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Seeking more help and a broader range of ideas, Walt Disney World has selected a new and larger panel of officially sanctioned yet unofficial Internet advisers for the resort's 2009 "Moms Panel."
As with the 12 members who served on Disney World's inaugural Moms Panel, the 16 new panelists are parents who volunteered to work from their homes offering advice to people who submit sometimes very-personalized vacation questions to Disney World's Moms Panel Internet forum. The 2008 panel answered more than 12,000 such inquiries.
This year's panel, selected from thousands of applicants, includes a grandmother, Kay Belin of Valparaiso, Ind.; a father, Doug Ingersoll of Carmel, Ind.; a Canadian, Joanne McCabe of Ottawa, Ontario; and a British subject, Jo Young of West Malling, England.
And as with the 2008 panelists, all are unabashed fans of Disney and have made themselves into Disney World experts, at least in some specialty areas. Ingersoll is author of the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2009 Edition. Whitney Pickering of Laurel, Miss., said she has eaten in more than 50 Disney World restaurants during various vacations. Anna Skamarakas of Bellmawr, N.J., said she has planned more than 200 trips to Disney World and stayed in every Disney World resort.
"The main reason we all applied to be on the panel was our passion for the brand," said Laura Spencer, a Boston-based member of the 2008 panel who has since gotten a paid job with Disney World public relations and moved to Orlando.
Southwest drops run
Southwest Airlines will end flights between Orlando International Airport and Detroit next May, as the low-cost giant continues to tweak its nationwide schedule.
The busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport will also trim one daily flight each between Orlando and eight other markets: Reno, Nev.; Albany, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Fort Lauderdale; Long Island, N.Y.; Manchester, N.H.; Philadelphia; and Providence, R.I. Southwest will still offer some daily service between OIA and each of those cities, though.
Orlando travelers should still be able to fly nonstop to and from Detroit on AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines-owned Northwest Airlines or Spirit Airlines.
The systemwide schedule changes for Southwest will allow the carrier to begin new, nonstop flights between Denver and Tucson, Ariz.; Nashville, Tenn.; Oakland, Calif.; and Seattle.
"In today's environment, it is more important than ever to maximize our productivity with our aircraft," Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly said in a prepared statement. "Our optimization exercise is a case of eliminating unproductive flights and reallocating our aircraft to match supply with demand, all the while focusing on key cities such as Denver."
Quick food fixes
Universal Orlando is planning to open a Moe's Southwest Grill and a Panda Express in the newly emerging quick-service food area of CityWalk, officials said last week.
The two restaurants bring burritos and other Tex-Mex dishes, and orange chicken and other Asian dishes, to a dining and entertainment district that until now has featured big table-service restaurants but only a very limited offering of quick-service foods.
Those two restaurants and a previously announced Burger King Holdings "high energy" concept restaurant called the Whopper Bar all are being built in the area next to the NASCAR Sports Grill and should be open before spring-break season, Universal Senior Vice President Ric Florell said.
AirTran heads to Branson
Orlando-based AirTran Airways is the first commercial airline to commit to flying to the nation's first privately financed and operated commercial airport.
AirTran announced last week that it will launch once-a-day flights between its hub in Atlanta and Branson Airport in Branson, Mo., when the new, $155 million airport opens May 11, 2009.
Located in the Ozark Mountains, Branson is a popular tourist spot but does not currently have a commercial airport. Air travelers typically reach the city through airports in Springfield, Mo., or Fayetteville, Ark.
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441. Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414. Sara K. Clarke can be reached at skclarke@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5664.
As with the 12 members who served on Disney World's inaugural Moms Panel, the 16 new panelists are parents who volunteered to work from their homes offering advice to people who submit sometimes very-personalized vacation questions to Disney World's Moms Panel Internet forum. The 2008 panel answered more than 12,000 such inquiries.
This year's panel, selected from thousands of applicants, includes a grandmother, Kay Belin of Valparaiso, Ind.; a father, Doug Ingersoll of Carmel, Ind.; a Canadian, Joanne McCabe of Ottawa, Ontario; and a British subject, Jo Young of West Malling, England.
And as with the 2008 panelists, all are unabashed fans of Disney and have made themselves into Disney World experts, at least in some specialty areas. Ingersoll is author of the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2009 Edition. Whitney Pickering of Laurel, Miss., said she has eaten in more than 50 Disney World restaurants during various vacations. Anna Skamarakas of Bellmawr, N.J., said she has planned more than 200 trips to Disney World and stayed in every Disney World resort.
"The main reason we all applied to be on the panel was our passion for the brand," said Laura Spencer, a Boston-based member of the 2008 panel who has since gotten a paid job with Disney World public relations and moved to Orlando.
Southwest drops run
Southwest Airlines will end flights between Orlando International Airport and Detroit next May, as the low-cost giant continues to tweak its nationwide schedule.
The busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport will also trim one daily flight each between Orlando and eight other markets: Reno, Nev.; Albany, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Fort Lauderdale; Long Island, N.Y.; Manchester, N.H.; Philadelphia; and Providence, R.I. Southwest will still offer some daily service between OIA and each of those cities, though.
Orlando travelers should still be able to fly nonstop to and from Detroit on AirTran Airways, Delta Air Lines-owned Northwest Airlines or Spirit Airlines.
The systemwide schedule changes for Southwest will allow the carrier to begin new, nonstop flights between Denver and Tucson, Ariz.; Nashville, Tenn.; Oakland, Calif.; and Seattle.
"In today's environment, it is more important than ever to maximize our productivity with our aircraft," Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly said in a prepared statement. "Our optimization exercise is a case of eliminating unproductive flights and reallocating our aircraft to match supply with demand, all the while focusing on key cities such as Denver."
Quick food fixes
Universal Orlando is planning to open a Moe's Southwest Grill and a Panda Express in the newly emerging quick-service food area of CityWalk, officials said last week.
The two restaurants bring burritos and other Tex-Mex dishes, and orange chicken and other Asian dishes, to a dining and entertainment district that until now has featured big table-service restaurants but only a very limited offering of quick-service foods.
Those two restaurants and a previously announced Burger King Holdings "high energy" concept restaurant called the Whopper Bar all are being built in the area next to the NASCAR Sports Grill and should be open before spring-break season, Universal Senior Vice President Ric Florell said.
AirTran heads to Branson
Orlando-based AirTran Airways is the first commercial airline to commit to flying to the nation's first privately financed and operated commercial airport.
AirTran announced last week that it will launch once-a-day flights between its hub in Atlanta and Branson Airport in Branson, Mo., when the new, $155 million airport opens May 11, 2009.
Located in the Ozark Mountains, Branson is a popular tourist spot but does not currently have a commercial airport. Air travelers typically reach the city through airports in Springfield, Mo., or Fayetteville, Ark.
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441. Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414. Sara K. Clarke can be reached at skclarke@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5664.
