Here's yet another example of Disney's attention to detail. This little fellow pulling a flower cart is at the entrance to the shop at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. What an effective eye catcher this is. Just draws you right into the shop.

When we drop Lockers off at the luggage room, we always tell the front desk to make a note on our Members' reservation....which means I get to see this guy every time we're at Coronado Springs.

john

If Disney is good at anything, it's in detail. You see it everywhere. Not just in the parks and attractions but all over property. And particularly in the resorts.

The lobby and restaurant area of Disney's latest resort, the Disney Vacation Club's Kidani Village that's part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is extremely well done. And this sculpture is prime evidence of that.

One of the really neat things about driving the purple van is that we get to see neat things like this every day. And i've got to tell you that the more time you spend in the resorts, the more you see.
john

This is the "rear" entrance to Disney's Hollywood Studios from World Drive. If you always stay in Disney resorts, the Disney tranpsport busses don't use this entrance and, in fact you may never have seen it. You may well have been on the road on the overpass that has the Hollywood Studios sign on it, though.

So what's up with these giant film strips?They've been there for quite some time and they had gotten quite faded from the direct afternoon sun. Particularly the panel for the Extrene Stunt Show on the far left and the Indiana Jones one.

As often as I drive by this entrance in the purple van (at least once a day), I can't for the life of me remember what it was...any clues?
john

I don't want to give you the impression that we stop for a drink while we're delivering or picking up Lockers...but we do like to hang around the resorts after hours...and doesn't this place make you want to order a pina colada?

This is Petals, the pool bar at Disney's Pop Century Resort. If you walk out of the rear of the check in lobby (Classic Hall), you're on the pool deck and Petals is just to your right. And it's as inviting as it looks. It gets its name from those flower power petals that seemed to be everywhere in the late 1960's.

Make that a margarita for me...on the rocks, with salt.
john

It's not Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.

Fooled you! It's not a water park at all. It's the kiddie pool at Disney's new Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village.

Kidani Village, a Disney Vacation Club resort, has several flashes of brilliance and the pool area is one of them, In fact, I think folks wil want to stay at Kidani just for the pool--the way people like to stay at Beach/Yacht for Stormalong Bay.
john

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort is impressive from any angle but I think it is particularly attractive from the rear

This shot was taken from the pool looking towards the main lobby building. Unlike the later resorts--Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk and Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House--The Grand Floridian is all at ground level.  And the landscaping  takes a back seat to the Victorian elegance of the building itself.

Love this resort!

john

I think this boat has some kind of kid magnet in it.  No matter how many times our family has been to Disney's Yacht Club, our daughters have always gone to the shop to see this boat with Mickey in it.  I personally think that it's the neat way the have created a wake for the boat.  The flashing red light on the bouy is also cool  To me, this is Disney at its best.  Something extremely well done that just enhances your experience.

 Yachtsman Mickey (if that's what he's called) is located in the shop called "Fittings And Fairings Clothes and Notions" in Disney's Yacht Club Resort.  The shop is to the right of the main lobby.  Walk by it with your kids and let me know if they make a detour.

john

I wonder how many family photos have been taken here? Don't you wish there were some sort of counter to let you know how many kids had sat in those ears? How many parents had stood in the middle in the back? How many couples had held hands across Mickey?

I jokingly call it the Mickey Pose-O-Matic and it's behind the Contemporary Resort near the marina. It's made of stainless steel and the ears are seats with plexiglass behind them to keep you from falling backward. It's been there for as long as I can remember. My kids would insist on a picture there every time we came to the Contemporary.

There are lots of photo spots where the scenery or background is stunning. But this one is just for people. I wonder if this is the only photo taken here with no one in it?
john

It was hard to miss the drums in Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House this morning as I was delivering Lockers. The huge lobby is a bit of an echo chamber anyway and the sound of these drums really carried.

It didn't take long to find the source. Down the stairs outside of the restaurant Boma, these South African drummers (and their able little helper) were entertaining folks who were enjoying their breakfast.

What a treat. And I guess that it's obvious that the sound of the drums fit right into the decor!
john

All resorts have a shop and this is the General Store at Disney's Old Key West Resort.

It looks pretty simple and I guess it is. They carry papers, magazines, beer, wine and liquor as well as grocery items and resort-related clothes.
The General Store has lots of special memories for me and my family. We've been staying at Old Key West since 1992 and in many ways, my kids grew up there. The kids had to have donuts from the General Store for breakfast and I've bought many a newspaper and Diet Coke there over the years.

john

I don't know about you but every time my family visits Disney's Polynesian Resort, a stop at Capt. Cook's is mandatory. Our kids love the place and at this point dropping in is something of a tradition. I have a preference for the Barefoot Pool Bar...but that's for another time

Cap't Cook's is located in the main building at Disney's Polynesian Resort that houses the lobby but it also has an outside entrance that makes it feel like it's part of the pool area.

john

You know you're at WDW when you see the Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror sign in the median of World Drive. The 3-D elevator shakes violently with broken cables dangling, there are strobe lights tracing its fall from the top and there's a flashing red "4" indicating the number of drops on the attraction.

There are lots of landmarks that let you know you're back in Disney but this is one of my favorites.

john

You may recognize this as being from the sign at the entrance to the parking lot to the Magic Kingdom.  But I'll bet you've never looked at it long enough to appreciate the incredible detail of the castle in the center of the sign.

If you're staying on property and taking Disney Transport, your bus may not even pass through the main gate.  But whether you're in a bus or in a car, chances are that you're so anxious to get to the Magic Kingdom that the last thing you want to do is stop and study this sign.

But, if you're driving a purple van that goes through this gate a couple of times a day, your perspective changes and you come to appreciate the amazing attention to detail that seems to be everywhere at Walt Disney World. 

So, even if you're trying to make the rope drop, get behind the longest line of cars so you can have a good look and appreciate this special Disney touch.

john

I've always been fond of this fountain at the entrance to the Downtown Disney shops.  It's made up of seveeal clay pots with water pouring out of them.  And it's always planted with tons of flowers.  Downtown Disney has been through lots of changes but this fountain has been there as long as I can remember.

So what's the purple van doing in Downtown Disney?  It's not like there are any resorts there.  Well, an Owner's Locker Member had been staying at one of the beaches on Florida's East coast and was passing back through Orlando on their way home to Illinois.  So we agreed to meet at Downtown Disney to pick up their Locker.

They wanted to do some shopping so we just coordinated by cell phone and made the pickup.  Easy...and I enjoyed seeing  that fountain again.

john

Not surprisingly, the purple van pulls up to Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa almost every day.  And on most days, we're there at least twice.

No, that's not an Owner's Locker dangling from that crane--it's not purple.

 
Pulling up to Disney's Beach Club Resort and Villas this morning was interesting for the purple van.  The work that is often done at quiet times when no one would notice was rather hard to miss.  And was quite an obstacle.  We got our Lockers delivered (of course) but I really felt sorry for the poor valet crew trying to deal with rush hour and no place for guests to pull in. 

Like the rest of the planet, it seems, Owner's Locker is using Facebook.  Here's a link to the Owner's Locker Facebook page, but you have to be a "friend" to see it.  More on that in a minute.

We're always looking at ways to help spread the word about Owner's Locker and we've found that Facebook is a very powerful tool.  In many ways, the core concept of Facebook can be summed up in the phrase, "hey, look at this."  You can tell your friends what you're doing as well as share pictures, videos and stories.

At Owner's Locker, we use Facebook by posting a status update once or twice a day, posting pictures of resort employees we work with, covering our Owner's Locker EPCOT Wine Evenings and sharing candid photos of things we see driving around in the album Everyday Adventures of the Purple Van.  Every time we do any of these things, our "friends" get a notice on their Facebook page that we've done it.  So much better than sending our annoying e-mails saying, 'hey, look at this!"

Most companies have opted for a fan or company page on Facebook but we have opted to have a "personal page."  In other words, Owner's Locker acts like a person on Facebook rather than a company.

We do this for three reasons:

-with a personal page, we can put out "status updates" and everyone who is a "friend" can see them on their facebook page.

-with a personal page, we can "tag" photos.  We always post photos of our members who attend Owner's Locker EPCOT Wine Evenings on our facebook page.  If they have agreed to become a "friend" of Owner's Locker, we can attach a label to the photograph which can be seen when a cursor passes over it.  Not only does this identify the person, they get a notification on their facebook page that they have been "tagged" in a photo AND all of their "friends" also get that notice on their Facebook pages.  Not a bad way for their friends to see that they have been at an Owner's Locker function!

-with a personal page, we can issue "friend requests."  If a person agrees to be your friend (either you ask and they agree; or they ask and you agree) they they will see your status updates, photo, video or news updates, etc. on their Facebook page.  So at Owner's Locker, we can build our Facebook following by requesting that people we know (like our Members) become a "friend" of Owner's Locker.

So why not head over to the Owner's Locker Facebook page and see what's going on?

jdvm

Did you see that United Airlines has decided to limit passengers to one piece of checked luggage? Today’s Wall Street Journal says that a second checked bag will cost travelers $25.00. The third checked piece of luggage will cost $100.00 beginning May 5. The article points out that it’s those pesky leisure travelers buying cheap tickets that are clogging the planes hauling all of their stuff with them on vacation. Read the entire WSJ article.

That’s funny; at Owner’s Locker, we encourage people to have as much of their stuff with them as they’d like. We don’t have a weight limit on our Lockers and you’re welcome to fill them any way you want. And if you have more than one Locker, we give you a discount instead of charging you extra. It sounds to me that one of us wants you to have your personal items with you while you're at your home away from home and one of us doesn’t.

Whether you fly or drive, we just think it’s easier to keep your stuff here if you’re travelling to Orlando. It’s always been more convenient and cheaper to let Owner’s Locker store your stuff and have it waiting for you at your resort when you arrive. And now United’s move has made us an even better bargain.

As you can imagine, this move has attracted a lot of attention and comment. Here's a sampling of what others are saying:

--Sean O'Neill of Budget Travel Blog says that we can expect other airlines such as Delta, Northwest and Continental to follow suit. Have a look.

--bigpaul of GFN suggests that first class passengers' luggage must weigh less since they can still check two bags for free! Have a look.

--Joe Brancatelli of Conde Nast Portfolio's business travel blog, Seat 2B, discusses alternatives to checking luggage but focuses on luggage shipping services. I thought he needed to hear about Owner's Locker!! Have a look

--Abhisek Garg of The Money Times says the initial public response to United's move hasn't been that bad. Have a look

--Sonja Weick in her live for adventure blog points out that this will hit people who bring bicycles with them on vacation as well. Have a look.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

The short answer to both of those questions is “no.”

A lot of people ask us how far in advance they need to sign up. Maybe they assume that there is some sort of 30 day deadline or something like that. That if they leave it until the last minute, they won’t be able to sign up for Owner’s Locker. Not true.

It won’t surprise you to learn that we want to make it easy for people to become Members of Owner’s Locker. If someone is on vacation, sees our van or someone carrying a Locker and thinks, “Gee, I need one of those,” we don’t want them to have to wait until their next trip to WDW.

So you can sign up for Owner’s Locker anytime---even if you’re already at your resort in Orlando and we’ll have your Locker to your resort the next day at the latest. We get a lot of calls from people while they are on vacation and I love signing people up over the phone from their room. My favorite story, though is the day I saw Brian flying out the door with an empty Locker saying he would explain later. He'd gotten a call from a Member who was in the parking lot of their resort about to head for the airport when they realized they needed another Locker pronto. Brian to the rescue.

It’s not just a quest for Members that’s involved here, though. The whole point behind Owner’s Locker is convenience and treating people the way WE would like to be treated.

When we were building our systems, Brian and I discussed the issue of deadlines and decided that we just wouldn’t have any. After all, we are dealing with people’s vacations. And we both hate that “gotcha” feeling you get when you wind up paying a penalty because a deadline was missed.

The issue really came up as we discussed what the cutoff time would be for scheduling and changing Visits. Should Members have to tell us ___ days in advance for us to have their Locker waiting for them? Well, we looked at each other and both said, “no.” That’s one of the reasons we use bar codes and have a highly sophisticated scheduling and tracking system. We think you should be able to tell us about a Visit any time—even if you’re already at your resort. And we feel that you should be able to modify your Visit at any time as well. Plans change, waitlists come through, people change resorts. And we didn’t think it was fair to charge people extra for last minute changes. We just pushed the developers to come up with a system to handle all of these possibilities.

And once we had this capability built for Visits, it was easy to use it for signing up as well. So sign up any time you want!

But are we sure that new Members don’t have to give us 30 days notice? Yes we are sure…..but I’ll tell you where that 30 days comes in…..and it will help me answer the second question about signing up. And that is that it is never too early to sign up.

While we want to be as convenient as possible to our Members, we also like to know as far in advance about when people are coming and, in particular, when people want to join. The first Visit is a lot of work for us as we have to build a new Locker and get it ready for the new Member’s first Visit. So we would prefer that new Members sign up as soon as they decide they want to use Owner’s Locker rather than waiting until the last minute.

But while we want to encourage people to sign up as early as possible, we don’t want to penalize you by making you pay for something months before you’ll see it. Again, we wanted to be fair. So, when you sign up, you will not be charged your Membership Fee until 30 days before you arrive for your first Visit. This way you can go ahead and sign up when you make your reservations or even before and not get charged. You can also use the site and use the online inventory function to list the things you are going to put in your Locker.

We think that’s a fair way to treat people. This is not a short term relationship we want to build! Just ask that family in the parking lot. Boy were they releived when Brian showed up with another Locker.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

So, just what is a second home? That used to be a simple question with an easy answer. Second homes have been around for...well for as long as people have had homes, really. And, we tend to think of second homes as the expensive retreats of the very wealthy. The Pope has Castel Gandolfo. The President has Camp David (which used to be more aptly named Shangri-La), England's Queen has Windsor Castle (along with Balmoral and Sandringham) and Manhattan's elite have huge weekend getaways in The Hamptons.

Today, however, second homes come in quite a variety of flavors, shapes and forms. Some even have wheels---or keels. But, more on that at another time.

But what's the deal with second homes? Why bother? Isn't one home enough?
Do some of us really need a place of refuge? A place to escape to? Apparently so and in increasing numbers.

The idea of a second home is wrapped up in two concepts that seem diametrically opposed: it is someplace different....yet it is someplace familiar.

Just about all of us want to take a break from day to day affairs. That's easy. We like to get away. Sometimes it's no more than a trip to the movies, a picnic in the country or a boat ride on a nearby lake. Then there's the vacation, whether it's a two week, cram everyone in the car deal, or a romantic weekend retreat. Many people like to go someplace different each time they take a break. While for others the best break is to get away--but to a place that they've been to many times before.

There's a great feeling of instant relaxation when you unlock the door to your cottage in the countryside, build a fire in your fireplace, open a bottle of your wine and prop your feet up and chill out. It's also an exciting feeling to check into a hotel in a city you've never visited and have room service send up a bottle of champagne. Both of these activities are fun. Some folks like adventure while others like familiarity. The people who like familiarity will say the new hotel experience can be stressful. The people who like adventure may say that going back to the cottage in the country is a bit boring.

But we're talking second homes here so let's leave the adventurous couple to enjoy their champagne. With second homes, it's all about the known quantity. Familiar surroundings. Knowing instinctively what to do and where to go. Returning to a favorite restaurant where they recognize you. Going on a bicycle ride and not needing a map. And, not needing to rent a bicycle, by the way. To many folks these feelings are what a second home is all about.

Today there are many ways to enjoy the benefits of a second home without actually owning it. The marketplace has expanded to provide people with the second home experience through a variety of different products. People may not use the phrase "second home," but going to the same hotel time and time again is really a manifestation of the second home mentality. Buying a timeshare or vacation club interest is another way some people get that same enjoyment of getting away to a familiar place and Owner's Locker is a company that helps these owners get the second home feeling each time they visit. Does this sound like you? What are the things you like about coming back to the same place to get away? What are some things that would make your enjoyment of your vacation home even better? That's what we're all about at Owner's Locker. We would love to have your comments and suggestions.

John
www.ownerslocker.com