Disney offers free park admission to volunteers

by Katie Hammel on

Volunteer one day of your time next year, and you could receive a free day of admission at a Walt Disney theme park in return. The Disney company has announced that one million people who volunteer with the HandsOn Network can get into any Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, or into Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, for free in 2010 through the “Give a Day, Get a Disney” promotion.

The HandsOn Network works with 70,000 agencies across the country, including Habitat for Humanity and local food banks and churches. After volunteers gets their service verified with the agency, they get a voucher for free admission. The work must be done in 2010 and the voucher needs to be used by December 15 of that year. Volunteers must be 18 or older to sign up, but kids ages 6-17 who complete volunteer work with their parents can also get into the park free.

Those who have multi-day annual passes can use their free-day voucher for up to six FASTPASS tickets that will get them to the front of the line for certain rides. Only residents of the US, Canada and Puerto Rico are eligible to redeem the free admission vouchers.

This isn’t the only deal Disney has offered recently. All of the US Disney parks offered visitors free admission on their birthday this year, and many Disney resorts offered “stay two nights, get a third free” promotions as well.

Disney stops looking for breasts after a decade of trying

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Why do I always miss the good stuff?

Disney has announced that it’s no longer going to scan riders on Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and California Screamin … for unfettered chests. Apparently, women are known on these rides from time to time to flash for the camera. Though I’ve looked for it on each ride, I’ve never witnessed these public displays of exuberance.

I’m not sure why this warrants an announcement, as Disney does say that such acts are rare. But, every now and then, a bare pair winds up in a souvenir photo. The parks will no longer be looking for this – which means everyone else will be.

The company began looking 10 years ago, unlike the rest of us, who started when we were around 12.

Expect a $1.1 Billion Facelift at Disney’s California Adventure

by Martha Edwards on

Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim is planning a renovation to the tune of $1.1 billion, which is more than they spent building the theme park just six years ago. On the agenda? They’re going to add more shopping, focus on the connection to Walt Disney’s life and develop a new area that will focus on cars, among many other things. For the complete low-down on all the changes that will happen over the next few years, check out this article.

The reason behind the overhaul? Visitor numbers have been disappointing — only 6 million people went last year, even though the park was meant to attract at least 7 million every year. And what’s worse, the price of admission has been on sale since it opened in a bid to lure visitors.

I’ve never been to California Adventure, and honestly I haven’t really even heard about it except in passing, so maybe they should work on the marketing angle too …

Low-Cost Housing Near Disneyland?

by Jonathon Morgan on

My daughter is 2 1/2. Thus, it won’t be long before we’ll be faced with one of the first monumental decisions in raising said daughter: should we, or should we not take her to Disneyland?

It’s one of the most popular tourist attractions on the planet, and now, thanks to proposed low-cost housing requirements as part of a 1,500 condominium and apartment project, its workers might be able to afford living near-by.

But not if Walt Disney Co. has anything to say about it.

The resort area near the entertainment park is currently filled with hotels, restaurants and a tourist-friendly district called Downtown Disney. Those running the magic kingdom feel that adding poor people wouldn’t be in keeping with the fantasy and cartoon-character memorabilia. According to Disneyland spokesman Rob Doughty, “This lawsuit speaks to how important we view this Anaheim resort area and that we make sure the vision sticks.”

The question is, important for who?

Not that we ever would’ve chose to live near Mickey Mouse and company (low-cost housing or not), but with practices like this, I’m not so sure I feel comfortable visiting either.