Disney World Monorail Crash Video

The following is an amateur video taken at Disney World following a recent Monorail crash. The person filming the crash is kicked out by park authorities because he/she is too close to the accident immediately after it occured. Please do not watch the video if the idea of seeing the accident is frightening to you at all and remember that we are only reporting the news and that our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those people on the train.

Disneyland and Disneyworld Square Off in Dumbest. Bet. Ever.

Wow. Two straight NBA posts here on the old travel blog! Just gets me all excited thinking about the overlap. Or something. What doesn't get me excited is the idea of having to watch the presidents of the two Disney properties (one's in "California" so he gets to root for the Lakers and one's in Orlando so, duh, Magic) squaring off in an NBA Finals bet. If the Lakers win, Meg Crofton will wear purple and gold Mickey Mouse ears that say "Go Lakers!" while walking down Mainstreet USA. If the Magic win, well, you guessed it! Ed Grier will rock blue and silver Mickey ears. Obviously, Grier's feeling pretty good right now.

Disney Plans D.C. Hotel at National Harbor

Earlier this week, Disney Parks and Resorts purchased a 15-acre site from the Peterson Companies at the National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland.

The property overlooks the Potomac and is being considered for a new stand-alone Disney hotel. Milton V. Peterson, chairmen of the Peterson Companies, was thrilled over the sale:

Disney is the top family entertainment company in the world, and its purchase is a great vote of confidence in the future of National Harbor.

For Disney's part, Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Parks and Resorts, said the family entertainment giant had plenty to offer and plenty to gain from a Washington DC property:

As we began identifying possible locations to grow our business, the Washington, DC area immediately jumped to the top of the list. National Harbor offers an array of entertaining activities for regional visitors, but it is also a family-friendly base camp, from which visitors from around the world can explore the stirring sights and inspirational stories of our nation’s capital.

Disney's new resort hotel will join an already wide variety of National Harbor attractions, including a variety of restaurants and venues, boutique stores and J. Seward Johnson Jr.'s mildly terrifying but completely awesome sculpture, "The Awakening." (pictured above)

You May Now Commence Riding Topless at Disneyland

Disneyland had a long-standing (10 years) policy about topless behavior on their Splash Mountain ride, as well as a handful of other rides, at Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland. Obviously, you weren't allowed to reveal yourself.

That's changed in the past few days as Disney has announced that they will no longer have employees specifically designated to monitor whether people are flashing the cameras or lifting their shirts on the rides.

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the changes took effect Sunday at Splash
Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and California Screamin'.

Riders are photographed on the attractions and can then buy souvenir copies. Some have exposed their breasts in hopes that the picture would make it onto a photo preview screen at the ride's exit.

Ms. Brown stated that the "actual inappropriate behaviors by guests are rare" but my guess would be that "the wonderful economy" won't allow the park to continue "paying people to look for breasts."

Besides, shouldn't the inherent shame of showing one's fairly private parts on a screen at a Disney park be ample punishment for the deed at hand anyway? I say so. Free hat! Er, shirt.

FareFinder: Tuesday, April 14

Walt Disney World offers up The Magical Mother’s Day Weekend Package, starting at $499, and includes three-day/two-night stay at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, a 50-minute Swedish massage for mom and more.

The Buckingham Hotel in NYC offering two art lover's packages, one for the Museum of Modern Art and another for The Museum of Arts and Design. Each include accommodations and tickets to museums and start at $249 a night.

Princess Cruises offering specials on its 12-day Emerald Isles & Russian Splendors May sailings onboard its Tahitian Princess, starting at $799 with promo code UEF. Ask an agent for details.

Your weekly Continental.com airfare specials.

Starting June 28, Southwest Airlines flies from LaGuardia to Chicago for $89 each way and Baltimore/D.C. for $49 each way. And the flights are filling up fast.

FareFinder news Extra: House of Mouse not immune to troubled economy

Normally FareFinder is a Tuesday/Thursday thang, but I saw this lil' nugget on the PTG news desk and shed a small, but ear-shaped, tear:

The hotel industry is following in the footsteps of the plummeting financial markets, with rates diving 3.5% the first week of November and occupancy and room revenue tumbling in double digits. ... What that means for travelers is
lots of great deals. ... Disney World is giving away three free nights with the purchase of four.

The Mouse is also offering free admission to guests on their birthdays in an attempt to draw guests to their plethora of hotels and theme parks. These are the types of things that happen when you're down 10% in bookings in the first half of '09 compared to the previous year.

But not all is doom-and-gloom for The Mouse. Theme park revenue at the hap...hap...happiest place on Earth was up last quarter and The Mouse is still a Wall Street darling in many eyes. As The Motley Fool says, "Disney is built to weather the storm."