Disneyland going Green

[Tom Morrow]

Disneyland Railroad switches to "green" fuel

Disneyland gets greener (http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/anaheim/article_1654549.php)
Theme park's steam locomotives now run on biodiesel fuel
Orange County Register - CA

The trains that fueled the dream for Walt Disney and his empire are being fed a steady diet of cleaner-burning, more environmentally friendly biodiesel. The magic ingredient: soybean oil.

Since January, the four operable trains that run along the Disneyland Railroad have been injected with the orangey-yellow liquid (resembling apple juice), with workers slowly weaning the steam locomotives off of ultra low sulfur diesel. The trains are now a mix of 2 percent diesel and 98 percent soybean oil, known as B98.

It's a move that more and more companies are undertaking as legislators stress "green" alternatives in the face of climate change reports and dependency on foreign oil. For Disneyland, the switch to biodiesel saves as much as 150,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year, while potentially reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 percent, Disneyland Resort spokesman Bob Tucker said Monday.

"The decision, once we knew the trains would perform well, was an easy one," said Frank Dela Vara, technical director for Disneyland's Environmental Affairs.
complete article (http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/anaheim/article_1654549.php)


</p>

[TimmyII]

Always the leader!

[thh123]

thats pretty cool

[Executioner]

Alright DL! Now if we can get automakers to start selling that instead. Keep moving forward Disney!

[mousecrazy]

Disney rocks!!!!

[Tom Morrow]

Disney Sees Green in Going Green


Disney Sees Green in Going Green (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/04/18/disney-sees-green-in-going-green.aspx)
The Motley Fool

Head out to Disney World, and you will see more green than the Fantasyland churro cart operator collecting greenbacks, hand over mouse-gloved fist. Head out to Disney's EPCOT and you'll see the solar panels. Animal Kingdom screams so much green that it actually opened on Earth Day nine years ago.

Disney isn't perfect. When your chain of theme parks serves four times as many guests worldwide a year than your nearest rivals - Six Flags and Cedar Fair - you're going to deal with factors like patron consumption and attraction emissions.

Being that big will also make you a target for things that can be done better. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice is urging Disney to migrate to green cleaners at its Florida resort, the way it already is at six of its hotels that have been certified by the Florida Green Lodging Certification Program.

Disney hasn't backed down from the challenge.

"Because our organization has held a unique position of public confidence and trust for more than fifty years, we are keenly aware of our ability to influence public opinion and inspire action," acknowledges Disney's environmental policy (http://corporate.disney.go.com/environmentality/environmental_policy.html).

That policy includes several park-level initiatives. From waste minimization to water and energy conservation, Disney certainly knows how to talk green. Other aspects of its environmental policy include:

Studying the environmental impact of its operations, developing proactive guidelines.
Promoting wildlife and habitat conservation.
Educating its employees on the policy itself.
Integrating environmental theming into its attractions when appropriate.
Advocating cost-effective technologies that improve environmental conditions.

Embracing its role as a social trendsetter, Disney has led the way in banning trans fats (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2006/10/17/disneys-healthy-decision.aspx) and limiting in-park smoking. Now that the social flavor of the month is going green, expect Disney to back up its eco-friendly words with eco-friendly actions in the coming years.


Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[TwilightMansion]

heehee. that's interesting. now i can tell that to my friend when we're on it and annoy her with more disneyland facts. LoL.

(she hates it when i tell her stuff like that. she's always like, "I don't care!")

[Disneynovice]

Yay Dl!!!! Wot Woot!

[ShrunkenNed]

Alright DL! Now if we can get automakers to start selling that instead. Keep moving forward Disney!

And sell the things cheap enough that we can afford it!

Seriously, though, if the option is available, I'm glad to see Disneyland is going with it!

[diznyfamly]

Alright DL! Now if we can get automakers to start selling that instead. Keep moving forward Disney!

They will for a while. But the future looks to be in hydrogen- and electric-powered cars. Prototypes have just as much power, performance, and style as most of today's vehicles.
It's nice to see Disney leading the way.

[tony]

next the need to do that with the trams. those stink

[_x_invisible_x_]

I wonder what they did to Splash Mountain?

[Executioner]

Hooray for Disney! Always a leader in technology and benefitting humanity. I think Walt would be very proud of this. Keep up the good work Disney!

[Tom Morrow]

Disney creates 'green' VP job



BRIEFCASE: Disney creates 'green' VP job (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bizbriefcase2007apr21,0,6522705.story)
Orlando Sentinel - FL
Another Walt Disney World executive is leaving the resort to join the global management structure that former Disney World President Al Weiss is building over all Walt Disney theme parks and resorts. Jerry Montgomery, Disney World's senior vice president for public affairs, will guide strategy for the environmental impact of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in the newly created role of senior vice president of conservation and environmental sustainability. Shannon McAleavey, Disney World's vice president of public affairs, will lead the division until a new senior vice president is named.


Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[Tom Morrow]

Disney tests the limits of going green



Disney tests the limits of going green (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19175500/)
Theme park operator takes care not to spoil the show as it revamps
CNBC-TV msNBC

In a new green day of corporate America, theme park operators like Disney are looking for every opportunity to revamp rides to be more environmentally friendly.

But not everything at Disneyland can go green in a big way. When you're in the business of creating fantasy, when employees are called cast members and the park is a stage, Disney says no green initiative is worth it if it ruins the show.

?Our culture is that we want to be very careful about those pieces that we put on stage, and we don't want to take that feel of the show away from the guests,? said Frank Dela Vara of Disneyland Environmental Affairs.

Disneyland Monday re-launched one of its oldest attractions, the submarine ride, nine years after it emptied the lagoon. The original gray submarines ran on diesel. The ride still uses all eight original submarines, but the engines are now powered by clean and quiet magnetic coils.

Other parts of the park have changed too. Trains now run on 100 percent biodiesel, including the EP Ripley, the same train Disney himself rode on the theme park?s opening day. Disneyland says it buys 150,000 gallons of biodiesel each year, and prices are currently competitive with regular diesel. Seemingly nothing gets thrown away around here, just greened up.

But where do you draw the line between environmental friendliness and running a successful business?

Disney claims it's saved about $60 million over 10 years on environmental programs, mostly through reducing the amount of paper used. They also re-use TV sets and installed a "reusable mug program," which alone saved a half million dollars.
complete article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19175500/)






Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[Tom Morrow]

Will Disney go all 'green' by next Earth Day?



Did Disney World pledge all "green" hotels by next Earth Day? (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2007/07/disney-world-pl.html)
Orlando Sentinel - FL

Walt Disney World has pledged to seek "green" certification of all its hotels by next Earth Day, an environmental group is reporting, but Disney officials say they have not had any conversations committing to such a date.

A green hotel is one certified as such by the Florida Green Lodging Association because the hotel's use of non-toxic cleaners, efforts toward water and energy conservation and other environmentally-friendly factors. Disney World already is considered the state's leader for having won such a designation for six of its hotels.

The Florida Alliance for Healthy Indoor Environment and other environmental groups have been after Disney to pick up the pace in converting other hotels, and the alliance is reporting that it got a pledge for that. Disney recently gave the alliance an oral pledge that it would seek green hotel designations for all its hotels by next Earth Day, stated Heather Walker, program coordinator for the Florida Alliance.

Disney officials already have said they intended to get green certification for all 18 company-owned hotels at Disney World. But spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said they are unfamiliar with the alliance and have not committed to an Earth Day 2008 target with them.




Sent from Ezra (http://www.visionsfantastic.com/forum/z/Ezra/)

[Neo]

LOL good way to make Disney buckle down by a certain date. LOL gonna be kinda hard for them to not do it by that date and still win all the earth day people over. Well lets see what happens it would be cool to see it happen. I know they do spend so much to keep everything as environmentally friendly as possible.

[Executioner]

Yeah but I can't see some alliance trying to bully Disney into doing something by a specified date they haven't even said ok too. Disney is doing all efforts to go totally green with these places, but I am sure it will happen over time. Not all at once. These people have to look at it in whole with all the supplies, chemicals and such they have in stock at these places. Thats a lot of money to just throw away and start using Green chemicals.They will deplete their stock and order in what they need of the new. No point in ordering all the new and not use up the old stock. That can take some time to do. But congrats to Disney for being a leader in environmentality.

[DisneyFanatic13]

Since they're using biodesiel, I wonder wiat happened that they replace gunpowder for the fireworks with something less poluting, yet still awsome?

[debijeanm]

I just got back from a 3.5 week driving vacation. In the Midwest we passed many fields of soybeans and a fuel producing plant. Hooray for Disney for, again, being the leader. Next, the Autopia (if it's not using this fuel already) so that Tomorrowland will again show what can be done!

My 2003 Explorer will run on Ethanol, so I did a Google search to find the nearest pumps. I found only ONE pump in California, and that was in Marin County several hundred miles away. It's not just car manufacturers that need to jump on this. BTW, I was able to find ethanol mixed fuels on the trip and saw no change in the performance of my car.