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Commentary Land

Remembering Disney’s Animal Kingdom Opening Day, April 22 1998

22 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis 23 Comments

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tree of life
Disney's Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life

In April of 1998, I had long since moved on from my time as a cast member on Main Street, USA and so had my mother and husband, who had been cast members too. I was working as a travel agent and had actually taken on the role of leisure and cruise manager while the company I worked for was expanding that department. My mother had left All-Star Sports and Mickey’s Star Traders to become a cruise agent at that same company. My husband had moved on from working hourly jobs too and had just started in the IT field. We’d been married for less than two years and were enjoying our newly built home in Ocoee, Florida. Of course we were still passholders as our love of Disney parks had not gone anywhere, even if we had hung up our name tags.

It had been exciting following along the development of Disney’s Animal Kingdom while we were cast members. I still have the little cast member booklet with facts about the park, which labeled it “Disney’s WILD Animal Kingdom” before the name change cause by copyright issues removed the ‘wild’ from the equation. My mom in particular had been fascinated with the process and had taken an interest in Imagineer Joe Rohde and his dedication to every detail within the park. So of course we planned to be there for Opening Day, auspiciously taking place on Earth Day in 1998.

It was exciting to see and hear the then-CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner speaking as he dedicated the park —

Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.
—Michael Eisner April 22, 1998

If I recall correctly (forgive what 12 years and 3 kids have done to my memory cells), Circle of Life played after he spoke. What I do remember vividly was instead of the usual Disney celebratory confetti canons to mark the park being opened – we were showered with beautiful fresh rose petals. The combination of the beauty, excitement and magic brought a tear to our eyes for sure.

tree of life close up
just a few of the over 300 creatures carved into the Tree of Life's trunk

When we entered the park, we had no expectations for certain rides or attractions to fill our time. Having grown up being a child of the EPCOT Center 80’s, I had crafted a great respect for the details beyond the rides. I didn’t need or want to be entertained and thrilled at every turn, I wanted to explore and enjoy. Animal Kingdom is a park of discovery, where each visit is slightly different and each turn might bring a new treasure to light. I think it’s a perfect metaphor for the need to stop and smell the roses in life. You can look at the Tree of Life from afar and walk right by it thinking it’s just another tree – but upon closer inspection it is teeming with details and amazement covering every inch. You could visit the park dozens of times and never discover the rooms within Pizzafari (I once used an entire roll of film there-before digital cameras of course), which are by themselves a work of art.

As reactions to the park got around, I found myself defending the park to all I met. “There’s nothing to DO there!” I’d hear. I’d share my opinions of the details and discoveries that awaited them, but it is sometimes hard to convince people who only keep their head down and race to the safari. Disney has attempted to assuage naysayers who demand more thrills and excitement with the addition of Expedition Everest but the fact remains that more than any other park, Animal Kingdom seems to have the reputation as the boring little brother of the family.  I urge everyone to look beyond what Animal Kingdom has to offer in terms of a traditional theme park, and see it for what it is, an ever-changing adventure for the senses.

Happy Birthday, Animal Kingdom! My heart will always hold that same excitement it found on Opening Day. Thank you for 12 years of wonderful memories, with many more in store I’m sure.

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Filed Under: Commentary Land, Disney Past Tagged With: Animal Kingdom, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Earth Day, memories, Opening Day, Walt Disney World

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Andi S

21 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis 8 Comments

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We are now at week 7 of the Meet Your Moms Panel series and we are ready to get to know Andi S. These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!


Walt Disney World Moms Panel
The Walt Disney World Moms Panel {image ©Disney}


When the calls had been made last November and the 2010 Walt Disney World Moms Panelists had been named, we began to find each other on facebook and message boards. When I first read Andi’s info, that she was a ballet teacher in Alabama and saw her beautiful photo on her facebook page, I will admit, I was a bit intimidated. She just seemed like the perfect Southern Belle and I worried that my galumphing self would be of zero interest to this pageant beauty. When we finally met in December at Moms Panel training, she lived up to all my expectations of her charming, gracious persona. What I did not expect was the hysterical sense of humor, wit and even a bit of self-deprecation thrown in for good measure. In short, she was a real person, one I could, in fact, identify with and feel at ease talking, laughing and sharing memories with. The Southern Belle is very much there too, which makes me want to be a better, kinder, gentler person. I consider myself truly blessed to know Andi and was so happy our families got to meet, even briefly, last month. I look forward to the next time we can all get together and am so grateful and honored to call her friend. Please meet my friend, Andi —

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Andi S, Disney Moms Panel, interviews, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Anna S

14 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

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This is now the 6th week of the Meet Your Moms Panel series and we are ready to get to know Anna S. These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!


Walt Disney World Moms Panel
The Walt Disney World Moms Panel {image ©Disney}



If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Anna, you may not realize it, but your life is not complete.  Prior to meeting her at the December Moms Panel training trip, I had started to follow her on twitter and facebook and got to know a bit of her incredible sense of humor. In person (like me) she is actually very soft-spoken and quiet, so I also instantly felt connected with her since most of the other moms expected me to live up to my twitter persona of being a crazy person. 😉 What you might not realize is that behind Anna’s hysterical stories and way with words, is that she has a heart bigger than all 42 acres of the Walt Disney World Resort. She is one of the most caring, compassionate and giving people I have ever had the pleasure and honor of meeting. I know you’ll love her just as much as I do:

[Read more…] about Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Anna S

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Anna S., Disney Moms Panel, interviews, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Dannée N

7 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

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In this 5th week of the Meet Your Moms Panel series, we meet Dannée N. These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!

I have a special place in my heart for Dannée, because she was one of the first two moms I met during our December Moms Panel training trip and boy did she make me feel welcome and at ease. She just oozes fun, personality and humor. I also had the pleasure of getting together twice recently when her family was visiting Walt Disney World and then Tampa. Our families were able to meet and interact and just have a general great time. {Who doesn’t bond over cheesecake?!} I consider myself so lucky to know Dannée – and now you will be too:

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Dannee N, Disney Moms Panel, interviews, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

To Quote Rafiki – It is Time!

1 April 2010 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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suzannah moms panelJust adding a quick update that I am now LIVE at DisneyWorldMoms.com along with my other 2nd quarter friends, Amanda W. and Joel K. If you click on our bios you can ask us questions directly! I started answering questions today and let me tell you, it is so much fun. As much as I love helping a random person out here and there on twitter, it’s great not to be limited by 140 characters. 😉 The Disney site lies somewhere between twitter constraints and being able to go on and on here, so it’s a nice, happy medium. Of course I am seeing and answering questions there from all over, from people with every possible situation looking to get help with their Disney vacation. As a former travel agent, I always loved that part, when I just got to talk to people about what they could do. It really is so exciting and I thank Disney once again for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Because of my new position taking effect now, my time is a bit limited but I’ll still be here posting as much and as often as I can. The book giveaway I mentioned on twitter will be a bit delayed, but I’ve got some other things coming up you won’t want to miss. As for the Vinylmation giveaway, I’ll be using random.org to pick the winners tonight and announce them as an edit to the original entry – so stay tuned! Thank you so much for participating and for reading ZannaLand. This certainly is one heck of a ride! Glad to have you along with me. 🙂

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Disney Moms Panel, Walt Disney World Moms Panel, zannaland

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Diane L

31 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

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We are now at our fourth week of the Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel series on ZannaLand. These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!

Today we meet a mom who started on the panel in 2009, Diane L. I remember Diane being another one of the first moms I found on twitter and I was lucky enough to spend some time with her during the 2010 panel’s training since she was one of the 2009 moms there to help us out. She, along with Kay and Karen, made us all feel so welcome during that training session and they all had some great stories to share.

Walt Disney World Moms Panel
The Walt Disney World Moms Panel {image ©Disney}

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Diane L., Disney Moms Panel, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Kaylene J

24 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

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Week 3 of our Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel series brings us to another 2010 panelist – Kaylene J. I first “met” Kaylene as we all were awaiting news on the DIS Boards about who moved on to round 2 during the application process. I instantly felt a connection with her because she was from Massachusetts, where I’d grown up and considered “home” (outside of Disney of course!). I was following her story closely because I knew she’d made it to the final round the year before but not made the panel, so we all thought she was a shoe-in for this year. Thankfully, we were all right! 😉 Please enjoy getting to know Kaylene in her own words below.

Next week I’ll start mixing it up and featuring panelists from the 2009 and 2008 panel as well as the 2010 panelists, so stay tuned!





Walt Disney World Moms Panel
The Walt Disney World Moms Panel {image ©Disney}




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[Read more…] about Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Kaylene J

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Disney Moms Panel, Kaylene J, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Maribel Z

17 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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We are now at week two of the Meet Your Moms Panelist series. Last week we got to know Walt Disney World Moms Panelist Kathie Flood and now we continue with another 2010 panelist. We’ll be meeting a new 2010, 2009, or 2008 panelist each week, so be sure to comment and say hello!

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Disney Moms Panel, Maribel Z, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Kathie Flood

10 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

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I am so excited to be starting this series on ZannaLand. I know last year at this time, I was just starting to find some of the 2008 and 2009 Walt Disney World Moms Panelists on twitter, and was checking out their bios on DisneyWorldMoms.com. Now that I’m actually on the panel and was able to meet almost all of these wonderful people during my Moms Panel training in December, I was left with the overwhelming desire to share just how amazing they all are with you. I’m hoping that the questions they answer here (they are used to answering questions after all!) will give you a little more insight into the people behind the panel and just why Disney saw something special in them.

I’ll be mixing in 2010, 2009 and 2008 panelists. Feel free to comment and say hello!

[Read more…] about Meet Your Walt Disney World Moms Panel – Kathie Flood

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Filed Under: WDW Moms Panel Tagged With: Disney Moms Panel, Kathie Flood, Meet Your Moms Panelists, Walt Disney World Moms Panel

Alice’s All New Wonderland-Tim Burton’s Playground

4 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 12 Comments

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Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland poster
I have this poster, from Sid Cahuenga's at Disney's Hollywood Studios...

Those who know me offline know I am rather obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. If I could, my entire house, or at the very least a room, would be themed to Alice in Wonderland. Shockingly, I was never TOO into the Disney animated film when I was little – it just always seemed too long. But as I got older, I grew to love Disney’s Cheshire cat and Alice herself. Tom Petty’s Don’t Come Around Here No More video is still one of my favorites. In college I may have owned a tie-dyed t-shirt featuring the iconic caterpillar, but I don’t think I was wearing if for the same reason everyone else was. {I did go through an innocent phase of tie-dyed shirt-crystal-necklace wearing in college…Stacy and Clinton would’ve had a field day with me. Ok, they probably still would. But I digress…}

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Filed Under: Family Memories Tagged With: Alice in Wonderland, Disney movies, Family Memories, Tim Burton

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