vacation Club resort in Hawaii.  Our colleagues over at the terrific DVCnews.com website have the full press release for you.  Usually these are pretty boring, but this one provides some nice hints of how beautiful this resort can be.

Additionally, Hawai‘i’s aloha spirit will influence the many intricate details for which Disney resorts are famous, with stories woven into the architecture, interiors, art, graphics and three planned signature gardens all brought to life through carefully selected colors, patterns, materials and forms. Wood, thatch, lava stone and coral will be among the materials represented in the resort’s two 15-story guestroom towers, each oriented perpendicular to the ocean to maximize ocean views from the strategically angled guest rooms. Façade murals will add to the distinctive look of each tower and will begin to portray some of the stories and legends of the islands.

At the heart of the resort, an open-air lobby building — dubbed Hale Aloha — will draw its design inspiration from a traditional Hawaiian canoe house, visually connecting families to the sea and beyond.  Window designs, wall graphics and other details will welcome families with tales of adventure, myth, legend and more, while twin streams flow through the building before uniting as a single cascade into the center garden below.

What makes this so exciting is that there seems to be an awful lot of detail and research going into the design here.  And when Disney does that, it usually results in something extremely impressive.  Just from this description, it seems as though we have a design and theme that may be on par with some of Disney’s most impressive, like the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

It is November 18, a day for celebration among Disney fans.  On this date in 1928 a certain little mouse strutted on to the big screen for the first time at New York’s Colony Theater and began a career in entertainment that is unsurpassed by all others in history, human or rodent.

Yes, 80 years ago today Mickey Mouse debuted in Steamboat Willie.  He instantly charmed audiences across the globe with his cute sense of humor and gritty determination.  His career on the silver screen skyrocketed with well over 100 films to his name.  He soon became nothing short of an American icon and without doubt the most recognizable movie star of all time.  His fame crosses over from generation to generation with uncanny ease.

For Disney fans, Mickey holds a special place in our hearts.  In the beginning, he was something of an alter ego to his creator Walt Disney.  Walt, who initially wanted to call him Mortimer, famously thought up Mickey on a train ride across the country.  He was also the first person to give voice to Mickey.  Mickey saved the fledgling Disney studio and sent it into the Hollywood stratosphere.  After all these years there is still something of Walt within the spirit of Mickey. 

My favorite story of Mickey Mouse has to do with another great American institution, Lionel Trains.  During the Great Depression, when people did not have the money to spend on expensive toys, Lionel was close to going under.  Then they struck a deal with Disney to make a special Mickey Mouse handcar.  The car was so popular that profits from it saved Lionel, which became a legend itself in the years that followed thanks to the Mouse.

So go find your Mickey Mouse plush doll and give it a hug.  You can even go ahead and sing Happy Birthday to him.  (Please, like you don’t talk to your Disney plush dolls!!  Who do you think you’re kiddin’?)  He’s 80 today and he deserves it.

Folks, that is a 20% off basically whatever stuff you want to buy.  When was the last time you received a discount off anything in the parks?  And the offer does not stop there.  The more credit you want to purchase the deeper the discount.  Do you have a really big family?  Going to be there for a while?  Perhaps you want to buy an expensive collectable.  Then maybe you need $1000 worth of credit, which you can buy for $695.  That is 30% off.  And keep in mind that according to the report there is no expiration date.

So will this be offered to everyone booking at Walt Disney World?  Right now we don’t yet know.  But the possibility does seem to be there…

Based on what WDW insiders have told me, this targeted e-mail is something of a test to see what sort of response Guests would have if they were given the opportunity to prepurchase a significantly discounted Walt Disney World Merchandise Credit. And given that the current offer only runs through January 23, 2009 … I’m told that WDW management will first evaluate how this test went before they then decide if this same offer will be made available to other people who purchase Disney World vacation packages.

So when you are sitting in front of the television watching the news, and you hear endlessly depressing reports about the state and future of our economy, just think of the possible benefits that may be around the corner at Walt Disney World.  It certainly won’t solve all your economic problems, but it may put a smile on your face knowing you can better afford that Big Fig, Mickey watch, or just an entire double-sized stroller full of Princesses and Buzz Lightyears.

Disney, offer this program to all future Disney World guests and Vacation Club members with reservations.  The merchandise will move off the shelves and your guests will be whistling “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” all the way to the cash register.

It appears that Disney and Verizon Wireless have teamed up for a program that sounds pretty exciting for theme parks guests.  This news was just released today, so some of the details are still sketchy as we have only the typically vague press release to go by.  You can read the entire release at WDW News Today, but here is the thrust…

Beginning next year, guests will be able to access an array of features on their Verizon Wireless phones while at the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort to help them make the most of their Disney experiences.  Planned services include an exclusive mobile application that will give guests with Verizon Wireless service the ability to easily locate shows, restaurants and the Disney characters anywhere inside the Parks; get real-time attraction availability information; access mobile games; receive messages from characters and more. Verizon Wireless is also continuing to invest in its wireless network from coast to coast, and the relationship with Disney means the wireless users will benefit from further enhancements to the Verizon Wireless network in the Parks.

The first question I had was “What will it cost”?  Well, like I said, press releases are annoyingly short on details and that is one of those details left out.  Will it be free to Verizon Wireless customers?  Will it be sent via text messaging, or some other platform that requires a special service charge?  I guess, we will have to wait to find out.

But on its face, this looks pretty cool and full of potential.  Can this be the “Pal Mickey” we were hoping for?  Does “real time attraction availability” mean accurate wait times from our mobile phones?  Or is this just double-talk and what we will actually get is something more like “Soarin’ = Open”?  If it is free, I can’t imagine it will be as useful as this press release makes it sound, but the potential is there and I am not ready to rain on this parade just yet.

The website Los Angeles Business is reporting this morning that ground-breaking for the Disney Vacation Club’s Hawaiian Resort is scheduled to take place in one week.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts will break ground Nov. 19 at its new family resort in Hawaii.

The oceanfront resort is located on 21 acres at Ko Olina Resort & Marina in West Oahu.

Scheduled to open in 2011, the resort will have more than 800 units, including hotel rooms and villas, for Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s timeshare division.

So far things appear to be on schedule for this pretty exciting new property.  But we can only imagine that the economic downturn will rear its ugly head in this project as well.  Will budget cuts and delays be imposed in Hawaii?  Only time will tell, but don’t be surprised if they do.

copyright Disney 2008

Regardless, the resort is moving forward and being built.  The real question, since it is now only a matter of time before it opens, is how popular will it be?  Disney is rolling the dice here on an estimated $800 million project that is not at all connected with its theme parks.  The future of these types of properties depends largely on success in Hawaii.