Attention All Hollywood East Survivors

Join us for the
Twentieth Anniversary Of Walt Disney World
Fifteenth Birthday Celebration Event
(a.k.a. TAOWDWFBCE)

Who:
Anyone who worked on a Disney production/event/SNAFU/whatever during the famous "Hollywood East Era", roughly 1985-2005

What:
A fun filled beach weekend for the whole family and/or a Sunday afternoon picnic

Where:
Beach - Thunderbird Resort at Treasure Island, Florida 1-800-FOR-BIRD or neighboring hotels, Tahitian Resort 1-888-606-5209 & Bilmar Resort 877-834-0441

Picnic -Bill Fredrick Park at Turkey Lake, off Hiawassee Road, Orlando

When:
Beach - Friday, May 5th, and Saturday, May 6th, departing Sunday, May 7th
Picnic - Sunday, May 7th 12:00-7:00 Pavilion 2

Need more info?
Call 352-394-8118 or e-mail laurob@mindspring.com for details.
If you'd like to come but can't due to other commitments like work, life, etc....we understand. We'd still love to hear from you. Send us an update of your life, pictures (old and new), greetings etc. and we'll post them at the party! Call or e-mail for a mailing address. We're especially looking for old production photos of Stu Sponger. He embarrasses so easily!

Don't wait for the sad times to come together.
Join us to celebrate the present,
remember the good times and
share some laughs!

Hello Hollywood East Girls and Boys!

-- Previously sent email --

This is the combined voice of the TAOWDWFBCC with information regarding those plans for a big party that Stu told you about in the last email. Señor Sponger has been out of town working a big gig and last we heard, his cell phone had up and died. Reports are that he may
be doing fine, but we haven't actually spoken with him in quite some time. In his stead we've been focused on forging ahead without his personal, hands-on assistance, and we've come up with what we think is an exciting plan for fun, fun, FUN!

Thank you all for your replies and your responses to our poll question about a picnic or beach party. To our surprise, the results were very close (typical Florida election) and we were faced with the challenge of trying to balance out the event to meet all of your needs and wishes. The good news is that right now it looks like we can do BOTH!

Here's how it works:
Starting Friday May 5th (Cinqo De Mayo), everyone that is up for a Weekend De Partay out on Treasure Island (Gulf Coast of Florida for the geographically impaired) will start congregating at the classically designed Thunderbird Hotel:

Thunderbird Beach Resort
http://www.thunderbirdflorida.com
1-800-367-2473
27°46'08.94"N 82°46'10.70"W

Why the Thunderbird? What happened to the Bon-Aire? Good questions. Let's just say that it simply wasn't to be. We could say something like, "they unexpectedly ran out of rooms" (because that is what happened) but we would rather remain mysterious about the whole thing, and lead you to believe that some native American medicine man came to
us in a collective dream and warned us that if we booked the Bon-Aire, it would have catastrophic results to the fabric of the Universe. Plus, John Bender noted that there is evidence that the Bon-Aire hasn't changed their linens since they opened. So last weekend we loaded up Laura's SUV and scouted out alternative locations along the
Gulf. After a few Rum Runners, we stumbled across the Thunderbird --the perfect location!

We are planning a reception meet 'n greet out by the beach complete with a little seaside tiki bar. They have some charcoal grills out there, so someone may even be flipping some burgers. Drinks and chit-chat and catching up from the past 20 years will continue until
well after the sun sinks into the Gulf, and believe it or not "Sloppy Joe's" is literally a few steps away on the beach as an alternative to sitting outside by the pool and the sand. Since some of us aren't as young as we used to be, it wouldn't be surprising if all but a hard-core few headed off to bed, or perhaps toddled off to enjoy the "luxurious hot tub surrounded by lush greenery" or the pool or even the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The next day, everyone can spend some time relaxing in the sand, shopping at John's Pass Village,
or participating in a miniature golf "Mini-Elmo" (Mini-Mo?) event of which we've heard rumors. There is a trolley that goes up and down the coast, so you won't have to start up the car unless you really want to.

Oh, and one of the reasons why we picked the Thunderbird is because it is situated in a row of similar hotels next door to each other, offering more or less amenities, depending on how much you'd like to spend! For those looking for ever slightly more luxury, the newly-remodeled (and very yellow) Bilmar may be for you:

Bilmar Beach Resort
http;//www.bilmarbeachresort.com
(877) 834-0441
27°46'07.19"N 82°46'10.23"W

The cost of a room at the Thunderbird starts at about $115 per night, and in contrast the Bilmar starts at about $169. The Bilmar is south of the Thunderbird. To the north is the Best Western Treasure Island, and some of those rooms are more economical than even the Thunderbird:

Best Western - Treasure Island
http://www.seacastlesuites.com
1-800-441-8483
27°46'10.42"N 82°46'12.00"W

Moving further north is the Tahitian Resort, the most economical of all:

Tahitian Resort
http://www.tahitianresort.com
1-888-606-5209
27°46'11.38"N 82°46'13.32"W

So as you can see, we've provided several thousand room options for everyone that weekend. Saturday night (Seis de Mayo), we'd like to convene at a fairly classy restaurant up the coast called "Salt Rock Grill":

Salt Rock Grill
http://www.saltrockgrill.com
27°50'54.70"N 82°50'32.86"W

This will be a chance to enjoy some fine food and company whilst a fully-qualified wait staff provides splendid service and we try to remember just exactly what it was that happened to us that week in October of 1986. More food, more drinks, more fun. Back to the hotel: more hot tubbing, more pooling, or more beaching. Check out time won't be until Sunday morning. But the fun is not over yet!

For those of you that can't get away for more than a day for a picnic, Sunday is for you! The Treasure Island gang will strike their location, stow their gear, and take a short two hour road trip down I-4 to Orlando's Turkey Lake Park, where a picnic pavilion has been
reserved especially for us! Starting at about noon (give the travelers some time to make it from St. Pete -- but we're sure to arrive by, say, 2:00 PM), there will be tables and benches for anyone to bring their own picnic lunches -- plus there is a pool (with lifeguards) and
playgrounds for the kids. When the party-all-weekend folks meet with the one-day picnickers, it is sure to generate a critical mass that will perfectly climax the festivities, and make this the best Twentieth Anniversary Of Walt Disney World's Fifteenth Birthday Celebration Reunion ever!

So that's the plan. The only remaining bit of business is funding this little adventure. Some of the people we've been dealing with want money, of all things. The coffers are low since Poodle Jewelry lost the Sulfadene Company (ScratchEx) as a sponsor, and their last 8-track
release didn't do as well as expected on the charts. (It was an eye chart, too. Who knew?) So what we would like to try is for you to do is click here...

https://www.paypal.com/us/prq/id=1O4Ui-6HroQYjadVlJd3I7YMiaTwp6xOR6wVpg

...and use your PayPal account donate whatever you feel it might be worth to you. No donation is too large. Or, supposedly, too small...although PayPal is taking a cut off the top. We've set the default at $10 because it is a nice round number and makes the math easier. If
you don't have a PayPal account and don't want to mess with setting one up, we'll leave it to you to figure out how to ease your conscience and donate in a way that suits you but still gets the funds to us. We don't expect to get rich off of this plan, but maybe we can reduce the amount of our shirts that we lose in the end. All monies collected will go towards the reception grilling, the Mini-Mo, and the pavilion at Turkey Lake Park. If there is anything left over (unlikely) after we've bought three-inch steaks for the grill (also unlikely), gallons of Perrier (maybe Zephyrhills), and an inflatable jumping thing for the kids (not actually planned so don't get too excited), we'll use it for Stu's bail if it turns out he is stuck in some Tijuana jail. Seriously, we thank you for your support!

Have a good time, and start booking those rooms now! See you all in May...

Stu and the Committee (Laura, J.R., Melissa, Mark, Jefferson, and Grace)

Crew: JR, JD, Grace, Jefferson, Laura, Melissa & Mark

Photo taken by Stu