By Jackie Sheckler Finch

Kicking up his heels, Woody the cowboy from Toy Story leads guests on a rollicking hoedown. When the Frontierland show is done, the characters wave goodbye and dance down a side street at Walt Disney World.

Once they hit the magic yellow line, however, those hot costumes come off, and the dancing slows to a walk. This part of Disney is hidden from guests.

"That line was measured very carefully,” says Disney guide Matthew Arter. "Once you get to that line, the people in the park can no longer see what’s going on. When you cross that line, you can get out of character."

The special line is just one tidbit that visitors learn on fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Tours at Walt Disney World at Orlando. The programs offer a chance to see the park from the inside out. And, oh, the surprises waiting to be discovered. Tour-takers might never look at Disney the same way again.

"It’s a side of Walt Disney World that most people don’t get to see," says Matthew, who has worked at Disney for twelve years. "When you take one of these tours, you get to see where the magic begins."

Take the Keys to the Kingdom tour, for example. As a walking tour through the Magic Kingdom—as well as under it and behind it—the tour takes about five hours and costs sixty dollars, plus theme park admission. Other tours vary in length and cost. Most of them are only open to visitors age sixteen and older, and cameras aren't allowed.

On this sunny day, a small group with ID badges falls in behind Matthew to start the Keys to the Kingdom Behind-the-Scenes Tour. Keeping track of the tour guide will be easy. Looking like a turn-of-the-century bandleader, Matthew is dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with a button-down collar, a blue vest with a plaid back, and a plaid necktie. He also carries a bandmaster's baton, which he'll sometimes twirl or use as a pointer or hoist up high when he is ready for his followers to move onward.

Little things that most Disney visitors don't even notice are pointed out. "The whole theme park concept is set up like you're going to a movie," Matthew says. "Walt Disney wanted to be in charge of all your senses. When you walk through the turnstile to the park, you're hit by the smell of popcorn."

A constant soundtrack floats over the park. "And those are the opening credits," Matthew says, gesturing to old-timey business names on second-story windows. "These are the names of real people who helped build the park."

Above the confectioner's shop is Roy O. Disney. "He was Walt's brother, the accountant," Matthew says. "They loved like brothers and fought like brothers."

Above the ice cream parlor is the make-believe office of Walter E. Disney—Graduate School of Design & Master Planning. "They put Walt Disney's name over the ice cream shop because he loved ice cream," Matthew says.

Unfortunately, Walt Disney did not live long enough to see the park completed. He died December 15, 1966. His brother Roy took over construction of the park and completed it to continue Walt's legacy. It was Roy who officially had the name changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World. Roy died two months after the opening of the park on December 20, 1971.

Although the old-fashioned buildings on Main Street USA look like they are three stories tall, they are only two stories. A technique called Forced Perspective is used to create the illusion. For buildings they don't want seen, Disney uses a paint called "go-away-green." "We can't make the building disappear, so we paint it with a green that makes your eyes go away from it to brighter colors around it," Matthew says.

Since most Americans are right-handed, they tend to move to the right and look to the right. Disney took that into consideration for the park layout. "When you enter Magic Kingdom, you'll find things that you might need for the day on your right," Matthew says. "And what you need when you're leaving, you'll find on the left."

Sure enough, stroller rental, breakfast eateries, places that sell supplies like film and suntan lotion are located on the right. Walking down Main Street on the way out, you'll find souvenir shops on your right. Since Tomorrowland is on the right, it is one of the first to fill up every morning. If you want to beat the crowds, head to your left and go to Adventureland or Frontierland instead.

Cleanliness and trash disposal are big deals at Disney. Legend has it that Walt Disney ate a hot dog in Disneyland and counted how many steps it took to finish it—almost twenty-five steps, which is roughly how far apart trash cans are placed. It's also said that Walt himself reportedly handed out candy at Disneyland and then counted the number of steps before people would drop the wrapper. He reasoned that a handy trash can would help prevent litter.

"We have the standard of being one of the cleanest parks in the world, and we work hard at that," Matthew says. Behind the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is a massive rubbish compactor where rubbish is sucked from around the park by a Swiss-built network of pneumatic tubes. The combustibles are burned to generate about a third of Disney's electricity.

"All the trash is sorted by hand to pull out recyclables and things that people accidentally throw away," he says. "There are about twenty-three tons a day of trash just in the Magic Kingdom."

Keys, wallets, sunglasses, cameras, and retainers for braces are among the most common items tossed by accident. The most unusual? A glass eye. Think it's strange that someone could throw away something like that? Consider that each year nineteen thousand cars are locked at Disney World with their keys in them, and fifteen hundred of them have their engines still running.

Then comes the Utilidor, which some people dismiss as pure folklore. But it's true. Under Main Street USA is an elaborate system of utility corridors built to connect the lands. But it's not correct to say that the Utilidor is a tunnel or even that it's underground. "The park was built on top of it," Matthew says.

Since Walt Disney World was built from the ground up, Disney had engineers build utility corridors for the first floor of the park. The water table in Florida is very high so it would have been quite expensive to keep tunnels dry. Instead, the utility corridors were constructed at ground level and then covered with dirt. The Magic Kingdom is built on top of this so Main Street USA is actually on the second floor, or about fourteen feet above the original ground level of the area.


The corridor loops around the outside edge of the park with a wide passageway that leads down the middle. Scattered all over the park are stairwells and elevators that lead up to the public areas. Using the color-coded catacombs, "cast members"—the preferred name for folks who work at Disney (remember this is supposed to be a theater experience)—can walk from one side of the park to the other in ten minutes without being seen by guests. Walt Disney World employs about 59,500 cast members.

Cast members are supposed to abide by basic grooming guidelines and are expected to keep the magic alive. Cast members bid guests to "Have a magical day." They abide by the four keys of safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. At Disney, the word TEAM means Together Everyone Achieves Magic.

"If I have problems, they stay in my car when I come in," Matthew says.

Every single costume is designed at Walt Disney World, and the park has the world's largest working wardrobe. Each costume has a bar code to identify its use; and Disney laundry, called Textile Services, washes about sixty-nine tons of laundry a day. "They get about a ton of lint every day," Matthew says.

Mickey has over 175 different outfits, from a scuba suit to a tuxedo. Minnie has even more, about 200, including a cheerleader outfit and evening gowns. With some of the furry costumes weighing up to sixty-five pounds, there's a limit as to how much time a character can visit with guests in the park. "There's nothing in the costume to cool you off so you can't be outside very long if it is really hot," Matthew says, noting that characters have to practice signing their autograph for happy kids "until they can do it blindfolded."

All of the utilities—water, electricity, fiber optics, trash, sewage—are in the Utilidor. "If something breaks down," Matthew says, "you aren't going to see them digging holes on Main Street to fix it."

The Utilidor also serves as a neat photo gallery for the history of the park. "There wasn't even a paved road when Walt Disney came here," Matthew says. "We built something out of nothing down here."

When word got out that Walt Disney was buying property for another theme park, the price of Orlando land suddenly skyrocketed. Disney used a fake name, M.T. Lott, so he wouldn't be charged extra. That is one of the names on a Main Street window.

Now comes the really big question. How does Tinker Bell fly? On the tour, Matthew says only that the cable that stretches from the top of Cinderella's Castle is "where she hangs out her laundry."

For those now in the know, that cable is where Tinker Bell makes her nightly flight. The cast member who plays Tinker Bell must be no more than five feet tall and weigh no more than ninety-five pounds. She wears heavy safety equipment, harnesses, and lights. She earns actor's equity wages plus hazard bonus and gets paid for eight hours whether she flies or not.

"She climbs all the way to the top of the castle with a guide," Matthew says. "Then he shoves her out the window in the castle turret."

Two people with a huge comforter wait at the end of the cable. "She curls up into a ball and slows down when she flies into the comforter," Matthew says. "Tinker Bell has a pretty good gig, if you think about it."

Labels: Behind the Scenes, Florida, Orlando, Walt Disney World

Give Grandma's house a break this season

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

The countdown to the holiday season has begun, and it's time to start planning your holiday getaway. Instead of the usual get-together at Grandma's house, grab Grandma and round up family and close friends and go over the river and through the woods to an exciting destination. It will be a Christmas to remember—and no one will have to worry about decorating elaborately, cleaning the house, or cooking the meals.

• An Ozark Mountain Christmas Celebration

• Holiday Magic in Orlando

• Winterfest in the Smoky Mountains

• Eureka! It's a Victorian Christmas

Labels: Arkansas, Branson, Christmas, Eureka Springs, Florida, Gatlinburg, Holiday, Missouri, Orlando, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

If your idea of a holiday hiatus is warmer climates, think about Florida—palm trees, sunshine, and ice slides. That’s right, ice slides.

At Gaylord Palms Resort at Orlando (gaylordhotels.com), nearly two million pounds of ice steal the show. The walk-through ice spectacle features interactive holiday scenes and ice slides for adults and children. The ice scenes are hand-sculpted by forty artists from China.

Mickey Mouse is the most famous character in Orlando, so it is only fitting that he hosts a Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The festivities feature a series of fun nighttime events for the little ones, including holiday shows, fireworks, and magic treats with Minnie and Mickey.

At nearby Epcot, a Holidays Around the World theme features international holiday storytellers, a daily tree-lighting ceremony by park characters, and an
eye-popping display of white lights. At Disney-MGM Studios, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights electrifies the studio lot with millions of sparkling lights.

Here’s some Disney trivia to sprinkle in your holiday planning conversations: Walt Disney World Resort hangs seven million lights throughout
the property to celebrate the holiday season. More than eight hundred musicians, characters, storytellers, singers, and entertainers perform daily throughout the Disney theme parks at Orlando.

Orlando knows how to ring in the New Year with style. You can take your pick of fabulous New Year’s Eve celebrations at SeaWorld Orlando
(seaworld.com), Universal CityWalk, Downtown Disney Pleasure Island, Epcot, or the Magic Kingdom. Activities range from live music, street dances, champagne toasts, and parades to elaborate fireworks displays at midnight. At the Gaylord Palms Resort, a black-tie masked ball called the Grande Masque (grandemasque.org) rings in the New Year while supporting the local arts community. The ball offers fine dining, performances by the Orlando Ballet, the Orlando Opera, and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as silent and live auctions.

On December 29, the Orlando Citrus Parade features more than fifty entries, including citrus-themed floats and marching bands from across the country. It takes five hundred volunteers three days to attach more than one hundred thousand grapefruits, oranges, and tangerines to the floats with rubber bands. After the parade, the fruit is donated to local food banks.

Labels: Christmas, Florida, Holiday, Orlando

15 summer thrills for adventurers of all ages

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

This isn't your grandma's vacation! Push the envelope this year and try something new, something exotic. We’ve scouted five popular destinations — Branson, Missouri; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Eureka Springs, Arkansas; and Orlando, Florida — for thrilling experiences that will refresh and rejuvenate.

Sleep With the Sharks

Sharks to the right of you, sharks to the left of you, sharks all around — that's how you'll feel at the shark lagoon at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg (www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com). You'll come face to face with twelve-foot sharks and thousands of other fish as you walk through the underwater acrylic tunnel on a moving glide path.

Although you can pet stingrays and hold horseshoe crabs at the aquarium, you can't swim with the sharks — but you can sleep with them. Designed for a group of at least fifteen children (but not more than one hundred), the fun-filled overnight package includes a dive show, scavenger hunt, snack, late-night activity, and camping in the shark lagoon tunnel. Instead of counting sheep, you can count sharks as you drift off to sleep.

Snorkel With the Manatees

If spending the night with the sharks isn't the ocean adventure you're looking for, try swimming with the manatees. Citrus County, Florida, is the only place in the United States where you can legally swim alongside manatees. These large, gentle marine mammals like the warm waters of the spring-fed, seventy-two-degree Crystal and Homosassa rivers. The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for the endangered manatees and is home to more than one-fourth of the nation's manatee population.

Snorkeling is the best way to observe manatees at close range. It's a thrill to swim alongside a one-ton manatee and her newborn calf. Excursions should only be made with the assistance of a guide or tour company. For a list of recommended companies, visit www.visitcitrus.com/manateelist.asp. The web site also posts an up-to-date count of the number of manatees in the waterways. The numbers rise in the winter when the West Indian manatees leave the Gulf of Mexico and flock to the Crystal and Homosassa rivers to join the resident manatee population.

For the non-swimmers in the group, there's an underwater observatory at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park where you can watch manatees and other fish as well as listen to underwater manatee sounds via telephones.

Swim With the Dolphins

For more encounters of the watery kind, spend a day at Discovery Cove in Orlando (www.discoverycove.com). The main feature at this all-inclusive tropical hideaway is swimming with bottlenose dolphins, but you can also snorkel amid rays and exotic fish through coral reefs and grottos. In free-flight aviaries, you can touch and feed tropical birds. You may choose to simply relax on the beach or at the pool. All resort activities are included in the one-day price.

For a more intense experience, there's the trainer-for-a-day program. It includes expanded dolphin interaction and training, feedings at the coral reef, feeding and care of exotic birds in the aviary, behind-the-scenes small-mammal interaction, animal food preparation, and animal behavioral training class.

Scuba Dive in a Lake

Learn to scuba dive with “Diver Dick” Dalager at the State Park Marina on Table Rock Lake at Branson (www.stateparkmarina.com). Try a three-hour Discover Scuba mini-course, or go for a complete certification course. Dalager has been teaching scuba on Table Rock Lake for eighteen years. While at the marina, check out the boat rentals, wave runners, parasailing, bass fishing, and daily cruises.

Near Eureka Springs, head to C&J Sports at Beaver Lake (www.candjsports.com) for introductory or certification courses, or if you already know how to scuba, for shore diving or boat rides to select scuba spots on the lake. Carol and Jim Butler, owners of C&J Sports, also offer camping, lodging, and archery.

Ride the Ducks

If you'd prefer to stay on top of the water rather than getting wet and wild, ride the Ducks. You don't have to have any special athletic skills. Just climb aboard and start quacking on your souvenir Wacky Quacker, which comes free with every admission. The ducks are amphibious vehicles based on the famous World War II DUKW amphibious design. The company's vehicles are built to order in a factory near Branson, and are U.S. Coast Guard certified and tested. Many people think the vehicles are called ducks because they can go in and out of the water. Actually, DUKW is a military acronym that indicates the 1942 vehicle was designed (D) for utility (U) and amphibious purposes, with front wheel drive (K), and two rear driving axles (W).

The seventy-minute sightseeing tour of Branson takes you along The Strip on Highway 76, up Baird Mountain, and past Table Rock Dam. The highlight for most is the splash into Table Rock Lake for a short cruise, during which kids may get to steer. The driver offers a running commentary about the history and sights of Branson, complete with zany tour-guide humor.

Purchase Tickets Here for Ride the Ducks in Branson, Missouri. You can also board on the Branson Landing or, during the holidays, experience the new Holiday Land & Light Ride the Ducks Tour at both the Classic Highway 76 location and the Branson Landing.

Boat Through a Swamp

Experience the everglades of central Florida with an airboat ride through the wetlands. You'll see birds, turtles, and alligators, while the boat idles through the canals and flies through the swamps. Airboats can travel up to forty-five miles per hour. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides and Black Hammock Airboat Adventures let you get up close and personal with scenic outdoor Florida.

Raft the River

White-water rafting is always popular, and some great rafting is available in and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Pigeon and Nantahala rivers, with outfitters near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Many of the runs are suitable for family outings, while others are more difficult. To help you select an outfitter, visit Appalachian Outdoors, providing the outdoor enthusiast with recommended vendors for the southern Appalachian region. Look for tips not only on white-water rafting but also for backpacking, bird-watching, fly-fishing, skiing, orienteering, and much more.

Purchase Tickets to Appalachian Outdoors / Whitewater rafting.

Fly Like a Bird

If you prefer the birds of the air to the fish in the sea, take the Gatlinburg Skylift (www.gatlinburgskylift.com) over Gatlinburg and the Little Pigeon River to the top of Crockett Mountain for a panoramic view of the town and the surrounding Smoky Mountains. Enjoy the scenery during the five-hundred-foot ascent in the open chairlift, and take time to hike or soak in the views at the top.

Or climb aboard the 120-passenger Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway, one of the country's largest aerial cable cars. It departs every twenty minutes from downtown Gatlinburg to the Ober Gatlinburg All Seasons Amusement Park on Mt. Harrison. The park offers skiing in the winter and outdoor fun year-round.

Soar Above It All

Escalate your air adventure by taking either a tethered or a free-flight hot-air balloon ride. Floating above the earth in the quiet atmosphere of the balloon basket, you're able to hear dogs barking down on the ground. The bird's-eye views are inspiring. You might even snap a photo capturing the shadow of your balloon below you. Most flights leave early in the morning and provide a sunrise vista. Once back on land, many air excursion companies offer a champagne toast, celebration picnic, and commemorative photos with the pilot.

There are plenty of ballooning options in and around Orlando, including established vendors such as Blue Water Balloons, Bob's Balloons, Magic Sunrise Ballooning, or Orange Blossom Balloons (www.orlandoinfo.com).

If you'd like to fly but stay a little grounded, too, check out Branson Balloon (www.bransonballoon.com), the largest tethered helium balloon in the country. Unlike the free-flight balloon rides, this balloon goes straight up and down, reaching an altitude of five hundred feet in a scenic ascension. The balloon is huge — more than ten stories tall — and the basket can carry thirty
passengers.

Daytime rides offer a panoramic view of Branson, Table Rock Lake, and the surrounding Ozark hills. At night, the sparkling city lights provide a magical vista, and the balloon offers a perfect bird's-eye vantage point for viewing the closing ceremony fireworks at nearby Celebration City.

Glide Like an Eagle

For an over-the-top experience, try aerotow hang gliding at Wallaby Ranch Hang Gliding Flight Park near Orlando (www.wallaby.com). Aerotowing is where a hang glider is towed aloft with a specially designed, ultra-light tow plane. Wallaby Ranch offers aerotow tandem instruction as an easy, safe, and quick way to learn how to hang glide. Although foot launching and mountain flying are important aspects of traditional hang gliding, aerotowing makes the sport accessible to almost anyone, year-round.

Fall Like a Rock

For sheer excitement, nothing compares to sky diving.

But you can break the bonds of gravity without having to jump out of an airplane — just let yourself be lifted up and away by the wind flow in a tunnel. Consider a company like Flyaway (www.flyawayindoorskydiving.com) in Pigeon Forge or SkyVenture (www.skyventureorlando.com) in Orlando, both of which offer an indoor sky-diving experience through a supercharged wind tunnel. It is designed to give beginners the sensation of free fall and body flight in a safe environment. The experience is so realistic that it is used by sport sky divers, competition teams, and military units for training.

If you want to try the real high-flying adrenaline sport, most sky diving schools can have visitors airborne in just one day. To find a U.S Parachute Association-affiliated sky-diving center, click the online Drop Zone Directory at www.uspa.org/dz/index.htm. There are sky-diving schools near such popular vacation destinations as Branson, Eureka Springs, Gatlinburg, Orlando, and Pigeon Forge.

Hop On a Bike

More of a landlubber? The hilly Ozarks surrounding Branson offer cycling opportunities for riders of different ability levels. Although there are no mountains tall enough for extended downhill coasting rides, there are plenty of scenic, hilly rides. Craig Erickson, owner of Downhill Bikes (www.downhillbikes.biz), a retail and rental outlet, offers directions for area rides on his web site and in person. He's also knowledgeable about hiking and kayaking in the area.

A great ride for any age or skill level starts at Table Rock State Park near the marina and runs alongside the lake past the Branson Belle showboat and on to the Dewey Short Visitors Center next to Table Rock Dam. The paved path is about eight feet wide and about two-and-a-half miles long and offers great views of the lake.

City officials are working on a trail system that would incorporate roads and trails into an eighty-nine-mile system, but no completion date is set.

Crawl Through a Cave

Caving is available at three caves close to Eureka Springs: Cosmic, War Eagle, and Onyx.

Both Cosmic Cavern in nearby Berryville and War Eagle Cavern (www.wareaglecavern.com) between Eureka Springs and Rogers offer an off-trail wild cave tour in addition to the usual guided tours. At Cosmic, the off-trail tour includes a one-thousand-foot passage and lots of climbing. At War Eagle, the wild cave tour goes straight back into the mountain through a horizontal cavern so there's not much climbing, but there are many side passages and the opportunity for plenty of crawling. In either case, you'll get really dirty, so bring a change of clothes for the ride home.

A highlight of the regular tour at Cosmic is the pristine and delicate Silent Splendor section discovered in 1993. The cave has several underground lakes, one of which is stocked with rainbow trout. The rare Ozarks Blind Cave Salamander lives in the cave.

At War Eagle, you enter the cavern through the natural entrance on the shores of Beaver Lake. You can also arrive by boat, if you wish. The cave is home to more than one hundred thousand bats, one of North America's largest colonies. The cave was used for a scene in the movie, “Frank and Jesse,” and there's a display of props from the movie set. Aboveground, you can hike the nature trails or stay overnight in the secluded lodge.

At both caves, you can try your hand at panning for gemstones; you get to keep what you find. Cosmic Cavern also offers fossil digging. Authentic fossils are cemented in the ground and covered with sand. Diggers are supplied with brushes and shovels, plus an identification sheet to help them identify the fossils they discover.

Onyx Cave (479-253-9321), just outside Eureka Springs, was discovered in 1891 and is the oldest show cave in Arkansas. The living cave offers easy access on a non-strenuous trail with self-guided headphone tours.

In Branson, Silver Dollar City presents a new yet old way to visit its original attraction, Marvel Cave — by lantern light. Visitors step back in time as they explore the cave with only the light from lanterns showing the way. For decades, guests have explored the cavern with the help of electric lighting, and most tours are still done that way.

The theme park began offering special lantern tours last year to reenact the early days. Guides dressed in period costumes tell the history of Marvel Cave and some of its legends. Marvel Cave first opened for visitors in 1894. In 1950, the Herschend family took over the cave operation, and it became the foundation upon which Silver Dollar City, the amusement park, is built.

Zorb Down a Hill

Be the first on your block to try Zorbing! Created in New Zealand, Zorb opens its first North America location in Pigeon Forge this spring (www.zorb.com/smoky/index.html). Called Zorb Smoky Mountains, it's a new type of action ride. Zorb is eleven feet high and eleven feet wide; it's round and bouncy. You jump inside and roll down a hill. The wildness of the ride is up to the Zorbonaut — that's the term coined to describe riders of this crazy attraction.

There are two types of Zorb rides, hydro (wet) or harnessed (dry). The hydro Zorb has a single small door and no harness. The rider slides in through a tunnel, then about two gallons of water (cool in summer, warm in winter) are added to the outer sphere. The Zorbonaut is loose inside the Zorb and is free to slip and slide around inside as it rolls downhill, making the ride as easy or as wild as desired. The hydro Zorb is described as a slippery ride that's a cross between a waterfall and a car crash.

Hydro-Zorbing can be done with one, two, or three people at a time. Because the weight inside the hydro Zorb remains at the bottom, the Zorb can achieve high speeds without bouncing and can be done safely down steep or gentle slopes and with downhill or uphill winds.

Dry-Zorbing is a completely different experience than hydro-Zorbing, and you may want to try both. The Zorbonaut is strapped into a harness attached to the wall of the inner sphere. The rider revolves with the Zorb as it rolls downhill, giving a unique sensation of alternating G-forces as the rider tumbles head over heels and the sky and the ground go spinning past.

Ride a Hurricane

In the Disaster Zone at WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge (www.wonderworksonline.com), you can experience the fury of a hurricane or what the 1989 San Francisco earthquake felt like. You can try rock climbing in the Challenge Zone or design your own roller coaster and experience it on a virtual ride on the WonderCoaster. Billed as an amusement park for the mind, WonderWorks offers 150 interactive exhibits. There's also a WonderWorks in Orlando with slightly different exhibits.

Labels: Arkansas, Branson, Eureka Springs, Florida, Gatlinburg, Missouri, Orlando, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee