Shhh... don't tell Emperor Zurg, but Disney has found a source of new power. But this new source of power is no secret. In fact, it's as plain as day.
The Walt Disney World Resort announced that it has put its new 270-acre solar facility online, which eventually will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of two of the resort's four theme parks. Here is a look at the solar farm's construction, courtesy Disney.
Disney previously installed a 22-acre solar facility in the familiar Mickey Mouse shape that got a lot of attention for that design. But those solar panels, which opened in 2016, generate just a tenth of the power that this new facility can generate. The Walt Disney Company has set a goal to halve its 2012 corporate emissions level by next year.
Personally, I think I could have helped Disney get a long way toward that goal if I'd just been wearing solar panels while I was waiting in all those sun-scorched theme park queues at a variety of parks over the years. I wonder how many potential watts of power I could have generated... that just ended up burning my skin instead.
(Thinksport 50+ is my new best friend, BTW. And it's reef safe, too.)
Hmmm, maybe that's not a bad topic for discussion. What notorious sun-baked location in a theme park would be your choice for the perfect location for a new set of energy-generating solar panels?
TweetThat Disney hasn't at least planned to install this on the "Mickey's Enemies"* parking garage expansion at Disneyland frustrates me to no end.
*As for the name, if the current garage is "Mickey and Friends," and the new garage is something else, then they can't be Mickey or his friends, right? Therefore, the "Mickey's Enemies" garage.
Yes, I think waaaaaay too much about this stuff.
Doesn't the City of Anaheim have some control Mickey & Friends? Many schools in S. Cal have solar panels above their parking lots, so I expect these will become more common. Glad to hear of the increase in solar power at WDW!
They could just be Mickey's acquaintances, maybe he doesn't know them well enough to consider them friends. Or he could be ambivalent towards them. Too much synergy within the company to consider that he might not know them at all, though.
If Legoland Florida can install solar panels in their parking lot which provide shade for the cars parked there, surely not only Disney but Universal can do the same at their theme parks on both coasts, you'd think?
I love this! While renewable energy technology has been around for a long time, it’s been out of the price range of the average citizen. The more businesses and private citizens that utilize renewable energy will drive the price down and make it more affordable for all.
How very EPCOTesque! This is renewable energy's answer to Broadway's 'Hamilton.' It's essentially WDW's seventh theme park.
And on, and on, and on ...
(Chuckle)
Only 22 acres of trees cut to save the environment while Lego-Land Florida has put them above their parking lot. Oh Disney...
Wouldn't it fit perfectly into the theme of Epcot to have solar panels on every possible square inch of space they could put them? On every building roof (at least in Future World), over every outdoor queue (in lieu of mesh shades), over every parking space, in place of umbrellas over every outdoor table...
"Mickey & Acquaintances" for the WIN. No disrespect to the idea of doing a villains lot as I think Robert may have been suggesting, but I think the idea of a lot named for more
obscure characters would be a lot more funny.
Here are my suggestions: Maggie (Home on the Range), Thunderclap (The Good Dinosaur), Rutt (Brother Bear), Fflewddur Fflam (The Black Cauldron - funniest because nobody would ever say it correctly), Georgette (Oliver & Co.), Townsperson (Beauty and the Beast, Specifically the one who asks "How is your family?").
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Well, this is an easy answer - OVER THE PARKING LOTS! I don't have a lot of good things to say about Wal*Mart, but the location near my home recently covered the lot with solar panels. I have no idea how much energy they generate, but it makes parking a pleasure.
Think how great it would be to go back to the car after a day in the parks in FL to a car that had been in the shade!
Even the top level at Mickey and Friends at Disneyland should get this.