News, announcements and information about Disney

After last week's attack, we brought you stories of how theme parks around the country responded. We were especially impressed by the lengths the Disneyland Resort went to accommodating visitors who were stranded by the tragedies, and were touched by the tribute LEGOLAND paid to those who died in New York and Washington DC.

Every flag on Main Street, USA flies at half-staff

On September 13th, Disney CEO Michael Eisner sent an open letter to his Cast Members (CMs), detailing the many ways the company and staff around the world have responded to these events:

Dear Fellow Cast Members:

On Tuesday, as we were all reeling in shock when we heard of the day's events, many of you immediately went into action to offer a wide range of assistance to guests, victims and relief workers.

It would be impossible to provide a comprehensive listing of all of the efforts that have been undertaken across our company, but here is a sampling, beginning with efforts organized by your company.

• The ESPN Zones in New York and Washington, DC provided box lunches to emergency workers and donated T-shirts.
• At the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, though the parks were closed on Tuesday, food and beverage stations were opened at no cost for guests, as were arcades and AMC theaters. In addition, guests who were unable to leave the resorts were provided accommodations at no cost, as well as a suspension of phone charges so they could call loved ones.
• Guests on the Disney Wonder cruise ship joined together in prayer services.
• Cast members working in the New York publicity offices of The Walt Disney Studios purchased clothing to donate to disaster victims and emergency crews, after which they lent assistance at local churches for grieving families.
• Grief counselors were made available to cast members in New York and Washington, DC to assist those who may have lost loved ones.
• Walt Disney World has provided bottled water, rain ponchos, and VoluntEARS to the six Central Florida Blood Bank branches. VoluntEARS include trained medical personnel from Health Services and the Industrial Engineering department is helping the Blood Bank with an appointment system to help manage lines.
• Supplies are being prepared at Walt Disney World to ship to the relief effort in New York.
• On Wednesday night, the "Aida" touring company, playing in Tempe, Arizona, and the "Lion King" company in Los Angeles asked audiences for donations to the Red Cross following their performances and raised a total of $10,000.

Most telling of all are the stories of individuals who have stepped up to help, such as the thousands of cast members who have volunteered to donate blood, sometimes waiting for hours. Our company's VoluntEARS operation has done what it can to facilitate these efforts. Some notable examples:

• A New York ESPN cast member worked into the night Tuesday at Chelsea Piers in lower Manhattan to help with the injured / deceased recovery effort
• Another ESPN cast member and her roommate prepared and delivered sandwiches on Tuesday night to fire and police personnel.
• Many of our New York cast members joined thousands of other New Yorkers in a spontaneous demonstration of support, lining up along the curbs of the Westside Highway on Wednesday to cheer on the police, firefighters and emergency service workers who were driving by in ambulances, dump trucks and other vehicles.
• The manager of the Jersey City, New Jersey Disney Store spent Tuesday night, along with his family, feeding emergency workers and others impacted by the attack.
• A cast member in the Children's Book Group of Disney Publishing Worldwide, who is a certified emergency medical technician, went directly to St. Vincent's Hospital to volunteer her services and helped set up the triage area in the hospital lobby, where she dedicated herself to the grim, exhausting and heroic effort. She has since volunteered to be part of the fire fighter relief effort and is ready to be called in to relieve the exhausted rescue workers.

For every one of these stories, there are countless more like them. At times like these, when we see such graphic evidence of the worst of mankind, it is inspirational to also see the best.

With this in mind, we look to Friday, which President Bush has declared a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. He has requested that all Americans take time out at noon for a moment of prayer and silent reflection. You are encouraged to do so individually or to join your colleagues in group observances that are being organized. You will be informed about these observances at your workplace.

In addition, all European Disney offices and Disney Stores are joining in Europe's Day of Mourning and will be observing three minutes of silence at 11 a.m. on Friday. Indeed, it has been very heartening to receive expressions of care and concern from a tremendous number of cast members beyond America's borders. It really is extraordinary during this heart- wrenchingly downbeat time to find so many uplifting stories on which to report.

Again, I continue to thank you for everything you, our cast, is doing.

Michael

On Friday, the Disneyland Resort, in keeping with President Bush's call for a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, observed a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attacks. Announcements were made via the park PA system at 10 am and 11 am, to let visitors know what was going to happen.

At about 11:40, CMs began to empty their shops, rides and restaurants of people. The area music in most lands was turned off, as were external ride sounds. The music from the Carrousel in Fantasyland was shut off for about 30 minutes, bringing an eerie silence to the land. CMs from offices all over the resort, as well as those from the Team Disney Anaheim building behind Disneyland, gathered around the flag pole in Town Square.

Visitors and CMs gather around Town Center for the nightly flag retreat ceremony

By noon, every store, ride, restaurant, office, cart and attraction in the entire resort was closed. CMs and visitors alike were asked to observe a moment of silence. In Town Square, the assembled group was then led in singing "God Bless America", which was followed by an impromptu balloon release. Several foods CMs brought balloons from their location, and wrote messages on them before releasing them skyward from the base of the flagpole.

Disneyland's fireworks were canceled on both Friday and Saturday nights, as were those at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island. Many Disneyland visitors and CMs have expressed a wish to see the weekend fireworks show with the 4th of July added segment when fireworks resume next week.

At California Adventure, Thursday's celebrity Grand Opening celebration and press event for the new Who Wants to be a Millionaire attraction was postponed. The show had been quickly retooled to remove all references to New York, including the elimination of the opening video where Regis Philbin introduces the game.

Any mention of the nature of the grand prize, which is a trip to New York to see a live taping of the network show, was also cut from the script. On Thursday, when the attraction had it's first Million Point winner, the audience was told only that the contestant had won a trip for two.

Cast members line up for the evening flag retreat ceremony

At Disneyland, the evening flag retreat ceremony has taken on a new significance. The nightly ritual, which was until last week sparsely attended and many times ignored by visitors, has become a gathering point for hundreds of people and CMs from across the resort.

Folding the Flag

The American flag, which through the weekend was flying at half-staff, is briskly raised again to the peak of the flag pole. Visitors sing along to the National Anthem, and the color guard slowly lowers the flag, folding it with care and precision.

The Color Guard

As the color guard marched off stage, it was observed that some CMs and visitors waved small flags, as others wiped tears from their eyes.

A personal note: A reader sent me a nice e-mail after last week's column. In it, he said that, while MousePlanet is frequently a "thorn in Disney's corporate side," he appreciated reading the column about the company's response to last weeks tragic events.

I feel (as does the site staff) that MousePlanet always has the responsibility to praise the Disney company when it does something so right. In this special situation, there is nothing but respect for the CMs who have made such great contributions and assisted their customers so thoughtfully.

Editor's Note: I personally want to thank Adrienne for her hard work this past week in bringing you the updates from the parks as things have unfolded. It's been a very tough week for everyone, but it's been especially so for Adrienne, since she was coming right off an already hectic schedule on the Disneyana Convention, (not to mention the regular workload she and her husband Tony have with MouseShoppe.)

We offer a lot of different voices here on the site, and I know I take great pride (as do the other MousePlaneteers) that Adrienne's is among them. As she has noted in this series of updates, the Walt Disney company has done a lot right this past week, and they should be commended for their actions.

- Al Lutz

You can write Adrienne Vincent - Phoenix at avp@mouseplanet.com

Story and photos by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix