Disneyland

Alaska’s new Disney livery

(Photo by Ingrid Barrentine, courtesy Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines’ new ‘Mickey’s Toontown’-themed plane

Sure, it’s essentially an ad. But Alaska Airlines’ new Mickey’s Toontown Express livery is charming. And will be fun to spot landing or taking off at an airport near you.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, with tail number 565AS, has fun images of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, along with their friends Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck in Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland Park.

It’s Alaska Airlines’ eighth livery in collaboration with Disneyland Resort and took artists over 400 hours and 20 days to hand-paint the brightly colored aircraft exterior from nose to tail.

Alaska Airlines’ new Star Wars-themed airplane

 Alaska Airlines made good use of May the Fourth – Star Wars Day – to unveil a new Star Wars-themed aircraft.

The plane has the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters and is a tie-in with Star WarsGalaxy’s Edge, the newest land of adventure at Disneyland park.

The plane, with a tail number of N538AS, has the Star WarsGalaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Resort logos in the center of the fuselage. And you’ll see porgs, the cute avian creatures that lived on Luke Skywalker’s remote island, on both winglets. Another porg is at the boarding door.

Here’s a cool video showing the plane being painted.

To make this happen, it took 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days.

(All photos and video courtesy Alaska Airlines)

Free hotel stay – if your names are Will and Kate

Sadly for the Red Lion Hotel Anaheim, which is a mouse’s whisker away from Disneyland, Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton will not be visiting the Magic Kingdom during their California stopover.

But if you’re married and your names are William and Kate, you’re in luck: you can get a free three-night stay at the hotel during July or August.

There are, of course, some eligibility rules you’ll have to meet. Among them: you’ll need an ID showing that your first names (not middle, second, third or last) are William and Kate or Catherine. (Exact spellings required) and a valid U.S. marriage certificate.

You can see all the rules here.

Watch out for flying turkeys

If you’re passing through Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) tomorrow, keep an eye out for turkeys.

Feathered ones.

On Wednesday (if news is slow), President Bush is scheduled to pardon a turkey presented to him by the National Turkey Federation. It’s a tradition that some folks believe dates back to the days of Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy or Ronald Reagan, but according to the folks at Snopes.com, it was actually the current president’s father, George H.W. Bush, who was the first president to officially pardon the official turkey – and it’s back-up.

This year the pardoned birds not only get to live, but they will be flown, first class, on United Airlines’ Turkey-1, from Washington’s Dulles Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. The lucky turkeys will then get whisked over to the Disneyland Resort, where they will presumably live happily ever after.