Even as the weakening economy was hammering rival media conglomerates over the last year, the Walt Disney Company reported surprisingly robust results across its theme parks, consumer products and television networks. Disney shares have fallen about 33 percent since May — a sharp drop, but one that looks almost respectable considering that shares in companies like CBS have plummeted more like 70 percent.

But Disney on Thursday reported a 13 percent decline in quarterly earnings on weakness in nearly every part of its empire. Movie earnings in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 27, plunged 42 percent because movies like "Swing Vote" and "Miracle at St. Anna" were virtually ignored at the box office. Advertising declines hurt two Disney properties, ABC and ESPN, leading to a 4 percent drop in income at the media networks unit.

Income at the theme parks dropped 4 percent because of lower bookings at Disneyland and higher costs at Walt Disney World. Over all, Disney reported net income of $760 million, or 40 cents a share, for the quarter, compared with $877 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. For 2008, net income dropped to $4.4 billion from $4.7 billion.

Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, and Thomas O. Staggs, Disney's chief financial officer, offered a bleak assessment of the impact of the global economic crisis on the company's business prospects. Phrases like "acute softness" and "a very, very challenging time" peppered their comments on a call with analysts.

"Even the best product out there is feeling the effect," Mr. Iger said.

Disney's theme parks, an $11.5 billion annual business, have been vulnerable in past downturns. This time, the company is emphasizing that it has learned to minimize damage by pulling promotional and cost-saving levers. The company also has built more discount hotels since the last slowdown, in 2001.

Attendance at Walt Disney World over the last month held up well — Mr. Iger said visits were down just 1 percent — but the company warned that "bookings in the last month have fallen off considerably." To improve bookings, the company on Thursday introduced hefty discounts, including free park tickets and three nights in a hotel for guests who book four-day vacations by the end of the year.

At the media networks unit, ABC is emerging as a trouble spot. The network climbed out of the ratings basement in 2004 on the backs of several hit dramas but has not introduced new hits, stalling growth in television DVD sales and syndication revenue.

ABC's audience in prime time has fallen about 20 percent among young adults this season compared with last. Notably, ABC's heavily promoted Wednesday, with "Private Practice," is on life support. (One bright spot is ABC News, which was No. 1 in viewers on election night.) ABC plans "numerous midseason programs," Mr. Iger said.

Los Angeles Times - The new pocket-sized "Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland" answers the question, "What would it be like to walk through Disneyland with Walt by your side?"

The 128-page paperback takes readers land by land through the Anaheim theme park, offering anecdotes, history and trivia from Disney Imagineers as well as early concept art, sketches and schematics of many rides and attractions.

"From a process standpoint, it offers a bit of a peek behind the curtain of how we turn concepts into reality," said Alex Wright, an Imagineer who gathered tales from his co-workers for the book. "In a way, there's no one person who can tell you all these different stories. We have so many different disciplines."

To research the book, Wright delved into the extensive Disney archives and toured the park with long-time Imagineers Tony Baxter and Kim Irvine. The hard part, Wright said, was deciding what to leave out.

"When it's Disneyland, there's always more to tell," Wright said. "You could have told another 1,000 stories with all the history that's gone on there."

The book starts off with a short overview of Imagineering's 140-plus disciplines and insider lingo (Blue Sky, Plussing, Wienie) before diving into a land-by-land tour.

Designed to be read in the park, the "field guide" attempts to strike a difficult balance between appealing to first-time Disneyland visitors as well as life-long fans. Leaning more to the fan boy side of the spectrum, I read the book hoping to learn something new. My favorite finds can be broken down into three categories — abandoned concepts, park trivia and odd facts. Among the early concepts:

• Walt envisioned live exotic animals roaming the banks of the Jungle Cruise.
• A runaway mine-car theme for Indiana Jones Adventure incorporating the Jungle Cruise boats and the Disneyland Railroad.
• A walk-through Pirates of the Caribbean wax museum — the water and boats weren't added until after construction started.
• A Casey Jr. Circus Train roller-coaster thrill ride — retooled within weeks of opening day into a gentle kiddie ride.

Among the trivia tidbits:

• The New Orleans Square train station depot taps out Morse code of Walt Disney's opening day dedication speech.
• The Latin motto on Mr. Toad's coat of arms reads: "Speeding with Toad is always absurd."
• Walt liked to take pre-opening morning drives in a Carnation milk truck along Main Street U.S.A.
• Steven Spielberg recorded the rumbles and clanking of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for the mine-car chase scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

And the truly odd:

• Uprooted orange trees were planted upside down during the construction phase of the Jungle Cruise to represent missing foliage.
• Walt gave his wife, Lilly, a petrified tree for their wedding anniversary. (She donated it to the theme park, where it still resides in Frontierland.)
• Visitors in the Star Tours queue may hear an intercom page for Egroeg Sacul (George Lucas backwards).

At the Arabian Coast, themed after the Disney animated film Aladdin, try the Caravan Carousel, a double-decker carousel that holds up to 190 people.

TTG Live - Theme parks offer a perfect solution for couples looking to add a little fairy dust to their nuptials with a totally one-off experience.

Disney Resorts has long offered special wedding and engagement packages at Walt Disney World in Florida; but it also offers similar romantic packages at Disneyland in California, although these are not sold by the main UK wedding operators.

Theme park weddings tend to appeal to couples who are younger or have children and they can cater admirably for such family occasions.

However, the vast choice of overseas wedding destinations means demand is not that high, particularly as they tend to cost more than the alternatives.

"In our experience, couples tend to go more for New York or the West Coast; most of the bookings we get for Disney weddings tend to be direct," said Kuoni specialist sales manager Sophie Parker.

However, Thomas Cook long-haul product manager Michael Thurston felt that the popularity of ceremonies at Disney's Florida park had been fuelled by the strength of the pound against the dollar in recent years, while Jo Dewhurst, Cosmos Dream Weddings co-ordinator, said Disney that weddings tended to appeal to couples who knew the Disney theme parks well.

Virgin Holidays product co-ordinator Carla Reed said there is an average spend of between £2,000 and £3,000 on the operator's Disney wedding packages.

Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World stands way above the other parks when it comes to the scope and scale of packages available for weddings and vow renewals. Couples can choose from a variety of locations, from the Italian village inside Epcot to outside Cinderella's Castle. The bride can arrive in style in Cinderella's carriage and Mickey and Minnie can even be special guests – although this option tends to be much less popular with British couples than with Americans. Couples can also marry on one of the Disney Cruise Line ships.

Sample prices

www.disneyweddings.go.com

Virgin Holidays offers a Disney Deluxe Escape Package from £2,489 per couple.

Cosmos offers a Disney Premium Escape wedding package for £2,395 per couple.

Kuoni offers a Disney Deluxe Intimate Wedding package for £1,788 per couple.

Universal Orlando

The Florida park does not offer wedding or honeymoon packages, but couples can marry at its three on-site hotels – the Loews Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific or Hard Rock, which treats couples like "rock stars."

www.universalorlando.com

Futuroscope

This French theme park arranges private ceremonies, with photos taken in the park and receptions in one of the on-site restaurants where entertainment can be arranged. Depending on the restaurant chosen and the number of guests, costs will vary, but the last wedding came to more than €20,000. It holds only around one or two weddings a year and, to date, no British couples have married there.

www.futuroscope.com

Discovery Cove

Famous for giving visitors the chance to swim with dolphins and interact with other sea creatures, this Florida park arranges vow renewals on request. It is also planning to launch special wedding packages, but plans are in the early stages.

Sponsored Black Cabs treat sick kids to Disney trip

London Turkish Gazette - Around 100 Black taxi-cabs, including 10 sponsored by a Turkish firm, took a number of children with life-threatening illnesses to Disneyland Paris recently for three day treat of a lifetime.

Universal Claims and proprietor of the company Serdar Sari were proud to sponsor 10 of their cabs for the trip for sick youngsters last month, called the Magical Taxi Tour.

Mr Sari said "We are proud to have been involved with this project and our `Black cabs were at the forefront of the convoy to Paris. To be able to help give these sick children a mini-holiday to remember is very special."

Setting out from Canary Wharf, the fleet of taxis made their way to Disneyland Paris where the children enjoyed fun and festivities at the theme park.

The trip was completely sponsored with all expenses paid by companies.

As a bonus, Lucci, longtime star of ABC's All My Children, is scheduled to dance -- with her DWTS partner Tony Dovoloni -- for the fans after her Saturday noontime motorcade. She's nothing if not a trouper.

The park was so crowded the family spent all day waiting in winding lines and managed to get on only five or six rides, a fact that Birmingham, Ala., author Bob Sehlinger, who made that trip, called "annoying beyond description."

After he returned home, Sehlinger decided to use his background in operations and research to see if he could collect visitor data and work out models to help families visiting Disneyland to avoid the pitfalls that ruined his dream vacation.

The result was a book called "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland," an effort that spawned many other similar titles on popular destinations.

After recently taking two of my grandsons to Disneyland on a weekday during the second week of September where we were able to walk on to most rides and only the submarine ride had a lengthy line, I wondered if we had picked an optimal time of year to visit the happiest place on earth.

It turned out we had.

"Avoid the summer and holiday periods," recommended Sehlinger, who said the advice works for both Disneyland and Disney World in Florida. "The lowest crowds of the year can be found during the period between Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday and November leading up to Thanksgiving."

Other good times to visit are February, March and April before southern California schools begin having Disneyland days in the spring, "Determine the best time by following the school calendar," said Sehlinger. "If school is out or there is a major holiday, it will be crowded. Since Disneyland is southern California's own theme park, there will be an off period more on weekends than on weekdays."

Gerdi Scheffler, of Salt Lake City-based Great Basin Travel, tells her clients to avoid visiting Disneyland in summer if at all possible. Holiday periods such as Christmas or any three-day weekend are particularly bad. She also recommended checking the Anaheim Orange County Visitors and Convention Bureau to see if any major conventions are in town that could draw large crowds to the park.

"The second half of September and the month of October except during the UEA (Utah Education Association) holiday is a great time to go," said Scheffler. "The weather is obviously nice. I would think the last part of April and first 10 days in May were times I would pick to go and there is also the end of January but the weather might be questionable. Spring break is horrendous."

The downside of visiting the park during a slow period is that hours are shorter and some major attractions are closed for renovation or in preparation for an upcoming holiday. For example, in September, the Haunted House was dark as workers readied it for Halloween celebrations and Small World was closed for a major renovation.

Small World, which will open in a few weeks for a Christmas show, was closed for much of this year. It will be dark for most of January and then open with a revised and newly improved display.

Disneyland spokesman John McClintock said the busiest seasons at the park are between Christmas and New Years and when school is out in July and August. Weekdays after Thanksgiving and before Christmas are an ideal time to visit, especially since all the Christmas decorations and entertainment are up and running.

Also, in order to cut down on staffing, some major rides do not operate with all the trains or cars running when the park is not crowded.

McClintock said January and February are usually good months to visit, though the park does offer special discounts to southern California residents that can bring some crowds.

Sehlinger said picking a day of the week to visit is tricky, largely because Disney offers early entry programs some days to those staying at its hotel properties. He said travelers with flexibility who aren't staying at a hotel with those privileges should avoid those "morning magic" days.

"People at Disney understand that when the park is crowded, it is not good for first time visitors," said Sehlinger. "So they lay out more live events like concerts and parades during the holiday period.

Because Disneyland is comparatively small compared to Disney World, you feel the impact of the crowds."

With governments in developing countries focusing on promoting tourism and entertainment, the upcoming years are expected to witness growth in attendance and per capita spending on theme parks in countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and China. Growth in attendance is also expected to stem from entertainment-related technology development and sophistication, which help offer visitors cutting-edge amusement, and fun.

Future growth will stand enthused by the numerous advancements made in entertainment technologies such as real life simulations, virtual reality, and high quality visual imagery, among others. Examples of innovative simulations include intergalactic space races, runaway sports cars in the Italian Alps, river rafting in New Zealand, and aquariums with acrylic tunnel concepts involving underwater rides with a scuba diver's view. While the United States dominates the world theme parks market, Asia-Pacific is expected to drive future growth, followed by Eastern Europe, and Middle East. Rationale for growth in the developing countries is the anticipated rise in tourism, and a parallel rise in the number of foreign tourists visiting these destinations. Other factors expected to impact the market include spike in aging population, persistent park modernization and continuous improvements in facilities, and services provided. Player-knit strategies, which are designed to magnetize visitors, and increase repeat visitations, include providing clear and green parks, and easy online ticketing, among others. The concept of indoor theme parks combined with retail shopping centers is expected to help the market score huge gains in the upcoming years. Examples of this type of theme parks include Mall of America located in Minneapolis USA, Lotte World in South Korea, and West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

As stated by the recent report published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., world theme parks market is dominated by the United States with a share of over 50% estimated in the year 2008. Emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, and Middle East/Africa are expected to offer the highest potential for growth. Theme parks market in Latin America is expected to rise by US$53.2 million between the period 2008 to 2012. In Europe, Germany, France and United Kingdom, together, collar close to 62% of the market. Revenues in the Russian theme parks market are projected to reach US$154.4 million by the year 2015.

Leading theme parks worldwide include The Adventuredome, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Busch Gardens Europe, Cedar Fair L.P., Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Samsung Everland Inc, Islands of Adventure, Lotte World, Magic Kingdom, Six Flags Inc, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Disneysea, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, among others.

The report, titled "Theme Parks: A Global Strategic Business Report" published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of the market trends, drivers, issues, and challenges. Richly annotated with authoritative, and unbiased commentaries, and hard-to-find statistical facts, the report provides unequivocal views on future potential while throwing light on the prevailing climate in key regional markets. Latent revenue generating potential of theme parks is quantified across major geographic market verticals including the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia, Asia-Pacific, Middle East/Africa and Latin America. Also provided in the report is an enumeration of recent mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic industry activities.

Ahern taught at BYU for a year, after retiring from nearly 50 years working in an illustrious animation career.

Kelly Loosli, director of curriculum for the animation program at BYU, said Ahern was an amazing person. He said while John taught here he gave students the perspective that an animation career is possible.

"Students liked him so much because John liked to reminisce," Loosli said. "His stories were absolutely fantastic." He said Ahern personally knew Walt Disney and animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who started the animation studio Hanna-Barbera.

"Students loved those things," Loosli said, of the stories Ahern told. "John wasn't a name-dropper, he just talked about these people like he was talking about his neighbor. He knew all these people that, for many of us, are our idols."

He started at The Walt Disney Company in 1955. There he worked on classics such as "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmatians," "The Jungle Book," "The Sword in the Stone" and "The AristoCats." He also helped with designs for Walt Disney's first theme park, Disneyland.

Ahern also worked at Hanna-Barbera, where he headed production aspects of 14 different television shows including "The Flintstones," "Scooby Doo" and "Tom and Jerry."

In his memorable career he earned many awards, including an Emmy for the production of "Muppet Babies."

Grenade Curran, Ahern's cousin, started working with him at The Walt Disney Company on live action films. He said to have Ahern come to teach animation classes at BYU was really something.

"John recognized good drawing and talent in people," Curran said. "That's why he did so well with the students, always emphasizing to any 'learn to draw.' If you want to go into the art field, learn to draw."

Curran said one of Ahern's greatest traits was his tremendous sense of humor and ability to recognize comedy situations in everyday life, which helped with his career.

"A lot of artists going into a field can be a tremendous artist with no personality," Curran said. "John was able to have creative design and understand humor. This helped him design characters such as Templeton the Rat in 'Charlotte's Web' and the dog on 'Scooby Doo.'"

In a recently published article in The Daily Universe, Ahern was interviewed about the success of the animation program at BYU.

"They're doing some interesting things, and I think it's on the verge of doing very well," Ahern said. "When they get through, I think BYU will be the number one animation school in the world."

Curran said many of the awards BYU has won are because of things Ahern instituted while teaching at BYU.

Disney is stirring up all this fairy dust to expand its existing Disney Fairies consumer products line, which launched in September 2005, into a brand to rival its $4 billion Princess franchise. Disney is also hoping that its Princess customers, girls ages 3 to 5, will graduate to Fairies, which targets girls 6 to 9.

Scoring $800 million in retail sales in 2007, Fairies is already off to a good start, and the current multimedia push may be just what the property needs: First-day sales of the Tinker Bell DVD totaled 668,000 copies.

"They'd like [Fairies] to be their hot thing," says Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz. "It is a little bit of a crap shoot: You're trying to re-brand and market something that already exists." Creutz is concerned that Fairies won't capture the "cultural appeal" of Disney's other properties but concedes the company has picked a sound strategy.

The Fairy initiative, however, is not likely to help Disney in fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30. The Burbank, Calif.-based company will report fourth-quarter and year-end earnings on Thursday. The consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimates that Disney will report fourth-quarter net income of $952 million, or 49 cents per share, on revenues of $9 billion. For the full year, analysts expect Disney to report net income of $4.5 billion, or $2.32 per share, on revenues of $37.7 billion.

Of far bigger concern for Disney than fairies, says Creutz, is the impact that the downturn in consumer spending will have on the company's theme park business. Historically, tight wallets have had a negative impact on the parks sector, which accounts for almost a quarter of Disney's revenues. Disney likely will also be hit across its television networks by the downturn in advertising spending. Plus, says Creutz, the company will have a difficult time topping 2008's theatrical line up.

"We prepare them for the election as though they were going to vote, talking to them about issues like national security, the economy and education," Gomez said. "When I thought about the fact that I'd be voting in two years I freaked. I wanted to prepare myself. What's awesome is I can get other kids involved as well."

During some rare free time, Gomez talked about being in the limelight, the first time she got recognized in public, and the one thing she likes to do all by herself.

Recently, I have not. I'm actually very, very proud of myself. Honestly, the blog sites and everything -- I'd be on them nonstop. I've gone four weeks total without looking at them and I'm very proud and very happy. I was addicted. It was bad.

Regardless how much someone says, 'I don't believe what they say,' people do. I'm a person, and I have feelings. I love what I do, and I want to do this the rest of my life, but I do not want it to run my life.

Unfortunately, sometimes [celebrities] let the media control their life. I've seen that happen. It's not fun for me.

I actually got recognized for being on 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.' I was 13, and I only did one episode and had maybe seven lines total, and this little girl recognized me and I thought it was the weirdest thing. I remember back then my signature was totally like my full name and I took my time to write it all out. Now, I can't even understand what I write when I sign autographs.

I spent $200 on a phone. Made me nauseous. But I really wanted it. It was a present for someone.

That I'm able to use my voice for good. That I am able to use my status to my advantage.

Rachel McAdams. I absolutely look up to her in every way possible because she's made so many wonderful decisions. I think it's wonderful that she spreads herself out. You notice that she reinvents herself in every character that she portrays. You don't see her playing one role over and over.

Thinking about home. I'm from Texas, and I don't get to go home often. I miss the normality and also that it's not so populated. I'm from a small town, and I still love going home and being able to drive at 7 in the morning and there not be any traffic. And I miss my family. They're the reason I am the person I am today.

"You're Not Sorry" by Taylor Swift.

The first movie I remember seeing was "Alice in Wonderland." That and "The Wizard of Oz" are the reason I wanted to be actress. Judy Garland was my role model when I was like 6.

"Cry" by Mandy Moore. I loved "A Walk to Remember." I had such a huge crush on Shane West. So I was obsessed and [the soundtrack songs] "Only Hope" and "Cry" were my jams.

I love oil painting. It's a bummer I don't get to do it as much as I'd like. I love to paint when I'm back home.

That the press wasn't so important. I think a lot of celebrities would agree with me on that. Or that they'd focus on all the great things in people's lives rather than all the unimportant or bad things.

Given the existing popularity of the brand, Disney could have easily slapped together low-budget graphics and a feeble, ad-festooned web interface, put the "Fairies" label on it and still made megabucks. Instead, the colorful and engaging "Pixie Hollow" online play space, with its lush floral fantasy backdrop and sonorous orchestral background music, puts to shame its much more overtly opportunistic competition. In a climate where virtual worlds are widely viewed as another hot brand extension tactic, "Pixie Hollow" can fly on its own two wings.

Kids first create, customize and name their fairy avatar from a dizzying array of options, like hairstyles and colors and a broad swath of fairy-appropriate fashion choices including leaf skirts and flower-petal tops. While there are no boy fairies -- this is squarely a girl's world -- the sheer number of options guarantees that no two fairies will look alike. Things are already off to an auspicious start: Disney unveiled the character creation tool solo several months ago and already has more than 7.5 million user-designed fairies.

"Pixie Hollow" loosely follows the "Club Penguin" layout style that distributes minigame spots across several interconnected areas. Most of the games are engaging and original, not just old casual games re-skinned with "Fairies" trappings. Players have to build a spider web to guide a dewdrop, for instance, or loop together airborne flower petals to collect them. They're all simple enough for little hands, but feature gradually increasing difficulty levels for older players.

Social elements in "Pixie Hollow" are minimal, thanks to a rigorous filtering system that prevents kids from cursing or sharing personal information, and basically encourages them to speak only in pre-approved phrases such as "Tinker-talents are great!" Kids can add other fairies they meet in "Pixie Hollow" to a buddy list, but they will probably do so more for the rewards given for collecting friends than the minimal opportunities for interpersonal relationships.

Continuing "Pixie Hollow's" theme of personalization, the prizes for most minigames and other activities are things like flowers, leaves and seeds that can be used to create or purchase additional clothing items or furniture for a fairy's home hollow. Nonpaying users can traverse the world, chat with other fairies and play games, but only paying subscribers can participate in the shopping and crafting. While there's plenty of fun to be had for free, Disney has reserved the best rewards for those who convince Mom and Dad to hand over a credit card.

Of course, the currency system still means that kids will end up repeating the minigames not necessarily out of sheer enjoyment, but to earn enough pumpkin seeds to buy that cornsilk bedspread or those pricey saffron shoes. A recent in-world event to celebrate the release of the "Tinkerbell" direct-to-DVD movie, for instance, was basically just a way for players to earn prodigious amounts of dandelion fluff they can use to craft new items.

Under the tie-up, Disney would bring on-board its kids program, Little Wings, a company press release said here.

Kingfisher Airlines has introduced a slew of activities to keep its young guests occupied and entertained on-board with a specially designed in-flight activity magazine, in-flight entertainment and special Disney give-aways, it said.

Disney Kids, a comprehensive children's magazine would be made available to Kingfisher Airlines' young guests, aged between 0-14 years, on all its scheduled flights, the release said.

"We believe that children are valuable guests. Keeping that in mind and to ensure that our young guests have an exciting and enjoyable flight, we have introduced 'Little Wings' in association with Disney Publishing on-board to cater exclusively to our young guests," Kingfisher's Head-Marketing, Vikram Malhotra, said in the release.

Overall sales were hampered by Halloween distractions on Friday. "High School Musical 3," for example, ranked at No. 5 that day, but it rebounded strongly on Saturday, and Sunday business was expected to remain brisk. In all, Walt Disney Co's teen-oriented musical earned about $15 million for the three-day period, taking its 10-day haul to $61.75 million.

Additionally, the latest installment in the song-and-dance franchise earned $26 million from No. 1 holds in each of its 26 international markets, Disney said; its foreign total rose to $85 million.

There will "very likely" be a sequel, but the format and cast have not been decided yet, said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group.

"High School Musical 3," and its pair of preceding TV movies, made teen idols out of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. The films were directed by "Dirty Dancing" choreographer Kenny Ortega.

AGGRESSIVE "PORNO"

"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" followed with $10.7 million, said closely held distributor Weinstein Co. Other studios, however, said that estimate was at least $1 million too high.

"There's no question that we're being a little bit aggressive," said Weinstein Co. distribution chairman Steve Bunnell, referring to the studio's estimate of Sunday sales. Final data will be issued on Monday.

Either way, the opening represented a considerable drop from those of star Seth Rogen's previous two comedy vehicles, the summer hit "Pineapple Express" ($23.2 million) and last year's "Knocked Up" ($30.7 million).

Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play cash-strapped roommates who test their platonic friendship by making a porn movie to pay off their bills. It was directed by Kevin Smith.

The horror film "Saw V" fell one place to No. 3 with $10.1 million, taking its 10-day haul to $45.8 million. The lucrative franchise was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

"Changeling," the latest Oscar hopeful from director Clint Eastwood and actress Angelina Jolie, jumped 16 places to No. 4 with $9.4 million in its first weekend of wide release,

The fact-based drama set in 1920s Los Angeles played to an audience comprised mostly of women over 30, said Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal Inc. Including its haul from a limited opening last weekend in nine markets, the total stands at $10.1 million.

Ever since "Changeling" made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Oscar buzz has been circling the picture. Jolie earned plaudits for her role as a single mother who battles the city's power structure after her son disappears. The high-profile actress generated similar awards buzz last year with "A Mighty Heart," but that film bombed and Oscar voters ignored it.

Eastwood, 78, has been on a creative roll since 2003. His four films, beginning with that year's "Mystic River," generated 19 Oscar nominations and seven wins. He is gearing up to release another film, "Gran Torino," on December 17. In addition to directing, he also stars in that picture, his first acting gig since 2004's "Million Dollar Baby."

A motorcycle rider in the Lights, Motors, Action! Stunt Show was hurt during a performance Sunday afternoon at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

One of them will get to address visitors each day in the theme park once the animatronic attraction undergoes a renovation.

To make room for a new, robotic version of the 44th president of the United States, Disney will close the 37-year-old Hall of Presidents after today for an extended refurbishment. The show will stay shuttered for more than eight months so Disney can update the hall's aging light, sound, mechanical, projection and show systems, just as the company has done in recent years with other "classic" Magic Kingdom attractions such as It's A Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

"We're about to get a new president. And so, since we have to shut down the show anyway to welcome No. 44, we're going to take the opportunity to . . . refurbish the attractions and the facility and also kind of wave the magic wand around a little bit," said Pam Fisher, senior show writer for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Updating a '70s show

First envisioned by Walt Disney in the early 1960s, the show premiered when the Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. In an auditorium, visitors view a 10-minute, panoramic film of American history. The film projects, onto five screens, narrated images of paintings produced by Disney artists in the styles of American masters, from John Trumbull to Norman Rockwell. When the film ends and the screens rise, people see a large stage where life-size, robotic figures of every U.S. president are grouped, standing or sitting, for a roll call and a couple of speeches.

The show has always featured a speech by the Lincoln figure. In the 1990s, Disney began adding a second speech by the current president. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush recorded their addresses, and Disney hopes to entice the next president to do the same.

"We'll do everything in our power to make it so," Fisher said. "We've been really lucky so far. It is quite an experience to arrive in the White House and actually be present when the president records his speech for the Hall of Presidents."

When the show reopens next year July 4, a third figure, George Washington, will also be given a speaking part.

Like many Disney theme-park attractions dating from the 1950s through the early '70s, the Hall of Presidents' artwork was created by renowned Disney artists such as Herb Ryman, Sam McKim and John DeCuir. The 70mm film projectors will be replaced with digital-video projection systems, which should give the presentation fresh boldness and clarity, Fisher said.

All of the presidents' faces were sculpted by Disney artist Blaine Gibson. But he's 90 years old and, though he remains involved, he is handing off the job of sculpting the 44th president to prot�g� Valerie Edwards.

Better view of presidents

The attraction's technology upgrades should improve the view of Gibson's (and Edwards') work as well. As the narrator introduces each president, a spotlight shines briefly on that figure, which waves or nods. But the presidents are randomly arranged, the introductions pass quickly, and the spotlights flit about, so some viewers have a hard time following the progression. With LED lighting, 21st-century controls and a longer spotlight for each president, it should become easier for the audience to tell John Tyler from James K. Polk.

Tinker Bell One, a specially decorated Boeing 737, was scheduled Friday to start flights to Tampa International Airport and other airports during the next month and beyond.

Flight attendants will wear wings a la Tinker Bell and award prizes to passengers who can answer trivia questions about Disney's classic character from the animated film "Peter Pan."

While it's not really about powering airliners, the collaboration between Southwest and Walt Disney Co. is designed to promote the "Tinker Bell" DVD released Monday by Disney. U.S. and Canadian Disney fans bought 668,000 copies of the computer-animated film on its first day of release, about 22 percent above projections, The New York Times reported.

Sales at many Target stores were double the forecast, and the movie easily moved 1 million copies by Wednesday, The New York Times said.

The DVD release is a Disney effort to push its "Fairies" business into a franchise similar to its "Princesses" franchise built around Snow White and Cinderella videos and merchandise.

A surge in Disney merchandising based on the "Tinker Bell" DVD release is in the works.

As for Southwest, spokeswoman Ashley Rogers said Tinker Bell is not permanent livery on the aircraft, which will be assigned various routes throughout the system.

Mickey and friends will present their first live show in their new Indian avatar. One can book tickets at: http://www.bookmyshow.com/disney. There are nine shows (3 shows per day) in Delhi at Siri Fort Auditorium from 4 to 6 November. The show will then come to Mumbai in the later part of November.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse made their first appearance in traditional Indian attire at the Taj Mahal in Agra yesterday.

The world's favorite family entertainer performs live for Indian audiences with his friends Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto and his sweetheart Minnie Mouse to fill the auditorium with music, laughter and his fun-filled verve.

Mahesh Samat, country head, Walt Disney Company (India) said, ''We continue to build relevance and reach in the country through our loved characters and stories in our vision to build a family entertainment company in India. We are happy to celebrate this festival season with a special treat for Disney fans - The Mickey Mouse show, live on stage.''

With more than 10,000 Disney-inspired items available throughout Kmart stores and several thousands on kmart.com/disney, moms, grandparents and siblings alike will be able to find the gifts kids want most, featuring favorite Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, and characters from the Disney-Pixar film Cars, as well as products inspired by Disney Channel hits Hannah Montana(TM) and High School Musical.

Kmart offers many sought-after Disney products, including the Handy Manny Fix-It-Right Transforming Tool Truck which has been singled out as a top pick in TimeToPlayMag.com's "Editor's Picks," and the Toy Insider's "Hot 20," as well as High School Musical 3: Senior Year Singing Dolls and the stunning Hannah Montana Holiday Doll. Several Disney products are combined with exclusive Kmart promotional offers throughout the holiday season. Recent offers found only at Kmart included:

- Free Sleeping Beauty Teapot Play Set ($14.99 value) when customers buy Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty DVD or Blu-Ray and Mattel Magic Fairy Lights Sleeping Beauty Doll ($14.99 value; while supplies last).

- First-ever Disney Pixar Cars-themed collector event - perfect for young kids starting their very own collection.

- Save $10 instantly when customers buy Tinker Bell Disney on DVD ($19.99) or Blu-ray and Tinker Bell 15" doll (sale price $12.99). Many more Disney products and offers across multiple Disney characters will be featured in the Nov. 2 Kmart circular.