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| MickeyXtreme's News Archive October 1-7 2006 | ||
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Saturday October 7, 2006 |
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The 12-year-old boy who died after riding a Walt Disney
World roller coaster in June had a genetic heart defect that
often goes undetected until it causes the person's sudden
death.
The final report on the autopsy of Michael Russell, of Fort Campbell, Ky., found he had a genetic heart disease that included an abnormal aortic valve, according to the report released today by the Office of the Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola counties. While on vacation at Disney World with his family, Michael came off the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM Studios unconscious and in ventricular fibrillation -- a condition where the heart quivers but fails to pump any blood. Efforts by his father, Byron Russell, and paramedics to revive him did not succeed, and he died. Sheri Blanton, spokeswoman for the medical examiner, said the autopsy found that the aortic valve in Michael's heart aortic valves had only two flaps instead of three. There also was evidence of a narrowing of the aorta. He was born with the problems. Such defects, which frequently go unnoticed until an autopsy, can cause heart failure "at any moment," she said. Dr. Sara Irrgang, associate medical examiner, performed the autopsy with consultation from Dr. Saroja?nBharati of the Heart Institute for Children in Chicago. "As noted by the heart consultant, this is often an asymptomatic condition, with sudden death as the first presentation of the disease," Irrgang wrote in her report. |
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Disney Channel renewed preschool series Charlie and
Lola for a third season, ordering 13 shows (comprising
two 11-minute segments) and a Halloween special from
London-based Tiger Aspect Productions.
Based on the award-winning children’s-book series of the same name by Lauren Child, the show depicts considerate seven-year-old brother Charlie, who endures and helps his feisty yet endearing sister, Lola, work her way through preschool challenges like cleaning her room and making friends. The episodes are presented via two-dimensional digital animation combined with paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photo-montage and archive footage. Airing on Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney preschool programming block, the series through its first seven installments averaged a 3.2 rating among kids 2-5, translating into 395,000 of those watchers for all airings (since the second season began May 1-Oct. 1). That compares with a 2.7 mark and 237,000 kids 2-5 for its first season. The six remaining second-season episodes will premiere into 2007, according to a network spokeswoman. A schedule for the third season had not been determined by press time. |
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Disney attraction is one of the last
bastions for imagination and play, and turns kids on to Mark
Twain.
FOR 130 YEARS, TOM SAWYER has been among the
best-known characters in American literature. For 50 of
those years, he's also had his very own island at
Disneyland, one of the few attractions there designed by
Walt Disney himself. But he can't match the movie-star
appeal of a rubber-spine pirate named Jack Sparrow.
Disney officials are reportedly considering a makeover for Tom Sawyer Island, which has been part of Disneyland almost since its opening in 1955. The park may spend $28 million to turn the attraction into a pirate-themed island in time for the third installment of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie series. Disney officials neither confirm nor deny the rumors. For what's it's worth, we hope it isn't so — and not just because we're nostalgic about the hordes of make-believe invaders we repelled at Ft. Wilderness, or the furtive teenage make out sessions we had in the dark recesses of Injun Joe's Cave. Change is OK, even if it means our kids will have different memories than we do of the Magic Kingdom. Disney is wise to update some of its attractions to make them more fun and relevant for today's children. Further, though the rumors have sparked a considerable outcry on the Internet, it's unlikely that the Imagineers would be foolish enough to change the main things that make Tom Sawyer Island a kind of oasis. The island is one of the few places in the park dedicated solely to imagination and play, rather than turning kids into passive spectators or strapped-in coasternauts. Take a quiet raft ride to the island and the energy changes from manic to manageable, from wild to mild. What they might change is the overall theme, and that's a shame. It is undoubtedly true that most kids who take the Becky Thatcher raft to the island have never heard of its namesake, that Tom's Landing might as well be called Knot's Landing for all the rise it gets out of the youngsters, and that the name Injun Joe conjures no nightmares for those raised on DVDs. But there will always be kids whose curiosity is sparked by all these unknown references. They might even be interested enough to put down the remote and crack open a book. After all, not every beloved literary trickster wears mascara and drinks rum. One plays hooky and talks other kids into painting white picket fences — and he has stood the test of time far better than this summer's top box-office attraction will. |
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Twenty-two children, along with their
families, gathered Friday for a send-off party at Charlotte
Douglas International Airport. The group was preparing to
leave on an all-expense paid trip to Disney World, courtesy
of a local charity.
"This is a trip of a lifetime for us," said Sylvia Bumgarner, whose son Jeb was born seven-years ago with trichothiodystrophy. The local charity, ACE and TJ’s Grin Kids, has been sending children who are terminally ill and chronically handicapped to Disney World for the past seven years. Because of the financial hardships that
living and traveling with their children causes the
families, the trip is one that most would not be able to
afford on their own. Those “two guys” that Taylor spoke of are local radio personalities Ace and T.J. They have been leading the Grin Kids fundraising efforts for the past seven years. Every year the foundation sends as many children – complete with parents, siblings and nurses – as their funds allow on a trip to Disney World “She doesn’t really understand it right
now, but I’m sure once we get there it will really start to
kick in,” said Nik Taylor, Madison’s father. While a visit to Space Mountain or a trip on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will certainly be a thrill for the families, many said the real excitement is on an emotional level. “I’m looking forward to getting down there and seeing the look on his face, when he gets to see the Magical Kingdom and Epcot,” said Sylvia Bumgarner of her son. As the send-off party came to a close, some of the parents wanted to make it clear that they were grateful to everyone who made a donation, regardless of size. Nik Taylor was taken back by the generosity of his community. “The kind of day and age we live in, that there’s people who really care enough to give their time and their money” makes it that much more special, he said. The Grin Kids charity started in 2000. Since then, five members have passed away. |
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Delta Air Lines Inc.'s liability to
investors who financed 270 of its aircraft in return for tax
benefits could exceed $4 billion, new court documents show.
The numbers suggest Delta faces a confrontation over its aircraft-financing deals that could be nearly as large as the one UAL Corp.'s United Airlines experienced in the final stages of its bankruptcy reorganization. United's exit from Chapter 11 proceedings was nearly delayed by a quarrel over $5.1 billion in so-called leverage-lease claims. Delta, the country's third-largest airline by passenger traffic, has spent a year in bankruptcy proceedings and is aiming to complete its reorganization by the middle of 2007. In papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Delta has proposed rules for resolving the claims disputes, saying it wants to avoid UAL's experience. But a growing number of aircraft financiers have objected to the proposal, saying the rules would make matters worse. Many of the financiers happen to be the same investors who quarreled with United -- including Walt Disney Co. . In separate filings with the court this week, dozens of financiers said Delta owes them more than $4 billion. Disney said Delta's proposed rules suggested the airline hadn't learned a "lesson" from United's experience with aircraft claims. Instead, it said, Delta is "attempting to invent entirely new, untested, unwieldy, and unfair processes." Those processes, the entertainment conglomerate said, are "likely to run aground." Leverage-lease transactions are complex financing deals that have become common in the airline industry because they provide big benefits to airlines and financiers alike. Financiers get tax deductions for interest accrued on the deals, and they get the right to collect compensation for tax losses if the leases are scuttled. Airlines, meanwhile, obtain their aircraft on relatively easy financing terms. In recent years, the tax benefits have attracted unusual companies to the aircraft-leasing business. But big airline bankruptcies have triggered big fights over the benefits. In 2003, United scuttled its lease on a Boeing 757 jet that was partly owned by Disney. As the airline was preparing last year to exit bankruptcy proceedings, it faced $5.1 billion in claims from Disney and other financiers of its aircraft. United eventually settled those claims for about $150 million. Disney said in court papers this week it owns three McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft and two Boeing 767s that Delta leases. The company, which joined Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. in objecting to Delta's proposed rules, said the airline owes it and Northwestern Mutual $229.3 million. A much larger group of aircraft financiers, which includes Bear Stearns Investment Products Inc. and owns all but a handful of the 270 aircraft Delta leased, has estimated its own claims against the airline at $3.5 billion. Another group of financiers, including Comcast Corp., AT&T Credit Holdings Inc. and Banc of America Leasing & Capital LLC, has said Delta owes it $380 million. On Friday, Delta said in court documents that its proposed rules had been misunderstood and offered modifications that it said would resolve "virtually all of the issues raised in the objections." U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai S. Hardin is scheduled to consider the matter at a court hearing Tuesday. "The procedures are fair and reasonable and should be approved," Delta said. It said the tax claims related to the aircraft leases are "likely to be among the largest claims filed in these cases." Delaying their resolution, Delta said, would hurt the ability of other unsecured creditors to be repaid. "If the litigation of relevant issues must be postponed until virtually the end of the bankruptcy process, the pendency of the relevant claims would delay and impair the distributions to which other unsecured creditors are entitled," it said. |
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Cross Country Races at Disney Classic on Saturday
The UCF cross country teams race against 34 teams from around the country when the Golden Knights line up for the Disney Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Saturday morning. The men's 8K race begins at 7:45 a.m. followed by the women's 5K at 8:55 a.m. Despite not competing last weekend, the UCF men moved from 11th to an all-time program high of 10th in the US Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association South Region Poll. The Golden Knights have continued to run well throughout the season after opening with a second-place showing at the Mountain Dew Invitational in mid-September. Leading the team through two meets is junior Dustin Hicks (Oviedo HS), who posted the program's second-best time ever in the 8K at 25:16.39 in the team's season debut. The Golden Knights have also received impressive efforts from seniors Brent and Ryan White (Boynton Beach, Fla./Santaluces HS). The brothers continue their friendly competition as they battle for the team's No. 2 and 3 spots. Junior captain Paul Nielsen (Oviedo HS) finished third in the squad's line-up at the Great American Classic, while his classmate Paul Fitzpatrick (Ocala, Fla/Vanguard HS) finished in the No. 4 position. Junior Matt Clements, sophomore Daniel Conn and freshman John Horst also race on Saturday. The UCF women are looking to build a solid team
performance after opening the season with strong individual
efforts in their first two meets. Freshman Jenny Clausen
(Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial HS) paces the Golden Knights
as she posted a time of 18:35.49 in her collegiate debut,
which ranks her second among freshmen and sixth overall in
the program's record books.
The Disney course is a familiar one for the Golden Knights as they ran on the trails surrounding the Wide World of Sports Complex twice last year. At the 2005 Disney Classic, the men placed third in the field of 30 teams, while the women were fourth of 33. UCF also hosted the Conference USA meet at the course last year. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics. |
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Friday October 6, 2006 |
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Buoyed by a healthier toy industry and its popular "Cars"
and "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, Walt Disney Co's
consumer products unit should enjoy a better holiday season
than last year, analysts said.
Disney products generated an estimated $23 billion in retail sales this fiscal year ended in September, with more than 40 percent coming in October, November and December. Disney, as licensor, gets a piece of the sales, which one analyst who declined to be named estimated at a high single-digit percentage. A Disney spokeswoman said it uses a variety of licensing structures and royalty breakdowns. Coupled with the appeal of its "Little Mermaids" franchise, Disney's "Cars" and "Pirates" products should bring Disney a profitable quarter, analysts said, after a difficult holiday period for the entire toy industry in 2005. Indeed, U.S. toy sales fell 4 percent in 2005, with toy makers hurt by higher costs, intense competition and store closings. At Disney, that meant just a 1 percent increase in consumer products revenue during last year's holiday quarter. "They did okay last year. But they have the number one and two movies for toys this year with 'Cars' and 'Pirates'," independent toy analyst Chris Byrne said. "This is going to do very well," The DVD releases next month of "Cars" and "Pirates" are designed to boost sales for the franchises, which Byrne said "are going to be around for years to come." He added: "They will be among the strongest licensed goods for this year." Not only does Disney have a strong crop of toys this year, analysts said, but the industry itself appears to be in better shape than in 2005. "I think it's going to be a very strong year. The industry is very robust," Byrne said. Another analyst, Wedbush Morgan's Sean McGowan, also forecast a better year for the toy industry. "I think consumers are feeling better about their disposable income ... I think this year's going to be up a bit." He, too, said the new offerings should fare better than what Disney had on store shelves a year ago. "I think the 'Cars' and 'Pirates' stuff is above what they had last year, and 'Princesses' too," McGowan said. Even so, one retail analyst warned that the "Cars" and "Pirates" lines, which have been selling since the summer, may not find that many new buyers. "We are not sure how much of a repeat business these franchises can help Disney generate, and think that incremental sales volume generated from new customers may not be enough to justify such a significant inventory investment in these two properties," J.P. Morgan analyst Brian Tunick said in research note. Along with "Pirates" and "Cars," Disney's key 2006 franchises are Disney Princesses, featuring Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," Power Rangers, and Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys. The marquee items include the "Pirates" Ultimate Black Pearl pirate ship for $49.99, the "Cars" TV/DVD player for $159.99 and the "Little Mermaid" hair salon for $69.99. Disney is also giving special treatment to Fairies, a line of collectible dolls and accessories aimed at tween girls. It hopes to appeal to older children with new designs for its Mix Stick MP3 players and portable video player Mix Max. Wedbush Morgan's McGowan said that although classic Disney toys like Mickey Mouse are "not as dominant" a in years past, its newer lines will make up the slack. |
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'Lost'
Returns Strong for ABC Wednesday
Fast
National ratings for Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006 |
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What will you be
for Halloween?
This Halloween, expect a platoon of pirates to storm stoops across the USA, demanding booty in the form of candy. The Black Pearl's curse has proven a
blessing to the costume business: Jack Sparrow wigs, swords
and hats rule retailers. "It's just ridiculous, it really is," says Dorice Dionne of Dedham, Mass.-based iParty. "Every week I look at the sales and I can't believe how many top items are pirate," from Sparrow's dreadlocks ($24.23 for kids' or adults' size) to "our plain old pirate" accessories for $7.99. Thanks to more loot flooding the market in a broader price range, Dionne is seeing an "even bigger bump" this season than in 2003, after the release of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It also helps that the sequel, Dead Man's Chest, was an even bigger box-office hit than The Curse of the Black Pearl. Sparrow was the Disney Store's best seller in August and September, ahead of Aladdin's Jasmine, "so it takes something pretty wonderful to bump out a princess," the company's Rick Ladd says. But swarthy trick-or-treaters will have seaworthy company on land in the form of a school of Ariels. The Little Mermaid swam to the Disney Store's top five costumes berth for the past two months. No wonder: Disney has been giving the glittery costumes a big marketing push to tie in with this week's release of The Little Mermaid DVD. Sparrow is vying with the stars of American Idol for the No. 1 spot at Mancos, Colo.-based TotallyCostumes.com. Aspiring singer Katelyn Cabrera, 7, already has grabbed the Idol mic, even though most of her friends "don't know exactly what they're going to be yet. I decide early." Mom Cristina Cabrera, 40, of Riverside, Calif., expects this shimmery outfit to linger on her Celine Dion-wannabe daughter long after Oct. 31: "Oh, yeah." Still, swashbucklers trounced eToys' survey of what consumers predict will dominate sidewalks and parades on Halloween. Noticeably low on the list: superheroes, including the red-caped one who starred in the summer's other big movie. "It's something to do with being a clean, straightforward hero vs. a pirate," says eToys' Gary Lindsey. A pirate "can be dirty — and if you're a little boy, that's a good thing. Comes with mud, you know?" Another top eToys pick, the second most popular for boys, comes with grease: Tow Mater Mechanic from the movie Cars. The roguish life doesn't just attract kids: iParty's adult Sparrow costumes are selling briskly at $71.40 apiece. Dionne has seen watering holes around Boston host pirate parties. Las Vegas-based Halloween Mart.com offers more than a dozen adult pirate costumes, "from fully covered pirate to grungy pirate to sexy pirate," says co-owner Heather Siegel. That last one boasts "a few more tears or a little more flesh showing." The e-tailer does more business among adults than kids. After pirates, the company's second-best-selling costume category is sexy: sexy schoolgirl, sexy nurse, sexy NASCAR fan. "They're kind of naughty," Siegel says, "but very tasteful." The Racer Chick get-up is "flying off the hook" this year, Siegel says, after revving into view over the last four. Racer Chick is a ringer for the wife of Talladega Nights' Ricky Bobby, whose shiny Wonder Bread-emblazoned suit sold out as a preorder; the e-tailer already has ordered more. "It's so cheeseball-looking," Siegel says. "That's why people like it." |
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Where Dreams Really Do Come True! Disney Insider - The Disney Parks have always been places where dreams come true -- you have only to look at the smiles on Guests' faces to know it. Any theme park offers food, thrills, and fun, but Guests at Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort get to experience what's been called "the Disney difference": the unfailing friendliness and attention to detail that makes people not mere "visitors," but very welcome Guests. But during one very special time, starting on October 1, 2006, and continuing until December 31, 2007, almost anything can happen -- and it will. During The Year of a Million Dreams, Guests at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort will find whole new ways to smile. Suddenly you are not watching a parade, you are IN the parade. Not only do you see a princess, you BECOME a princess. Or a pirate. It's imagination in full-force. Make believe, made real. It's all part of a day's work for the Disney Cast who will roam the Resorts literally making wishes come true. During the Disney Dreams Giveaway* promotion over a million extra-special dreams, some thought impossible, will be randomly awarded. A Cast Member might tap you on the shoulder and announce that you've been invited as a special guest to enjoy a stay that night in the all-new Cinderella Castle Suite -- in the heart of the Magic Kingdom Park. You may receive a Dream FASTPASS badge to enjoy some of the most popular Disney attractions with little or no wait. Or a Cast Member might even let you know you've been selected to win a Grand Marshal World Tour trip to Disney Parks around the globe. But can the Disney Resorts possibly deliver a million dreams? Yes indeed -- a million and a quarter, in fact! Carrie Schoen and Steven Ruffner told us what to expect and what it's been like bringing this unique event to life. To begin with, preparing the Cast Members at the Resorts for the event has been a long -- but exciting -- process. "We're breaking new ground and to be part of it is amazing," says Steven. "We're in training right now, and the electricity in the room is just out of control. It's so fun to be a part of this! "Every Cast Member will go through some level of training, depending on how much they interact with Guests. We are going through the most intensive training -- but every single person in our entire Resort has gone through some sort of training." Carrie adds, "The energy created at the resort is so exciting. The interesting thing for me was going around the room on our first day of training and hearing all our Cast's magical moments, and I'd have to say that 80% of them involved their own childhood, visiting Walt Disney World with their families or watching Walt on TV. And to know that we're contributing to that legacy. Our families and families around the world -- we're keeping that heritage alive." Of all the dreams to be randomly awarded, one of the most beguiling is the chance to stay at the new Cinderella Castle Suite at the Magic Kingdom Park, and the Mickey Mouse Penthouse at Disneyland Resort. Steve and Carrie have seen pictures, and they promise us that both destinations are spectacular -- custom-built to fulfill any Disney-lover's wildest wishes. Both Cast Members say that "The Year of a Million Dreams" has personal meaning for them, because Disney has been a part of their own childhood dreams come true. For Steve, it was visiting Disneyland Resort on a picnic with his fellow altar boys -- "I still remember sitting there with my buddies mapping out what we were going to go to first, what attractions we were going to ride. I will always remember how much we wanted to maximize every second we were in the Park!" And for Carrie, it was a special family event. "We came to Walt Disney World the year I finished high school. I was 17. And seeing my mother's face when she got on "it's a small world," because she remembered it from the world's fair. She kept talking about it the whole trip down and was so excited to see it -- she virtually turned into a little kid in front of me. And that's when I realized it was so much more than an amusement park. That's my magical moment!" That moment is one of untold thousands that occur at the Resorts every year -- and this year will bring that magic to life in ways that we have only dreamed of in the past. *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or win the Disney Dreams Giveaway. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Open only to legal residents of 50 U.S., D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico & UK. Void elsewhere and where prohibited. Giveaway runs October 1, 2006 - December 31, 2007 (mail-in entries postmarked starting September 18, 2006 & received by January 14, 2008, on 3.5x5 postcard with complete name, address, daytime phone #, birth date and proper postage sent to PO Box 8629, Elmhurst, IL 60126 USA). UK residents only mail to 483 Green Lanes, London N13 4BS. Castle Suite stay will be awarded most days starting January 25, 2007. It will likely be awarded early in the day for a stay that night and is only available to eligible participants at the Parks and Downtown Disney area in Florida. DREAM FASTPASS badge is only awarded at certain Theme Parks for use that day. Mail-in winners of Castle Suite stay and DREAM FASTPASS badge will receive a prize of comparable value. Approximate retail value of prizes advertised: Castle Suite stay US $587, DREAM FASTPASS badge US $5, Grand Marshal World Tour US $45,370. Prizes range in value from US $3.83 to US $83,701. All prize awards are subject to verification. Odds of winning on a given day depend on the number of eligible participants at a selected location or within the mail-in entry pool for the time or date (as applicable) selected. Subject to Official Rules (see disneyparks.com/rules). Sponsor: Magic Kingdom Productions, Inc., PO Box 10000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. For residents of Canada, a mathematical skill-testing question must be correctly answered to win any prize. |
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Disney show a
collaboration on ice
Putting together one of the "Disney on Ice" extravaganzas like the new "Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey" -- now in Wichita -- is a totally collaborative effort, say the people behind the show. "You learn that it's not all about just the lighting," said lighting designer Patrick Dierson. "You're adding to a process that other people are adding to. The second you take away from one element, you take away from the whole. Collaboration is an art form." Choreographer and skating champ Cindy Stuart agreed. "Every department comes together to create the show, to breathe life into it," said Stuart, ticking off things like production design, costumes and music. "I look at the ice surface from above and use that as my canvas rather than as a one-dimensional proscenium," said Stuart, bronze medalist at the junior nationals and two-time member of the U.S. international team. Added Dierson: "When you are working an ice show, you immediately have this absolutely beautiful projection surface for imagery which you don't have when you're doing television." For "Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey," the two helped create four distinct worlds to hold characters from "Peter Pan," "101 Dalmatians," "Lilo & Stitch" and "The Little Mermaid." Mickey and Minnie take a trip 'round the world to visit them all in the course of the show. Production designer Robert Smith created at least four set pieces for each story. The range is from the skyline of London to the shores of Hawaii to the depths of Neptune's sea world to a 35-foot-long, 18-foot-tall pirate ship presided over by evil Capt. Hook. "What is fun about this project is that while we want four distinct looks, they're tied together," Smith said. "Three of the four have a large water element. Neverland is an island, Ariel's domain is under the sea, and Lilo's home is Hawaii." Choreographer Stuart provided a variety of dance movements, from a 1930s Lambeth Walk in London to the hula in Hawaii to a high-energy pirate line dance. But she was keenly aware not to showboat on blades. "Audiences know the stories. If you go off on a tangent just skating for skating's sake, they know it. You have to surprise them but also keep to the story." IF YOU GO 'DISNEY ON ICE: MICKEY & MINNIE'S MAGICAL JOURNEY' What: New ice show featuring characters from "Peter Pan," "101 Dalmatians," "Lilo & Stitch" and "The Little Mermaid." Where: Kansas Coliseum, 85th North off I-135. When: Today at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets: $14-$18; limited number of VIP and front tickets available. Go online at http://www.disneyonice.com/ or call 316-755-7328. |
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"The
Little Mermaid" DVD sales strong
The
fourth quarter reportedly got off to a bang this week, with
both high-profile DVD releases that streeted Tuesday -- 20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment's "X-Men: The Last Stand" and
Buena Vista Home Entertainment's platinum edition of "The
Little Mermaid" -- exceeding sales expectations. |
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"Lost" settled a few questions -- sort of -- while posing
many more on the premiere of its third season Wednesday.
While the ABC mystical adventure series focused on three
members (Jack, Kate and Sawyer) of the stranded community,
the rest of the group (many unaccounted for after last
season's finale) were unseen and unaddressed during the
hour.
The episode began at the compound of the Others -- a normal-looking collection of homes in a clearing in the middle of the jungle. During a book club meeting, of all things, the participants experienced what seemed to be an earthquake and then watched Oceanic flight 815 descend overhead with a thunderous roar. The plane broke up before crashing elsewhere on the mysterious island. It was a flashback to the pivotal event that had launched the series. Back to the present: After being taken prisoner in the last episode, Jack (Matthew Fox), Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) awoke separately, each in a different type of captivity. 
Kate was taken to a meeting with the Other who had gone by the name of Henry Gale (Michael Emerson). He handcuffed her but also served her a nice breakfast. "Kate, the next two weeks are going to be very unpleasant," he said evenly. Meanwhile, a young man held captive across from Sawyer managed to pick his own lock, then open Sawyer's cell. As an alarm announced "Subject Escaped," Sawyer took off. He was quickly recaptured. A lovely member of the Others (new cast member Elizabeth Mitchell) approached Jack in his cell. Growing more and more agitated, Jack sparred with the calm, comforting Juliet. "You can trust me, Jack," she told him. "I'm not going to hurt you." "What the hell is going on here?" he asked through the glass wall separating them. Probably romance, in their future. But first, Juliet gently let Jack know she had a full dossier on his life. "Is it just about me," he asked, startled, "or is it about my family, too?" "It's pretty much about everything," Juliet replied. In a series of flashbacks, Jack obsessively tried to find the man to whom he had lost his wife, Sarah (Julie Bowen). Delusional or on solid ground -- who could tell? -- he decided the cuckolder was his own father (John Terry). But then he learned from Sarah he was wrong. She had found someone else. Back in the present: "What," Juliet asked Jack, "would you like to find out?" "Is she happy?" Jack haltingly inquired. "She's very, very happy," Juliet replied, as Jack wept. Outside of Jack's sight, the creepy Other leader who had posed as Henry told her, "Good work, Juliet." Coldly -- and revealingly -- she responded, "Thank you, Ben." Fade out. But did desperate dad Michael (Harold Perrineau), who betrayed his friends to save himself and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), sail to freedom in the motorboat they commandeered on last season's finale? Did Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) or Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) die in the hatch explosion? And what became of Sayid (Naveen Andrews), left patrolling in a sailboat? For answers to those and other pressing questions, viewers were kept waiting a bit longer. This season opener was the first of six new weekly episodes that will air before "Lost" takes a hiatus until February, when it will continue without a break through May. |
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Leaving behind the world of cartoon art and an opportunity
of a lifetime to work at Disney/Pixar, Inc., one man chose
to pick up an M16-A2 service rifle and train to become one
of the few and the proud.
Pfc. Nathaniel W. Griggs, Platoon 2017, graduated from Marine Corps recruit training today to make his dream of becoming a Marine come true. When Griggs was in the delayed entry program in his hometown of Moline, Ill., he entered a piece of art, created with ink pen and colored pencil, into a contest and won second place.  His artwork drew Disney/Pixar’s attention and they offered him an apprenticeship as a cartoonist with their company. Although he was excited about the offer, Griggs decided to turn it down and stick with his decision to join the Marine Corps as a reservist while he furthers his education in art. Griggs’ family fully supported his decision to stick with the Marine Corps instead of taking the job offer with Disney. He said his parents had always encouraged him to do whatever it was that made him happy. He wasn’t sure a career drawing cartoons would provide him with what he wanted in life. When his recruiter asked him what he hoped to gain from the Marine Corps and life in general, Griggs said the most important things to him were education, professional development and challenge. "Griggs knew what he wanted and showed a lot of contentment with his decision," said Sgt. Clemente J. Batista, Griggs’ recruiter, from Recruiting Substation Quad Cities, Recruiting Station Des Moines, Iowa. Griggs realized how much value the Marine Corps could hold for him and knew he could go to college anytime, but he wouldn’t always have the chance to be a Marine, said Batista. As a child doing projects in school, Griggs discovered his love of art. He polished up on his talent during high school art classes and started drawing on his own with encouragement from his father. He said he tried to have either a camera or sketch pad on him at all times, so when he saw a subject he was interested in capturing, he could stop to do a sketch right away, or he could take a picture and draw the scene later. As he developed his drawing skills, he learned how to better express himself and become more creative with his artistic talent. Throughout the last year and a half, before leaving for boot camp, he said he made a gradual turn from drawing mostly cartoons to composing more realistic compositions. He became interested in artwork modeled after the armed forces, like the one he entered in the contest. Griggs said he believed being in the Marine Corps would provide him with a solid foundation to better express his thoughts of the noble aspects of military service. Throughout training, Griggs continued to draw during his free time. He did sketches for the other recruits in the platoonand designed various items for the drill instructors as well. Showing his creativity, Griggs also helped paint the range flag, which is a flag platoons carry for motivation during the rifle range. Platoon 2017’s flag brandished a fox holding a standard issue service rifle, targets and the senior drill instructor’s name. During second phase, Griggs’ senior drill instructor, Staff Sgt. Abraham C. Bueno, discovered Griggs’ talent and was curious why he didn’t let anybody know of his gift sooner. "The main trait Griggs displayed was esprit de corps," said Bueno. "I believe his love of conveying the Marine Corps and its history through art helped him maintain a positive attitude throughout training." Griggs said he believes the values and traits instilled by the Marine Corps, such as discipline and integrity, will help him with his art and aid him in his ongoing search for self-improvement. "I think joining the Marine Corps was the best thing I could have done because it supplies me with the best way to find out the full potential of what I have to offer myself and others around me," said Griggs. |
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Next Disney
Legends Announced
We've recently learned that among the honorees at the upcoming Disney Legend ceremony are Sir Elton John, Tim Considine and David Stollery, who played Spin & Marty on "The Mickey Mouse Club" and Tommy Kirk. |
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Robert A. Iger, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, was honored tonight at UCLA's Millennium Ball 2006, a benefit gala held at the future home of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The event raised nearly $5 million for the new hospital which is slated to open in fall 2007. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa presented the award to Iger, recognizing his career and life accomplishments and his commitment to a new standard of excellence in medical care. Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures
Corporation, and Jim Wiatt, CEO of The William Morris
Agency, chaired the event. Capital Campaigns, run by
Celebrity attendees included Ellen Pompeo, star of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy"; and such stars from ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as Nicollette Sheridan, James Denton, Ricardo Antonio Chavira and Brenda Strong. Also attending were Sela Ward; Julie Andrews; Geena Davis; singer Michael Bolton; and Matt Dallas of ABC Family's "Kyle XY." Other top executives and local luminaries who attended the event were Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton; Eli Broad; Robert Day, TCW Group Chairman; Peter Chernin, News Corp. President and COO; Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation CEO; Ron Meyer, Universal Studios Group President and COO; Jerry Perenchio, owner, Chartwell Partners LLC; Ray Irani, Chairman, President and CEO, Occidental Petroleum Corporation; Stewart Resnick, Chairman, Roll International Corporation; Robert Eckert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mattel; Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group Chairman and CEO; Steve Tisch, New York Giants Chairman and Executive Vice President; Thomas O. Staggs, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company; Richard Cook, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios; Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group; among many others. "Continuing When the Northridge earthquake struck in 1994, it damaged
the circa-1950
Designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, this
architectural jewel will house one of the largest and most
technologically advanced medical and trauma centers in the
western "Our doctors, nurses and staff help the sick, advance
medical knowledge and pursue scientific research so that the
people of Since opening its doors in 1955,
More than 300,000 people from |
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Four years after it was birthed in Denver, "The Lion King"
national tour has completed its circle of life.
Its triumphant return engagement is just as awe-inducing as its first performance in 2002. Really, what more can be said about "The Lion King?" Well, "timeless" and "unforgettable" now belong atop the list. It not only stands up over time - people stand for it, by the thousands, after every performance. And not just enraptured 13-year-olds - this thing can turn anyone into an enraptured 13-year-old. What remains most amazing about this exuberant musical is that it ever worked in the first place. After all, it blends such wildly incongruous influences that, on paper, it should clash and crash: Disney populism combined with the singular vision of purist experimental theater director Julie Taymor? A score that sets gorgeous, percussive African rhythms sung in seven dialects right up against superficial pop tunes by Elton John? Multicultural choreography blending everything from African dance to classic ballet? A dark and disturbing storyline that's part Shakespearean, part Old Testament and part "Little Shop of Horrors" ... for kids? But together, they create a revolutionary visual spectacle that remains unprecedented in the American theater. "The Lion King" is pure magic from its opening procession of 200 puppets to its final paper sunrise. It's a celebration of the power of the theater and the potential of human imagination. We could recount the spectacle ... the 25 species of animal puppets, the 12-foot giraffes, the sky full of bird kites, the headdresses containing 3,000 stalks of grass, the 52 wildebeests on wheels that make for a spectacular, 3-D stampede. We could recount the many examples of Taymor's theatrical genius that are most remarkable for their utter simplicity ... the shadow puppets that toy with our perspective; the streams of ribbon that flow out from tigresses' eyes to simulate tears. We could recount the multiple remarkable individual performances, ranging from Gugwana Dlamini's spirit monkey Rafiki to Ta'Rea Campbell's jaw-dropping rendition of "Shadowlands" as adult Nala. But what was most indelible in the minds of my youngsters Saturday was how Taymor presents all of her magic openly, making no attempt to hide any of it. Her actors are not wearing stuffed animal costumes. They are marionettes attached to the puppets they bring to life with sticks and their own limbs. So kids get to see their familiar Disney friends as they know them, such as the hornbill bird Zazu and the meerkat Timor, but also, fully, the actors (Timothy McGeever and Damian Baldet) operating them. Some puppets require as many as four humans to manipulate. Others, such as Mufasa, are played by an actor with only a lion mask perched high above his fully visible face. This allows audiences to focus on either of the animal's two faces. The effect is to give each character a human and animal duality that personalizes them in ways never before imagined. One can only hope Disney has not only profited from "The Lion King" but learned from it. Next summer, Denver will be the first city in the world to stage Disney's first stage adaptation of "The Little Mermaid." Here's hoping the Disney creative team honors the tradition Taymor started with "The Lion King" and uses this next challenge as an opportunity to create more stage magic like we've never seen before. |
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Young illusionist uses his special skill on Disney show tour
Gonzalez said he plays "a bumbling apprentice named Barney, who doesn't always get things right." Mickey Mouse takes Gonzalez's character under his wing (make that paw) and gives Barney a pep talk toward the end of the show about how hard work and practice can work things out. "It's a good message for the kids," Gonzalez said. Along the way to the happy ending, the show features a full assortment of Disney characters: Cinderella's tattered dress becomes a beautiful ball gown; Aladdin's Princess Jasmine levitates; and the dancing brooms from Fantasia sweep Minnie Mouse off her feet. "All the princesses are there," Gonzalez said, as are Donald and Daisy Duck and Goofy. Illusions come courtesy of Gonzalez, fellow magician Brad Ross and performers dressed as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother and Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter. The latter will have Alice, magic cards and a rabbit along for the fun, Gonzalez said. Gonzalez, 21, of Richmond, Calif., has been with the world-touring show for about six months. He helped create some of its pieces with Jim Steinmeyer, who has worked with the likes of David Copperfield, Lance Burton and Siegfried & Roy. Gonzalez said he was "allowed to pick a solo shot. I am doing the Mystery of the Linking Rings, with a twist." Sleight of hand, after all, is his forte, with Gonzalez taking up magic at the age of 13 after seeing an act performed by a co-worker of his father. From there it was book of magic received for Christmas, more books, his first show for his folks at 15 and winning a championship with a dove act at the age of 18. In high school, Gonzalez said he kept his budding career pretty much a secret until administrators asked why he was missing so much class time. "My mother had to show them press clippings to convince them I was traveling the country working as a magician," Gonzalez said. Despite skipping school, Gonzalez said he always made the honor roll. And he didn't use magic to accomplish that feat. "My mother made me promise I wouldn't," he said with a laugh. If you go What: Disney Live! presents Mickey's Magic Show When/where: Oct. 12 to 15, Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont, Ill. Nov. 3 to 5, Star Plaza Theatre, 8001 Delaware Place, Merrillville Tickets: $15 to $45 at Rosemont; $12 to $19 at Star Plaza; available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (312) 559-1212 or through the theater box offices. Contact: Rosemont Theatre at (847) 671-5100 or the Star Plaza Theatre at 769-6600 |
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2D Or Not 2D,
That is the Festival
The Animaticus Foundation is presenting the inaugural 2D Or Not 2D Animation Festival in Everett, Washington Nov. 17-19. Taking place at the historic Everett Theatre, the event will feature classically animated masterworks of the past as well as contemporary productions competing for “Golden Pencil” awards. Keynote addresses will be delivered by Roy E. Disney and Ziggy cartoonist Tom Wilson. The fest is the brainchild of Animaticus president Tony White, a fulltime associate professor at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, Redmond and author of the recently published Animation from Pencils to Pixels ~ Classical Techniques for Digital Animators. White says the event is unique in that it will not only recognize the best animated films, but also the best animation in a film. “This means that great animation in bad films and great films (albeit sometimes with bad animation) can both be recognized,” he explains. Films will be presented in the categories 2D Film, All-Category Film, Student Film and Electronic Media Production. Students will be able to enter finished sequences from complete college projects or finished pencil animation from a single class assignment. Disney will also present the inaugural Roy E. Disney Award, a non-competitive kudo that will be presented to the person or organization identified as making the most outstanding achievement in 2D animation in the preceding year. In addition to delivering the keynote address and presenting the award named after him, Disney will offer a retrospective of award-winning and breakthrough Disney short films from 1928’s Steamboat Willie to 2004’s Lorenzo. Wilson will be on hand to re-introduce the Emmy award-winning TV special Ziggy's Gift, and White will present Endangered Species for the first time in public. More information on the event can be found at www.2dornot2d.org. The Animaticus Foundation can be found on the web at www.animaticus.com. |
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Thursday October 5, 2006 |
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Disney officials closed the Rock 'n' Roller
Coaster at Disney-MGM Studios on Wednesday after a rider
fell ill.
The ride was inspected and reopened as usual on Thursday,
WESH 2 News reported.
A Disney spokeswoman said a 59-year-old man got sick about
three hours after riding the roller coaster with family
members.
He was taken to a local hospital.
Disney officials closed the ride after they learned about the man's illness so that the ride could be investigated. In June, a boy died after riding the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. A medical examiner determined that the 12-year-old had an undiagnosed pre-existing heart condition.Since 2000, six visitor deaths have been reported at the Disney World theme parks. |
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ABC
Mistakenly Releases ID in Page Probe
ABC News' fleeting, inadvertent publishing of a computer screen name enabled a blogger to track down and make public the supposed identity of a former congressional page who traded salacious messages with former Rep. Mark Foley.
In breaking the story of the now-burgeoning scandal, the
network last Friday posted on its Web site a series of
instant message exchanges between Foley and the teen-ager.
The name of the page was not included.
But in one exchange the network inadvertently left the victim's screen name on. It was quickly discovered and removed, replaced by a version with the name redacted. However, ABC said Thursday that a blogger was able to retrieve the deleted file. The blogger, known as "Wild Bill' from the "Passionate America" site, went on a computer detective mission he describes in detail on his site to discover the name. "To be clear, no one visiting our Web site would have simply stumbled on the old version," ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said. "We thank the blogger and (Matt) Drudge for bringing this to our attention." ABC has taken additional steps to make sure no one can access the deleted messages, he said. |
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Mickey Mouse Penthouse Debuts For “Big Cheeses” of All Ages
Beginning December 1,
2006, the Disneyland Hotel at the Disneyland Resort in
Southern California will boast one of the most unique, and
certainly one of the most “Disney,” VIP lodging experiences
in the world – the all-new Mickey Mouse Penthouse. Designed
for “Big Cheeses” of all ages, the penthouse offers
spectacular views of the 500-acre resort (including
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Philippe Gas Named Leader of Human Resources for Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts Worldwide
Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, today announced the promotion of Philippe Gas to Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. Gas, a 15-year Disney veteran, previously served as Senior Vice President of International Human Resources for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Effective immediately, Gas, 43, replaces Meg Crofton, who was promoted to President of Walt Disney World Resort in August. Gas will report to Rasulo and will have global responsibilities for all Human Resources-related services for nearly 100,000 Cast Members worldwide, including employee/labor relations, diversity/inclusion, compliance, recruitment, Disney University training and development, organizational development, benefits and workforce planning. "Philippe's extensive international experience and his knowledge of our domestic and international operations will be key as we continue to look for opportunities to take Disney's unique form of immersive entertainment to new audiences and new places around the world," said Rasulo. "He is committed to continuing our efforts in providing the right work environment and experience for our nearly 100,000 Cast Members around the world. On behalf of all of our Cast Members, we look forward to his leadership." Gas was promoted to his most recent position of Senior Vice President of International Human Resources in November 2005. In this role, he supported the Human Resources strategy for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' three international destinations: Disneyland Resort Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland Resort. In addition, he oversaw the company's overall Human Resources strategy in Asia. "I am incredibly excited to start another chapter in my career with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts," said Gas. "I look forward to my continued work with our Cast Members around the world, who truly embody the 'Disney Difference' that is experienced by our Guests every day." Gas joined Disney in 1991 as part of the team that opened Disneyland Resort Paris. While there, he served as Finance Controller of the Resort and later became Manager of Compensation and Benefits. In 1997, Gas was promoted to Director, Corporate Compensation for The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and relocated to the company's corporate office in Burbank, California. Three years later, he relocated to Tokyo and later to Hong Kong, where he served as Vice President, Human Resources, Asia-Pacific. In this role, Gas oversaw the Human Resources strategy of the Company's various businesses in 13 different countries in Asia. In 2003 Gas rejoined Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Disneyland Resort Paris, where he was responsible for more than 12,000 Cast Members and the day-to-day Human Resources operations at the resort, including labor relations and union negotiations, recruitment, compensation and benefits, internal communications and labor management. Gas graduated from the University of Paris with a master's degree in European affairs and political science. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is where dreams come true and magic comes to life. This division of The Walt Disney Company encompasses 11 theme parks at five of the world's leading family vacation destinations - Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. It also includes the Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club; Adventures by Disney; Disney Regional Entertainment; World of Disney stores in New York, Orlando and Anaheim; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs Disney parks, resorts and attractions. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts had more than $9 billion in revenues in fiscal 2005. |
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'Desperate Housewives: The Game' Now Available
The housewives of Wisteria Lane have arrived on Windows PCs.
Buena Vista Games, Inc. today announced Desperate
Housewives: The Game is now available at retail stores
throughout the United States. Desperate Housewives: The Game
is a lifestyle simulation Windows PC game inspired by the
Golden Globe-winning ABC-TV series produced by Touchstone
Television. In the game, the player takes on the role of a
new housewife who moves to Wisteria Lane and unlocks the
delicious scandals hidden in the seemingly "perfect"
neighborhood. "The global popularity and success of 'Desperate Housewives' is unsurpassed and provided the perfect inspiration for a Windows PC game that captures the essence of the series," said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager, Buena Vista Games. "For the hours during the week between the Sunday night episode airings, Desperate Housewives: The Game is the ideal way for series fans to stay connected to the experience." Desperate Housewives: The Game is a lifestyle simulation game with a 12-episode story. The game enables Windows PC users to customize a housewife and her family. The new housewife will move into a house on Wisteria Lane and uncover secrets from her past through interaction with her neighbors - including both characters from the TV series and all new characters. With a script from series writer Scott Sanford Tobis, the game is a new narrative that incorporates both drama and dark humor - a combination of characteristics familiar to fans of the show. Brenda Strong reprises her role from the "Desperate Housewives" series as the voice of deceased housewife Mary Alice Young, who serves as the show's omniscient narrator in each episode. Developed by Liquid Entertainment, Desperate Housewives: The Game is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and has a suggested retail price of $19.99. About the series Marc Cherry is executive producer and creator of "Desperate Housewives." The series is produced by Touchstone Television and is the winner of both the 2005 and 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy. "Desperate Housewives" airs Sundays, 9-10 p.m. (ET/PT) on ABC. About Buena Vista Games Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). BVG publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. For more information, please log on to www.bvg.com. About Liquid Entertainment Liquid Entertainment is a leading independent developer of entertainment software best known for its critically acclaimed strategy game Battle Realms and Lord of The Rings: War of The Ring. Liquid's passion is crafting the most entertaining and compelling games. To find out more about Liquid Entertainment and their games, please go to http://www.liquid.to. About Touchstone Television Touchstone Television has established itself as one of Hollywood's leading production companies, supplying critically acclaimed, quality entertainment to the broadcast and cable television industry. For the 2005-06 TV season, Touchstone Television received 18 pick-ups for new and returning scripted series on broadcast television including the critically and consumer praised phenomenons "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." www.touchstonetvpress.com. |
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Coinstar Manufacturing Disney-Character Kiddie Rides
Coinstar, Inc. (CSTR) on Thursday said it is manufacturing Disney-character kiddie rides for its line of entertainment equipment. The initial line includes well-known Disney characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and Mickey Mouse, as well as other favorites including Pumba from The Lion King and Buzz Lightyear from Disney Pixar's Toy Story. In 2007, the line will expand to include characters from movies such as Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean and Lilo & Stitch. Coinstar expects to install approximately 1,000 of the Disney kiddie rides beginning this fall in high-traffic retail locations, including mass merchants and toy stores, in select regions. |
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Granada Sells Animation Hit 'Pocoyo' To Disney Channel
Granada International has sold pre-school animation hit 'Pocoyo'
to Disney Channel across Scandinavia and The Baltics. |
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Disney's Doodlebops leap from small screen to big stage
Chad McNamara is a pop star with a huge following of frenzied fans, none of whom know his name or are allowed to stay up past 9 p.m. His fans idolize him as Rooney Doodle, the blue-hued, poetry-reading guitar player of the Doodlebops, the singing trio giving the Wiggles a run for their money in the toddler market. Rooney and his band mates DeeDee and Moe will be in Reading for shows at 1:30 and 6 p.m. Friday at Reading Eagle Theatre at the Sovereign Center. It's the group's first U.S. concert tour following the success of “The Doodlebops” TV show on the Disney Channel. Part Pee Wee's Playhouse, part Partridge Family, the brothers and sister spend each episode singing and dancing their way through a variety of lessons such as reading, asking questions, being self-centered and sharing. Toddlers eat it up. “The stage show is great,” said McNamara, fresh from his third season as Rooney (this season will begin airing in the U.S. later in the fall). “What we try to do is basically create a stage show that is similar to the show on television, but also a great rock show. We have a lot of surprises, too, which is fun, and we really try to just have a great time.” McNamara was chosen from more than 300 hopefuls to play Rooney and has had the joy and frustration of creating a character from scratch. “Deedee was the girl, and so all the girls want to be her,” he said. “And Moe is just really crazy with his running around and jumping. I had it harder because my character didn't have anything like that. But it was totally fun for me.” The first season, he said, was about finding his character's voice and how he interacted with his onstage siblings (played by Jonathan Wexler and Lisa Lennox). “We were trying to find our boundaries,” he said. “We all had an idea of what we wanted to do and we just kind of went for it.” There were some costume and make-up changes for the second season, too. The Doodles all wear bright colors, wigs and body makeup to look like live-action cartoon characters. “In the second season we had all really figured out what we looked like and things were really great,” he said. “I liked the costumes for the second season better. But this past year has just been so busy. We did 16 shows in Orlando at Disney World and we've got a new CD out and the tour is so much fun. We've got Bob (the bus driver) and backup dancers, too.” McNamara said he never imagined the popularity of the group, especially in the short time the show's been on the air. “I never thought this would happen,” he said. “When the audition got down to just 12 of us they said this could be huge and I was like, whatever, but the past three years have been crazy. It's a great feeling.” He's especially happy that he brings joy to so many children. “I feel like every adult in the audience can remember the first rock show they went to,” McNamara said. “And I know that for some kids, I'm giving them that memory. When you go to a rock show you think you're the coolest kid in the world.” McNamara added that he and his bandmates get along really well, too. “I promise through and through that we really all get along,” he said. “I think in all the time I've known them we've had maybe three arguments. There's no time to argue!” McNamara said he's not really looking beyond Rooney these days. He's Canadian and grew up in Ottawa and moved to Toronto to begin working on his career. He toured with the show “Mamma Mia” and enjoys singing and dancing. “I have a huge dance background,” he said. “I feel that's what I bring to the Doodlebops.” He did have to do some research on the character, though, as he'd never spent much time with children prior to this gig. “We went to a daycare center just to interact with the kids,” McNamara said. “It was really neat to see them and observe them. We really learned how short their attention spans are. They could be playing with something and think it's the coolest thing in the world and then they'll go get something else in the sandbox.” McNamara's attention span is much longer, though. “I love what I'm doing right now,” he said. “It's so much fun and it keeps me busy and fit. The show is like one big cardio workout. We try to cram as many songs into it as we can.” It's the kids who keep him interested in Rooney. “I just want every kid to come out and see us on tour,” he said. |
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 The
new ride called the Tower of Terror has opened at Tokyo
DisneySea theme park in Japan. Costing a reported Y21bn
(US$0.17bn, £0.09bn, 0.14bn euro), the Tower of Terror –
or Tawaa obu teraa in Japanese – is similar in concept to
the freefall-style rides at Disney's US-based parks and is
the 26th ride to open at the Tokyo attraction.
Lasting two minutes, the 59m (194ft) tall ride reaches a maximum 38m (125ft) drop, where up to 22 riders plummet at speeds of 50kph. The ride's story revolves around a New York hotel at the turn of the 20th century which has been closed for 13 years following the disappearance of its owner, Harrison Hightower III. Riders then progress through themed 'rooms' until they reach the elevator leading to Hightower's penthouse apartment, where the paranormal frights begin. |
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So
Long, Tom Sawyer. Hellooo, Keira Knightley
Is Disneyland slowly but surely morphing into ...
Pirateland? Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island, one of the attractions
personally designed and guided by Walt Disney himself 50
years ago in Anaheim, Calif., might be destined for the
wrecking ball in favor of a "Pirates of the
Caribbean"-themed area - replete with an animatronic Keira
Knightley and Orlando Bloom replacing Becky Thatcher and
Huck Finn. The Tom Sawyer Island attraction, full of
treehouses, caves, and trails that refer to scenes in Mark
Twain's beloved adventures, will be given a $28
million-plus makeover into a full pirate paradise. The
original "Pirates" ride, by which the films were
"inspired," have been tweaked to reflect Johnny Depp's
portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. |
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Police have released surveillance tape images of two
parking structure robberies at Disneyland last month in
the hopes that someone will recognize the robber.
Police are not sure if one robber is behind both holdups or if there is a larger ring of people orchestrating the thefts, Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez said. The way the culprits handled the robberies was almost identical, Martinez said. Pictures captured from the Sept. 25 robbery show a black Porsche with a tan interior pull up to a parking booth about 4 p.m. A well-dressed man sporting a fedora hat; white, long-sleeved dress shirt; and black slacks got out of the car, leaned into the booth and demanded money from the attendant. The attendant told police there was a gun sitting in
the car. A passenger wearing a T-shirt with what appears to be the Nike Swoosh remained in the car. The man in the fedora returned to the car and drove off. The man in the fedora is described as 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, 170 pounds and 20 to 30 years old, Martinez said. Images captured from surveillance tape Sept. 19 shows a light-colored Toyota Camry, but the robber is not visible. The robber held a "bandana-like cloth" in his hand as he pulled up to the booth and demanded money, Martinez said. "Something made it appear to be a weapon. Whether it was a real one or a simulated one, it was concealed in the cloth he was holding," Martinez said. In that robbery, police are looking for a man in his mid-20s to mid-30s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a muscular build. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap, police said. Guests waiting in line to pay for parking told police they had no idea the attendant had just been robbed, Martinez said. The amount of money stolen was not released. |
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This is…
another deal with Disney
The
recently established in-house distribution arm of Toronto
indie Marblemedia has agreed a deal with The Disney
Channel US for the latest edition of the This Is...
live-action preschool series. |
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Wednesday October 4, 2006 |
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For the first time in history, a family
today had the Magic Kingdom all to themselves. They entered
the park to a view never seen before by any Disney guest --
Main Street, U.S.A. completely empty, no other guests, no
Disney cast members, just a red carpet stretching out a
welcome.
The family had their pick of favorite attractions. There were no lines. Because no one else was there.  This unprecedented moment in Disney history was all part of the launch of Disney's "The Year of a Million Dreams" celebration, during which literally millions of dreams will come true at Florida's Walt Disney World Resort and California's Disneyland Resort. "The Year of a Million Dreams" is a first-of-its-kind event celebrating the individual dreams of Disney Park guests from around the world. So Disney made the Spangler family from Randolph, Ohio -- winners of an online sweepstakes used to help kick off the celebration -- the ultimate, one-of-a-kind Magic Kingdom VIPs. Disney Parks literally rolled out the red carpet for the Spanglers on Main Street, U.S.A. at Walt Disney World Resort. But there were more surprises in store. As the Spanglers reached the center of Main Street, U.S.A., fanfare trumpeters broke the morning silence from atop the buildings lining the street and the familiar strains of "Be Our Guest" began to play -- a signal for a whole lot of smiles. Appearing almost magically to form a receiving line fit for royalty were 1,500 Disney cast members and Disney characters, beaming and bubbly. For the Spanglers, their morning was nothing short of incredible. In a park that hosts millions of guests each year, Magic Kingdom attendance was four as Ray and Tammy Spangler and their children, 13-year-old Derick and 11-year-old Ashley, walked toward Cinderella Castle between rows of smiles lining the red carpet. "It was amazing," said Ashley. Derick chimed in, "That was awesome!" With their Disney VIP host leading the way, they rode their favorite attractions, met their favorite Disney characters, appeared on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" and lived out a dream. "This is beyond the dream," Ray said. "This is something that you can't even think of dreaming of, yet we have it." As the lands of the park filled in behind them with other guests, the Spanglers dined with Disney royalty in Cinderella Castle during A Fairytale Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table and were named grand marshals for the "Disney Dreams Come True" parade. They were to conclude the day with an "unbirthday party" inspired by the "Alice in Wonderland" story and then enjoy exclusive viewing of the Magic Kingdom fireworks spectacular "Wishes." For Tammy Spangler, winning this most remarkable experience was a dream-come-true -- but one she figured was probably a proverbial "pipedream" when she entered the sweepstakes. "I hardly ever enter these things," she said, "but Disney's the most fun we've ever had on vacation, so when I discovered the contest when I was [online], I entered it. But I really didn't figure we'd win, not in a million years." But this is "The Year of a Million Dreams" and the Spanglers won't be the only ones finding their dreams come true at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.  During "The Year of a Million Dreams" celebration, literally millions of dreams will come true. "Our guests the world over have told us they believe a Disney Park is the place 'where dreams come true' and that something magical happens when they walk through our gates," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "And that's never been more true than during 'The Year of a Million Dreams' as we bring more magic to life than ever before." Dreams to surprise and delight guests and unique experiences will be hallmarks of "The Year of a Million Dreams." As part of the celebration, extra-special dreams will be awarded through a random process as part of the unique Disney Dreams Giveaway. With the sprinkle of a little pixie dust by day, a vacationing mom might be chosen to spend that night with her family in a new royal suite inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort, or at Disneyland, a lucky guest may be surrounded by All Things Mickey that night in a new Mickey Mouse Penthouse overlooking the Disney domain in California. Disney Vacation Club memberships, traveling around the world as a parade grand marshal in each Disney theme park, sporting exclusive pins and Mouse ears -- dreams from fun to fantastic will shower down on guests during the celebration. Other amazing dreams-come-true: magical Disney Cruise Line sailings; Adventures by Disney vacations; a private shopping spree for Disney merchandise; Dream FASTPASS badges to enjoy many popular park attractions; special park after-hour events; or a visit to Walt Disney's apartment at Disneyland including a dining experience. For the overnight stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite, a Walt Disney World guest at the parks or Downtown Disney will be selected randomly by early in the afternoon almost every day beginning in late January. The guest and up to five members of their party will begin their dream-come-true night that evening at Cinderella's Royal Table, the popular restaurant located in Cinderella Castle. Can't be in the parks? You may still have a dream-come-true through a mail-in entry (details at www.disneyparks.com/rules). For example, mail-in winners could win prizes such as the Disney Vacation Club membership, grand marshal of a Disney parade around the world, exclusive trading pins or Mickey Ear Hat. (Some prizes, such as the Castle and Mickey Mouse Penthouse stay, require same-day use so mail-in winners will receive a prize of comparable value.) Dreams will be awarded every day at Disney parks and Downtown Disney in Florida and California. While workers complete the Cinderella Castle Suite (opening late January 2007) and Mickey Mouse Penthouse (opening December 2006), the other fantasies begin Oct. 1 as Disney launches enough dreams to make Tinker Bell blush. And all it takes: a tap on the shoulder by Disney cast members on special assignment as the Dream Squad during the magical year.  Meanwhile, thousands more Disney cast members -- famous for guest service every day of the year -- will be creating an unprecedented number of Magical Moments during this magical year. They're taking Disney friendliness to new heights with personal interactions marked by special surprises. Amazed guests might find themselves leading the countdown and sprinkling pixie dust to open a Disney park in the morning. Or they might join the performers on a float in "Mickey's Jammin' Jungle" parade. Or aboard Cinderella's Golden Carrousel they might suddenly find a Disney princess sidesaddle on the next horse. More pixie-dusted Magical Moments: being selected to be guest of honor in daily park parades; getting a Tinseltown rush doing a celebrity-style handprint ceremony; being Official Wildlife Spotter on a Disney's Animal Kingdom safari. "Disney cast members have a rich history of making this magic, treating guests to legendary service and special moments," Rasulo said. "During 'The Year of a Million Dreams,' those moments go stratospheric as our cast members reinforce Disney parks as the place where dreams come true." A first-of-its-kind Disney spectacular, "The Year of a Million Dreams" also includes a whole lineup of immersive entertainment that draws guests into the middle of the action. Guests can enter into magical worlds, living the buccaneer life by being a pirate of the Caribbean, "getting royal" with a Disney prince or princess, or joining in the dancing and singing "High School Musical" pep rally. Guests at Walt Disney World Resort might be welcomed to saddle up cowboy-style with Woody and the Disney-Pixar gang. As if thousands of dreams bestowed daily aren't enough, Disney guests will also be treated to major new attractions and shows debuting at Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts as part of "The Year of a Million Dreams." On top of an already magical year, special entertainment and programs will be in place at the parks and resorts so guests can follow their dreams, whether it's a princess or pirate, adventurer or space explorer. Guests will be able to customize their visit to a Disney park to pursue the Dream Paths of their choice with online planning tools and technology to help them become the hero or princess they've always dreamed of being. For more information about "The Year of a Million Dreams" celebration, guests may visit www.disneyparks.com. For more specific information about the Disney Dreams Giveaway, visit www.disneyparks.com/rules. |
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Ohio
Family Plays at Disney World Alone
Walking hand-in-hand on a red carpet, Raymond and Tammy Spangler and their two children seemed unsure of their steps Wednesday at Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom was eerily quiet, with only the chirping
of birds, piped in orchestra music and the sound of their
footsteps filling the 125-acre park. They were about halfway
up the red carpet to the Cinderella Castle when all that
dissolved and 1,500 mouses, maids, baseball players and
princesses came streaming out of hiding to welcome them. "There were like thousand and thousands of people in the streets all of the sudden," 13-year-old Derick Spangler said. The Spanglers, of Randolph, Ohio, were the first to win a marquee prize in Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration. One of 50,000 online entrants, they were rewarded with a morning of the Magic Kingdom all to themselves -- and a VIP tour. By noon the family had been on Space Mountain, to the Dumbo attraction, on a carousel filled with Disney characters and on the Jungle Cruise, where 11-year-old Ashley Spangler got to drive. All were free of lines, of course. Other prizes to be awarded in Disney's contest include a
chance to be the first to stay overnight in the Cinderella
Castle, trips around the world as grand marshal in the Disney
parade, a membership to the Disney Vacation Club and more.
Some, like a pass allowing guests to skip lines at attractions for the day, will be awarded at random to unsuspecting guests visiting a Disney park. All the company's worldwide properties are participating, but the biggest prizes are at Disney World and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Prize values range from $3.83 to $83,701 for the vacation club package, which provides annual points that can be redeemed for stays at Disney properties. The Spanglers had been to Disney World before, but didn't plan on coming to Orlando now. They only found out three weeks ago that they won, but said it was no trouble to get work and school off. "The kids' principal was like, 'Well I'd pull my kids out too!'" Tammy Spangler said. The Magic Kingdom opened to the rest of the public at 10 a.m. Wednesday, an hour later than usual. Different sections of the park were opened to all guests after the Spanglers moved through. |
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Disney Celebrates The Little Mermaid DVD Release with
Expansive Consumer Products Campaign This month, in celebration of the first-ever two-disc Platinum Edition DVD release of Disney's most beloved animated film, The Little Mermaid, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) in collaboration with Walt Disney Home Entertainment brings to stores the largest assortment of Little Mermaid merchandise available since the film's 1989 release - more than 2,200 fun and imaginative products glimmering with an "under-the-sea" theme. Available now for the first time in seven years and first time in limited edition, two-disc DVD, The Little Mermaid release and consumer products campaign reconnects families with the world's most cherished mermaid and the #1 most beloved Disney Princess, Ariel(a). Beginning this month and into the holiday season, DCP brings the timeless story to life with an array of merchandise that glitters, sparkles and shines inspired by key moments in the film, including: toys, electronics, apparel, home decor, personal care, school supplies, party decor and much more. Products will be available at retailers nationwide, with key retailers such as Target, Toys 'R' Us and Wal-Mart displaying merchandise from varied categories alongside the DVD in one-stop feature shops fashioned in an "Under-The-Sea" theme. Bound to top many wish lists this holiday season, following are key highlights from The Little Mermaid's magical assortment:
About The Little Mermaid The Little Mermaid was released theatrically in 1989, grossing almost $180 million at the domestic box office (adjusted to 2005 dollars). The Academy Award®-winning animated adventure (1989 Best Song and Best Original Score) combined music, fun and excitement to become one of the company's most cherished films and one of the top 10 best-selling animated films of all time on VHS. Ariel, the fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, is enchanted with all things human. Disregarding her father's order to stay away from the world above the sea, she swims to the surface and, in a raging storm, rescues the prince of her dreams. Determined to be human, she strikes a bargain with the devious seawitch, Ursula, and trades her fins and beautiful voice for legs. With her best friend, the adorable and chatty Flounder, and her reluctant chaperone Sebastian, the hilarious, reggae-singing Caribbean crab, at her side, Ariel must win the prince's love and save her father's kingdom - all in a heart-pounding race against time! About Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products (DCP) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) that extends the Disney brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys, home decor and books to interactive games, food and beverages, stationery, electronics and animation art. This is accomplished through the work of DCP's various lines of business: Disney Toys, Disney Softlines, Disney Home, Disney Food, Health & Beauty, Disney Stationery, Disney Publishing, Buena Vista Games, Baby Einstein, the Muppets Holding Company and Disney Shopping, Inc.'s catalog and disneyshopping.com. The Disney Store, which debuted in 1987, also falls under DCP, through stores currently owned and operated by unaffiliated third parties under licensing agreements in North America and Japan, and wholly owned stores in Europe. For more information about DCP, please visit our web site at www.disneyconsumerproducts.com. About Walt Disney Home Entertainment Walt Disney Home Entertainment is distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized industry leader. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Dimension and Buena Vista videocassettes and DVDs. The Little Mermaid Special Edition DVD Consumer Website: www.LittleMermaidDVD.com (a) Research indicates Ariel is the #1 favorite Disney Princess with moms of kids 2-5. |
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Army Maj. Paul R. Syverson III had plans to take his
children to Disneyland, but work kept getting in the way.
Once, his tour in Iraq was extended. Another time he was injured before a planned family vacation. In June 2004, Syverson was killed in a mortar attack in Balad just weeks before he was to return home. This December, Syverson's family will finally visit the happiest place on Earth, thanks to a charity organizing a holiday Disney trip for grieving military families. His wife, Jackie, said her 9-year-old son is looking forward to the vacation, even if it will bring back some painful memories. "He never made it there with Dad," she said. "And he still won't go there with Dad." The charity, the Orange Coast Snowball Express, is being organized by California real estate consultant Mark Kerr, who ran a similar program for needy children in 1998. He started organizing this year's event 10 months ago, as a way of helping out the military community. "This is just meant to be an incredible dream weekend for these kids," he said. "We want to help make up the difference, in whatever way we can, between where government help stops and whatever they need." With help from local Rotary Clubs and other volunteers, Kerr has secured a host of donations to bring the grieving families to southern California in mid-December. Southwest Airlines has pledged free flights. Marriott and Fairmont hotels have set aside rooms for their stay. Local stores have donated money and gift cards to give the families a pre-Christmas shopping spree for themselves. So far, Kerr has a few hundred families signed up — most, like the Syversons, found out through Gold Star Wives of America — but he's hoping for more. "There are 1,200 children out there who have lost a military mother or father since Sept. 11," he said. "We'd like to bring all of them here." A lot needs to be done before that can happen. Kerr is still looking for ways to fly families stationed overseas back into the U.S. free of charge, and only has about 100 hotel rooms so far. But he's confident those details will be worked out before the families start arriving, scheduled for Dec. 15. Jackie Syverson said the chance to be with other children in the same situation is as important to her as the pomp and pageantry that her son will get to see. "A lot of times you go somewhere and you're 'that kid,'" she said. "We moved from Fort Campbell to Pennsylvania after Paul's death. Now he's definitely the only military kid, and the only kid who's lost a father. "But there, he won't be the only one going though it. That's really good." |
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Halloween Hayride's at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort
The Halloween Hayride 2006 will be held at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground on the following dates: October 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kennel at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground or across from Pioneer Hall after 6:00 PM until sold out. Tickets are $15 (Adults), $10 (ages 3-9), and free for Guests under 3-years of age. And I better get a ticket this Year or I'll...never mind, Family website, Think Happy Thoughts. |
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Woods,
Disney out?
Here's a new spin on a
well-worn TV theme. |
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It looks like the Disney Channel in India is on a roll to
bring action, adventure and entertainment to kids across the
country. This time, the channel has adopted a new strategy
to penetrate into smaller towns and cities with the 'Disney
Channel Masti Express.'
Sensing huge growth opportunities from Tier II and III cities, the channel has designed Disney branded vehicles to journey across the country, promoting some of its most popular shows. This activity will have vans equipped with games and merchandise, showcasing properties like Recess, Kim Possible That's So Raven and recently added local production Vicky Aur Vetaal. This 'Masti Express' will spin across 30 towns and cities from Amritsar to Lucknow and Kanpur to Kerala within a time frame of 12 months. They will be strategically placed in high traffic locations a time most frequented by kids and parents and as the name suggests the 'Masti Express' will incorporate interactivity and fun to the whole experience. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on this new initiative, Walt Disney Television International (India) director marketing and communications Tushar Shah said, "Our prime focus is on experiential marketing with a mix of above the line activities, however the buzz is initiated through on ground activities." Rather than being a one off activity, "We wanted to create a consistent brand experience over a prolonged period of time" thus, multiple Disney vehicles will travel to different parts of the country. "We need not necessarily use classical mediums to reach out to our TG. Although there is a limited opportunity in terms of the availability of media vehicles, there are no confines to reaching out to kids, as this project allows for vast 'mobility'," adds Shah. The channel estimates that its reach in major metros extends to over 40 per cent. While an All India estimate in the Hindi speaking market (HSM), SEC A, B and C, within the age group 4-14 years old, the channel's reach would be 29 to 30 per cent. This activity will not only sample the channel to a wider audience, but it also expected that a ratings jump will be observed in these smaller markets. As data often supports the fact that Indian kids are more glued to General Entertainment channels, Disney's latest ramp up in localized programming, indicates that it is set to go the whole hog to create compelling content to drive these kids to more age appropriate entertainment. Besides content, Disney India is attempting to give as many Indian kiddies a touch and feel experience, to build a comprehensive brand connect with kids across the country. "Something they will love and remember!" |
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Tape Shows Parking Lot Attendant Robbery At Disneyland
Surveillance tape of a parking lot attendant robbery at Disneyland was released Monday by police in the hope the images will trigger someone's recognition, a sergeant said. The parking structure was robbed twice, on Sept. 19 and Sept. 26, but police are not sure if the same men were involved, or if they are part of a group, said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez. Tape picked up during the Sept. 19 robbery shows a Toyota as the suspect car, but neither suspect is shown, Martinez said. The tape depicting the second robbery shows a man wearing a fedora hat with a band getting out, leaning into the booth and demanding money, while the passenger remained inside the car, Martinez said. In addition to the fedora, the suspect wears a button-up, long-sleeve white dress shirt and dark slacks, Martinez said. "He has a passenger in the seat who appears to be wearing some sort of sports attire," Martinez said. "It looks like there's the Nike symbol, or something very similar. But the actual suspect that gets out of the vehicle is nicely attired. He has the hat." The men, who were in a possibly black Porsche with a tan interior during last Tuesday's hold-up, drove up to a parking-lot booth about 4 p.m. After getting the money, the driver drives in and makes an immediate turn exiting the structure, Martinez said. The attendant saw a gun in the vehicle, Martinez said, but it was not pointed at the victim. "It appears he had something in some sort of a bandana or a towel that would give the attendant the perception that there was a weapon there," Martinez said. Each time, the people in the car behind the suspects did not know a robbery had taken place, Martinez said. "The suspect just wanted to create as little distraction as possible," Martinez said. In the Sept. 19 robbery, the main suspect was described as mid-20s to mid-30s, 5 feet 8 inches with a huskey build and wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap, Martinez said. Last Tuesday, the robber who demanded the money was described as 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds and 20 to 30 years old, Martinez said. The amount of money was not released but Martinez said, "It was not a large amount." |
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Disney cruise ship in town for dry dock maintenance
It's called the Disney Wonder, and the massive 964-foot-long
cruise ship - with its Mickey Mouse ears and Disney
characters adorned bow and stern - was turning heads Tuesday
along the Portsmouth and Norfolk downtown waterfronts.
The Port Canaveral, Fla.-based Disney Wonder, one of two ships in the Disney Cruise Line, arrived before daylight at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair for a 10-day overhaul. The yard has assigned 200 employees and subcontractors to blast and paint the hull, change out propellers and do basic hull, mechanical and electrical work. Disney brought in an additional 600 contractors for interior work. The cruise ship receives dry dock maintenance twice every five years and has visited the Norfolk shipyard twice before. |
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Disney recruiters to visit Moraine Valley campus
Disney recruiters will visit Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills from 3 to 6 p.m. today to seek candidates for paid internships at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando. The program runs from January until May or January until August. Recruiters will interview students in the college's Moraine Room 2 in Building C. |
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The double life of
Monica Goguen
Monica Goguen hopped down the steps to her dressing room and over to Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, for a friendly pose for a photographer. Johnson, a former professional wrestler turned movie star, greeted the 8-year-old from Bradford with his famous smile, and the tiny girl in pigtails grinned back. She may not be well-known yet, but Goguen is living the life of a movie star on the set of "The Game Plan," which was filming at Lawrence Municipal Airport yesterday. Goguen is already a twin, but for the movie she is the film double for Madison Pettis, who costars with Johnson. Goguen said she doesn't mind when people confuse her for Pettis. "They stand outside screaming and ask you for autographs," she said. "One girl had two cell phones and she wanted me to sign them." The young actress has her own trailer and a tutor. She has her makeup done every day and wears a wig so she has curly hair. She also learns stunts, like how to fling herself backward when someone pretends to punch her in the face. As a double, she won't have any speaking lines but she does action shots and will be shown from the back and other angles that won't reveal her true identity. Her twin sister, Brianna, also will be in the film as an extra. The premise of the Disney film is that Johnson is a quarterback for the fictitious football team the Boston Rebels. He is single, living the high life as his team approaches the championship, when a 7-year-old knocks on his door, the daughter he didn't know he had from a previous marriage. The girl has invented a string of stories, telling her mom she is in ballet school and telling Johnson that her mom is in Africa so she can spend a month with the football star. Goguen said she likes working with Johnson, who she said was so nice, he once stopped a phone call to pose with Goguen when her dad was taking a picture. In one of her favorite scenes, she pretends to be nervous about going on stage for a ballet performance, and Johnson gives her a pep talk - while wearing green tights. Working with Johnson also has impressed Goguen's friends. "My friend, Nichole, she likes to watch pro wrestling and she said, 'Oh, my God, you got to meet The Rock,'" said Goguen, who admitted she didn't know who he was before filming started. This is the second recent football film for Johnson, who played a coach in "The Gridiron Gang," which opened last month.
Johnson was once on his way to playing professional football
before suffering a back injury. After that, he turned to
professional wrestling, but he has since left the sport for
movies.
"This was a chance to make a great movie, to work with Disney and a chance to work with a terrific actress," said Johnson, while hurrying across the set for his next scene. He paused and smiled. "And a chance to play football." There were no football scenes at the airport, however. The office at Four Star Aviation, next to Lawrence Municipal Airport, was transformed for the one day of filming from a North Andover flight school to an office in Africa. An airport hanger was set up as an apartment, and the restaurant at the airport was closed as a staging and waiting area for extras. A sign saying "Malakal Airport" was put up on the overhang. Michael Miller, director of the airport, said they also changed the grass in front to look more like grass in Africa, and typical cars parked outside were replaced by cars more typical in Africa. The main change was the mob of cameras, wires and crew workers scrambling around the sets.
For Dick Hordon, who owns Four Star Aviation with his wife,
Kathy, it was a day off.
As he relaxed in a recliner, he told about the day the film company knocked on his door and said they wanted to use his space, including an old baggage cart he happened to have laying around. Hordon also got a taste of acting as the driver of a fuel truck. "I can't believe how many takes we did," he said, estimating he drove the truck around for at least 10 takes. "I can't believe the number of people involved." Yesterday was the only day of filming in North Andover. The rest of the filming will take place in Framingham, Worcester, Boston and other Massachusetts locations. After that, Monica Goguen will return to school at St. Joseph's in Haverhill, but she is already thinking of doing another movie. "I like being here; I like doing new things," Goguen said. Her mother, Cindy, said the adjustment was hard at first, trading off going to the set with her husband, Ed, and taking care of their other daughter. Monica Goguen also has to go to school in the morning, then be taken to the set for the rest of the day for tutoring and filming.
Cindy Goguen said the schedule is demanding, but her
daughter is enjoying the experience.
"People treat you like what?" prompted her mother. "Like I'm a star," said Goguen with the smile of a celebrity.
For Dick Hordon, who owns Four Star Aviation with his wife,
Kathy, it was a day off.
As he relaxed in a recliner, he told about the day the film company knocked on his door and said they wanted to use his space, including an old baggage cart he happened to have laying around. Hordon also got a taste of acting as the driver of a fuel truck. "I can't believe how many takes we did," he said, estimating he drove the truck around for at least 10 takes. "I can't believe the number of people involved." Yesterday was the only day of filming in North Andover. The rest of the filming will take place in Framingham, Worcester, Boston and other Massachusetts locations. After that, Monica Goguen will return to school at St. Joseph's in Haverhill, but she is already thinking of doing another movie. "I like being here; I like doing new things," Goguen said. Her mother, Cindy, said the adjustment was hard at first, trading off going to the set with her husband, Ed, and taking care of their other daughter. Monica Goguen also has to go to school in the morning, then be taken to the set for the rest of the day for tutoring and filming. Cindy Goguen said the schedule is demanding, but her daughter is enjoying the experience. "People treat you like what?" prompted her mother. "Like I'm a star," said Goguen with the smile of a celebrity. |
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FX Scores
"Invincible" Cable Rights FX has bought exclusive cable rights to the Mark Wahlberg football feature ''Invincible,'' a spokesman for the network said. Sources said the four-year deal will see FX pay 10%-12% of domestic box office for the Disney release, which has earned $56.3 million in North American theaters after six weekends. The FX spokesman confirmed the deal but declined comment on the terms of the agreement. Because of the Yom Kippur holiday, no one was available to confirm or deny at Buena Vista Television, the Disney unit handling the sale. The PG-rated ``Invincible,'' based on a true story, stars Mark Wahlberg as regular guy-turned-football pro Vince Papale and Greg Kinnear as former Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. It's believed that FX will get the network window premiere of ``Invincible'' starting sometime in 2009, according to sources. Before that, pay TV rights to the movie will go to Starz . FX is one of the most aggressive buyers of feature film rights among basic cable networks. It recently engineered deals to acquire exclusive rights to several 20th Century Fox titles, including ``X-Men: The Last Stand'' and ``Ice Age: The Meltdown''; New Line Cinema's ``Snakes on a Plane''; and Warner Bros. Pictures' ``Superman Returns,'' among others. |
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PSP presents the 2006 World Cup at Disney's Wide World of
Sports
Paintball Sports Promotions is proud to present the 2006
World Cup to be held November 8th-12th at Disney's Wide World
of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. World Cup is the largest
professional paintball tournament on the planet with over 300
teams attending from around the globe to compete for their
share of over $128,000 in cash prizes. In addition to the fierce competition on the fields, the 2006 World Cup will feature the largest trade show in the industry. Everyone who is anyone will be in attendance, showing off the latest and greatest gear for the new season. See what some industry insiders had to say about the World Cup: "At NXe we view the World Cup as the one event that is
truly a trade show and paintball event. We as well as most in
the industry use World Cup as our launching pad for our new
products and introductions for the following year. It is the
one event that does bring in the most dealers and distributors
from around the globe. The crowds are great and the paintball
is even better. For NXe, World Cup is everything it is
supposed to be." "World Cup is the event that all paintball players want to
go to. Every year it is packed with players and vendors and
having it located at Disney World is brilliant. All the
vendors put forth the extra effort to make their booth as
massive and impressive as possible. We can't wait for the next
one." "If there is one event not to miss it is the World Cup. PSP
at its best. Miss it and you will regret it." "For Virtue Paintball, the World Cup is the most important
event of the year because it is the only event where Virtue
can work with thousands of players and meet hundreds of
paintball pro shops from around the world. Plus, what's more
fun than renting a huge house with a pool for a week and
hanging out at Disneyworld?" |
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Tuesday October 3, 2006 |
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Oriental Land Company, Ltd., which operates Tokyo Disney
Resort, today announced that the total combined attendance
at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea during the first
half of the current fiscal year (April 1 - September 30,
2006) was 12,044,000 people, an increase of 382,000 people,
or 3.3%, over the same period last year.
Tokyo Disneyland kicked off the year with 'Lilo & Stitch's Big Panic - Find Stitch', a special event that began in April and proved popular over its three-month run. Tokyo DisneySea continues to draw crowds with a diverse line of programs tied to the Park's 5th anniversary celebration, which began in July. Contributing to the high attendance figures was the September 4 opening of the Tower of Terror at DisneySea. The first week in particular saw guests queuing to experience the popular free-fall ride. |
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ABC-TV focuses on Web sites If you want to watch ABC-TV's new "Ugly Betty," forget buying it on Apple's iTunes Store. "Betty" and about half a dozen of the network's hit shows are available for streaming viewing, free, on the broadcaster's site. Alexis Rapo, vice president of digital media at ABC Entertainment said, "We're adding a significant amount of unique content, especially video, to make ABC.com the primary destination for fans of our programming."
This echoes statements made a week or so ago by Bob Iger,
chairman of ABC parent Walt Disney Co.
(DIS)
that he wanted the company's Web sites
to become "the networks." While iTunes is selling past
seasons of ABC shows, the broadcaster is primarily using it
as a promotional vehicle by producing "official" podcasts
for series including "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," and The
Bachelor." Disclaimer: I own shares of Apple and Walt
Disney.
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The
Little Mermaid on DVD For a limited time
only, Walt Disney Home Entertainment proudly opens the vault
to debut a spectacular new two-disc The Little Mermaid Special Edition is the long-anticipated eighth addition to Disney's acclaimed "Platinum Collection." This event-making DVD debut is accompanied by an expansive Walt Disney Company-wide celebration, including a huge continuing partnership with Disney Consumer Products (DCP) that builds on the overwhelming popularity of 2005's Cinderella DVD debut. The Little Mermaid Special Edition 2-disc DVD is available for a limited time only on October 3, 2006, for U.S. $29.99 (S.R.P.) and Canada $36.99 (S.R.P.). |
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Disney to take $30 million loss on Mobile ESPN The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) will spend about $30 million to shut down its Mobile ESPN wireless telephone services, but remains "excited" about its family-oriented Disney Mobile phone service, Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said on Monday. Staggs told analysts on a conference call that Disney would write down the ESPN termination costs mainly in fiscal 2007. The company announced last week it would shut down its Mobile ESPN phone operation and license the brand to existing mobile providers. Disney launched Disney Mobile, a similar service aimed at families in June in the United States. The company had discussed rolling out Disney Mobile in the United Kingdom by year's end, but postponed those plans due to what it described as "the rapidly changing environment in the UK market." Staggs said on Monday the company believed Disney Mobile "is a very different customer proposition" that "was meeting a fundamental need of families." Disney Mobile allows parents to regulate when, how long and to whom their children talk on cell phones and features a built-in satellite tracking feature to locate the phone. "We remain excited about Disney Mobile service. It has been getting a lot of kudos from a lot of parents," Staggs said. "They've just really soft launched it so it's early days yet." Mobile ESPN, launched in February on the Sprint network with a 60-second Super Bowl commercial, offered real-time sports content on a specially designed Sanyo handset, but failed to catch on with sports fans. |
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Disney Offers Adventures Under the Sea and Gives the Royal
Treatment With New Handheld Video Games Disney Princesses and Ariel are joining the "Disney on the Go" portfolio of handheld video games. New handheld video game titles based on the "Disney Princess" and "The Little Mermaid" franchises are now available at retail stores throughout North America. The new line-up from Buena Vista Games includes:
"Inspired by the award-winning film, 'The Little Mermaid' handheld games provide interactive adventures that kids can take with them on-the-go," said Craig Relyea, vice president of marketing, Buena Vista Games. "With the release of Disney's new two-disc 'The Little Mermaid' Platinum Edition DVD today, fans of Ariel and her friends will have ample opportunities to share in the fun this holiday season." Featuring six of Disney's most beloved princesses, Disney Princess: Royal Adventure on the Game Boy Advance will be released alongside The Little Mermaid titles. "Since its debut in 2000, the Disney Princess franchise has become a leading girls lifestyle brand," said Relyea. "Building on the franchise's popularity, the new Disney Princess: Royal Adventure game enables young girls to interact with their favorite characters in a new magical adventure." About Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian join some new friends on a mysterious aquatic adventure based on the beloved Disney movie. Developed by Gorilla Systems Corp., the game lets players dive into 16 levels of interactive gameplay, and use the unique Nintendo DS features that include:
About Disney's The Little Mermaid: Magic in Two Kingdoms Also developed by Gorilla Systems Corp., Disney's The Little Mermaid: Magic in Two Kingdoms lets players embark on a seafaring journey through some favorite "The Little Mermaid" movie moments. Explore as Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian or Prince Eric to unlock eight nautical games. Goals include racing to save Prince Eric from the sinking ship, aiding Sebastian in escaping the French Chef and defeating Ursula, the evil sea-witch. About Disney Princess: Royal Adventure Developed by Human Soft, Inc., Disney Princess: Royal Adventure lets players explore an enchanted castle with secret portals leading to the worlds of the Disney Princesses -- Jasmine, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty -- on their quest to find a missing collection of special tiaras. Players can journey into a wonderful world inside the castle and a medley of unique environments in the surrounding village. The Disney Princesses will help players increase their skills while earning enchanted items that are used to solve a mystery that has been forgotten by the village for many years. About Buena Vista Games Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). BVG publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. For more information, please log on to www.bvg.com. |
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Disney Animation Establishes Submission Portal Disney Animation is helping talent connect with animation opportunities through www.DisneyMouseLink.com, an online artistic submission portal. At the site, artists can submit their demo reels and portfolios through a secure Web-based upload system. DisneyMouseLink.com was developed in-house by Disney
Animation. Applicants interested in submitting materials can
go to the site and create an account. A submission form is
then downloaded for signing and return to Disney Animation. Upon receipt, a username and password is provided via email. Visitors can provide details on their work history, skill sets and software knowledge. Media, in the form of .jpg, .pdf, and .mov files can also be uploaded. “Creating DisneyMouseLink.com is a great service for everyone,” says Dawn Rivera-Ernster, director of animation resources for Disney Animation. “It allows artists to submit reels and portfolios whenever it is convenient for them, 24/7, with a quick and convenient process. For DA it allows us immediate access to the incredible global talent pool.” |
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Disney’s
‘Year of a Million Dreams’ begins
As if they've been tapped on the shoulder
by a magic wand, Disney Parks guests -- thousands every day --
are about to enter a whole new world. |
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Lacroix Promoted To Veep At Radio Disney Network Chris Lacroix has been promoted to vice president at Radio Disney. The promotion was announced by Jill Casagrande, senior vice president and general manager, Radio Disney Network, to whom he will report. Lacroix transitions from vice president, Marketing, Disney Channel. Casagrande said, "Chris has made significant contributions to Disney Channel, he has a finely honed understanding of the youth demographic and especially of the Disney brand. In his new post at Radio Disney, he'll continue to connect a generation of kids and their families with our content." |
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More Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club details Disney have today released the following information on the new attraction. Of particular interest, is the sentence mentioning text-messaging jokes for use in the show. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club. Magic Kingdom guests will laugh, joke, sing songs and match wits with the beloved animated characters from Disney-Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." in an engaging and interactive attraction being created by the Disney Imagineers. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club features one-eyed hero Mike Wazowski, who has opened a comedy club to collect laughs that will generate electricity for the monster world of Monstropolis. As Monster-of-Ceremonies, Mike recruits two comedian wannabes whose slapstick humor delights and engages audiences. Guests will even get to text-message jokes on their cell phones for possible use in the show. The fun reigns at a 400-seat theatre in Tomorrowland. (Early 2007) |
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Disney
boosts IP protection with London hire The Walt Disney Company has joined the long list of companies paying ever-increasing attention to IP protection, hiring its first anti-piracy chief for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea). Disney recruited Nick Hanbidge from Hit Entertainment for the London-based role. He will report to corporate legal and anti-piracy head Mary Fossier in California. Hanbidge has responsibility for copyright and trademark enforcement for more than 20 Emea jurisdictions. |
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New
enhancements for this years Osborne lights
Spectacle of Lights Transforms Disney-MGM
Studios -- The Streets of America backlot area sparkles with
millions of twinkling lights beginning Nov. 13 and continuing
through Jan. 7, 2007, during the Osborne Family Spectacle of
Lights, presented by Sylvania. This year, the spectacle has
been enhanced to include choreographed “dancing” lights which
swirl and soar to an exhilarating medley of holiday music
every 15 minutes, thanks to electronic wizardry featuring more
than 400 dimmers. Every building façade, all the trees,
wreaths, bells and holiday figures dance to classic tunes
among “Florida snow” flurries. Also bringing the Disney-MGM
Studios backlot to life are three-dimensional and motion-based
displays – some originally created at the Osborne home in
Arkansas by businessman Jennings Osborne as a holiday display
for the delight of his daughter. Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights (Nov. 13- Jan. 7, 2007) As snow falls overhead, the Streets of America backlot cityscape at Disney-MGM Studios comes alive with millions of sparkling lights each evening. Snowflakes sparkle while colored lights put on a show -- twirling as carousels, marching on air as toy soldiers and taking flight as Santa and his reindeer. The lightshow is in collaboration with Arkansas businessman Jennings Osborne, who developed the display for his daughter. When his idea outgrew his home, he worked with Disney to provide a new home for the seasonal fun. The dazzling spectacle is included with Disney-MGM Studios admission. |
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Mickey
succeeds in crossing all borders Goofy's glossy red tongue slides up the right side of my face as I attempt to grip a plump prawn dumpling with slippery chopsticks. Breakfast is being served Disney-style at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant, an informal faux-Victorian conservatory on the ground floor of the ornate Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Amid the most extensive buffet I've ever seen - would you like congee with your Coco Pops, or dim sum with your Danish pastry? - Goofy and his friends Mickey and Daisy are delighting guests with their exaggerated antics. Look, there's Mickey enthusiastically waving his oversized white-gloved hand at a neatly-dressed family of six, and Daisy wiggling her ample tail feathers in our direction while Goofy . . . well, Goofy is naturally being goofy. We're told by the quietly spoken waiter that the characters can sign autographs. One of my group passes Goofy a pen and paper and, while it's a bit like watching me trying to grasp my shiny black chopsticks, he signs his name neatly and silently to laughs all round. Ah, the Disney effect: watch grown men transform into excited children in the presence of a giant dog, listen to them debate who is the hottest Disney babe - "I've always liked Ariel (The Little Mermaid)", "There was always something sexy about Snow White". This morning, the staff's already polished smiles have extra sparkle. It's Hong Kong Disneyland's first birthday and the star of the show is everywhere. There are Mickey Mouse balloons, a large chocolate Mickey Mouse overlooking the croissants and pastries, bite-sized Mickey Mouse-shaped cheesecakes and special celebratory badges featuring Mei k Lo shuyou (pronounced my-k lowshoe) as he is known in Cantonese. The interactive breakfast is a feature of staying at a hotel on site and rather than join the lengthy queues in the park, it's a much less hectic opportunity to get up close and personal with the characters, who are ever popular with the snap-happy Chinese. And while this is a familiar feature of hotel stays in Anaheim, the sentimental home of Disney, a visit to Hong Kong offers a very different experience to that in the US. As Hong Kong Disneyland executive Josh D'Amaro says: "One size does not fit all." Arriving late the night before at the expansive, brightly lit Disneyland Hotel with its palm tree-lined entrance, glowing white facade, 400 rooms and spectacular 18-metre high atrium, I felt as though I was anywhere but South-East Asia. The ornate iron work, dado boards, decorative furnishings and floral carpets are straight from the Victorian era. The eager-to-please cast - Disney staff are all known as cast members - dressed in white pants and waistcoats offered effervescent greetings. It was only when I opened the curtains in my seventh-floor suite - interestingly, there's no fourth floor because in Cantonese "four" and "death" sound similar - in the morning that I was confronted with the exotic location. In the misty haze beyond the bay I could see mountainous grey-blue islands jutting up from the sea like a scene from a Chinese ink painting. And there hovering above the perfectly manicured maze in the garden below was a squadron of dragonflies; a spontaneous symbol of East meeting West. Hong Kong Disneyland's launch last September was far from a fairytale. Built on reclaimed land at a cost of $2.35 billion, the 120-hectare complex has been plagued by reports of environmental damage and the use of sweat-shop labour to produce merchandise. During today's well-planned birthday celebrations, protesters once again capture headlines by using the media event to condemn the use of sweat-shop labour, an accusation denied by Disney. Still, the theme park is proving popular with locals and visitors from mainland China. Smaller than Anaheim, HKDL follows a similar footprint and includes the Sleeping Beauty Castle as well as a trimmed down Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adventureland and Main Street, USA, which are all faithfully re-created minus a few rides. After walking through the turnstiles and being told to "have a magical day", it feels as though you have stepped into a bizarre portal and emerged in Anaheim. Once inside the park with its mountainous backdrop, the differences become more obvious. Since its troubled 1992 launch of Euro Disney in Paris (now Disneyland Paris), the company is more aware of cultural differences - a necessity here in Hong Kong, given the mystical elements within Chinese culture. A feng shui master was consulted during the design of HKDL and some attractions were apparently rotated slightly to provide good energy flow. Outside the two on-site hotels are feng shui boulders to ensure good fortune doesn't flow out. The other significant difference is the food. If the large hotel breakfast buffet with its Chinese and Western menu isn't enough to remind you that you are in South-East Asia, the take-away dishes within HKDL will. In Tomorrowland's Comet Cafe, a dish of barbecue duck or pork with rice or stir-fried chicken costs about $9, and as well as soft drinks you can buy watermelon or mango juice and soy milk. Burgers and fries are available, but it's such a relief to enjoy a healthy meal given the fare offered in Anaheim - think slices of five-layer chocolate cake, towering ice-creams and buckets of hot chips. And, of course, the use of three languages - English, Cantonese and Putonghua - also sets HKDL apart from Anaheim. There are more performance-based attractions in Hong Kong than elsewhere, so overcoming the language barrier has been pivotal. Signage and announcements are in English and Cantonese and subtitles are used in some performances, which are always in English. But what about the rides? That perennial favourite among Disney fans - Space Mountain - is here and is even slicker than the recently refurbished model in Anaheim. Designers, or "imagineers" as they are known in Disneyspeak, have had fun with technology in Hong Kong and the lighting and soundtrack in the cosmic roller-coaster ride offer a real adrenaline rush. It is a shame the speed and excitement of Space Mountain are not matched by other rides and my feeling is that teens will be disappointed while younger children and those with a fear of hair-raising rides will feel at home in HKDL. There are plans to expand the range of rides, but at the moment the standout features are: * Stitch Encounter (Tomorrowland) - get up close and personal with the animated alien who likes to burp and break wind. He appears on a large screen and interacts with the audience by selecting certain people and chatting with them. He is irreverent and hilarious. Every show is different. * Jungle River Cruise (Adventureland) - more exciting than the Anaheim version. Be prepared for life-like rhinos surging towards the boat, elephants showering in the shallows and a volcanic eruption with real flames. * The Golden Mickeys (Fantasyland) - a punchy, professional Broadway-style revue pays tribute to Disney's films. Performed in the large Storybook Theatre, the 25-minute show includes Mickey, Minnie and a host of popular characters. A hit with young and old. There's more than enough to keep you busy for a full day - don't overlook old favourites such as the Mad Hatter's Teacups and the Cinderella Carousel - and HKDL proves that bigger is not necessarily better. MAKE TIME TO * Visit Lantau Peak, known as Fung Wong Shan (phoenix mountain) in Cantonese. At 934 metres, it is the second-highest peak in Hong Kong. On a clear day it is possible to see Macau. * Dine in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel's Crystal Lotus restaurant, one of the top Chinese restaurants in the city. TRIP NOTES *Tickets can be purchased on site or see http://www.hongkongdisneyland.com. * Hong Kong Disneyland is in Pennys Bay, on the north-east end of Lantau Island, 15 minutes drive from the international airport. A taxi costs about $HK180 ($33). * If travelling from the city by train, take the Tung Chung line from Hong Kong Station and change at Sunny Bay for the Disneyland Resort line. The 30-minute trip costs $HK26 each way. * Virgin Atlantic flies daily from Sydney to Hong Kong. Connections from other Australian capitals can be booked with Virgin Blue. See http://www.virginatlantic.com.au or phone 1300 727 340. * Creative Holidays offers a two-night deal that includes accommodation in a garden view room as well as one-day admission to Hong Kong Disneyland Park from $296 staying at the Hollywood Hotel, and from $436 staying at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. TIPS * Pack swimmers, as both hotels have large outdoor pools. |
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Candlelight Processional updated narrator list
Sparkling Candlelight Processional at Epcot
A highlight of Holidays Around the World, the traditional
Candlelight Processional at Epcot treats guests to a grand
musical performance featuring a mass choir and a full
orchestra accompanied by a celebrity narrator who retells the
beloved story of Christmas. Celebrity narrators scheduled to
appear include (subject to change): Presentations of Candlelight Processional are daily, Nov. 24-Dec. 30, at 5, 6:45 and 8:15 p.m., and are included with regular Epcot admission. Candlelight Processional lunch and dinner packages, available for an additional charge, include preferred seating for a performance of Candlelight Processional as well as dinner at a select Epcot restaurant. To make reservations for these packages, guests can call 407/WDW-DINE. |
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Lessons in Data Warehousing from Walt Disney and His Magic
Kingdom I absolutely love this time of year – summer is over, football weather is upon us, leaves are changing color (yes, even here in Northern California), and the kids are back in school. One of my favorite things about starting a new school year when I was a kid was reviewing the basics that we’d learned the year before to ease us into the harder materials that loomed before us. My other favorite thing was hearing about what all of my classmates did over the summer. It turns out that a favorite summer vacation for families here in California is a trip to Disneyland – a trip I’ve taken many times with my own family. By now, you may be wondering: What do going back to school and Disneyland have in common with data warehousing? Join me as I review several basic tenets of data warehousing by taking you on a trip to Disneyland. And in the immortal words of Walt Disney, who in 1955 learned that all our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them, “To all who come to this happy place: Welcome.” Lesson #1 Like both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, your data warehouse initiative will be merely a vision without adequate financing and sponsorship. However, achieving the necessary sponsorship and funding can be harder than you imagine, so take a lesson from Walt Disney and find the courage to pursue your goal of turning data into information and knowledge. One of the best means of achieving sponsorship and funding is to educate executive management on the benefits of data warehousing (or enterprise information management in a broader scope). An effective way to do this is by creating a strategy alignment and business case scenario, which should:
Lesson #2 Just like the Matterhorn is to Disneyland, the data warehouse is a component of an overarching framework for enterprise information management. The EIM framework includes the following eight foundational elements, which all must be in place to allow for an effective, efficient and long-term data warehouse/business intelligence solution that will satisfy and maybe even thrill your customers:
Lesson #3 Just like Disneyland, your data warehouse is never “done.” Successful data warehouses attract both new users, which lead to expanded data breadth, and new uses, which lead to applications dramatically different from those for which the architecture was originally designed. Properly designed data architectures, metadata and transformational layers optimize flexibility. Parameter- and metadata-driven applications enable transformation logic to be reused for a variety of applications, including reading new sources and creating new data marts, aggregations and reports. The fact that the data warehouse will continue to grow and change over time is a very important expectation to set and manage with executives and business users, but it will also keep them coming back again and again. Lesson #4 Your data warehouse can become a lot like Disneyland on a mid-summer’s day, as the volume of data increases substantially over time and the number of end users grows. To mitigate issues around performance and scalability, enterprise class data warehouses should be built and tested to “speed up” in proportion to added resources in order to hit shrinking batch windows and/or to “scale up” to handle more data in existing batch windows. Specific techniques can be deployed across hardware, application and database layers to ensure linear scalability is achieved through simple configuration changes. Additional techniques include, but are not limited to, three parallelism types (process, data and pipe-lining), data reduction (compression, aggregation, variable length records, etc.), data-sensitive partitioning schemes and indexing. Lesson #5 Again, lessons from Disneyland can be applied to the world of large-scale data warehousing. In the arena of terabytes of data, millions or even billions of rows may be processed daily, with 24x7 operations. Supporting hundreds of users while processing feeds around the clock demands stiff service levels, and catching up after prolonged outages can be complicated, if not impractical. In environments of this class, exceptions happen every day, if not every hour (e.g., missing/late feeds, bad data, corrupt disks, processor faults). The necessary response is to engineer for automated fault tolerance, repair and recovery at all levels: hardware, system software, applications and operations. Reliability features that should be implemented in the data warehouse environment include: embedded applications for audit, balance and control; automated job execution and recovery; standardized error-handling routines; automated system monitoring and alarming functions; intelligent placement of redundant layers; and fully decoupled architectures. Lesson #6 To the customers or end users of a data warehouse, a best practice is to make the data warehouse itself a “backstage” environment. End users interact with the data warehouse through a data presentation layer or through business intelligence software that should shield the end user from the complexities of the underlying data warehouse architecture. For example, a business end user should not be concerned with the physical data model, joins, indexes, primary keys or surrogate keys of the data warehouse. Nor should the business end user be expected to understand the transformations that are taking place during data movement from source tables to target tables in the warehouse. These behind-the-scenes operations are the responsibility of the IT department tasked with developing an easy-to-use information access data environment. Lesson #7 Similar to Disneyland, the lack of cleanliness in your data warehouse can make for a very unpleasant experience for your customers. One consistent driver for the information management discipline is achieving and maintaining high levels of data quality or data cleanliness. The costs of bad or “dirty” data are frequently documented and can be quite large. Yet, the corresponding benefits of clean data are also large. Best practices for data quality in your warehouse environment suggest the following:
Top Ten Ways Data Warehousing is Like Disneyland
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Disney-ABC Names McNeal VP of Talent and Diversity
Disney-ABC Television Group has named Tim McNeal VP of talent
development and diversity. |
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Walt once said, "What is needed in addition to the creative
ability is courage -- courage to try new things to satisfy
the endless curiosity of people for information about the
world around them."
And sometimes beyond. |
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Monday October 2, 2006 |
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Early Morning Edition
ZOO Digital shares rocket on Walt Disney contract |
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Shares in ZOO Digital Group Plc (ZOO.L) soared 43 percent
after the British software technology company said it had
signed a contract with Walt Disney Pictures and Television (DIS.N).
Under the contract, ZOO's video authoring tools arm ZOOtech will license its Templated Authoring System for the automated production of DVD video discs for new and existing film titles. The shares rocketed 43 percent to 1.25 pence by 0853 GMT on Monday, valuing the group at 5.5 million pounds ($10.3 million). In May, Chief Executive Stuart Green had told Reuters that ZOO wanted to hive off ZOO Interactive Video -- its interactive DVD division -- and make a decision on a strategic partner for ZOOtech in the next two to three months. ZOO counts such studios as Disney, Fox (NWS.N), Dreamworks (DWA.N) and Universal (GE.N) as clients. |
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In new plan, ESPN to sell content to cell companies
The planned shutdown of the Mobile ESPN cell phone service
marks the first major bust in a rush of specialized wireless
ventures targeting niche audiences they contend are
underserved by the Cingulars and Verizons of the world. |
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Disney Lands In Living
Room
Wall-to-Wall Walt |
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Diet ads
permeate TV targeting tots
When Susan Connor's 3-year-old son started humming the McDonald's jingle, a research project was born. Connor knew where he'd heard the fast food giant's catchy tune - on the Disney Channel during "The Wiggles," a show for preschoolers. "He had absorbed that from watching TV," said Connor, whose study on food ads aimed at toddlers appears in the October issue of Pediatrics. "It would be a marketer's dream to know they were that successful." Messages for high-fat, high-sugar foods permeate programming for preschoolers on Nickelodeon, the study found. On the Disney Channel's shows for the youngest children and even on Public Broadcasting Service shows such as "Sesame Street," companies woo tots' loyalty by linking logos, licensed characters and slogans with fun and happiness. Disney and PBS promote themselves as ad-free, but fast food companies dominated sponsor messages during programming for toddlers, Connor found, making up 82 percent of sponsor messages on PBS preschool programming and 36 percent of messages on Disney's toddler block of shows. The clown character Ronald McDonald appears with shows for toddlers on Disney and PBS. And the cartoon mouse Chuck E. Cheese pops up alongside preschool programming on PBS. Connor, research manager of Cleveland's Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, said adults who haven't seen children's programs lately will be surprised by the findings. Advocates said the study adds to mounting evidence that food marketers are trying to hook the youngest children as lifelong customers. Promotions go both ways with TV characters from children's shows used on the packaging of sugary cereals, fruit-flavored snacks and other foods. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to study links between the ads, viewing habits and the rise of childhood obesity. For now, marketing of food to children is unregulated. Previous studies have found that kids as young as 3 who see TV ads are more likely to request and eat advertised foods high in fat, sodium and sugar. American children from infancy to age 6 watch an average of one hour of TV daily, and 8- to-18-year-olds watch an average of three hours daily. They see roughly 40,000 TV ads a year. "It's very concerning when childhood obesity is a major public health problem that preschool programs are still being sponsored by fast food restaurants and food that's not healthy for children," said Susan Linn of Harvard Medical School and a co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She was not involved in the study. Diane Levin, of Wheelock College who is also a co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, criticized Disney and PBS for breaching viewers' trust. She supports limits on marketing of junk food to children too young to make critical judgments about advertising. "PBS has a special responsibility," said Levin, who was not involved in the study. With federal funding threatened, Levin said, PBS has searched for new revenue, including from sponsors who want to reach children. PBS spokeswoman Lea Sloan said sponsors' messages don't interrupt programs and don't go longer than two minutes, 17 seconds per hour. PBS doesn't allow price information, product comparisons, depictions of children's products or superlative claims, Sloan said. "The content of these messages is either in support of public television or around learning, education and social development," Sloan said in an e-mail. "Licensed characters or mascots often reinforce a positive educational message and their appearance is limited to five seconds." Nickelodeon spokesman Dan Martinsen said the channel has reduced food ads during its "Nick Jr." block of programs for preschoolers by 20 percent in the last two years. Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague said sponsor messages are accepted "only when they are connected to a pro-social message." Chuck E. Cheese spokeswoman Brenda Holloway said the pizza restaurant chain's play areas promote physical activity, as do its ads. "Realistically, our research shows most children come to Chuck E. Cheese's to play and have fun," Holloway wrote in an e-mail. "We think that our PBS sponsorship announcements do promote physical activity and social interaction through play and learning, which we believe are appropriate messages for preschool-age children." McDonald's did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. |
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HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY WALT
DISNEY WORLD |
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Sunday October 1, 2006 |
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Evening Update
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Dream Along With Mickey debuted yesterday, September 30th, 2006. The new show is part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration and can be seen daily at the Castle Forecourt stage in Magic Kingdom. Dream Along With Mickey features Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Cinderella, Prince Charming and many more of your favorite characters and villains. The Year of A Million Dreams officially kicks-off today, October 1, 2006. |
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It was one of the toughest jobs in corporate America:
Restoring the corporate image of The Walt Disney Company.
The House of Mouse was in the headlines more for its boardroom battles than its bottom line. Last year, after 21 years at the helm, the charismatic Michael Eisner, was forced out by angry shareholders. And coming into the hot-seat as CEO was his long-time deputy Robert (Bob) Iger. Disney is now back on track, with its major problems in the past. CNN's Andrew Stevens began by asking Iger his strategy for restoring Disney's corporate image to its former glory.
Stevens: Obviously easier said than done, I mean did it go according to plan? Iger: Well, I actually feel that looking back on what has been a pretty interesting number of months in this job, that as a team we accomplished more than I had expected to in this period of time. Now that doesn't mean that it is time to become complacent or to rest on our laurels because there is always a lot more that needs to be done but I would say slightly ahead of plan. Stevens: When you were pulling the Disney house back into shape you obviously had to deal with some pretty big egos, Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs. How did you manage those sorts of personalities? Is it compromise and consensus? Iger: Well for me it is never about egos. It is about dealing with people in a very open, straightforward fashion. I think it is incredibly important to be open and accessible and treat people fairly and look them in the eye and tell them what is on your mind. Stevens: Michael Eisner was at Disney for 21 years, you were his number two for five years, how important was it for you to establish yourself as your own man when you took over the top job? Iger: I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. So I thought it was very important when I stepped into this role, that I assume the position so to speak and act the part as a leader because I thought that the company very much needed that. So that means providing direction, creating a level of accountability but also a significant amount of empowerment to people -- in other words, giving them a framework, letting them know that they are responsible but then giving them room to operate. Stevens: So you had a stint as a weatherman... obviously you didn't choose to pursue your on-camera career. Why not? Iger: You know, people ask me all of the time, do you have one dream or something unfulfilled? I never wanted to be a singer or musician or athlete but I must admit that having a job like yours is something that is still intriguing to me. Stevens: So do you think you would be good at it? Iger: I certainly I think I would be much better at it today than I was back then because of the confidence factor. But I gave it up at the time because I did not have that confidence and I didn't think I would be good enough or it would get me far enough. I guess it was the right decision. |
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The rain was pouring, the skies were a murky gray and
Mickey's magic wasn't working on the visitors cursing and
scampering for cover at Hong Kong Disneyland.
But Keith Simpson and his six friends from Sydney -- all Disney fanatics sporting matching polo shirts that show Mickey ears over Australia's map -- couldn't have been happier. The group was in Hong Kong on the second leg of their Disney-themed round-the-world tour, realizing months of planning for a 32-day trip that takes them to every Disney park in the world -- from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Paris, to the U.S. flagships, Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. It was a dream come true for the ''Down Under Disneyana'' fan club members, who have all been to one or more Disney parks before but have never done them all at one go. The idea of a world tour was especially appealing for Australian fans because they live so far away from all the Disney parks, Simpson said. ''We can't go to Disneyland every week. We can only go once every year, and that's if we're lucky,'' said Simpson, 36, a fraud investigator for a bank. The nearest park -- Hong Kong -- is more than eight hours' flight away. The fans also organized the trip so that it coincided with several important dates for Disney. The group was in Hong Kong for the first anniversary celebrations at Disney's newest theme park on Sept. 12. They planned to finish on Sept. 30, the last day of 50th anniversary festivities at the original Disneyland in Anaheim. Along the way, members expected to mark the occasion with group photos in front of all the iconic Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella castles, said Wayne Godfrey, the organizer of the trip. They also planned to spend minimum time sightseeing outside the parks, while trying to go on every single ride at every single park they're visiting. In fact, discounting time spent onboard flights and transfers from airports, virtually every minute of the monthlong trip was to be spent in one Disney park or another. ''It's the first time for all of us. I don't know anyone who's done quite what we're doing,'' Godfrey, 48, said. None of the seven traveling members had been to Paris before, so that was the most eagerly anticipated stop, he added. Godfrey, who describes himself as a ''pretty big'' Disney fan, founded the Down Under Disneyana Club 13 years ago. ''I grew up watching the 'Wonderful World of Disney' on TV, with Walt Disney narrating,'' he said. He now shares his passion for all things Disney with about 200 Aussies, whom he meets regularly for themed parties and to share trip reports.
Price tag for trip: $4,661
The finance manager has been collecting Disney memorabilia
like books, magazines and DVDs for more than 20 years. He
''got hooked'' on Disney parks ever since he visited Disney
World in the early '90s, he said, and has since been back to
the Orlando parks seven times, and to Disneyland in
California nine times.
Simpson, meanwhile, didn't get his first taste of Disney parks until he visited Anaheim last year. The fan said the ''Beauty and the Beast'' movie and its soundtrack initiated his Disney obsession, and he has now collected so many Disney movie posters he's ''run out of wall'' for them at home. Simpson, Godfrey and their friends agree that doing Space Mountain and spinning teacups over and over again at every Disney park is anything but repetitive. ''Every time you go to a park there's different things to do, and you get out of it what you put into it,'' explained Simpson, who said he's sure he will enjoy every moment of the world tour. ''I don't think I'll ever get tired of going. What I like about Disney parks is that once you go through those front gates you sort of leave the real world behind you. That's why it's so appealing.'' The world trip cost about $4,661, inclusive of discounted rates for hotels, transfers and passes to the parks, Godfrey said. The Tokyo leg cost an extra $526, because the air miles went over the prescribed mileage limit in the round-the-world airfare, he said. ''Coordinating the airfare was the trickiest part,'' he said. ''But once we decided to go with a regular round-the-world airfare, it all came together really quickly.''
Tips for others
Godfrey has a word of advice for anyone trying to organize a
similar trip. ''I would book a round-the-world airfare. I
would try to stay at the moderate [Disney] hotels. I'd also
make sure I go out of season, not on holidays when the parks
are crowded,'' he said.
Members all groaned when asked how it would it feel when the trip's all over. ''It'd be sad when you have to go back to reality,'' said Della Whitton, 41, Simpson's girlfriend and fellow Disney addict. She didn't have to despair -- Simpson said tcouple opted out of the Tokyo leg of this trip so they could save it for later. A Disney cruise and repeat trips to Florida's parks are also in their future. ''It feels like we're saving up all our holidays for Disney trips,'' he said. |
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Scots enterprise Disney get much better than this
Nicol Stephen, the enterprise minister who is rarely lost for words, had to dig deep into Scotland's enterprising past to sum up the audience of tycoons and entrepreneurs before him. "Andrew Carnegie would have been proud," he told the 600 guests at last week's Globalscot conference dinner, and for once there seemed little spin or hype. The feast, held in Edinburgh's Royal Museum, was part of the biggest gathering of expatriate Scottish business leaders and local entrepreneurs ever seen. The first objective, to get people to talk to each other, was met repeatedly through formal break-out sessions, chance encounters and hundreds of prearranged one-to-one meetings in the wood-panelled rooms of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. The question now is whether the energy, goodwill and contacts created in the space of two days will generate real economic benefits for Scotland. One who believes it will is Jim Foley, the head of Corporate FIT Science, a staff performance enhancement company in Ayrshire. Foley was impressed enough with the event to call Jack Perry, Scottish Enterprise chief executive, on Friday morning with his thanks. Foley said: "I went along thinking it would help me to understand what was going on and benefit from the next event. I made immediate contact with John Stewart [chief executive of National Australia Bank] and Andy Mooney [chairman of Disney consumer products], and we have at least half a dozen solid leads, as well as a whole pile of other activity to follow up on. "One of the key things is that the Globalscots are already well disposed to help and engage with people, and that was useful." Another Scots businessman said: "I have had five one-to-one meetings, and I got something out of all of them. One alone was worth going along for the whole day." SE is working on an evaluation system to record the long-term benefits of the meeting. Linda McDowell, its director of strategic relationships, said: "The feedback we have had so far from the people who attended is that it has been very successful. We do not need to expand the network, we already have 900 Globalscots. We want to use that network more effectively. Now companies know we have access to this [international group] hopefully more of them will come forward and use it." She added that a second conference was likely to be held, "perhaps not next year but in two or three years' time". Given that the agency paid a modest £70,000 towards the event's £300,000 budget, there are unlikely to be many complaints about a misuse of funds. "I expect Scottish Enterprise will get a pretty good return on investment on that," said Foley. Among the highlights cited by delegates were speeches from Edinburgh-born John Stewart, who gave a detailed account of the problems he faced when he took over as chief executive of NAB, owner of Clydesdale Bank, in 2004. He drew laughter from the audience when he suggested that poorly performing employees should be "machine-gunned", and said the foreign exchange crisis which engulfed NAB just before he joined was "the best thing that ever happened to the company". And Disney's Andy Mooney, originally from West Lothian, provided an insight into a £15bn toys and games empire that few could have expected to hear in a Scots accent. Gavin Hastings, the former Scotland rugby captain who now runs the Scottish arm of sports agency Platinum One, said: "It was terrific. You saw the way Scots have got into business around the world, and it was a fantastic example of what Scots could achieve. "There is so much opportunity here to lift and motivate people, and I count myself somebody who is already motivated and has shown ambition. As Jim McColl [Clyde Blowers chief executive and conference host] said, it was unashamedly a networking event and I think there was a lovely, positive atmosphere." Hastings believes the concept should be extended: "To some extent the conference was preaching to the converted. It would be great if everybody in Scotland could be exposed to that kind of proposition." Kevin Dorren, the former software company boss who now runs health food firm Go Lower, said he had benefited from meeting Alan Jope, the head of Unilever's North American arm. "It's a great opportunity on your doorstep to discuss the issues facing Scottish business in looking beyond its home market." While the mood was overwhelmingly positive, there were a few gripes. One Glasgow-based businessman wanted more networking and fewer inspirational speeches: "I have worked around the world, I don't really need to be inspired." The first day of the conference was less well attended, with a preponderance of Scottish Enterprise speakers broken up only by First Minister Jack McConnell and IBM vice-president Ian Crawford. One guest said: "It was a bit slow on the Wednesday, and heavy going at times. I went to one of the breakout sessions and it seemed badly organized. It got much better on Thursday." But despite the niggles, support for the concept was rock solid, and the most commonly asked question last week was: "Why was this not tried earlier?" The Globalscot concept has been around since 2002, when Wendy Alexander, the former enterprise minister, set up a website to keep track with overseas-based Scots. Alexander initially met resistance from expatriates whose view of their homeland was still clouded by the strikes of the 1970s and industrial collapse of the early 1980s. Gradually, however, the scheme pulled together a group of exiles which was large enough to justify last week's gathering, driven partly by SE's new international advisory board. Board member Crawford Gillies, former European managing director of management consultancy Bain & Company, said the conference provided a "stunning start" for connections between Scotland and the rest of the world. "The energy in the room was outstanding. I came across a couple of people who did real business there and then. The commitment of the people from overseas was magnificent. Now it is a question of where we go from here." |
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Fullerton resident designs displays for Disneyland
This summer while the nation was wrapped in red, white and blue bunting for Independence Day celebrations, Shawna Tice-Miles was thinking orange. Orange as in the 300 foam-core pumpkins that needed to be carved for Disneyland's Halloween windows. And orange as in the orange-and-white cobweb cakes created to dazzle children's eyes in the costume shop. As one of the top window-display artists at Disneyland, the Fullerton resident works months in advance to capture seasonal elements for 20 showcase windows in the resort. Tice-Miles, 28, must maintain Walt Disney's mantra: Every window on Main Street must tell a story. "I love researching Victoriana on the Internet and in books, and trying to capture the merrymaking," Tice-Miles said. "Designing is all in the details." She also injects the psychology of window dressing she learned at the Fashion Institute of Los Angeles. Boys tend to be attracted to weaponry at Halloween, while girls find costumes and characters appealing. These props will be used to emphasize the newest promotion, Disney's HalloweenTime, in which the theme park will take on the holiday's motif. Men are magnetized by sports-related merchandise with hard lines. Women's eyes are drawn to soft florals accenting a main theme. Green-velvet walls attract the male eye; gilded walls lure the female eye. "At Disneyland, we don't want so much glitz," she said. "We want window displays to be homey and inviting." Hannah Risom, a tourist from Denmark, recently interrupted her walk toward Sleeping Beauty's Castle to admire a Tice-Miles display. "This is just like my grandmother's dining room," said Risom, pointing to the lace tablecloth, hand-painted china and Victorian lamp. "Here at Disneyland, we want visitors to find a treasure in every corner," Tice-Miles said. "I want to work here forever." |
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ABC's 'The Nine' will leave viewers twisting for more
Among new fall dramas, ABC's The Nine rates a 10. |
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Disney hits a high note with post-Katrina students
St. Mary's Dominican High School, Lake Forest Charter Elementary School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School, and Eleanor McMain Secondary School, along with Desire Street Academy of Baton Rouge and St. Bernard Unified School in Chalmette are among the schools to benefit from the largesse of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida as 52 donated instruments including several sets of drums, xylophones, chimes and other percussion equipment make their way to hurricane-swept schools on the Gulf Coast. "We wanted the instruments to go to schools that had been affected by Hurricane Katrina," said Tim Hill, director of Special Programs for Disney Destinations. "Many schools from that area have entertained our Theme Park guests with their Disney Magic Music Days performances. We wanted to give something back." "We're thrilled that Disney Magic Music Days at the Walt Disney World Resort is so supportive of music education around the country," said Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Executive Director Felice Mancini. "Through this donation of exquisite instruments, hundreds of students in dozens of communities will now be able to enjoy the gift of music. We thank the Disney organization for such generosity." Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which was inspired by the motion picture about the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students, supports music education through the donation and repair of musical instruments. |
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| Back News |
Platinum Edition of the most-requested Disney DVD title ever,
the Academy Award winning (1989 Best Original Song and Best
Original Score) The Little Mermaid. Available for the first
time in seven years and the first time ever on a two-disc
"Platinum Edition" DVD, this enchanting, music-filled
adventure goes 'under the sea' and soars to new heights with
bonus features for the whole family. Included is the new
"Under The Sea Adventure: A Virtual Ride" (based on an actual
Disney Imagineering concept); extensive background on the
ride; a new "Kiss The Girl" music video performed by "High
School Musical" sensation Ashley Tisdale; a new "Treasures
Untold" making-of featurette about the film's history,
creators and famous music, new Disney Feature Animation short
film "The Little Match Girl" based on another one of "Little
Mermaid" creator Hans Christian Andersen's classic tales;
never-before-seen deleted scenes, and much more. The Little
Mermaid ignited an animation renaissance at Disney and around
the world, and this celebrated classic sparkles as never
before with an all-new digital restoration and the all-new 5.1
Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix. 
Iger:
Well, I had great training. I had worked at Disney since
they bought the company that I had worked for, ABC in the
mid-90s. I also had the benefit of working for Michael
Eisner, who taught me a tremendous amount about the company
-- about both its past and present and what the potential of
the company could be. And so at the time that I got the job,
I was pretty focused on what I wanted to accomplish and
when. So one thing that was very important was putting some
of the skirmishes that we had been embroiled in behind us. I
did not feel that it was healthy for the company to have
that distraction, nor was it healthy for me. Focusing the
company on what really would drive the most value going
forward