[Missouri-l] [leadership] convention release: Disney's Epcot

[peter altschul]

For Immediate Release



Contact:

Carla Ruschival, Chair, ACB Convention Committee

148 Vernon Ave.

Louisville, KY 40206

Phone: (502) 897-1472 or (502) 303-7042 (cell)

E-mail: adamcarla at bellsouth.net



American Council of the Blind Conventioneers to Visit Disney's 
Epcot Theme
Park



ORLANDO, June 22 -- According to Carla Ruschival, Chair, American 
Council of
the Blind's (ACB) Convention Committee, Disney has invited ACB to
participate in a focus group on Thursday, July 9, during 
convention week.
The focus group will be working with the new audio-description 
device being
used by Disney in its theme parks to assist its guests with 
visual and/or
hearing disabilities.



The group of ACB conventioneers will leave the hotel for the 
Epcot theme
park shortly after 12:30 Thursday, July 9.  The time at the park 
will be
very structured, and the group will be expected to attend every 
activity
under the direction of Disney.  Following each activity, the 
group will
discuss the audio description used, giving feedback and 
suggestions for any
needed change, improvement, etc.  If any time is left after all 
of the focus
group's structured activities are completed, and before the park 
closes, the
participants will be welcome to use that time as they wish.



"We are very excited to be able to assist Disney in this project, 
and we
know that ACB participants will provide great feedback and 
suggestions as
they move forward with this innovative project," stated 
Ruschival.



Greg Hale, Worldwide Safety and Accessibility, Walt Disney Parks 
and
Resorts, said: "Disney engineers have worked for years to make 
the magic of
Disney come alive for guests with hearing and/or visual 
disabilities.  The HP
iPAQ PDA was clearly the right platform for the assistive device 
we wanted
to build.  Collaborating with HP and Softeq made our vision a 
spectacularly
successful reality."



Rick Morin, a blind managing director for HP, stated: "I used the
'Attraction Description Device' during April break.  I've been 
going to Walt
Disney World since 1977.  With attraction description, I was able 
to see,
from the audio descriptions, details that I never knew were 
there.  I've
ridden the Haunted Mansion dozens of times and I saw certain 
details that my
wife never noticed.  It was a very liberating feeling."



According to the Orlando & Orange County Convention and Visitors 
Bureau, an
estimated $2,960,300 will be injected into the greater Orlando 
economy
thanks to the ACB convention, which is being held at the Rosen 
Centre July
3-11.  In addition to the Rosen Centre and Disney World, many 
other
businesses will also greatly benefit from the ACB convention.



According to Ruschival, "More than 2,000 blind and visually 
impaired people
are expected to attend the convention.  Our ACB members spend 
money in
numerous local restaurants, transportation services, and tours."  
Thus, "the
convention injects much-needed money into the entire greater 
Orlando
economy," stated Dr.  Ron Milliman, Professor of Marketing and 
Chair of the
ACB's Public Relations Committee.



The American Council of the Blind is a national membership 
organization.
Its members are blind, visually impaired, and fully sighted 
individuals who
are concerned about the dignity and well-being of blind people 
throughout
the nation.



Formed in 1961, the ACB is one of the largest organization of 
blind people
in the world, with more than 70 state and special-interest 
affiliates and a
nationwide network of chapters and members spanning the globe.



For more information about the American Council of the Blind or 
the
convention, contact: Melanie Brunson, Executive Director, 
American Council
of the Blind, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 650, Arlington, VA 22201; 
phone (202)
467-5081 or (800) 424-8666; or visit the web site, www.acb.org.