Disney Cruises to Set Sail in Europe

by Karen Walrond on

From CNN.com:  Starting in May 2007
through August 2007, Disney Cruise Lines will begin sailing to Italy, France and Spain, in an attempt to "chart
new waters."  The cruise line will offer 10- and 11-night cruises starting in Barcelona, and traveling to
eight European cities.  The news comes in at a time when the industry is soaring, and is predicted to reach
pre-September 11th highs.

"The cruise takes care of [guesswork associated with traveling Europe with
small children] and people trust Disney. At the end of the day you know you’re coming back to the ship and having
five-star dining, great entertainment and you know your kids are going to have a good time,"  said company
President Tom McAlpin.

Update: Before you book, you may want to check out this report on cruising with young
children from Blogging Baby.

SpongeBob for a Day

by Erik Olsen on

Well, OK, not SpongeBob exactly. More like his starfish
sidekick. I always get a kick out of these stories about the guys inside the big rubber outfits at theme parks. I read
a book a while back about a guy’s experience at Disneyland as…Donald Duck I think it was.

And a book I
just read recently DisneyWar by James B.
Stewart, opened with him trying on a goofy outfit. In
this story we have the story of a guy at Paramount’s Kings
Dominion theme park near Richmond (in Texas, I think), who has signed up to play Patrick the Starfish, SpongeBob
SquarePants’ best cartoon friend. The job is not, we learn, glorious. Nor is it much fun at all. In fact the whole
thing is rather depressing. But it is funny since the writer, Peter mandel, is 46. We learn a lot about becoming an
"Entertainment Associate", the
corporate-speak, 1984ishly creepy term for the folks in the styrofoam rubber suits. We learn that you must be at least
16. We learn that kids are not really the cute little angels we expect them to be; in fact, they can be mean little
buggers. And in the end, we learn that wearing a thick cartoon character suit to entertain (sometimes) ungrateful
children on a hot day in Texas…well, I’d probably rather be a miner.