Happy Birthday Mickey

Happy Birthday Mickey

Break out the bubbly and get the cake batter ready. Everyone’s favorite Disney Character, loved all over the world by kids and adults, is celebrating his 81st birthday this week!  While Mickey began as a silent black and white cartoon in “Plane Crazy,” where he tries to fly a plane and sneak a kiss with Minnie Mouse at the same time, his official debut is considered to be in the musical cartoon “Steamboat Willie.” Disney aficionados will recognize the familiar image of Mickey steering a giant steamboat as he whistles along, and some may say it was with that cartoon that the empire of Walt Disney began. Who knew, way back then, that a little cartoon about a mouse would spawn the incredible Disney theme parks in Orlando and all over the world?

There’s a famous quote by Walt Disney that goes: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse.” It couldn’t be a more honest and even fascinating statement. That little mouse trying to sneak a kiss and steer a steamboat gave birth to a company that would create Disneyland in Anaheim, California and the Walt Disney World Resort right here in Orlando. There are now Disney Parks all over the world including Tokyo, Paris and soon Shanghai. How can we forget the classic movies? From Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King to the brand new The Princess and the Frog, which features Disney’s first Black princess, Tiana!

There are also great television projects like The Mickey Mouse Club, which was where stars like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake got their start. The Disney Channel expanded to produce a new level of teen stars with performers like Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. Along with the great shows and theme parks, there are also special events where Mickey and Minnie are the star of the show; whether it be in a parade or through Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Incredible how Disney has grown after 81 years, and it’s only going to get bigger. Still, shirtless and all, Mickey keeps his full-time job as Master of Ceremonies at the Walt Disney theme parks around the world. We’re guessing he’ll have his little gloved paws full today as folks (including his toony pals Donald Duck, Goofy and main squeeze Minnie Mouse) head over to wish him a happy birthday. Happy Birthday to the mouse that started it all!

Theme Parks confront the flu

Magic Kindom

FOR many Americans, the fear of swine flu has made everyday acts like going to work, going to school or getting on a plane feel fraught with danger — even more so since President Obama recently declared swine flu a national emergency.

Now, even Mickey Mouse is being looked at with suspicion.

With their international visitors, crowded conditions and touchy-feely interaction among guests and dressed-up storybook characters, theme parks like Walt Disney World and Disneyland are being viewed as the perfect petri dishes for the H1N1 virus by some worried travelers.

Disney fans’ discussion boards are buzzing about the fears of transmission and whether some people are putting their fellow vacationers at risk. One visitor recently wrote on DISBoards.com, an online forum for Disney fans, “I just got back last night, and I did notice that there were a few people running around Disney World with what seemed to be more than a little cold.” The discussion came under the heading: “Please do NOT go to Disney World if you (or your children) are sick.”

It’s not just Disney parks, of course, that are suddenly being viewed as sources of possible contagions. Everywhere vacationers gather in big groups — whether Universal Studios or Dollywood — must now deal with the perception that visitors may end up going home with more than just pleasant memories.

“Any place where large masses of people accumulate over a relatively short or defined period of time could serve as a conduit to infection,” said Philip M. Tierno Jr., the director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Langone Medical Center and the author of “The Secret Life of Germs.”

Theme park officials acknowledge the fears of some people about visiting a crowded place like a theme park but say that measures they have put in place to fight the spread of the H1N1 virus meet or exceed the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For Disney, those measures include ordering more than 200,000 individual hand sanitizers for Disney World and placing them in various locations throughout its parks, offering free seasonal flu vaccinations to employees (referred to as cast members within Disney), providing H1N1 information and flu prevention tips to workers and maintaining high sanitation standards.

“Disney parks maintains rigorous standards of hygiene and cleanliness for our cast members and guests. We provide employee training and implement extensive cleaning procedures as necessary,” said Michael Hankins, chief physician at the Walt Disney World Resort in the Orlando area. “Hand washing and other basic hygiene steps, as recommended by the C.D.C., remain extremely effective ways to combat seasonal flu whether at school, on the playground or visiting a theme park.”

If a sick child uses, say, Goofy’s costume as a tissue, a handler (one of the employees who act as the eyes and ears of the characters in costume) can instruct the character to change into a fresh costume. And visitors who display serious symptoms can be referred to a park’s first-aid center for medical assistance.

Other theme parks say they are following similar measures, working closely with the local health officials, hanging up signs that remind people to wash their hands, installing hand sanitizers and reviewing health and safety plans in case the issue escalates.

“We take an obsessive approach to cleaning and sanitizing across our entire destination and to maintaining a healthy environment for our team members and guests,” said Tom Schroder, a spokesman for the Universal Orlando Resort.

He added, “We’ve reviewed every element of what we do — from the number of hand sanitizers we have on site to making sure our team members are very aware of their responsibilities for maintaining a healthy environment.”

Busch Entertainment, which is responsible for parks like SeaWorld in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa, had a similar response. “We are monitoring developments with the H1N1 virus and have plans in place for various levels of escalation,” said Becca Bides, a spokeswoman. “At this current level, we remain confident in the rigorous health and hygiene procedures we use on a daily basis to protect guests and employees.”

Pete Owens, a spokesman for Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., said the park has installed advisory signs and hand sanitizers in all restrooms.

“We have been working with the local health department and the C.D.C. for more than six months,” he added. “We have a plan in place if this escalates to a pandemic.”

It’s not only visitors to the theme parks who worry about the danger of catching swine flu. Some park workers themselves are concerned about the germs that visitors may be bringing with them on vacation, especially those who want an up-close-and-personal experience. “What little girl doesn’t want to run up and hug Cinderella when they see her in real life?” said Donna-Lynne Dalton, a Disney character captain and an official of the Teamsters in Orlando, which represents many Disney workers.

About 17 million people visited the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World last year, according to the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM. Disneyland, in Anaheim, Calif., had about 14.7 million visitors; Universal Studios in Orlando, 6.2 million; and SeaWorld in Orlando, 5.9 million.

Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky, a travel health expert at the C.D.C., said that fears about catching the flu on a Disney vacation might be overblown. “To single out Disneyland and Disney World is not appropriate with regard to transmission of H1N1,” she said in an e-mail message. “There are too numerous to count opportunities for people to be in close spaces together, whether in movie theaters, in crowded shopping malls, on public transportation as well as during most individuals’ daily activities.”

She added that the C.D.C.’s advice to visitors to a theme park would be the same it would give to anyone going about a normal routine: “Vaccination when available, as well as trying as much as possible to stay away from those who are ill, wash hands frequently and take care of oneself in other ways to try to prevent illness (such as getting enough rest and eating right).”

So what precautions should you take if you’re planning a vacation to a theme park in the next few months?

• If any of your family members are sick, leave them at home, or don’t go at all — even though that might be a costly decision. Disney and Universal Orlando will refund your payment, minus $200, if you make a last-minute cancellation. As for airlines, most will generally allow travelers to use the value of nonrefundable tickets toward a future flight, typically minus a change fee that could be $100 or more.

• Get travel insurance to cover nonrefundable expenses.

• Get vaccinated if you can and consider getting a prescription for a drug like Tamiflu before your trip.

• Wash your hands often.

• If you see someone sneezing or coughing, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.