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Disney World Conservation

Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort – Growing Green

Cast Member RecyclingThe cast of the Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resortย has committed to minimizing their overall impact on the environment. Many operational changes have placed emphasis on effectively managing resource used through energy conservation and waste minimization, while also focusing on conserving the natural environment through science, education and leadership efforts.

Here is just a few of the many changes in day-to-day operations theย Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort have implemented all in the name of conservation:

  • Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resortย has deployed more than 1,500 alternatively fueled vehicles-ranging from golf carts to Monorail trains to help lower emissions. They also replaced the entire fleet of Security vehicles with hybrids and other fuel-efficient options. This effort has reduced fuel consumption by an average of 33% per vehicle.
  • Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resortย installed energy-saving fixtures throughout the property. During an update at The Hall of Presidents, Cast Members replaced theatrical lighting with more efficient and longer-lasting LED fixtures. LEDs consuming only 3-to-13 watts can replace 75-to-100-watt incandescent bulbs with equivalent light output.ย LED fixtures are now used in 98 percent of the signs, decorations and Christmas trees at Walt Disney World Resort.ย Even Cinderella Castle glows โ€œgreenโ€ during the holidays with more than 170,000 LED white lights to glisten the Castle, using the equivalent energy of only 12 microwave ovens.
  • All 24 resort hotels at theย Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort maintain the stateโ€™sย Green Lodgingย designation โ€“ representing the largest number ofย Green Lodging-certified hotels in the state.
  • More than 92,000 tons of materials were recycled in 2010 at the Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort.
  • The Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort uses more than two billion gallons of reclaimed water a year for irrigation of landscape, washing buses and cleaning streets at theme parks and resorts. This amount of water could fill Spaceship Earth roughly 129 times.
  • Disney Harvest reduces food waste by gathering excess prepared food from Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort kitchens and distributing it through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. More than 1,000 local children are fed weekly through this program. In 2010, Disney Harvest gave nearly 360,000 pounds of food to the hungry in Central Florida
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Parkย provides some unique forms of โ€œwaste.โ€ In 2010, more than 4,680 tons of manure was sent to the compost facility from Disneyโ€™s Animal Kingdom and the Tri-Circle D Ranch, producing more than 9,000 tons of compost throughout the year.

Unexpected โ€˜Cleanโ€™ Fun at Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort & Disneylandยฎ Resort

by Magic Makerยฎ Kyle Froman

PUSHWe all know that Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort and Disneylandยฎ Resort are full of good, clean fun for the entire family. However theme park Imagineers have taken the term clean comedy quite literally. In a world where hidden surprises and fun interactions are the norm, there are two characters that are certain to steal the spotlight and put a smile on your face in the parks.

In Magic Kingdomยฎ Parkโ€™s Tomorrowlandยฎ Area, you will find a clean, interactive character that will leave you and your travel party laughing, yet scratching your head saying โ€˜howโ€™d they do thatโ€™! PUSH, the roaming and talking garbage can, makes his appearance near Mickeyโ€™s Star Traders and Tomorrowland Speedway, interacting and joking with guests.

PUSH is an actual, functioning Tomorrowlandยฎ Area trash bin, and derived his name from the large word โ€˜PUSHโ€™ found on the trash can flaps. Go ahead and peek inside PUSH to see for yourself! PUSH is able to see what you see, and hear what you hear all in real time, creating hysterical interactions between guests and himself.

While PUSH started making appearances at Magic Kingdomยฎ Park in 1995, PUSH the Talking Trash Can also makes appearances daily at Disnelyandยฎ Park and Disney California Adventureยฎ!

In Disneyโ€™s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Park you will find a clean comedian of a different sort in Rafikiโ€™s Planet Watchยฎ Land. Pipa, who is the recycling container version of PUSH, greats and interacts with guests, encouraging them to take an interest in recycling. A quick peek inside of Pipa will again reveal he is the real deal!ย  Pipaโ€™s name is derived from the word container in Swahili!

If you are wondering how PUSH and Pipa operate, well we arenโ€™t going to spoil that bit of magic here! But we would encourage you to take the time to visit PUSH and Pipa, as well as many of the other hidden treasures around Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort and Disneylandยฎ Resort! There are countless hidden surprises to uncover and explore!

Has your family had any interactions with PUSH or Pipa? Tell us about them in the comments section below!

Disneyโ€™s Vero Beach Resort’s Annual “Tour de Turtles” Event

Tour de TurtlesApproximately 50,000 female sea turtles come to lay their eggs in Florida each year, making its beaches one of the most important nesting areas in the world.ย In the US, as much as 90 percent of sea turtle nesting occurs in Florida, which serves as a primary nesting site for several species of endangered and threatened sea turtles.ย Among the oldest creatures on earth, sea turtles have remained essentially unchanged for 110 million years.

Disneyโ€™s Vero Beach Resort proudly hostsย a program annually that was created by the Sea Turtle Conservancy, โ€œTour de Turtles.โ€ It follows the marathon migration of 15 sea turtles representing four different species from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds. The ultimate goal of โ€œTour de Turtlesโ€ is to inspire people to care about sea turtle conservation.

The turtles acts as an ambassador to raise awareness about a specific threat to sea turtles. One potential threat is light pollution on the beach. Since sea turtle hatchlings rely on moonlight to find their way to the ocean, many become disoriented and drawn off-course by artificial light sources. Another threat is of entanglement. Turtles can become tangled in trash and nets and drown.

Researchers from Disneyโ€™s Animal Programs and the Sea Turtle Conservancy track the sea turtles using satellite telemetry as they travel from their nesting beach to various feeding grounds. Using this technology, scientists learn about sea turtlesโ€™ habits at sea and the different migratory patterns of each species. This knowledge helps researchers, conservationists and governing agencies make more informed decisions about sea turtle conservation actions and policies. Guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Parkย can find out about this research and follow the tracks of the turtles when they visit the Wildlife Tracking Center in Rafikiโ€™s Planet Watch.

Enjoy this video of the 2011 Tour de Turtles:

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Disney Resorts – Saving Lives One Bar of Soap at a Time

Clean The World LogoEach year, millions of children worldwide die from hygiene-related illnesses because the essential items for proper hand washing are unobtainable to them. It is estimated that every 10 seconds a child dies from these types of illnesses – all preventable by just a single bar of soap!

An Orlando-based nonprofit organization, The Clean the Worldยฎ Foundation,ย aims to stop these needless deaths fromย occurringย by recycling used soap and shampoo and distributing them around the world to those living in poverty. With Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort’sย 24 resort hotels located in central Florida, they play a key role in helping Clean the Worldยฎ reach their goal. But it doesn’t end there – resort hotels at Disneylandยฎย Resortย in California as well as Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaiโ€™i, also recycle hygiene products with Clean the Worldยฎ.

โ€œDisneyโ€™s commitment to environmental sustainability permeates throughout the entire company. They are literally turning trash into treasure through Clean the Worldยฎ, and that benefits the global community by creating a cleaner worldโ€ said Shawn Seipler, executive director of Clean the Worldยฎ.

From Jan. – Sep. of 2010, Disney cast members collected more than 25,000 pounds of partially-used soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions from the nearly 28,000 hotel rooms on Walt Disney Worldยฎย Resort property! This collection not only allows the cast members and guests to clean the world, but itย repurposes something that was headed to the landfill.

After the discarded amenities are sanitized, Clean the Worldยฎ distributes the items to people in need as part of their ongoing efforts to improve health and personal hygiene in impoverished areas worldwide. Some of these products are even donated to shelters and various organizations throughout the United States.

So next time you use that bar of soap in your resort room, smile knowing that it will soon be saving lives!

Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Park Celebrates ‘bEARTHday’

Earth Day ActivitiesA celebration is in order atย Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Park on April 22nd. Not only is it Earth Day, but the park will celebrate its 14th birthday!

Since 1998,ย Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Park has told its guests a story about conservation each and every day of its operation. During this yearsย Party for the Planetย celebration on Earth Day, guests will find out what they can do to make their backyards wildlife-friendly as well as discover other ways to conserve wildlife and protect nature.

Special Earth Day activities atย Disney’s Animal Kingdomยฎ Theme Park include:

  • In Asia at Maharajah Jungle Trek, families can play a supermarket game and learn how their purchases can make a big difference for wildlife and wild places.
  • At Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in Africa,ย children can observe and identify chimpanzee tracks and clues left behind along trails as they move through the forest.
  • At Rafikiโ€™s Planet Watch, guests will discover fun ways to spend time in nature with their families as well as face painters and caricature artists.ย Families can also visit the Chimpanzee Research Station and participate in a variety of activities based on real conservation work.

Even if you don’t get to experience one of the special Earth Day activities, be sure toย check out the sand sculpture outside of the park entrance celebrating the release of โ€œChimpanzeeโ€™, Disneynatureโ€™s newest True Life Adventure film!

Happy Earth Day!

The Disney Destinations areย committed to giving families opportunities to discover their connection with the natural world and to helping those who areDisney Conservation Efforts working to make our home a better place for the next generation. ย Discover just a few of Disney conservation efforts:

  • Disney Cruise Lineยฎ eliminates more than 1,200 tons of metal, plastic and paper from traditional waste streams and recycles it each year.
  • When Disney California Adventureยฎ Park was preparing for World of Color, instead of draining the 16 million gallons into the ocean, the Cast Members worked with the county to store the water in undergroundย reservoirs. ย The same water was then used to refill the lagoon.
  • More than 43,000 tons of waste was diverted from landfills through recycling and donations at theย Disneylandยฎ Resort โ€” enough to nearly fillย Space Mountain.
  • All Disney Cruise Lineยฎ ships have a 100 percent non-toxic hull coating which reduces surface resistance in open water.
  • Eight turtles injured by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico spent their rehabilitation at theย Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort under the care of Disney animal experts. ย The Disney animal care team were ready to help in the Panhandle as needed and rehabilitation facilities at Disneyโ€™s Animal Kingdomยฎ park and at Epcotโ€™s The Seas with Nemo & Friends are available for treating turtles and birds impacted by the spill.
  • Disney Friends for Change has distributed more than $2 million to environmental charities worldwide, via theย Disney Friends for Change grants programs and Youth Service Awards. Throughย Disney Friends for Change, kids learn practical ways to help the environment, get their friends involved, track their collective impact on the environment and have the opportunity to help Disney decide how $1 million in contributions to various environmental causes will be made over the course of a year.
  • Water conservation efforts at theย Walt Disney Worldยฎ Resort have enabled aquifer withdrawals to remain at levels from 23 years ago, even though the resort has grown by two parks, two water parks and 20 resort hotels since that time.
  • Theย Disney Dreamโ„ข features technology to determine accurate energy management which maximizes the heating, ventilation and cooling systems based on real-time requirements. As part of this system, guest staterooms self-adjust when unoccupied and return to the desired temperature upon a guestsโ€™ return.
  • The trains at Disneylandยฎ Resort are powered by biodiesel that is made from cooking oilsย recycled from the parkโ€™s restaurants.
  • Thousands of lights decorate the castles at the Disney parks, but because they areย mostly energy-efficient LED light bulbs, the 170,000 LED lights on one castle use only the amount of electricityย it takes to power 12 microwave ovens
  • Two rhinos born atย Disneyโ€™s Animal Kingdomยฎ, were shipped in specially designed crates from Florida to Africa. ย They joined four others at the Ziwa Sanctuary to help start families that couldย re-establish a rhino population that has been extinct in Uganda since 1972.
  • Disney Cruise Lineยฎ Cast and crew members have donated more than 4,500 hours in the port communities the Disney ships calls home, including giving back to local nonprofits, hosting annual walks to raise funds and awareness for conservation programs and leading shore cleanups, that to date have removed 31,000 pounds of trash and debris from beaches and fragile waterways.
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