Disney Parks Moms Panel Applications Now Open!

The Journey of a Lifetime Begins

Today begins the first step in the journey that will change the lives of pixie dusted moms, dads, and grandparents from all over the world as applications open for the 2015 Disney Parks Moms Panel.  The search is now underway for this year’s new panelists that fill share their passion, trip planning knowledge, and love for Disney with people from all over.  Does this sound like it could be you?  Here’s a look at what Parks Blog and the Disney Parks Moms Panel site posted just a few short minutes ago to kick off the process.

Become Part of the Magic: How to Apply for Our Moms Panel

Do you love going on Disney Parks vacations and sharing that love with others? Are you the go-to person for your family and friends when they want to plan a magical Disney vacation? Can you successfully communicate these tips to others in clear and concise answers? Are you a stickler when it comes to grammar, spelling and punctuation? If you answered yes to these questions, we want to hear from you!

In 2008, the Walt Disney World® Moms Panel was created to serve as a forum of everyday people who used their personal knowledge of Walt Disney World® vacation experiences to offer advice to others.

Since then, the panel has become a valuable resource for thousands of Disney Parks guests. It's also grown since its initial launch to become the Disney Parks Moms Panel. Now, Disney Parks Moms Panelists not only help plan vacations for guests heading to Walt Disney World® Resort, but also answer guest questions about Disneyland® Resort, Disney Cruise Line®, Disney Vacation Club®, runDisney® and ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex.

What's It All About

Even though there are plenty of planning tools to help navigate through your Disney Parks vacation, it's still no easy task to plan a family vacation. With many theme parks, dozens of resort hotels, water parks, luxury cruise ships, shopping, dining, recreation, special events, entertainment and more, planning a Disney Parks vacation can leave some guests feeling a bit overwhelmed even before they arrive. That's where we like to help.

The Disney Parks Moms Panel is an online forum of everyday people who
answer questions and offer advice based on their own experiences and opinions. By visiting DisneyParksMomsPanel.com, guests can ask real Moms and Dads their tips for getting the most out of a Disney vacation. And, with an archive of questions that could fill Spaceship Earth, guests visiting the Moms Panel website also can search volumes of information provided in previously asked questions.

By sharing their own opinions and experiences, Disney Parks Moms Panelists help plan magical visits for guests vacationing at Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort, Disney Cruise Line® and Disney Vacation Club®. They also help guests participating in runDisney® events and accompanying youth sports teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex.

And that's where you come in.

Are you so passionate about Disney Parks vacations that you plan them for your family and friends in your social networks? Are you a stickler for grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure? If so, we'd like you to consider applying for the 2015 Disney Parks Moms Panel and helping guests around the world who visit DisneyParksMomsPanel.com.

Note: this year, we will not be accepting applications for Moms Panelists in the following areas: ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex, and runDisney®.

We will accept applications for the 2015 Disney Parks Moms Panel beginning 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 2, 2014. The deadline for applications to be submitted is noon ET on Friday, September 5, 2014.

All Panelists must:

• Be 18 years of age or older.
• Have access to a computer and an Internet connection.
• Have visited either Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Resort at least once in the last 12 months. If applying to be a Disney Cruise Line® or Disney Vacation Club® Panelist, you must have experienced that vacation within the last 24 months.
• Be able to complete at least approximately 10-20 written responses per week.
• Provide their own opinions and feedback on Disney vacations.
• Submit an autobiography and personal photo and/or video to be posted online.
• Be available to travel to Walt Disney World® Resort during dates between December 8-15, 2014 for Training sessions. Panelists cannot bring family members or friends on the Training visit (detailed dates will be confirmed with Panelists following the search & selection).
• Not be current employees/Cast Members of The Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or of any operating participant located at the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts, must not be immediate family members of a current employee/Cast Member of The Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or of any operating participant located at the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts, and must not currently reside with a current employee/Cast Member of The Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or of any operating participant located at the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts. In addition, participants must not be employees, contractors, advisors or consultants for, must not hold more than a de minimis ownership interest in, and must not serve on the Board of Directors of, any entity of The Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or of any entity which owns or operates any hotel, resort or theme park located in Orange, Osceola, Lake, Polk or Seminole Counties, Florida or Orange County, California.
• Not be currently employed in the travel, hotel or theme park industries (including being a travel agent or consultant); and not be an immediate family member of, or currently reside with, people currently employed in the travel, hotel or theme park industries (including being an immediate family member of, or currently residing with a travel agent or consultant).

Persons who are selected as panelists will receive compensation based on their service and the product line that they represent. It is our policy to provide equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, covered veteran status, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by state or federal law.

Do You Believe in Magic?

Clap your hands if you believe and then head over to  The DIsney Parks Moms Panel and let the journey of a lifetime begin.  All it takes is a little bit of Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust!

#Disneyland60......Today In Disneyland History.............August 31, 1948

Early Design Notes of Disneyland Created

August 31, 1948

On August 31, 1948, Walt Disney shared a memo with Disney Studio artist Dick Kelsey describing ideas for an amusement park, which he called "Mickey Mouse Park."  It is one of the earliest detailed descriptions of an amusement park concept that would ultimately become Disneyland. Early on, Walt Disney came up with the concept of Disneyland after visiting various amusement parks with his daughters in the 1930s and 1940s.  Walt Disney was visiting Griffith Park in Los Angeles with his daughters Diane and Sharon. While watching them ride the merry-go-round, he came up with the idea of a place where adults and their children could go and have fun together, though his dream lay dormant for many years. He may have also been influenced by his father's memories of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, as his father worked at the Exposition. The Midway Plaisance there included a set of attractions representing various countries from around the world and others representing various periods of man; it also included many rides including the first Ferris wheel, a "sky" ride, a passenger train that circled the perimeter, and a Wild West Show. Another likely influence was Benton Harbor, Michigan's nationally famous House of David's Eden Springs Park.

 Disney visited the park and ultimately bought one of the older miniature trains originally used there; the colony had the largest miniature railway setup in the world at the time.  The earliest documented draft of Disney's plans was sent as a memo to studio production designer Dick Kelsey on August 31, 1948, where "Mickey Mouse Park" began to take formation and become a reality, all based on notes Walt made during his and Ward Kimball's trip to Chicago Railroad Fair the same month, with a two day stop in Henry Ford's Museum and Greenfield Village, a place with attractions like a Main Street and steamboat rides, which he had visited eight years earlier.   Walt’s earliest ideas would also include a Main Street around a railway station, all built around a village green.   It was one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the amusement park that would one day become The Happiest Place on Earth, the Disneyland Resort.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland history.  

#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History...................August 30, 2007

ASIMO Debuts At Innoventions

August 30, 2007

On August 30, 2007 Disneyland guests experienced the newest version of ASIMO at the Honda ASIMO Theater inside the Innoventions attraction.  Guests visiting the popular Innoventions attraction at the Park could now see ASIMO in an all-new live science show with the all-new ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility)

For the first time, guest were treated to a demonstration as ASIMO interacted with a live host and operated in a modern home environment by using all of its unique technological capabilities, including walking forward and backward, climbing and descending a flight of stairs and taking direction from a person. The 15-minute high-tech demonstration was designed to offer visitors a glimpse into a not-too-distant future when humanoid robots, like ASIMO, will assist humans in their homes.

When ASIMO first made his debut, Koichi Kondo, president and CEO of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. stated, "We are excited to showcase ASIMO's remarkable capabilities in Innoventions at Disneyland, where visitors gain first-hand experience with cutting-edge technologies. Our hope is that ASIMO will inspire young people to dream of what technology will make possible in the future."

Matt Ouimet, then president of the Disneyland Resort added, "We are very pleased to welcome ASIMO and Honda to Disneyland as we celebrate the park's 50th anniversary. Walt Disney always looked for creative ways to showcase the latest technology to guests, so Innoventions is the perfect place to demonstrate ASIMO's advanced abilities."

Say 'Hello' to Honda's ASIMO shows still take place several times daily in the Honda ASIMO Theater in Disneyland, the only permanent installation of ASIMO in North America. 

So just what is Innoventions? Located in the heart of Tomorrowland at Disneyland, Innoventions continuously transforms itself to represent the ever-changing world of technology. Here, Disney celebrates the breakthroughs in science and technology that inspire us in the new millennium -- everything from exploratory medicine to personal global communications to the ultimate in home entertainment. At Innoventions, guests are entertained while they discover tomorrow's technology today through hands-on experiences that activate the imagination and renew our hope for a better tomorrow.  Be sure to stop by and visit ASIMO, as well as the latest visitors from the Marvel Universe on your next visit to the Disneyland and see what the future may hold for you. And that’s what happened today in Disneyland history. 

#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History......July 28, 1951

Alice In Wonderland Released in US

July 28, 1951

On July 28, 1951, RKO Radio Pictures released Walt Disney’s 13th animated film Alice in Wonderland in U.S. theaters two days after it’s UK premier.  Featuring Kathryn Beaumont as the voice of Alice, Kathryn would later narrate the Alice in Wonderland attraction, which first opened June 14, 1958 in Fantasyland.  Alice in Wonderland is a dark ride based on the animated Disney adaptation of the movie.  The attraction resides next to a second ride, the Mad Tea Party, based on a scene in that same adaptation.  

In 1983, the ride was updated as part of an overall refurbishment of Fantasyland as the Upside-Down Room and Oversized Room were eliminated and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party was moved to the very end of the ride. A new narration track by Kathryn Beaumont was recorded. To create more unified theming in Fantasyland, the Mad Tea Party attraction was moved from a location at the rear of Fantasyland to a location adjacent to the Alice in Wonderland ride that same year. The Alice in Wonderland ride, however, did not reopen until 1984, one year after the rest of the New Fantasyland opened.  Until the most recent refurbishment in 2014, Alice herself was only seen in the singing flower garden, hidden behind a leaf to the visitors' right. Now, she is featured in several scenes.  Next time you’re in Disneyland, hop on board your very own caterpillar for a ride through the looking glass.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.

#Disneyland60.....Today in Disneyland History.... July 23, 1956

Junior Autopia Opens

July 23, 1956

Today in Disneyland History the Junior Autopia openend on July 23, 1956. This fun and popular attraction in Fantasyland at Disneyland allowed guests to drive small cars on a guide-railed track.  Back then, the Fantasyland Autopia was originally the Junior Autopia. It was expanded and renamed to Fantasyland Autopia in 1959, by which time there were three separate Autopia attractions operating at the same time, the other two being Tomorrowland Autopia and Midget Autopia.

From 1991 -1992 the Fantasyland Autopia was known as Rescue Rangers Raceway as part of the Disney Afternoon Avenue promotion.

In 1999 the Fantasyland Autopia and Tomorrowland Autopia closed. On June 29, 2000 an all-new Autopia opened, combining the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland circuits into one attraction. Both tracks are now boarded at the same station in Tomorrowland.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.

#Disneyland60.....Today In Disneyland History........July 22, 1955

Rocket Ship to the Moon Opens

July 22, 1955

With the 60th Diamond Celebration of Disneyland quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of things from Disneyland's past.  Today we're heading back to the original 1955 Tomorrowland. Many years before spaceflight in the real world was a reality, it was a daily occurrence in Disneyland. Rocket to the Moon launched park guests to the moon beginning on July 22, 1955, which really made Tomorrowland a land of the future! With screens above and below the theatre, acting almost as windows, guests blasted off in a simulated ride to the moon, watching their journey from its departure from Disneyland on the lower screen right up to the moon on the upper screen. An iconic rocket, the Moonliner, stood outside, towering over the attraction building. In 1966, the opening of an all new Tomorrowland also brought a newly updated version of the attraction, now called Flight to the Moon. By 1975, after astronauts actually set foot on the moon, the updated attraction sent guests to explore the red planet in Mission to Mars. The last Mars flight departed in November, 1992. Today, the location is home to Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port, along with a scaled down replica of the original Moonliner. Although the technology of Flight to the Moon and Mission to Mars eventually became outdated, at the time, guests thought they were simply out of this world!  If you could update Tomorrowland, what would your vision include?  Leave a comment below and tell us what you would create.  And that’s what happened today in Disneyland’s history.