The 2014 Zonta International Convention will be held in Orlando, Florida USA - The home of Mrs. Banks at Walt Disney World. Marriott World Center, June 27 - July 1, 2014. Aussie Zontians will be at Walt Disney World June 20 - June 26.
This week, in Australia, summer turned up the dial all the way to 11. And it will last another week!
It was 40 degrees C or 104F here in Canberra today - and forecast for tomorrow - and all weekend
Perfect weather to be in training for conditions in Orlando!!
I doubt it will be quite so scorching - maybe only 35C (95F) but I have the chance to work out my clothing (cotton voile / shorts / sun protection) and especially shoes.
You will need extra comfortable walking sandals. You will be WAY too hot in socks and sneakers.
Keen have been my footware of choice for many years.
They have a running shoe sole for comfort and a waterproof upper. For multiple rides on Kali River Rapids. That's one way to keep cool!
watch out for giant waterfall. (source: disneyride.com)
Many people also swear by Skechers Go Walk (although I have never tried them and don't know if they are waterproof)
better than Crocs
Whatever you choose for your feets, remember something that is not going to make you sweaty and stinky, not going to give you blisters, stays supportive after hours of walking on hot concrete, and can tolerate a bit of water from your day at Typhoon Lagoon water park.
Don't burn your feets on the scorcing concrete paths! (source: themainstreetmouse.com)
And it is not just the heat that makes the concrete painful for your tootsies - the pathways are covered in sand - making them abrasive! Hot and abrasive! sounds like me in the office - but I don't want that for my holiday.
Although of course, you could just join me in an air conditioned bar.
We covered some aspects of dealing with the heat back in winter - when I was wistfully remembering temperatures such as today's! Go now and re-read that post to kick start your wardrobe planning for Convention.
p.s. go check out Sierra Trading Post for deep discounts on those Keen sandals and other tough footware.
How am I expected to turn this into a decent post?? Oh - you ladies over at Mouse on the Mind and This Happy Place - this month you have decidedly made our topic challenging.
You see, my gentle readers, this months topic is "Aerial Spinners" and in the whole of WDW there are 2.
Ok - let me clarify. there is Astro Orbiters and then there is Dumbo/Aladdin/Triceratop Spin - which are technically the same ride - they just come in different colours.
But dammit - I need this blog hop to pad out my own haphazard posting schedule. Sigh.
KILL
eeni meeni minee mo ....... need some serious and broader criteria here.
Dumbo - is the original and the best. Iconic. Killing Dumbo would be like an Aussie killing koalas.
Oh wait .... I forgot ...... (OK not an environment blog)
Triceratop Spin is in a different park - so it has to be Aladdin's Flying Carpets! Come on down!!
Being in the Magic Kingdom, where Dumbo already reins supreme, makes you supernumery. Also, a middle eastern desert theme in the middle of Adventure Land - between the Jungle Cruise and the Tiki Room is too out of place.
Whilst I am on my high horse - spot the one difference between these two shots. Why was this necessary?? (source: top: Walt Disney Co. Bottom: a travel agent I won't ID)
after all that trauma, let's move on to REFURB
There is can be only one obvious example for me: Astro Orbiters!
Your little rockets zoom among the planets (source: wdwguide)
but your seats are too hard.
And the queuing for your Apollo style launch pad elevator is too slow and cumbersome.
What give this chap the edge is that the little rockets tilt inwards adding some excitement to the fact that you are already 2 stories higher than Dumbo or Aladdin.
Fix these minor things, and you will be bellissimo - mwah!
MARRY
There can be only 1 - Dumbo. Since his refurbishment and duplication, Dumbo has increased his cache - making him the money spinner icon of Disney! A girlfriend used to say "it's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man ...." and that applies here. Don't waste your time in the backblocks. Fall in love with the rich dude - he has everything the others have.
Double your Dumbos (oh ... the Kardashian jokes .....) (source: big florida country)
There you have it. Now go and learn some more about these rides and your options for fun in the sun at WDW when we meet up in June. Click on the links below - which will grow over time!
Any one who follows Mrs Banks on Facebook knows that time has just disappeared with Christmas and birthdays and travel to Sydney and dining reservations. I am now enjoying my summer holiday and have the chance to sit and relax to prepare these posts for a couple of weeks - in between bouts of chopping things with my new chainsaw!! Oh - how The Ken Man knows me so well......
OK .. On with the show! Here's a post I started writing about 2 weeks ago:
It's all fuss and excitement and crazy internets clicking here tonight!
If you want to secure your favourite table service Disney dining reservation you have to book 6 months in advance - and that day is almost here past for me!! (ha ha ha - that shows how long it takes me to write a post)
guess what I'm doing tomorrow evening?? (source: pscalculator )
Only 4 more sleeps until (now after) Christmas Day - but I feel like it's already arrived as I go crazy with the dining reservations!
We have some underlying rules to follow with our dining arrangements, including:
We want to try lots of different things
We can't eat everything (dang!) SO a la carte dining more often to give more control over the amount of food purchased and consumed.
We are happy to split large dishes, and taste each other's meals - also happy to hoard if it's too good to share!
Limit buffet attendance. (Usually poor food items and some of us have limited intake.)
Enjoy meals with others.
No cheap and nasty park food - hot dogs, burgers and dreaded Disney fries (oh, I shiver just thinking about Pecos Bills - ewwwwww - and where they ask you not to spit. Well not in front of women and children.)
By getting online the moment bookings opened I was able to get everything I wanted - some of which are very coveted bookings! Here are some highlights from our bookings so far: (the links will allow you to see the current menus)
Breakfasts - Staying in Boardwalk Villas gives easy access to fabulous breakfasts including Greek style Kouzzina (21st); Captain's Grill (22nd) and Kona Cafe (26th) (the home of REAL coffee in WDW). We are also visiting Safari Donald at Tusker House (24th) for Harambe style.
Kona Cafe's Tonga Toast. My precious ....
Good fun themery lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe (23rd) where you eat your veges and keep your elbows off the table. Biergarten (21st) where it's Oktoberfest every day! Liberty Tree Tavern (22nd) where it is 4th July everyday!
No, Please, your quiet enjoyment of the meal will be thanks enough for these coveted bookings:
Le Cellier - the Canadian Steakhouse (21st). This small underground wine cellar serves it's signature dishes: cheddar cheese soup and Filet mignon on truffled mushroom risotto. Oh sigh.
Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's Restaurant - this classic is rated one of the USA's 15 most iconic restaurants, and with scores like 29/30 is one of Zagat's most highly rated.
Now the category: "Everyone is arriving in Orlando now. Let's all go out together for a meal"
The Crabby Shack! Fulton's Crab House will be hosting at least 10 of us on the 25th. Will you join in for more than you can eat seafood?
lobster tails, crabs, prawns, clams, oysters - served on platters, in towers, in buckets!
On the afternoon of the 26th, we shall be raising our pinkies and ensconced at the Grand Floridian Resort's Garden View Tea Room for Afternoon Tea. It's all cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and scones with jam and cream.
(source: wdwinfo - read their full review including menu)
And now here's a booking that will be a highlight of your trip - the all new California Grill! (26th)
Closed for 8 months in 2013 to undergo a complete overhaul, I am so excited to see this new look and new menu. One thing that hasn't changed - location. It is still on the roof of the Contemporary Resort and every meal offers premier viewing of the Magic Kingdom fireworks show!
Our last evening in WDW will finish on a high note! (source: DisneyFoodBlog - read their full review)
Who cares about pictures of the restaurant or what's on the menu. Because FIREWORKS!
UPDATE: I have now secured a 2nd California Grill dinner booking for Sunday 29 June - when everyone will be in Orlando.
If you would like to come meet everyone and join in, please contact me ASAP before seating books out! As is the case with Zontians, the more the merrier!
Are you a foodie? What type of cuisine do you want to enjoy in Orlando?
I suppose I just presumed the average Zontian would not be interested. And there is MILES of park info and blogs available. Well, this is it! Your one chance to read my views on the theme park rides. Pay attention, it will be over quick sticks!
There may be bunnies, kittens and chocolate inside here for all I know - cause I've never been inside
I am pretty easily excited, so most of the rides at WDW give me a thrill - of some kind. yep - I can be tragic. So I am going to restrict my definition of "thrill ride" to the faster speeds, gravity pulled, freefall drops, discombobulatory things.
But hey - this time the joke is on them - cause I don't do thrill rides! The topic should have been Thrill Ride Chicken Exits (yes Tower of Terror Chicken Exit* - thinking of you) - cause I know all about those! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
ohhhhhh....
OK - let's get to business.
KILL:
anything with free fall airtime. Really. These things are just clogging up my park when I could be having more 3D simulators, or that hi-tech Harry Potter Hogwarts ride. that free fall drop makes me feel soooo ill, and ruins my happiness for several hours. So if I had to pick the most evil of all WDW resort thrill rides it would be my photo above - the Rock and Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. I have no idea but it has a loop in the track. In the dark. Why anyone needs that is beyond me - so let's get this waste of space out of the way and build my previous idea for the Aristocats ride - with kittens.
REFURB:
Now Test Track gives me a slight thrill - in the fast bit at the end. And I know it just had a refurb - but I still feel like it is missing a lot in that opening part. And I appreciate that fixing Disco Yeti at Expedition Everest ain't gonna happen - but that is the only thing wrong with that ride.
The one really in need of a refurb is Splash Mountain. Not that I have ever ridden it. I mean, have you ever seen the freefall on the front of that thing? 4 seconds of torture.
Everything good about Disney is encapsulated within this ride
There is a deep and rich back story, fantastic and thorough theming, awesome safety announcement, and NO FREE FALLS - just speed and turns. Oh - how I spent years looking at you from a distance - too scared to try. Then one day your beckoning was too strong to resist, and I instantly fell in love and found my thrill ride courage!
BTMR made me a more confident, better person!! Now I sky dive INTO other planes! Now I taunt honey badgers with mongeeses (what is the plural?) BTMR changed my entire life!
And this:
A bobcat standing on a cactus. (source: parkology.com)
The world's most intense cat scratching post.
Finally - BTMR is not from a movie, has not been made into a movie, has not had Disney animated characters, like Pinocchio, jammed inappropriately into it.
I can't wait to sit inside your little mine train carriage and hurtle around your track again.
Urrgghhh .... here in Australia, we've just had a change of federal
government, and with flip on a whole bunch of policies, including their
environmental posture.
but our blog is not about bemoaning or activitism for Australia's environmental causes.
It
is with much pleasure I remember that I can go on holiday and all
around me eco - tourism activities are underway - in more ways than
you'll ever be aware.
Disney, as the huge gorilla in the playground, recognise their responsibilities for social citizenship and leading the way. You'll be amazed at the lengths they go to be as enviro friendly as possible.
Physical America — the land itself — should be as dear to
us all as our political heritage and our treasured way of life. Its
preservation and the wise conservation of its renewable resources
concerns every man, woman and child whose possession it is. - Walt Disney
There are a vast array of green activities undertaken at WDW, some obvious, and some that you'll never know are going on.
Disney tell stories of annually:
recycling enough paper to make a trail from Anaheim to WDW and back again, twice
recycling 18 million plastic bottles - turning them into "red carpets"
200,000
+ LED lights on Cinderella's castle, which are so energy efficient,
each night only takes the same amount of electricity as 3 loads of
washing in a dryer.
Uncle Walt had a soft spot for the big cats,
and launched a slew of keen conservation programs. I am not going to
cover their conservation or community contribution activities today - that's a
whole separate post.
This first video covers a whole range of activities - it is set in Disneyland, and all these things happen in WDW too.
I love how they use the french fry oil!! Although it still not enough to make me willing to eat Disney fries - blerghhhhh.
What is getting the big "thumbs up" from me is that our resort - Boardwalk Inn and Villas - has just had it's decade long "Green Lodgings" designation renewed from the Florida Dept of Environmental Protection. You saw a lot of the ways they run the resorts in the videos - sorting your recycling, using recycled and biodegradable materials, water and electricity management. (The Marriott also has this certification)
The ESPY's is a show produced by the Disney sports arm - ESPN, who have a HUGE Wide World of Sports at the WDW Resort (Where too much sport is barely enough!). Funnily enough, I've never visited....... hmmm ....I wonder why? Let's just go to the video - and see more eco stuffs at WDW
Don't scratch yourself on that recycled toilet paper.
Actually, in a slightly weird story, there are a slew of Disney fans who are unhappy about the new unbleached, uncoloured recycled napkins. Turns out they were collecting the old printed ones and are sad that not every single thing in their Disney holiday has been Disneyfied.
Say 'goodbye' to the precious printed napkin (source: disneyblog)
But from where did the idea spring for all the scratchy recycled paper? From their expansive 5 year Paper Sourcing and Use Policy. This policy not just covers the paper they use, it also includes actions for supporting sustainable fibre sources, responsible forest management, moving from timber fibres to grass and bamboo, and minimising consumption of such products.
In 2012, Disney announced 50% achievement of its goal for zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing electricity consumption by 10%. Just in October WDW was awarded Sustainable Florida'sBest Practice Award for turning out the lights when they left the room.
Unlike the new Australian government about to dump our Carbon Tax, Disney have their own internal "carbon price" imposed on each of their divisions for their direct emissions footprint. The higher the footprint, the more that Division pays. They also support forestry carbon projects around the world, in deforested areas; and are corporate signatories to the Rio + 20 ConferenceValuing Natural Capital
And to close, my favourite eco-fact: Overhead winch motors used to raise and lower scenery for the Disney shows generate electricity during the lowering process which is fed back into the power grid. How cool is that?
So - I'm relaxed on a Disney holiday - knowing that I don't have to buy into the rampant consumerism, and have an enjoyable eco-holiday!
So have I convinced you yet? What do you do to support sustainability principles?
Every week at least one Australian women dies from domestic violence.
To me, that's an astonishing statistic. Like the rest of the world, approximately 1/3rd of Australian women will report at least one incident of domestic violence. Something has to change. Women deserve to live with safety and respect.
And so it is with excitement ..... and honour .... and pride ... and humility ....and and and .... I was given the privilege of planning our contribution to changing this horror situation.
This week Zonta said NO to violence against women here in Canberra. And I believe we did it in the most powerful way possible .... by sharing our message with impressionable 14 year old boys.
So all my convention planning had to go on hold for a couple of weeks, whilst I went out and planned this:
Clubs all over the world are currently delivering an enormous variety of Zonta says NO events - linked to the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25. Go to the Zonta says NO website and watch all the stories start to appear. For now, here's a quick glimpse into my club's event.
Here in Canberra, a fortuitous meeting at the CSW 57 Briefing started it all off. It was over drinks and nibbley things I bumped into Stephen - the Australian National Co-ordinator for the White Ribbon Ambassadors. Next thing you know - we're putting on a show!
I asked Stephen my favourite question: if you could have your way, what would this event be? Stephen had the best answer: go to Namadgi High School, where one of the teachers, Matt, is also an Ambassador, and run an interactive, participatory, learning event with the young male students.
Lots of emails, lots of committee meetings and finally on Monday, 18 November I found myself in here:
Matt making magic managing the Monday morning male menagerie
Over three hours, the boys explored topics such as:
What does it mean to be a man?
What do they think a woman is looking for in a man?
What happens to lead people into being violent?
The boys explored Sting's ideas about what it means to be a man
Interspersed between these workshop pieces, the boys were given lots of opportunities for movement and releasing their energy.
Alistair, Ambassador and from ACT Men's Centre and Faye, Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast - play air arm wrestling
Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast do their best work: supervising
Not being a parent, I wasn't really sure what the kids would be like. I kinda knew they would eat a lot - but they kids must have been hollow! They munched through 150 sausages and a morning tea designed for twice the number of people.
The Rotary chaps have their production line methodology all worked out.
In running this event, we were very careful about appearances - we wanted to make sure the Zontians did not stand behind the cake stall, while the men did all the carrying heavy stuff around. The Zontians participated in the workshop, were part of the group discussions - and of course we were an equal partner in the organisation.
Stephen, White Ribbon Campaign, opens the day - all the pink shirted Zonta ladies are WAAAY OVER THERE...
Matt designed a beautiful, insightful program - he slowly led the boys deeper and deeper into the topic. Taking them finally, to an explicit conversation of violence against women, set against the White Ribbon advertisements and other videos acknowledging the need for more respect in our world.
This advertisement is a reenactment of an actual conversation ex-White Ribbon Chair, Andrew O'Keeffe overhead in a pub.
I was deeply impressed that we didn't have to tell anything to these kids - deep down they knew. I like to think what this event did was confirm their thinking about how how to live an honorable life, no matter where they end up, no matter what life they will live. Despite how rough and tumble these boys come across right now, I know for certain that many of these boys 'get it'.
So how did it end? Take a look:
Don't adjust your set - I put in some blurry bits to try prevent identity of the boys
That's all that needs to be said.
We're making a difference in Canberra and in the world.
This will be an annual event in our calendar from now on, as we slowly expand this into a new education program for Canberra schools.
Emma knows what we're doing - I love this photo of her!
What are you doing for Nov 25 - Zonta say NO Campaign? Share you story and inspire us all with your ideas. Individually each of our actions may feel like a drop in the ocean, but together they create the waves of change.
I admit - I am yet to type up the full story including the ideas the boys shared at the workshop. I wanted to share these photos with you to acknowledge Nov 25. So keep your eyes on Zonta says NO where we will post our report.
I'm just here .... I am so busy right now - changed jobs, about to travel for 5 days, post Zonta District Conference paperwork still underway .... The Ken Man has a new client .... and even the changing of the season to a delightful and colourful spring has meant new gardening tasks!
Poor Snorfy is complaining that we aren't playing enough with him!
"Shocked and appalled at your lack of attention. We shall ignore you now."
Let me quickly share planning progress. Wouldn't it be great to catch up if we are going to be in the same time and place?
I have booked my international flights from Canberra to DFW, and then from Washington back to Canberra. Still gotta think about my domestic USA flights.
Going to New York for my first time. I know there is more in New York to do than I will ever get done. i haven't begun to think about where to stay, what to do, how to get about.
You big green French lady - I want to climb inside your head
I have booked the Boardwalk Villas at WDW from 20 - 27 June. There are 7 of us Aussies going together. The more the merrier - come join us!
Whilst at WDW I'll be booking restaurants, and park visits. We are going kayaking on 25 June. We'll probably go to Kennedy Space Centre on 2 July. Anyone who wants to join us on any of our adventures need just shoot me an email or join the Mrs Banks Facebook Group.
We are all booked in for Zonta International Convention - rooms, registration, Closing Banquet - even our Taste of the World dinner! My club will be holding down a Trade Stall on the Monday on Fundraising. How can we not demonstrate how successful we have been with Lynn McKenzie's own Pre Loved Fashion Sale idea!?!
Then Washington DC for the 4th of July! Unless someone can tell me a better place to go .... Like New York, this will be my first visit so I am really excited about Washington - The Smithsonian museums, the national monuments, the parade marching up and down the square! The fireworks! Does it get any better?
I am looking for Zontians in any of these cities who want to catch up - say for lunch or dinner. Or any Zontians who want to join our fun in Orlando - just shoot me a note!
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