Bird Archives - Chip and Co

Tag Archives: Bird

JP’s Merchandise Review: The Return of the Orange Bird

Monday, April 23, 2012 guest blogging No comments

Like many people in my age group when Disney rolled out the merchandise for the 40th Anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort there was one character that I could not figure out who it was. He was a bird with a head that looked like an orange. I later found out that he was the Orange Bird and was told that he was in the Magic Kingdom since day one and was slowly phased out of the spot light. I had two thoughts when I heard this. The first was how creative his name was (not very). The second was that I secretly hoped that the Orange Bird would make a come back after the 40th was over since he looked really cool.
Thankfully Disney Corporate heard my secret prayer and decided to bring him back to his original home at the Sunshine Tree Terrace with new merchandise to go with his return. Several of it is only for a limited run, which by default automatically makes it cool.

Two of the items for sale are T-shirts that look wonderful. The green shirt has a simple and very cool looking design. The retro D with “The Orange Bird” inside and retro Walt Disney World logo look great and show when this character is from. The Beige shirt is not as impressive but still cool. It has the Orange Bird’s head on the front which makes me think that he was staring in a Disney cartoon. Not a bad shirt by any means, but not as good as the green shirt. Since these shirts are also limited run, you should buy them.

The Orange Bird also has a pin that guests can buy and has been for sale for quite sometime now. It is a “Green” category pin, so $7.41 is enough for purchase. It is a decent size and has the cute little bird wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. This is a good addition to anyone who is looking to have all the Orange Bird pins (All 8 or them).
My favorite piece of Orange Bird merchandise is the mouse ears they will start selling in the summer. I’m a big fan of all the ear hats, especially the character hats released a few months ago (Figment hat for-the-win). But this pair overtakes my opinion as the best pair of mouse ears you can currently buy. It has the twin leafs at the top and has his big eyes for all to see. I will definitely be buying this when it comes out. Hopefully this smells like oranges for a novelty factor. Though I don’t think Disney wants bees following their guests, so this will be a dream Disney won’t listen to.

Overall, the Orange Bird has made a triumphant return to the Magic Kingdom and has the merchandise and Disney higher-ups to back it up. It is good to see them bring back some of the older characters and reintroduce them to the general audience. Now how about some more Oswald stuff?

-JP

JP’s Merchandise Review: The Return of the Orange Bird

Orange Bird Returns to Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Chip 6 Comments

Great news this morning! D23 representatives announced the return of the historic Orange Bird character live in Adventureland before a small group of D23 members and on twitter.

In case you aren’t familiar, Orange Bird was a character who was developed specifically for Magic Kingdom Park in the 1970s. This cheerful bird originally greeted families at Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland, where guests could also enjoy citrus drinks like the Citrus Swirl and buy Orange Bird gifts. At one time, the character even had his own record, which was released in 1971 to feature “The Orange Bird Song” – a tune penned by the Sherman Brothers (composers of the songs in “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book”).

Beginning today, Orange Bird will return to Sunshine Tree Terrace signage and quirky drink cups, and a new line of Orange Bird merchandise has already appeared on the shelves!

Photo credit Disney Parks Blog

Family Magic Tour at Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
My Top 5 Magic Kingdom Traditions (chipandco.com)

Orange Bird Returns to Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom

Disney Confidential: Iago is Dead.

Friday, January 14, 2011 guest blogging 1 Comment

Breaking news, people. A little bird (okay, I’m lying, it was a person) just told me that Iago, one of the “hosts” of the Magic Kingdom’s Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management may have been damaged beyond repair in yesterday’s fire. The fire, which started in an attic and resulted in the ride being closed, was quickly extinguished, but not before that pesky little bird’s goose was cooked. In addition, the bird mobile that lowers a chorus of birds was also damaged.

The roar you’re hearing? That’s coming from Disney fans as they cheer and celebrate the death of one of the most despised additions to the Magic Kingdom since the days when the baby swap involved switching out actual babies.

I’m not kidding.

For more, check out George’s take at Imaginerding.

Got any good rumors? Please email me at AnonyMouse@chipandco.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AnonymouseOne and on Facebook here.

Fire Sale at The Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management (imaginerding.com)
Disney Confidential – Enchanted Tiki Room Catches on Fire! (chipandco.com)

Disney VoluntEARS and Audubon of Florida Flock Together for Osprey Recovery

Saturday, November 6, 2010 Chip 2 Comments

After a four-month rehabilitation at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, an adult male osprey was recently released at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort near the site where he was rescued earlier this summer.

An eager group of Walt Disney World Cast Members and resort guests looked on as the bird took to the air for the first time since June.

The osprey was emaciated and listless when he was found on June 17. After receiving emergency care from Disney animal care experts, the raptor was transported to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Fla. for further treatment. After several months of intensive care, the bird was moved to the Center’s Magic of Flight barn to stretch his wings and complete the rehabilitation process.

Disney sponsored the building of the flight barn in 2001 and has provided ongoing support of the Center. As one of the few structures of its kind in the U.S., the flight barn is used to rehabilitate raptors, such as eagles, hawks, owls and ospreys, so they can ultimately be released back into the wild.

“It’s always nice seeing a bird released back where he belongs,” said EagleWatch Coordinator Lynda White, minutes after watching her most recent patient fly the coop at Lake Dorado. She attributed the successful release to the support of her staff and companies like Walt Disney World. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without Walt Disney World,” she said. “In fact, without Disney, there wouldn’t be an EagleWatch program or a flight barn at all.”

Several weeks prior to the osprey’s release, volunteers from Walt Disney World Resort joined staff at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey to refurbish the flight barn and its surroundings. Volunteers spent the day helping with roof repair, pressure cleaning, replacement of food boards and prey boxes, and re-wrapping very large perches.

“We were excited to pitch in to help spruce up the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, which provides so many services to both community and wildlife,” said Nancy Gidusko, director of Community Relations at Walt Disney World. In addition, Walt Disney World Community Relations gave the center a new pressure washer and sliding ladder for continued upkeep, and Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives donated equipment for animal care.

Disney’s on-going support has enabled the flight barn to play a pivotal role in conserving and protecting Central Florida’s wildlife by helping thousands of birds regain their strength and stamina before returning to the wild.