Happy holidays, Disney Parks Blog!

As in years past, please enjoy caroling about the ways in which the Disneyland Resort supported the local community in 2012. And if you don’t feel like caroling, check out the video instead – it recaps many of the Resort’s efforts to support the community during a year that was not only focused on the grand reopening of Disney California Adventure park, but also on enriching the lives of our neighbors!

Giving Around the Community
To the tune of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”

Giving around the community
At the Disneyland Resort,
Helping nonprofits in the OC
New records to report!

Giving around the community
More than $16 million bucks*,
CALIFORNIA letters for the state fair
Traveled north on flatbed trucks.

You may get a sentimental feeling,
When you hear:
Disney VoluntEARS have been on duty
Ninety-two thousand hours this year.

Giving around the community
$5 million for CHOC’s lobby,
After school programs in Anaheim
Kids find a safe hobby.

Giving around the community
KaBOOM! playgrounds down the street,
Collecting toys for families
Gardens for schools complete.

You may get a sentimental feeling,
When you hear:
Make-A-Wish and military
Guests attended Cars Land premiere.

Giving around the community
Healthy cooking videos,
College scholarships and arts grants
How quickly another year goes!

*Amount includes cash, Disney VoluntEARS hours and in-kind donations

Tagged: DLR, Video, VoluntEARS

Filed: Community Outreach, Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Resort entertainment host Alex Nguyen accompanies Disney characters while they interact with guests, making her one lucky cast member! In this installment of Every Role a Starring Role, Alex will explain the responsibilities of her role as an entertainment host, and what it’s like spending so much time with Mickey and his pals.

 
Check out these posts for more “Every Role a Starring Role”:

• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Bellhop
• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort Laundry Production
• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort Guest Talent Coordinator

Tagged: BtS, DLR, Video

Filed: Behind the Scenes, Cast Member Profiles, Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Resort cast member and U.S. Army 1st Lt. Russell Fenton has returned to work after a 10-month deployment in Afghanistan, where he earned the U.S. Armed Forces fourth-highest honor, the Bronze Star Medal.

Fenton, who manages construction projects for the Disneyland Resort, as well as the U.S. Army during deployment, received the honor for overseeing one of the largest construction efforts in Afghanistan. He currently serves in the California National Guard one weekend each month.

Fenton says he’ll never forget the support he received from Disney during his deployments, from care packages from fellow cast members to a job promotion while serving in Afghanistan. He said, “Just knowing how well Disney takes care of military veterans, even when they are deployed and unable to work as cast members, speaks volumes about this company. Disney really values its people.”

Tagged: DLR

Filed: Disneyland Resort

Happy America Recycles Day! Did you know the Disneyland Resort diverts more than half of its overall waste from landfills through recycling and repurposing? Here are some other fun facts about recycling at the Disneyland Resort that you may not know:

• Disneyland Resort recycles enough aluminum each year to make a soda can about 1,000 times taller than its Matterhorn, more glass each year than the weight of eight steam trains, and enough paper each year to create a trail from Disneyland Resort to Walt Disney World Resort and back, twice!
• Cans and bottles recycled by cast members in backstage areas benefit various nonprofit organizations, like Canine Companions for Independence, which provides assistance dogs to people with disabilities. To date, more than 35 assistance dogs have been assigned homes thanks to these funds.
• More than a dozen types of materials are collected for recycling at the Disneyland Resort, and guests have access to more than 650 themed recycling containers.
• The custodial guest services team helps to recycle 22 tons of material each day.
• Paper napkins and plastic merchandise bags used by guests are made from 100-percent recycled content.
• More than 600,000 plastic cards, from hotel room keys to Main Entrance passes, have been collected for recycling this year.
• Disneyland Resort partners with Clean the World to donate more than 1,000 pounds of partially used soaps and bottled amenities per month from its hotels, which are sanitized and recycled into hygiene products for people around the globe.

Tagged: DLR

Filed: Disneyland Resort

Disneyland Resort partners annually with “it’s a small world” sponsor, SYLVANIA, to host one special family at Disneyland park, who officially kicks off the holiday season at Disneyland Resort by lighting “it’s a small world” Holiday for the first time of the season.
　
This year, SYLVANIA identified the Plummer family from Palmdale, Calif., through Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization that provided housing assistance to Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Mark Plummer, who earned a purple heart in Iraq, and his family.
　
Watch the Plummers illuminate “it’s a small world” Holiday in this video recap of last night’s festive ceremony!

Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog for more updates on the holiday season at Disney Parks, and join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #DisneyHolidays.

Tagged: DL, DLR, Holidays, Video

Filed: Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort

Disney VoluntEARS recently celebrated Anaheim-area veterans by working with The Mission Continues, an organization that challenges veterans to serve and lead in communities across America. On November 3, Disney VoluntEARS visited Veterans First in Anaheim for a work day where they, along with other volunteers from The Mission Continues, painted, landscaped and performed general maintenance at the facility, which provides housing for homeless and at-risk veterans in the area.

“It was an honor to work with the Disney VoluntEARS and The Mission Continues teams at the Veteran’s First home on Saturday,” said Disney VoluntEAR and veteran Manny Kiesser. “Veterans really do have an unspoken bond that spans generations and even the branch you served with. So as a veteran, it felt really special to be working alongside veterans again – and with others who care about us. It was even more special to be able to help out some other, less fortunate veterans. I served with the Marines and our motto is Semper Fidelis – Always Faithful. On Saturday, we kept the faith with our vets, and I’m grateful to Disney for providing the opportunity.”

The Mission Continues is one of the organizations to which Disney has provided a grant through the Heroes Work Here initiative, launched in March 2012. Disney committed to providing at least 1,000 jobs and career opportunities for returning U.S. veterans over the next three years, supporting military families and veterans during their transition into civilian life, and launching a national public awareness campaign to encourage all employers across the U.S. to hire veterans.


Read more about Disney VoluntEARS in the posts below:

• Walt Disney World VoluntEARS Help Raise $16.8 Million for Victims of Hurricane Sandy
• Disney Cast Members Create ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ CANstruction for Local Food Bank
• Disney VoluntEARS Help Tow Away Hunger in Orange County, California

Tagged: DLR, VoluntEARS

Filed: Community Outreach, Disneyland Resort

Happy Halloween, Disney Parks Blog! On a stormy Halloween night in 1939, a bellhop and four others stepped aboard a Hollywood Tower Hotel elevator and into the fifth dimension. To mark the anniversary of their disappearance, Disneyland Resort cast member Bryan Higashi will tell you about his role hosting guests at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, whenever they drop in!

Read on for more from our “Every Role a Starring Role” series:

• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort Laundry Production
• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort Guest Talent Coordinator
• Every Role a Starring Role – Disneyland Resort River Guide

Tagged: BtS, DCA, DLR, Halloween, Video

Filed: Behind the Scenes, Cast Member Profiles, Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Resort