Twenty Years of Disney Vacation Club®
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Winter2011 Volume20 Number4 TWENTY YEARS OF DISNEY VACATION CLUB® I know what you’re thinking. Crush and Dory on a holiday cover? Is the art director confused? I can assure you that (1) there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation and (2) our art director is no more confused than usual. Our Disney∙Pixar pals are simply here to deliver good tidings (to you and your kin), along with some encouraging news about sea turtles. I sat down with Dr. Anne Savage, Senior Conservation Biologist for Disney’s Animal Programs, to discuss evidence that Members’ Vol. 20 • No. 4 support of sea turtle conservation efforts at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort may be paying off for our fine flippered friends (pages 3-4). Disney Files Magazine More good tidings arrive in the form of a rare look into the secret Disney Vacation Club world of Walt Disney World Holiday Services (pages 5-6), the massive P.O. Box 10350 Theme Park decorating operation we were asked to explore by Disney Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 Vacation Club Facebook fans (www.Facebook.com/DisneyVacationClub). Moving on to our Disney Community section, we’ve condensed two decades of Disney Vacation Club history into two pages of magazine space (pages 7-8), All dates, times, events and prices squeezing highlights like Santa’s waistline through a chimney. printed herein are subject to We must’ve enjoyed the tight squeeze, as we did it again on pages 15-16, this time change without notice. (Every time gathering news and notes from throughout our Disney Vacation Club community. Look we say that, a lawyer gets its wings.) for this new “Neighborhood Notes” column to become a Disney Files staple in future editions. Update your mailing address, Beyond our picket fence, we check in on a big baby at Disney’s Animal Kingdom manage your Membership and more Theme Park (page 17), take an artistic look at Dumbo’s new digs (page 18), explore online at www.dvcmember.com holiday happenings around our “world” (page 19) and report Downtown Disney news that has Walt Disney World fans on “pins” and needles (page 20). Contact Member Services from And sticking with our spirit of conservation as we deliver your Disney fix between 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Eastern daily trips, our Disney Diversions section (pages 21-24) includes a Hollywood star who’s Toll Free: (800) 800-9800 green, helpful little guys who look good in green and a craft that’ll help you celebrate the Local: (407) 566-3800 season while being green. Fax: (407) 938-4151 Add historical features from “Disney Heritage” columnists Marty Sklar and Jim Korkis (pages 25-28), and a spread of images that For Member Services in Japanese, includes a trio of standouts from one photographically talented call 0120-98-4050 Tuesday-Sunday, Member family (pages 29-30), and you have a magazine you may noon-8 p.m. (Japan Time) end up loving too much to toss into the recycle bin. (Please do it Email: [email protected] anyway. Or keep it forever.) Follow us on Facebook at Welcome home, facebook.com/disneyvacationclub Services for Guests with disabilities: Disneyland.com/GuestWithDisabilities Don’t think of this as an old Disneyworld.com/GuestWithDisabilities Ryan March illustration from our spring 2010 issue. Think of it as Disney Files Editor creative recycling. Please recycle 1 DVC-MBR-65-Q Illustration by Keelan Parham A proud look at 20 By Claire Bilby Senior Vice President, Disney Vacation Club While the task of highlighting key themes and stories in this magazine generally falls to its Editor, I wanted to take this opportunity to call your attention to a feature that immediately caught my attention. In fact, as I continue to learn this great business, I may keep this particular spread close at hand as reference material. Vol. 20 • No. 4 As December marks the milestone 20th anniversary of the original Disney Vacation Club Resort opening (the flagship destination known today as Disney’s Old Key West Resort), this edition’s “Disney Community” Disney Files Magazine section begins with a fun look at our community’s colorful history, sharing highlights from each of the past Disney Vacation Club 20 years. From the creation of new resorts and operations to the P.O. Box 10350 debut of new Member perks and events, the timeline Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 covers as much turf as two pages could accommodate. I feel like I’ve been handed the keys to When I look at that timeline, I can’t help but marvel at what this community has achieved. I can tell you candidly the coolest car on the block. I may still that, when the company announced Disney Vacation Club be getting used to all the bells and All dates, times, events and prices in 1990 as part of “The Disney Decade,” not everyone whistles, but I can already tell I’m in printed herein are subject to applauded the vision. “Timeshare” and “Disney” weren’t for the ride of my life. change without notice. (Every time exactly hailed as a match made in vacation heaven. we say that, a lawyer gets its wings.) But the mouse changed the playing field. Just as Walt’s Disneyland concept changed perceptions of amusement Update your mailing address, parks, Disney Vacation Club changed perceptions of manage your Membership and more vacation ownership. online at www.dvcmember.com This incredible community has since grown to include 11 Contact Member Services from uniquely themed resorts that help families vacation in ways 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Eastern daily they never dreamed possible. With each new resort has Toll Free: (800) 800-9800 come a new vacation option for your family and a new Local: (407) 566-3800 opportunity to make memories. Fax: (407) 938-4151 So when I joined this business just a few short months ago, I was as proud as I was excited. I feel like For Member Services in Japanese, I’ve been handed the keys to the coolest car on the call 0120-98-4050 Tuesday-Sunday, block. I may still be getting used to all the bells and noon-8 p.m. (Japan Time) whistles, but I can already tell I’m in for the ride of my life. Email: [email protected] I feel privileged to be part of a community that has accomplished so much in so little time, Follow us on Facebook at and I’m deeply proud of the Cast Members who facebook.com/disneyvacationclub continue to demonstrate their ability to create value for our Members and business alike. Services for Guests with disabilities: The highlights you’ll see in this magazine Disneyland.com/GuestWithDisabilities are a tribute to everyone in that equation. Disneyworld.com/GuestWithDisabilities Of course, what I enjoy most about the timeline isn’t looking at what’s been accomplished during these past 20 years, but imagining what we’ll accomplish together in the 20 ahead. As great as these two decades have DVC-MBR-65-Q been, this is only the beginning. 2 with dr. anne savage It’s easy to be skeptical when Kermit the Frog sings, “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” After all, he’s a big-time movie star (see page 21) who seemingly lives on Easy Street. (That’s a figure of speech, of course. We aren’t at liberty to publish Kermit’s actual address.) But what if there’s a deeper meaning to the song? Maybe he isn’t singing about himself at all. Perhaps he’s looking out for sea turtles. At the crossroads of human activity and sea turtle breeding is an ecological conflict that has long threatened turtles’ survival. Simply put, as more people encroach on the turtles’ coastal nesting grounds, fewer nests lead to fewer babies. The issue is of particular concern in Florida, which accounts for about 90 percent of sea turtle nesting in the U.S. Fortunately, there’s hope. Thanks in part to thoughtful Cast and Disney Vacation Club Members, Kermit may soon be singing “It’s Getting Ever-So- Slightly Easier Being Green.” Disney Files Magazine Editor Ryan March caught up with Disney’s Animal Programs Senior Conservation Biologist Dr. Anne Savage to discuss the good news. Ryan: We’ve heard a lot of discouraging news about sea issues that the Sea Turtle Conservancy has highlighted as turtles through the years, but I understand things may be priorities for helping to conserve sea turtles. Among the most looking up. critical issues is lighting. When light from a coastal building shines onto the beach at night, it can disorient nesting turtles Anne: Yes, we hope so. We’ve seen a downward trend and, most importantly, hatchlings. Instead of the hatchlings in the number of Loggerhead sea turtle nests for the past heading toward the brightest thing they can see, which five years or so. But in 2010, we had a banner year for should be the moon shining on the ocean, they may head Loggerheads [in the area Anne monitors along Florida’s toward the light shining from someone’s condo. Sadly, they Treasure Coast near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort]. The never make it to the ocean. numbers were really encouraging. I’m happy to report that, as we speak here today in 2011, we’re not only having Ryan: That’s an issue Members at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort another positive year for Loggerheads, but this has been our know quite well. best year ever for Green Sea Turtles and our third-best year for Leatherbacks.