Disney World

The new fees airlines have begun charging passengers who check a second bag aren’t just aggravating travelers — they are causing headaches for Walt Disney World and its Magical Express airport shuttle-and-luggage service.

The problem

The fees are complicating Magical Express’ early baggage-check service, which encourages departing guests to check in for their flights and drop off their luggage in their hotel before leaving the giant resort.

Disney then has those customers — along with other hotel guests who are unable or choose not to use the resort check-in option — bused to Orlando International Airport.

Disney offers Magical Express for free to its hotel guests, using the service as way to keep those guests on company property longer by eliminating the need for visitors to rent a car and sparing them from long airport check-in lines at the end of their vacation. But because it doesn’t charge for the shuttle or the baggage service, Disney World does not have an obvious way to collect the new baggage-check fees — as much as $25 a person — from guests who want to check two bags through Magical Express on the way home.

The changes have already caused some confusion at Disney hotels. Disney says it has continued to allow departing guests to check two pieces of luggage at their hotels, but some employees when questioned this week said their understanding was that people flying home on an airline with a second-bag fee have to check that second bag by themselves at the airport.

The complications could grow further if more U.S. carriers follow American Airlines’ lead and charge passengers to check their first piece of luggage, too. On June 15, American will begin charging $15 for the first checked bag.

The solution

Temporary: Disney says it and the company it contracts with to run the luggage service, Orlando-based Bags Inc., have worked out agreements with the airlines to temporarily waive the luggage fees for guests who use the remote check-in service. But those agreements end this week. Starting Sunday, Disney says, guests who want to check their luggage before leaving their hotels will first have to contact a Bags Inc. call center and pay the appropriate luggage charges over the phone.

Permanent: Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty says the company is still trying to devise a permanent solution. Disney and Bags are considering installing payment registers at the airline check-in counters in each Disney hotel, so guests could pay their baggage fees directly. That would spare guests from having to pay the fees over the phone by credit card or from having to check a second bag themselves at OIA. But Prunty said Disney is weighing several possibilities.

What are the hurdles?

*Effect on speed. Having to process baggage payments for departing guests could gum up the airline check-in process at Disney’s hotels, where lines can already be long on busy mornings. About one in five Disney guests who use the Magical Express baggage check-in option surrenders more than one piece of luggage, and roughly 1 million bags a year are now checked early at Disney hotels, bypassing the usual check-in process at Orlando International. “When it’s free, obviously the transaction time is much quicker,” said Craig Mateer, president of Bags Inc.

*Lack of standards. The fee schedules for checked luggage vary from airline to airline. Amounts range from $10 to $25 a bag each way. Also, some airlines exempt certain passengers, such as high-level frequent fliers or passengers traveling on more expensive fares. It can even make a difference if the passenger checked in for the flight online or in person.

*Communication. Disney wants to ensure that its employees and guests are aware of the changes as the system continues to evolve. Disney is in the midst of updating its Magical Express materials — such as letters to preregistered guests, in-room booklets and Web-site information — to reflect the new policies. “The important piece is communication,” Prunty said.

What others are doing

Some other local locations that offer similar airline check-in services — such as the Orange County Convention Center and several hotels owned by International Drive hotelier Harris Rosen — have already begun charging departing guests the new luggage fees. But it has been easier for them because they already charge guests to use Bags Inc. service for their flights home. Guests at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, for instance, pay $10 a person to check their bags at the hotel before heading to OIA. Mateer says Bags Inc. is also working with the cruise lines that offer onboard airline check-in programs at Port Canaveral; some of them are already testing new payment systems.

I’ve been working on a Chronicle magazine article about Bay Area roller coasters, which doesn’t suck as far as assignments go. You can expect a lot of coaster-themed posts when it comes out in July. While conducting my research, I ran into an article about the Disneyland ticketing system, which I remember from when I went to the park in 1978. Up until 1982, Disneyland sold booklets of tickets, marked A through E, which included corresponding lists of the rides. The A Tickets were usually a waste of valuable park time — who wants to spend time in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle when Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was around the corner? — and I suspect every patron in the history of Disneyland walked out with a small ream of A tickets. (I still have some that my father saved in a junk drawer somewhere. I dream of returning to the front gate of Disneyland with my own kids in the year 2013 and demanding entrance to the Swiss Family Robinson Tree house.) The E Tickets included all the best rides, including Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. I think each booklet came with two or three E Tickets, although it might have varied. We may have been among the poorer families at Disneyland, so maybe all of your booklets had 20 E Tickets. The one-price-for-everything policy probably makes more sense, but I definitely miss the ticket system. Just like food tastes better when you’re forced to ration, I think I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean that much more because of the long debate we had deciding between Pirates and the Submarine ride. My older sister wanted to use an E Ticket on It’s a Small World, which even as a 7-year-old I thought was totally insane. Thirty years later and we still have a rift over that …

An Alabama woman who was sentenced to jail for beating up a Florida woman at the Mad Tea Cup ride in Walt Disney World back in May of 2007 is out of jail. In April Victoria Walker, 52, was sentenced to 90 days in jail minus the 32 days she served while awaiting sentencing.

Walker was found guilty of beating up Aimee Krause of Clermont at the Mad Tea Cup ride in Walt Disney World back in May of 2007.

Walker was originally offered a plea deal, which she refused. Walker will now serve nine months probation.

Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger said Wednesday that “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is underperforming at the box office because of competition from “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones.” Since its May 16 release, the “Narnia” sequel has earned $99.6 million in North America, according to Box Office Mojo. Its 2005 predecessor, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” had earned $122.7 million in the same period. It went on to make date $291.7 million. Disney originally had “Caspian” set for last Christmas, but delayed it in deference to “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” a fantasy vying for the same audience. The studio might also have been taking into account the feelings of Walden Media, its production partner on “Narnia” and the production company behind “Water Horse.” That film, distributed by Sony, earned just $40 million domestically. Iger, speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York, said “Prince Caspian” is a better movie than the first installment but because it was released between a couple of the year’s biggest hits, audiences are overlooking it. “Prince Caspian” was released less than two weeks after “Iron Man” and just six days before “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Both those pictures are headed into the $300 million area. Iger lamented the “very delicate, very fragile marketplace” for movies in general, given that “there’s just too much out there.” As of now, the next movie in the “Narnia” series is set for release May 7, 2010.

The Walt Disney Studios has signed a multi-year deal with Ahmet Zappa, Harris Katleman and Christian Beranek to oversee the newly christened Kingdom Comics, an innovative new venture of developing graphic novels to create new film projects for the Studio as well as re-imagining and rejuvenating motion pictures from the Disney live-action Vault, it was announced today by Oren Aviv, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Production. Kingdom Comics will soon announce some of the top graphic novelists and artists in the genre who will collaborate on upcoming projects. Disney Publishing Worldwide, the largest distributor of comic books in the world, will have the first opportunity to distribute publications created by Kingdom Comics.

Commenting on the announcement, Aviv said, “We’re very excited to be working with Harris, Ahmet and Christian in developing this new business devoted to creating stories and properties for the graphic novel audience, as well as for moviegoers. They are three of the top talents in their respective fields and together they have the knowledge, expertise and instincts to create great publications and film properties. Some of these exciting publications will be inspired by films and characters in the vast and storied Disney library, while other original graphic novels are sure to spark great ideas for future Disney classics. Our vision for Kingdom Comics is to bring a fresh, contemporary approach to Disney properties that already have a strong connection with moviegoers and readers all over the world, and to add to that storytelling legacy.”

Zappa added, “The ability to create new publications based on properties from the Disney vaults, and to develop original ideas for graphic novels and possibly future Disney films, is a dream job filled with enormous fun and potential. Being a storyteller myself, I can’t wait to work with some of today’s top writers and artists in bringing a fresh approach to graphic novels and the movies. We’re also excited to discover and develop promising new talents in this field.”

Katleman said, “I have been involved with my share of exciting projects and worked with lots of great talent over the years. Working with Ahmet and Christian in creating Kingdom Comics for Disney is as exciting as anything I’ve ever done. We’re all looking forward to working with Oren and his team in developing some fantastic new projects for the printed page and the silver screen.”

Beranek added, “Graphic novels continue to have an enormous following all over the world and we’re hoping to bring something new and different to those devoted fans. There are a lot of great stories waiting to be told, including some familiar properties residing in the Disney vaults. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and we can’t wait to get started.”

Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa, the third of four children born to the late rock musician/composer Frank Zappa and super-powered psychic witch businesswoman Gail, started out as an actor on such shows as “Roseanne” and “Growing Pains.” This led to feature film work and a run as a host on many popular reality shows. In 2006, he sold the rights to his first novel, The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, to Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. He is currently writing the second installment in that series, and executive producing “Fraggle Rock” with The Jim Henson Company.

Harris Katleman served as president and CEO of Twentieth Television from 1980 to 1992, during which time the Studio developed such landmark programs as “L.A. Law,” “The Simpsons,” “Anything But Love,” “In Living Color,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.” (in association with Steven Bochco Productions), “Civil Wars,” and “NYPD Blue.” He also oversaw production on the final four years of “M*A*S*H,” and “Trapper John,” and guided the development of “The Tracey Ullman Show,” and “Picket Fences,” among others. Following his tenure at Twentieth Television, he joined Mark Goodson Productions as Chief Operating Officer (1993-95), followed by a stint as Chief Operating Officer and Partner in Jonathan Goodson Productions. Katleman continues to be in partnership with Jonathan Goodson Productions. His recent credits include executive producing the syndicated shows “Forgive or Forget,” “House Calls” and “Dirty Rotten Cheater.”

An accomplished writer and editor, Christian Beranek formed his own publishing company, Silent Devil, in 1996, and turned it into an indie powerhouse, producing such hits as Dracula vs. King Arthur and Super Frat. He parlayed that success into consulting for companies such as Universal Music Publishing, Harley Davidson, AOL, and Mazda on graphic novels and their value as both intellectual properties and marketing devices. As a writer, he penned the origin of John Doe for the New Line/Zenescope series Se7en and scripted the creator-owned franchise Willow Creek. He recently finished the latest draft of the “Dracula vs. King Arthur” screenplay.

The deal was negotiated by Steve Katleman of Greenberg Traurig.

Disney Book Group will publish an exclusive behind-the-scenes book from the chart-topping Jonas Brothers-one of the hottest bands in the world today-on tour. The Platinum-certified recording artists and stars of the upcoming “Camp Rock” Disney Channel Original Movie will share never-before-seen photos along with exclusive commentary. The announcement was made today by Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president, global publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide.
The book will be published in fall 2008 and will give fans a backstage glimpse at the Jonas Brothers—20 year old Kevin, 18 year old Joe, and 15 year old Nick. Disney Book Group has acquired world rights for the title.
“We have such an amazing time performing at our concerts, and to be able to chronicle all of the fun for our fans and readers is just incredible for us,” say brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick. “We hope our fans get to relive our shows and discover things they haven’t seen before through our book.”
“The Jonas Brothers are such a huge multi-media phenomenon.” says Mosure. “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to share their tour with their fans and to help kids connect with the Jonas brothers in this exclusive way.”
The book deal was negotiated by Jonathan Yaged, vice president, North America publisher, Disney Book Group and will be published under the Disney-Hyperion Books imprint. The Jonas Brothers are exclusively managed by Philip McIntyre/Philymack Inc.; Kevin Jonas/Simple Days Management; and John Wright/Wright Entertainment Group. Yaged added: “We are extremely excited to give fans this unique opportunity to see what really happens backstage with one of the world’s biggest bands.
The Jonas Brothers signed with Hollywood Records and released their self-titled sophomore record in August of the same year. Within a week it reached number five on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. From October 2007 through January 2008, they launched a solo headline tour in spring of 2008, breaking the record for fastest sellout in the history of the Gibson amphitheater. The band will star in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock, which will premiere in June 2008. They will be embarking on an international tour beginning this summer. Additionally, a 3-D concert feature film starring the Jonas Brothers will hit theaters in January 2009. The Jonas Brothers third album is set to release August 12th 2008.
Since its inception in 1991, Disney Book Group has amassed an array of best sellers from key Disney franchises including High School Musical, Disney-Pixar Cars, Disney Fairies, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Playhouse Disney properties. Disney Book Group also publishes books from award-winning authors including Eoin Colfer, Jonathan Stroud, Rick Riordan, Caroline Kennedy, and 3 time Caldecott Honor recipient Mo Willems. Recent best sellers include High School Musical: All Access; Kadir Nelson’s We Are the Ship; Ally Carter’s popular young adult novel I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You; Gail Carson Levine’s Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand; Sara Pennypacker’s Clementine, Eoin Colfer’s blockbuster Artemis Fowl series, and most recently, Mo Willems’s Knuffle Bunny Too! and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. Upcoming titles for 2008 include such highly anticipated books as Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson’s Science Fair, Jon Scieszka’s Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, and the highly anticipated fourth book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Battle of the Labyrinth.
Disney-Hyperion Books is an imprint of Disney Book Group (DBG); additional DBG imprints include Disney Editions, Disney Press, and Disney-Jump at the Sun Books. DBG is part of Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world’s largest publisher of children’s books and magazines, with over 400 children’s magazines published and 120 million children’s books sold each year. Headquartered in White Plains, NY and Milan, Italy, Disney Publishing Worldwide publishes books and magazines in 85 languages in 75 countries, reaching more than 100 million readers each month.

This month Virgin Atlantic celebrates its 20th anniversary of flights to Orlando in Florida. To celebrate the anniversary, Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Walt Disney World, Orlando, to offer children passengers travelling on the Orlando flights departing from Gatwick on the 28 May Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears. In celebration Disney will also grant one lucky family a ‘Disney Dream’ in honour of the Year of a Million Dreams 2 celebrations currently taking place in the resorts. The lucky family chosen will become the grand marshalls in the ‘Disney Dreams Come True’ pre-parade in the Magic Kingdom on Thursday 29 May with full VIP treatment for the park.

The airline first launched its daily service from London Gatwick airport to Orlando airport in May 1988 as the airline’s third destination, and since then almost 10 million passengers have travelled to the popular leisure destination famous for its theme parks.

The route proved so popular that in May 1996 a daily service from Manchester to Orlando was added followed by a second daily service from Gatwick in June 1998. Last summer, seasonal services from Glasgow added yet more services to this ever-popular destination.

Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic, commented:

“20 years on this sunny and fun-filled destination has never lost its appeal for British holidaymakers. We’re pleased recently to have been able to expand with seasonal flights into Glasgow in the last year.

“Year after year so many families continue to visit the home of world-renowned Walt Disney World with almost half of all Brits choosing to fly with Virgin Atlantic. With the combined effect of the strength of the pound against the dollar and our great fares; there really is no better time to visit Florida.”

Jeff James, Vice President and Managing Director, Disney Destinations International, UK said:

“The Virgin Atlantic service has played a vital role in the development of Orlando as a destination, assisting us in making the dreams of millions of UK guests each year come true. We are delighted to be celebrating the past 20 years with them and look forward to welcoming more Brits in years to come.”

Gary Sain, President and CEO of the Orlando Tourism Bureau, said:

“Orlando receives more international visitors from the UK than from any other European country with Virgin Atlantic playing a key role in bringing British holidaymakers to our destination. The airline will continue as a valued partner for years to come.”

Virgin Atlantic operates two daily flights from Gatwick, one daily flight from Manchester with a second Manchester service operating twice a week on a Friday and Saturday. The Glasgow summer service will operate from the 20 June until the 19 July. The services are all operated by Boeing 747-400 aircraft and fitted with the airline’s award winning Upper Class Suite.

Since it was founded in 1984, Virgin Atlantic Airways has become Britain’s second largest carrier serving the world’s major cities. Based at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports and Manchester airport, it operates long haul services to thirty destinations worldwide as far apart as Las Vegas and Shanghai. Virgin Atlantic currently has a fleet of 38 aircraft, which includes thirteen 747-400s and six A340-300s and nineteen A340-600s.

Ontela founder Dan Shapiro had a memorable Monday last week that included two life-altering events. Not only did the wireless entrepreneur learn that his wife was pregnant with twins, but he also found out that his other baby — the two-year-old Seattle startup Ontela — had scored $10 million in venture funding.

“It was one of the most amazing Mondays I’ve ever had in my life,” said Shapiro, who was receiving wire transfers from his investors while looking at ultrasounds with his wife at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

If that wasn’t enough, the company also signed a deal to provide its PicDeck technology to an undisclosed wireless carrier and announced a partnership with its first GSM customer, Cincinnati Bell Wireless.

“It was a pretty full day,” said Shapiro, who took breaks from holding his wife’s hand during the ultrasound to check e-mail.

Now, Shapiro will have plenty of cash in the bank as he looks to expand a service that helps consumers seamlessly transfer photos between camera phones and personal computers.

Ontela already has had some success winning customers, with Alltel, Cellular South and Cincinnati Bell Wireless signing up in the past seven months. Those carriers are charging customers $2.99 per month, with Ontela receiving a portion of the sale.

Shapiro, 32, declined to say how many people are using the service, though he estimates that about 70,000 photos have been transported using the technology.

“More importantly, there has never been a support call for a lost photo,” he said.

The $10 million round was led by Steamboat Ventures, the venture capital arm of The Walt Disney Co. Existing investors, including Oak Investment Partners and Voyager Capital, also participated. Total funding now stands at about $15 million.

As a result of the investment, Beau Laskey of Steamboat Ventures is joining the board.

The money will be used to support business growth. Shapiro said the biggest challenge right now is keeping up with demand from wireless carriers. The company has a vigorous testing process in which it runs the software on every network and every phone supported by carriers. That means — after integrating with billing systems and testing for select phones — it can take as long as six months to install the technology.

“Right now, we are putting every resource we can on getting carriers launched,” Shapiro said.

To help with that, the company plans to nearly double in size from its staff of 30 people. It recently moved into new offices on the third floor of the Smith Tower to accommodate the growth.

Ontela continues to focus on selling its software to wireless carriers, with no plans to offer the application for the upcoming iPhone application store. Shapiro said it makes more sense to focus efforts on agreements with carriers.

The company also is exploring ways to transport video between camera phones and PCs, a technology that Shapiro said already works in tests but at this time has limited market appeal. According to internal surveys, only about 9 percent of camera phone users regularly shoot video.

Still, he said, video is not “too far in our distant future.” And he said there are other products in development on how to move data between different devices.

Ontela competes against ShoZu and PixSense.

Going to Disneyland is a fantasy for most kids…but working there isn’t always Fantasy Land. Brandon Pinto, whose screen name is Brandon Hillock, is an actor who appeared in “Veronica Mars.” He’s also a life-long Disneyland fan. He always dreamed of working there, and eventually did, landing a job playing the “Jack Sparrow” character Johnny Depp made so famous in Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Pinto tells all in this month’s Los Angeles Magazine, providing a rare look inside the Magic Kingdom.

Turns out women get a little frisky with Jack.

“I would…get offers from women in my ear: ‘Anything you want, just find me.’ I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park.”

Pinto writes about his “training”:

‘Don’t be flirtatious,’ they told us. ‘See women as trouble.’ And they said as far as alcohol goes, don’t even mention drinking. But the Pirates of the Caribbean song is all about drinking, and they’re drinking all along the ride. So I eventually broke that rule, because it would have taken me out of character. When parents took pictures, I’d say, ‘Everyone say “rum,”‘ and the parents loved it. The kids would just ask, ‘What’s rum?’”

Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of…mom.

Every once in a while, I realize “Hey, I’ve never done that!” while in the theme parks, and it happened the other day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Out-of-town guests suggested eating at Hollywood & Vine, and I realized I had never given the buffet-style restaurant a try.Well, I might just have a new favorite restaurant at the Studios.
It is a cafeteria-style buffet, but your cafeteria never served food like this. Everything in it seemed to have a special touch. The wide varieties of salads, for example, had ingredients like cranberries or walnuts or roasted red peppers. Just little things like that to lift them from basic fare to something special.
There were several choices of high-quality meats, too. The roast beef was delicious, and thankfully, was available medium or well-done. (I like my meat good and dead.) The accompanying wine sauce was delicious, too.
Parents, don’t worry: The kids assortment had the usual chicken nuggets, etc. But it also featured some delicious meatballs that I snuck onto my plate when the grownups with me weren’t looking.
Desserts were delicious … a trifle-like strawberry-shortcake offering, a berry cobbler with soft-serve ice cream or a hot vanilla sauce, mini Key lime pie tarts… There was chocolate mousse, but alas, that ran out before I could get some. My only quibble, in fact, was that is was never refilled.
The nitty-gritty details after the jump.
The food is all-you-can-eat, so for $24.99, you can get a good deal if you’re a big eater. Even if your appetite isn’t huge, the quality of the food makes it worth it. Kids pay $12.99.
The menu changes from day to day, but always includes fresh fish, carved meat, a selection of salads and that dessert bar. Also, non-alcholic beverages are included in the price.
Hollywood & Vine is located right next to the Prime-Time Cafe, toward the front of the park.
I would make reservations. Right up until closing time, the place was mobbed. (Must be everyone else already knew how good it is.) As always, Disney restaurant reservations can be made at 407-WDW-DINE or in the parks at the restaurant or at a Guest Relations location.