September 21 - 27, 2008
 

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No News Updates September 26th - 28th P.I. Closure and Food and Wine Trip

Thursday September 25, 2008

Johnny Depp in deep with Disney
"Happy HalloWishes" show lights up the night
Halloween Time at Disneyland
Disneyland to Miley Cyrus fans: Beware of Sweet 16 party ticket-scalpers
Family sues Disneyland, says dog attacked toddler
Tinker Bell and friends attraction coming to Disney World
'Haunted Halloween' returns to Disneyland in Hong Kong
Disney gala shows off upcoming movies
Demi Lovato to Star in Disney's Series 'Sonny with a Chance'
"Cars 2" racing to theaters in 2011
Cable can be centre of Disney strategy
Top Up adds Disney, ABC shows to Anytime
Disney, Fickman ink first-look deal
Disney College Program internships provide work experience

Johnny Depp in deep with Disney

Hollywood Reporter - Move over, Mickey Mouse: Johnny Depp, having buccaneered his way through three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, is becoming the new mascot of Walt Disney Studios.

Depp, taking on the role of the Mad Hatter, has accepted an invitation to join the manic tea party in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland."

In a surprise piece of casting, Depp also will play the sidekick Tonto in the upcoming movie version of "The Lone Ranger."

A daylong preview of upcoming Disney movies and projects, held Wednesday at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland, ended with a surprise appearance by the actor, outfitted as Jack Sparrow, walking onstage to the tune of "The William Tell Overture," the "Lone Ranger" theme.

The Depp castings were just a couple of the developments that Disney execs, led by chairman Dick Cook, offered up to a packed house of exhibitors and media types. In lieu of doing major presentations at industry confabs like ShoWest, Disney traditionally throws elaborate show-and-tells in Los Angeles every few years to promote its wares.

Pushing the pedal to the metal, Disney and Pixar have moved up the animated sequel "Cars 2" from summer 2012 to summer 2011. Another sequel, "National Treasure 3," has been put into development, as has a fourth "Pirates."

Oprah Winfrey will lend her voice to the traditionally animated "The Princess and the Frog." And on the Miramax front, Helen Mirren is set to play an Israeli agent in "The Dead," a World War II espionage thriller that John Madden will shoot early next year.

"Movies are constantly changing, and we want to be at the forefront," said Cook, hammering home themes of innovation and creativity throughout the day.

He began by showing graphs to make a point that movie attendance worldwide has remained relatively flat no matter how many movies were released. While not stating the point, it subtly underscored the company's recent decision to scale back the number of movies it releases each year.

Cook stressed that in order to stand out in the crowded marketplace, the company is focusing on what it calls "the Disney difference," a combination of its brand name mixed with a dedication to creativity and innovation.

"We add that extra increment of quality to everything we do," Cook said.

The starry presentation also trotted out such names as Jim Carrey, Dwayne Johnson, John Travolta, Robin Williams, Sandra Bullock, George Lopez, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis and Pixar/Disney Animation creative head John Lasseter. The company used the occasion to preview movies including "A Christmas Carol," "Bedtime Story," "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," "Hannah Montana: The Movie," "Race to Witch Mountain," "The Proposal," "The Surrogates," "Old Dogs," "Up," "Prince of Persia" and "Tron 2.0."

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"Happy HalloWishes" show lights up the night

Disney News - Orange-hued fireworks explode over Cinderella Castle while illuminated pumpkins are projected onto the facade during the "Happy HalloWishes" fireworks show. The pyrotechnics show is part of "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party," an after-hours Halloween celebration that takes place on select nights at the theme park.

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Halloween Time at Disneyland

Disney News - Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort will fill Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure parks with not-so-scary spook-tacular entertainment beginning Friday, Sept. 26 and continuing through Sunday, November 2. The season of tricks and treats will be celebrated at Disneyland Resort with the traditional giant “Mickey Mouse” jack-o’-lantern in Disneyland Town Square, Haunted Mansion Holiday in New Orleans Square and Candy Corn Acres in Disney’s California Adventure, along with festive foods, a lively mix of Disney characters in Halloween costumes and year two of Disney’s Happiest Haunt Tours.

During regular park hours at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure, Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort offers parents and children plenty of family-friendly fun in addition to the parks’ many popular adventures. Halloween Time activities include special shows, meet-and-greets with Disneyland characters in spirited costumes, along with opportunities to decorate Halloween cookies and listen to storytelling tales at “Woody’s Halloween Roundup” at Big Thunder Ranch.

Dedicated fans of Halloween and the Disney parks will want to sign up to experience all the “hot and cold running chills” of the season on Disney’s Happiest Haunt Tour, an expanded version of the Halloween tour launched in 2007. From Sept. 26 to Oct. 31, the three-hour Disney’s Happiest Haunt Tour will be offered twice a day, beginning at the “witching hours” of 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. The tour, conducted by a “unique” Disneyland Resort tour guide, includes the stories behind some of the Disney parks’ spookiest attractions, told from the perspective of Disney villains. Stops at thrilling attractions including the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Snow White’s Scary Adventure are among the highlights of the tour.

Disney’s Happiest Haunt Tour is darkly humorous and spooky and is not recommended for young children or for those who might not enjoy the featured attractions (or might not meet the 40-inch height requirement for Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). The tour fee is $59 and does not include park admission. Guests who take the tour receive an exclusive collectible remembrance and a Halloween treat. Each tour group has a maximum size of 20 guests. Tours may be booked up to 20 days in advance by calling (714) 781-4400.

Popular, family-friendly entertainment also returns for the Halloween season. At Disney’s California Adventure Sunshine Plaza is the Candy Corn Acres, where Mickey Mouse’s pal Goofy sets out to grow the West’s biggest and most unusual candy corn, including candy corn coconuts, candy corn carrots and candy corn pumpkins. The Plaza will be overgrown with the “fruits” of Goofy’s labor.

Also returning for the season is Haunted Mansion Holiday. Inspired by the innovative animated film, Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas,” Haunted Mansion Holiday comes to life when Jack Skellington and his friends create holiday mayhem at the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square.

A perfect way to celebrate Halloween in special Disney style is the one-of-a-kind Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party. This private costume party lets little ones laugh and play with some of their favorite Disney Characters—including Mickey himself—and ride select attractions as they trick-or-treat through Disney’s California Adventure park. The experience also includes interactive games, “spirited” music, and a nightly character cavalcade. It’s an unforgettable evening of Halloween fun for everyone. Dates for Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party are Oct. 3, 10, 16. 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 and 31. Tickets are $29 per person when purchased at least one day in advance, $37 per person for tickets purchased day-of and for all Oct. 31 tickets. They may be purchased online at www.disneyland.com or by calling (714) 781-4400.

Throughout the Disneyland Resort during Halloween Time, families can enjoy unique Halloween-themed food items including Zero’s Ghostly Ghoulash, a favorite of Jack Skellington’s pet in “Haunted Mansion Holiday,” and merchandise including Disney costumes, collectible pins and coins and a special set of Halloween-themed Mickey Mouse ears resembling the Mickey jack-o’-lantern in Town Square.

For more information about Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort and new attractions, visit www.disneyland.com/halloween.

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Disneyland to Miley Cyrus fans: Beware of Sweet 16 party ticket-scalpers

Los Angeles Times - Fans forking over $500 or more to buy tickets on eBay for Miley Cyrus' Sweet 16 birthday party at Disneyland may be in for a harsh surprise when they arrive at the Hollywood–style red carpet event on Oct. 5.

The Anaheim theme park has instituted strict anti-scalping procedures designed to prevent reselling of tickets at online auction sites such as eBay — where more than 50 "Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 birthday party" tickets have been for sale in recent days. The exclusive event featuring the "Hannah Montana" star sold out almost immediately, with the general public snatching up the 5,000 available tickets at $250 a pop. Profiteers immediately put the coveted Cyrus tickets up for sale on eBay with prices starting at $500 apiece.

But here's the catch. Tickets won't be issued until the day of the event — and then only to the original purchaser after 2 p.m. at the main gate. (The event runs from 6 to 11 p.m.) And that's not all:

The original purchaser must provide a confirmation letter, identification and signature at the check-in booth in order to receive the tickets.

Everyone attending the event must be present when the tickets are issued.

A Disneyland employee will escort the credentialed group into the theme park.

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Family sues Disneyland, says dog attacked toddler

AP - A family is suing Disneyland, claiming their toddler was mauled by a dog at the park's petting zoo in 2006.

The suit filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court says the German shepherd-Labrador retriever mix named Hemmingway attacked 2-year-old Lena Dickerson, biting her several times on the face and leaving her permanently scarred.

The 6-year-old dog was adopted from a local shelter by a Disneyland employee and brought to the theme park two weeks before the attack, the suit says.

The lawsuit claims the shelter had called the dog "not very social" and said it had a history of aggression.

Disney officials declined comment Wednesday, saying they do not comment on pending litigation.

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Tinker Bell and friends attraction coming to Disney World

Orlando Sentinel - Move over, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel: The Disney Fairies are on their way.

Preparing for the Oct. 28 release of a straight-to-DVD animated children's movie about Tinker Bell, Walt Disney World is about to open a walk-through attraction in the Magic Kingdom based on, and featuring, that pixie and four other Disney Fairies characters.

The Disney Fairies are a new set of characters, developed for books, movies, Internet games and merchandise, that expand the role of the always-popular Tinker Bell. Four DVD movies are in the works. The theme park's Pixie Hollow attraction opens Oct. 24 in Mickey's Toontown Fair.

"This is a franchise that is soon to be like our princesses franchise," declared Francois Leroux, a vice president of character programs with Walt Disney World Entertainment, who introduced the characters to the media on Wednesday in downtown Orlando.

The theme-park fairies made their debut as Disney World officials briefed the news media on a broad range of plans and strategies, from minority-owned business contracting to the recently announced "celebrations" campaign in 2009 to a cross-promotion with the Disney-owned ESPN cable-TV network that will result in the renaming of Disney World's athletic complex as the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

While company officials had cautioned that they had no intention of using the forum to announce a major iconic attraction, the briefing had many close Disney observers wondering when or if the giant resort might unveil plans for new rides in 2009 or beyond. Disney has often used such briefings to announce big new rides, shows, restaurants and hotels.

Rivals Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando are both building new, signature roller coasters for next summer, and the following year Universal is opening the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of the most highly anticipated theme-park attractions in the world.

"This is the first time in our 15 years of covering the Walt Disney World scene that there isn't a single announced new attraction for any of the four parks," Simon Veness, co-author with his wife, Susan Veness, of the Brit Guide to Orlando & Walt Disney World, wrote in an e-mail.

In February, Disney announced a new game-show venue: a theme-park version of the hit Fox TV show American Idol. But that show initially was to open late this year; Disney now says it's likely to open early next. Disney has not announced any iconic attractions to follow that.

"It's also unusual given that Universal is coming out with both barrels blazing in the next couple of years," said Robert Niles editor of the blog Theme Park Insider.

In addition to Pixie Hollow and the American Idol Experience, upcoming attractions include new street parties; a new technology-based game tied to the Disney animated TV show Kim Possible; a big family restaurant in Downtown Disney called T-Rex; and other dining and entertainment expansions in Downtown Disney. This past summer, the company opened a major new ride called Toy Story Midway Mania, Disney World spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said.

"We continue to grow in traditional and nontraditional ways," Polak said. "We are going to continue to focus on delivering experiences that only Disney can provide."

John Frost, editor of The Disney Blog, a popular Internet source of news and commentary, considers 2009 "essentially a planned off year for Disney."

"With just American Idol opening next year, Walt Disney World is really relying a lot on this year's crop of new attractions. Toy Story Midway Mania is great, and they probably haven't gotten all the yardage they can out of that as far as attracting new guests," Frost said. "The Pixie Hollow Disney Fairies experience isn't an attendance driver, except for a very small target market."

John Gerner, a theme-park industry analyst with Leisure Business Advisers of Virginia, said Disney World is in a position where it does not have to add major rides all the time.

"As a strategy, one thing you don't necessarily try to do is expand the same year your competition does. It doesn't tend to serve either player," Gerner said. "The fact that Universal is putting in the big Potter area may have Disney saying, 'Let's pause and see what happens, and then we'll follow up.' "

To capitalize on both ESPN's popularity and the existing Disney's Wide World of Sports brand, Disney will rename its athletic complex ESPN Wide World of Sports.

"You really want to focus on your equities. One equity is ESPN. The other one is the fact that over the last 12 years we have built an enormous amount of equity behind the Wide World of Sports brand," said Ken Potrock, senior vice president for sports enterprises. "Not necessarily the ABC-Jim McKay brand, but the Wide World of Sports the Complex brand."

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'Haunted Halloween' returns to Disneyland in Hong Kong

Taiwan News - A strong power of darkness invades in Hong Kong Disney from September 26 to November 1, lasting 37 days. It will be the first time that this power of darkness expands its invasion into the Adventure Land to take over it, which is never seen in any other Disney. The upcoming dark power determines to swallow the Hong Kong Disney in this Halloween and creates a spookier "Haunted Halloween" than the one last year.

In this Halloween, the Adventure Land will be the spot for jungle demons to appear. The most thrilling and exciting part is the "Demon Jungle" that features scenes of caverns, treasure-hunt and escape. With an all-new plot and themed background, this is going to be the one of kind experience purposely designed for Hong Kong Disney.

Once upon a time, a group of adventurers entered deeply into the jungle for their mission, but they accidentally landed their foot on the graveyard, awakening countless devils and demons. Then, various types of demons and devils showed up and the whole group of the adventure team was nowhere to be found. This mysterious spot will reopen its gate with the power of darkness, waiting every guest to be trapped.

The lucky guests who escaped will have to enter "Adventure Haunted Land." This path is the "dark" spot for Halloween theme photo shots in daytime. However, at the night of every Friday and Saturday, it would be even creepier and spookier.

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Disney gala shows off upcoming movies

CNNMoney - In a gala adorned with Hollywood stars, The Walt Disney Co. wowed an industry crowd Wednesday in a showcase of its upcoming films that included a sequel to its 1982 sci-fi flick "Tron" and a "Lone Ranger" remake with Johnny Depp as Tonto.

The daylong presentation at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars, delivered repeated surprises as actors emerged onstage to tout animated 3-D movies, live-action thrillers and comedies _ with animal co-stars ranging from guinea pigs and chihuahuas to humpback whales.

Jim Carrey, starring in his first Disney film, a 3-D motion capture remake of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," summed up the chaos of his performance, in which he plays seven characters including Ebenezer Scrooge.

"It's pretty much just a party and everyone's invited," he said.

Commenting on Disney's lengthy rollout, which included a full screening of the animated dog-hero movie "Bolt," Carrey told out-of-town guests, "You can go back home and say these saddle sores came from Hollywood."

Disney made a similar presentation of its animated films to investors in April in New York, but held its last live-action movie showcase three years ago.

The 17 films presented then grossed over $5 billion at the box office, said Dick Cook, the chairman of Disney studios. He called the upcoming film slate the "most creative" in Disney history.

Among other casting announcements, Disney said Oprah Winfrey will be the voice of the character of Eudora in the hand-drawn animated movie set in New Orleans, "The Princess and the Frog."

The film features an African American heroine, Tiana, played by Anika Noni Rose. Winfrey plays Tiana's mother in the movie set for release on Christmas in 2009.

Depp, who received top billing for the role of Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, will also play the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton remake of "Alice in Wonderland."

"Believe me, any time this guy wears a funny hat, it's good news for Disney," Cook said.

A brief snippet from "Tron 2" featured a louder, crisper and more thrilling bike race and a cameo of an older Jeff Bridges, who starred in the original version.

Miley Cyrus, star of an eponymous movie and television show, performed a live song from "Hannah Montana: The Movie"; Robin Williams and John Travolta, stars of the upcoming "Old Dogs," yucked it up on stage; George Lopez appeared to promote "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"; and Dwayne Johnson was on hand to tout "Race to Witch Mountain."

The University of Southern California marching band even made an appearance.

The Pixar and Disney animation studios' chief creative officer, John Lasseter, also broke the news that "Cars 2," the sequel to the blockbuster he directed for Pixar Animation Studios, would be released in the summer of 2011, a year earlier than once planned.

Along with a wide-ranging slate of films starring Sandra Bullock ("The Proposal"), Tim Allen ("Wild Hogs 2"), and Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year"), Cook boasted Disney would release five 3-D movies next year, more than any other studio.

Cook fired a barb at former Disney studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, now chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., ribbing: "I read that even Jeffrey Katzenberg may release his first 3-D movie next year," in reference to "Monsters vs. Aliens."

The company also previewed films from its labels Touchstone and Miramax, the latter of which produced the 2007 Oscar winners "No Country for Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood."

The most promising Miramax release, set for release in December, was "Doubt," starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a dark tale about a nun's fight against a priest who she suspects of sexually abusing a black student.

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Demi Lovato to Star in Disney's Series 'Sonny with a Chance'

ACESHOWBIZ - Having her debut LP "Don't Forget" hit the stores Tuesday, September 23, Demi Lovato is adding yet another project into her acting resume, a new Disney TV series, titled "Sonny with a Chance." In an interview with Spanish magazine Para Todos, she reveals some details about the upcoming project.

Demi told the publication, the story of "Sonny with a Chance" follows "a girl named Sonny having a chance to make it in [show] business." She went on revealing that she and the other cast and crew have finished filming the first episode of the series and "will continue to film the series through the next few months."

"Sonny with a Chance," still according to Para Todos, is set to air in February or March 2009. No words on the other cast who star in the series.

As for her singing career, Demi has been getting a very vocal support from fellow famous celebrities Jonas Brothers, who have urged fans to pick up her new CD. The singing sensations wrote on their official blog Tuesday, September 23, "Just wanted to let you know that Demi's new CD is in stores TODAY!!! We are so proud of our friend. She is an amazing singer and musician. Also, we want you to know that we were able to co-write and co-produce 6 of the songs on the CD. There is even a duet we can't wait for you to hear."

With her debut LP already on sale at stores nationwide, Demi nevertheless has been quoted by Para Todos as saying she has no plans to celebrate. "I'm actually going to be working, so I haven't really planned a party, but I might just have a bunch of people over and have pizza or something," so she said.

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"Cars 2" racing to theaters in 2011

Reuters - Pixar is pushing the pedal to the metal on its sequel "Cars 2."

The follow-up to John Lasseter's 2006 film "Cars" originally was scheduled for release in summer 2012. But at a Disney presentation Wednesday, Lasseter, Pixar's chief creative officer, said that the film has been moved up to a 2011 release.

Brad Lewis, who served as a producer on "Antz" and "Ratatouille," is directing the film, which Lasseter said takes its inspiration from cars from around the world that he saw while doing publicity tours on behalf of "Cars."

In the meantime, Pixar will keep the "Cars" engine humming with a series of animated shorts dubbed "Cars Toons," which will play on the Disney Channel and might screen theatrically. The first of these, "Mater's Tall Tales," takes its title from the name of the character that Larry the Cable Guy played in the first film.

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Cable can be centre of Disney strategy

Broadband TV News - Disney Media Networks’ President of Global Distribution Benjamin Pyne has laid out how cable has become the centre of the company’s cross-platform strategy.

Giving the keynote address to EuroSummit ’08, Pyne explained how US cablenets such as Cox and Cablevision had invested in fibre and “the bundle”, expanding into telecoms and later wireless. “Cablevision have used Disney SVOD and both of us make money on that package every month. Every once in a while we give them a premiere, but they have a piece of every other element of Disney, be it Disney Mobile or Disney.com, as it goes over their networks.”

The relationship with cable is a far cry from when Pyne announced the launch of the online catch-up service ABC.com during the NCTA cable show in Atlanta in 2006. “That entire day I was a marked man, every cable op thought we were betraying them. What we said was whether it’s on ABC.com or Disney.com we will more than build the audience and over the past two years we’ve proved that.”

Pyne said that while every technological advance was said to spell the end for broadcast and cable, the evidence so far is that those predictions are far from the truth.

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Top Up adds Disney, ABC shows to Anytime

Digital Spy - Top Up TV will add 400 hours of programming from Disney-ABC-ESPN Television to its library, it was announced today.

The first seasons of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty will be among the shows joining the Anytime service from September 27.

"We are delighted to be able to offer even more great TV shows to our viewers," said Top Up TV commercial director Jim Hytner. "Shows such as Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy are some of the most popular, ground-breaking and talked about TV series produced in recent years, so to add these to our already extensive programming will create one of the most comprehensive packages on the market, which are sure to be a hit with our audiences."

Maria Kyriacou, senior vice president for new media distribution at Disney-ABC-ESPN, said: "We’re committed to working with international partners in the new media space to bring our content to viewers in flexible ways - the impressive back catalogue of these award-winning hit series lends itself perfectly to Top Up TV Anytime’s on demand offering, where viewers will be able to revisit them, or discover them for the first time."

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Disney, Fickman ink first-look deal

Variety - Walt Disney Studios has cut a three-year first-look deal with Andy Fickman, who directed "The Game Plan" and recently wrapped "Race to Witch Mountain" for the studio.

Fickman has set up Oops Doughnuts Prods. that will be based on the Disney lot to develop family pics he will direct and produce. Betsy Sullenger is Fickman's producing partner and head of development for Oops Doughnuts.

Fickman expects that his next directing project for Disney will be "Pool Rats," a script he co-wrote with Kathryn Price and Nicole Millard based on his experience coaching a neighborhood league swim team. He and Sullenger will produce with Mayhem partners Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray.

Before he got his directing career started with the Amanda Bynes starrer "She's the Man" and the Showtime pic "Reefer Madness," the former Universal Studios tour guide worked as a development exec at companies run by Gene Wilder and Bette Midler. He also worked for Verna Harrah's Middle Fork Prods., where he was a producer on "Anaconda." He met Sullenger during his stint at Middle Fork.

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Disney College Program internships provide work experience

The Auburn Plainsman - Disney World is not only “The Happiest Place on Earth” to play, it now offers the happiest jobs on Earth.

The Disney College Program is an education and work experience program at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is open to students who are full-time students at a college or university in the United States and have completed at least one semester.

Alyssa Brussee, a recent Auburn graduate, interned on Main Street East in the Magic Kingdom in merchandising.

“It was really the best time of my life,” Brussee said. “I now consider my Disney friends to be just as close, if not closer to me than my Auburn friends.”

According to the Disney College Program Web site, interns have the opportunity to build skills including relationship building, problem solving and written and verbal communication.

Brussee got involved with the program through an informational meeting on campus. The Disney College Program visited Auburn last week. If interested students missed the presentation, they can still view it online through the E-Presentation.

Once the presentation is watched, applicants can fill out an application and interview.

“I was a communications major and needed an internship, so I went on the Web site and filled out some paperwork,” Brussee said. “I got an interview right after the Disney presentation.”

Sarah Bradford, a freshman in radio television and film, said she has seen fliers and advertisements for the Disney College Program presentation, but still wasn’t sure what it was.

“I think anything where you can intern, even if it doesn’t really have to do with your major, is a good opportunity to try and get something done so you can have the experience,” Bradford said.

Responsibilities range anywhere from training new College Program students, to working cash registers in a store at one of the parks.

Brussee said she gave directions to guests, was responsible for store merchandise and provided “Magical Moments” to children and guests.

Magical Moments are special treatments, like fast passes or staying at the castle, that are given out to randomly picked guests.

Bradford said the program sounds a fun experience, and she would be interested in doing something like that later on in her college career.

“I don’t have to intern for my major, but I am definitely going to try to intern later on for the experience,” Bradford said.

According to the Web site, one of the perks of the program is cast members get to “make new friendships that cover the globe.”

“We were given roommates in our apartments, ones that Disney owns, from all over,” Brussee said. “Mine were from North Carolina, New York City, Hong Kong and Japan.”

Brussee said she even went to one roommate’s wedding in February. She said she believes the people are amazing, including cast members and guests.

“The people make everything worthwhile,” Brussee said. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, it was the best semester of my life, even if I had to miss a football season.”

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Wednesday September 24, 2008

Universal CityWalk deal attempts to lure Pleasure Island passholders
The party's over for Disney's Pleasure Island
The Art and Soul of Bolt
Haunted Mansion reopens at Disneyland with 'Nightmare Before Christmas' theme
Magical Fireworks Voyage experience to become available to all Guests
Disney's name coming off its Wide World of Sports complex
Oprah Winfrey hops aboard Disney's 'Frog'
Disney Won't Give Up Control of Video Content Anytime Soon
Reedy Creek labor talks heat up
Fairies, parties en route to Magic Kingdom
'Moms panel' has gained celebrity offering online guidance to navigating Disney
Disneyland in loan extension talks

Universal CityWalk deal attempts to lure Pleasure Island passholders

Theme Park Rangers - Oh, you could feel this one coming from Universal, couldn't you? The clubs at Universal CityWalk will honor annual passes from Disney's Pleasure Island through March 31, 2009. P.I. clubs, perhaps you've heard, will be closed after this Saturday's festivities. (If you're a Disney premium passholder -- the kind that includes PI, water parks and theme parks, Universal will honor those for CityWalk as well.)

Here's how it works: Present your PI pass with valid photo ID at CityWalk guest services before Dec. 31, 2008. In return, you'll receive a CityWalk pass that's good through March 31, 2009, for select venues. They are Red Coconut Club, Bob Marley's, Pat O'Brien's, Citywalk's Rising Star, the groove, Latin Quarter and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. (It excludes VIP admission and special-ticket events like New Year's Eve.)

For more info, call CityWalk guest services at 407-224-2690.

You got to love it, now if we could get a comedy club and the Adventurers Club moved there we would be straight.

Can you say
Kevin Lansberry Duh! ROFLMAO

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The party's over for Disney's Pleasure Island

Orlando Sentinel - We are in the end days for the six nightclubs of Pleasure Island. Patrons and performers of the Downtown Disney entertainment complex, which opened in 1989, have been gathering for final rounds of merriment before the last-ever last calls Saturday.

Since the shutdown announcement in June, some mourners have shifted into reminiscing mode.

Mary Thompson Hunt, who has logged thousands of improv performances at P.I.'s Comedy Warehouse, recalls the excitement of the early years.

"Every night the parking lot was full, there were fireworks every night," she said. "This place was a party every night, and it stayed that way for a long time."

But rumors of eminent demise dogged the clubs for years. The slow, steady decrease of atmospheric extras on the island -- fewer street performers, the end of the New Year's Eve every night promotion, the demolition of the West End Stage, eliminated searchlights and so on -- only fed that speculation.

Many observers thought Comedy Warehouse and the Adventurers Club -- the two clubs that featured actors -- would be spared.

Hunt's hopes were dashed when she was called into an all-Island mandatory meeting. She knew it would be bad news. It was.

Playing it cool

Greg Triggs performed on the Island for 13 years before moving in 2003 to New York City, where he continues to work in the entertainment field. He wonders if more changes should have been made over the years.

"I think that in the nightclub business, it's not your job to react to what's cool, it's your job to decide what's going to be cool," he said. "Unless you keep exploring that, at some point, people are going to say, 'Well, I've been there. Where else should I go?' "

Nightlife options in the tourism corridor have increased -- not only with the arrival of Universal CityWalk in 1999, but also on Disney property. The company opened Disney's BoardWalk in 1996 and added West End, adjacent to Pleasure Island in 1997. Neither have a cover charge. When the P.I. opened, the movie theaters and Planet Hollywood didn't exist.

"One of the things that Pleasure Island had going for it, and CityWalk still will: Where else can you get that saturation of club experience? Probably in Las Vegas and CityWalk," Triggs said.

Orlando architect Jeffrey Lurie began frequenting Mannequins Dance Palace, a P.I. original, while employed at Disney in the '90s.

"As much as I have traveled and seen clubs in other cities, I've never seen anything like Mannequins," he said. "It had the rotating floor, the scenery that goes up and down out of the ceiling, the big stage."

Mannequins typically hosted a mix of cast members, locals and conventioneers.

"I think that's part of the fun of being a vacation spot," Lurie said. "You don't really care what other people are going to say or do."

He had seen Pleasure Island "scaled back," he said, so the clubs' closure wasn't a shock.

"The price didn't change, but it felt like you were getting less," he said.

This is the end

The Adventurers Club, one of the original establishments, offers distinctive entertainment. The setting is a 1930s organization of world travelers. Guests and character actors interact during playlets with off-script, slightly naughty shenanigans thrown in. There are club songs, oaths, salutes and inside jokes, which built cult-ish loyalty and a "hidden treasure" status.

John and Melissa Companick of New Jersey have visited regularly since 1997. They even had their wedding reception there -- complete with actors -- in 2002.

"Over the years we've been going, the same crowd has been there," John said. "I was shocked when I heard Pleasure Island was closing." He chalked it up as being another Internet rumor at first.

The couple, who planned to skip Disney this year, quickly made one final trip. They visited theme parks during the day and made videotapes of the shows at night. They weren't alone.

"It was so busy that we weren't able to make every show we wanted to see," Melissa said.

The thought of the club going away wore on them.

"We were fine all week, because there was something funny going on," John said. "But the last night it was like 'Holy cow, this is ending.' . . . It was a tough way to end our trip."

What's ahead

Disney officials remain hush-hush about the Pleasure Island of the future. Kevin Lansberry, vice president of Downtown Disney, said an announcement would be made in the "near future" -- but not before 2008 ends. Ragland Road restaurant, Fuego cigar bar and two retail outlets will remain open.

"We've got some interesting stuff planned in the interim because we don't want the place to look like a dark area with nothing but dark clubs around it," Lansberry said.

"I don't think we'll put the green pixie dust walls up right away. The walls will stay down until we start making the changes we're planning to make," he said.

Don't look for a grand, expansive unveiling.

"These sorts of things tend to get phased in. They don't tend to be a knock-it-all-down, start-all-over-again, bring it all back at once," he said. "It will be in stages."

PI history

*1986 -- Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner tells shareholders the company is planning an entertainment complex to be called Pleasure Island or Disney Island.

*May 1989 -- Official opening of Pleasure Island.

*1990 -- Its "New Year's Eve every night" celebration begins.

*1996-97 -- Disney's BoardWalk and Downtown Disney's West End open.

*2005 -- New Year's theming ditched; admission fee dropped unless guest wanted to enter nightclubs.

*2006 -- New bridge built, outdoor stages torn down.

*Feb. 3, 2008 -- Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club closes.

*June 27, 2008 -- Closing of remaining nightclubs announced.

*Sept. 27, 2008 -- Last night for clubs.

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The Art and Soul of Bolt

Disney Insider - Animation as fine art? With a nod to the past for inspiration, Disney's upcoming "Bolt" proves animated features can rival the beauty and power of any painting. Taking cues from the art world, Disney animators have captured the essence of Edward Hopper's visual poetry by giving "Bolt" a lush, painterly feel reminiscent of Disney greats "Pinocchio" and "Bambi" ... which is precisely what the creative team hoped to achieve.

Opening November 21, "Bolt" tells the tale of a TV super-hound forced to face his own real-life limitations while on a cross-country rescue mission to save best pal Penny from fiendish criminal mastermind, Dr. Calico. The power pup soon discovers his laser vision, lightning speed, super strength, and devastating bark — capable of leveling tall buildings — are merely the result of TV special effects.

John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, inspired a team of artists, animators, special effects and lighting crews to develop new tools that provide a distinctive, human touch while supporting the storytelling.

According to "Bolt" Art Director Paul Felix, "The goal was to blur the line between animation and fine art." Animators found Hopper's work to be a major source of inspiration, particularly his dramatic use of light, line, color, and cinematic composition. Reflecting Hopper's work, a hand-painted, brushstroke was applied to the film's buildings and backgrounds — a technique that contrasts the slick, sleek styling of most computer-generated (CG) animation.

Since the technology available was not equipped to give "Bolt" a subtle, painterly feel, how did the creative team achieve its goals? After pioneering animation for nearly a century, it's no surprise that the Studio renowned for the multiplane camera, Fantasound, Deep Canvas, and Disney Digital 3-D, once again invented technology to support its vision.

"Ray Painting," the Studio's newly patented program, enables precision levels of artistic control, allowing animators to paint, render, and manipulate textures, details, shadows, and each scene's center of interest as well as the Characters themselves. Animators can focus on the art instead of wrestling with software constraints. And when you're talking about the development timeline for animated features, every minute saved is worth its weight in gold.

To give Bolt's TV show within the film extreme impact, animators utilized the intense camera angles, over-the-top shots, and light flashes common in live-action movies. "[Producer] Chris Williams challenged us to make a really cool show that the networks would want to air after the movie's released," says Director Byron Howard. To distinguish Bolt's "TV world" from what he encounters off the set, hot colors helped achieve an oversaturated look in the show universe. Byron adds, "It's very exciting and high contrast. We're hoping the audience will walk away thinking that's a show they'd love to watch. Once Bolt's out in the real world, however, everything's softer and more natural. We were able to successfully montage CG images with paintings for amazing effects."

Amazing isn't the word. Disney's inspired animators have once again created a masterpiece ... "Bolt" is truly a work of art!

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Haunted Mansion reopens at Disneyland with 'Nightmare Before Christmas' theme

Los Angeles Times - Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is expected to "soft open" on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008, with the now-traditional Halloween/Christmas holiday overlay.

The official reopening of the refurbished Mansion — on Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 — coincides with the kickoff of Halloween festivities at the Anaheim theme park.

Since 2001, the Mansion has closed each September to give crews time to replace many of the haunted props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie. Jack Skellington and his ghoulish friends typically stick around until the end of the year.

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Magical Fireworks Voyage experience to become available to all Guests

Disney News - Beginning March 1, 2009, the Magical Fireworks Voyage experience will become available to all Guests, including Grand Gathering Guests, regardless of the size of their party.

Cost for adults will be $53.99 and $30.99 for 3 to 9 year olds.

It was previously only available to Grand Gathering Guests.

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Disney's name coming off its Wide World of Sports complex

Orlando Sentinel - Wide World of Sports complex will be renamed the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, signaling the Walt Disney Co.'s desire to capitalize on both brands at its giant Central Florida resort.

Ken Potrock, Disney World senior vice president for the sports complex, announced the name change this morning as he outlined the complex's current and expanding role as a generator of tourism and convention business in Central Florida.

The facilities currently draw 250,000 athletes and 1.2 million spectators a year. Surveys show the vast majority would not have come to Central Florida or Walt Disney World had it not been for the athletic competitions.

With plans for a new bowling center, the new Jostens Center that just opened, and the ESPN rebranding, Potrock said he expects far more visitors.

He also said the company would take more advantage of the worldwide popularity of ESPN among sports enthusiasts.

"If you're in the sports business and you happen to own the most powerful sports brand, why wouldn't you leverage that?" he said. "The answer is, of course we will leverage that."

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Oprah Winfrey hops aboard Disney's 'Frog'

THR - Oprah Winfrey has joined the voice cast of the upcoming Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog."

At a Disney presentation in Hollywood on Wednesday, John Lasseter, the chief creative office at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, said that Winfrey will play the character of Eudora, the mother of the main character Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose.

The film, set for release in late 2009, is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Winfrey has lent her vocal talents to several other animated and fantasy films in the past: Most recently, she played Judge Bumbleton in "Bee Movie," and she also provided dialogue for Gussy the Goose in the live-action "Charlotte's Web."

Randy Newman has written six new songs for the film, it was also announced. Newman appeared in person to perform one of the tunes called "Down in New Orleans."

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Disney Won't Give Up Control of Video Content Anytime Soon

Wired News -
Disney wants to be everywhere the viewer is, whether that's on a phone, PC or a TV. And while the company says it's open to alternative distribution platforms (such as Hulu), it's extremely reluctant to stream the video on anything other than its own player.

"At the core of it, video is still precious to us in terms of how we manage the inventory and monetize it, and that won't change," said Albert Cheng, executive vice president of digital media at Disney/ABC, while speaking at Streaming Media West. "There's so much buzz around distribution, but nobody knows how to make money off it. Our goal is to build a successful business and our player produces measurable results."

And as an interesting side note: Despite all the talk about broadcast networks trading in "analog dollars for digital pennies," Cheng says that just isn't the case at Disney.

"It's more like comparing a full-grown adult to a teenager," says Cheng. "At ABC.com, the gap between [the web] and TV isn't all that huge. It's not dollars to pennies."

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Reedy Creek labor talks heat up

Orlando Sentinel - The special government district that serves Walt Disney World and the union that represents its firefighters are locked in a labor-contract fight that has heated up over the district's assertion that its taxes and budget are being squeezed in part by Disney's slow growth.

Reedy Creek District Administrator C. Ray Maxwell has cautioned the firefighters' union that the district's finances are suffering because of a combination of Disney's slow growth, the overall economy and recent rollback requirements in state property taxes.

In its latest offer to the union, the district offered no new pay raises to the firefighters.

Reedy Creek is the independent government agency created at Disney's request in 1967 to provide services usually provided by a city or county government, such as fire protection, roads and utilities. It now serves the 15,000-acre core of Walt Disney Co.'s giant Central Florida resort.

"We're in some difficult times for every city," Maxwell told the Orlando Sentinel. His July 21 letter addressing that point angered leaders of the Reedy Creek Fire Fighters Association Local 2117, who accused him of distorting the situation.

"It's a smoke screen," Local 2117 President Rick Gorsuch said.

There is no revenue problem, Gorsuch countered, because -- unlike many Florida cities -- Reedy Creek did not roll back taxes as instructed by the Florida Legislature last year. And Reedy Creek's tax base increased 4 percent last year, while its tax receipts rose 3 percent this year. What's more, today the district's board of supervisors is expected to raise its property-tax rates by 0.24 mills. Disney pays 85 percent of Reedy Creek's taxes, and no one objected to the proposal at a Sept. 10 hearing.

The firefighters' most recent contract expired at the end of 2006. Talks have been sporadic since then, and an impasse was declared this spring with more than a dozen key issues still unresolved, including pay. There have been no talks since Maxwell's July 21 letter, though meetings with a federal mediator are set for October.

"All local governments, including the District, are impacted by actions of the legislature and are restricted in their ability to raise ad valorem revenues to fund operations," Maxwell wrote in that missive. "The economic conditions that exist, both across the country and also in Central Florida, has [sic] resulted in a significant decrease in property values which has ended the significant revenue growth rates enjoyed in recent years by local governments. The assessed value growth rates have also slowed within the District."

The district's offer to the firefighters includes no pay-range increases. Instead, the district offered lump-sum, 3 percent bonuses for this year and next.

Gorsuch, the Local 2117 president, called the offer "insulting to my members." The union requested 5 percent pay increases for each of the three years.

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Fairies, parties en route to Magic Kingdom

Theme Park Rangers - Just got in from a Disney media briefing, and there are things to share.

First: Fairies. It was billed as their first-ever appearance. Pardon the banquet tables.

Here they are from left: Fawn, an animal fairy; Rosetta, a garden fairy; Tinker Bell; Silvermist, a water fairy; and Iridessa, a light fairy.  I think it's safe to say that Disney hopes the fairies take off like the princesses did.

This part of the briefing was tied to the official announcement of Pixie Hollow, which will open in  Magic Kingdom on Oct. 24, four days before the long-awaited  Tinker Bell animated feature becomes available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Many of the other details have been bouncing around the Internet, of course: Pixie Hollow will be in Toon Town; a corridor will "shrink" guests from human world to fairy-tale world; it will run continuously through the day and involve storytelling as well as meet-and-greet photo opportunities. The fairies will talk.

You can learn more about Disney Fairies  at www.disneyfairies.com.

After the jump: details about the new celebrations at Magic Kingdom once the Celebrate Today campaign kicks in after the first of the year.

Francois Leroux, an executive with Walt Disney World Entertainment, shared some facts about the street parties and the Tomorrowland Party.

The street party will go up Main Street and set up shop for a stop at Cinderella Castle. This is happen three times a day and feature dancers and characters in colorful costuming. They will encourage everyone to celebrate something. It will be very musical. Two words: conga line. (I'm getting a variation on the Block Party Bash vibe here).

The Tomorrowland Party will be in a new area set up between Space Mountain and Carousel of Progress. "There's nothing there now," Leroux syas. The continuous theme will be reports from the Tomorrow News Network ("news from the galaxy"). Expect more audience participation, live interaction (think Crush over at Epcot) and sightings of Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear and Stitch.

Unrelated but interesting: No word still on what will become of the Cinderella Suite in the castle. Since we're still in the Year of a Million Dreams, don't expect to hear anything until after the first of the year, we were told.

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'Moms panel' has gained celebrity offering online guidance to navigating Disney

Orlando Sentinel - For about three hours a day, Erin Foster settles in behind her home computer in suburban New York and offers the world tips on navigating Walt Disney World -- writing back to would-be visitors in search of vacation-planning details too specific or personalized to be found in most vacation books or on most Web sites.

Which table-service restaurant in Epcot's World Showcase is best for a family with picky eaters? Do Disney laundry rooms sell detergent? Would two adults have fun, or feel out of place, at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party?

Foster is not paid, though Disney did give her and her family a free Disney World vacation. She sees her effort as a kind of public service.

"It's really gratifying to know all the people we're helping," she said. "I feel people's vacation time is so precious to them these days, it's nice to know I'm helping people share time with their families."

Foster is one of 12 members of a "Moms Panel" created by Disney late last year as an Internet forum for unofficial -- but officially sanctioned -- "mom's advice" about Disney World vacations. Disney is planning to expand the panel to 16 members next year.

Disney officials created the Moms Panel partly in response to the growing number of independent Web sites, run by Disney fans, that offer unauthorized advice. They wanted a company-backed forum that would also be viewed as an intimate, informal source of information.

It couldn't be done by paid staff; the forum needed "third-party credibility," said Leanne Jakubowski, Disney World's social-media director. Marketing research shows mothers make most key family-vacation decisions, she said, so who better to offer advice than moms?

Yet Disney also wanted to proceed with care on the wide-open Internet. So the company decided to control the forum on the front end; it contracted with a company to screen incoming inquiries, allowing only "appropriate" questions.

The questions pile up in an online queue that the panelists -- one's actually a dad -- can pick through from their home computers.

The inaugural Moms Panel has been nearly overwhelmed, drawing more than 20,000 questions in less than a year, including a few thousand that were screened out. The panelists have answered about 10,000 questions; 4,000 or so others went unanswered until they fell off the list; and a few remain. The panelists work at their own paces, though each has answered at least several hundred questions. Foster has answered more than 2,700.

The volunteers are all unabashed Disney World fans. Foster and two others contacted by the Orlando Sentinel said Disney trained them how to work the Internet forum, then entrusted them with the informal answer desk. There are no taboos, no dictated sales pitches and no censorship, they said.

"We do have that we-like-Disney bias. They wouldn't have picked us if we didn't like Disney," Foster said, but added: "We are not highly paid Disney shills, not at all.

"They have given us free rein," she said. "I have given out negative opinions."

For example, someone identified as Marie from Texas asked in late August: "Any place to get a solid pastrami or corned-beef piled high on rye?"

Foster's reply: "If you were asking about delis in New York City I'd have you covered: Second Avenue, Carnegie, Stage, Katz's, Zabars. . . . But I'm sorry to tell you that there is nothing that compares to this at Walt Disney World.

"I can't give Disney's deli options a wholehearted endorsement," Foster added. But then she offered a positive conclusion: "There are, however, lots of other yummy food options."

Foster, 43, who lives in Scarsdale, N.Y., with her husband and three daughters, is a former corporate research librarian. She figures her family has made nearly 30 trips to Disney World in the past decade. The current panelists at disneyworldforum.disney.go

.com -- known on the site by their first names, home states, pictures and bios -- have already achieved a certain celebrity status within the online community of Disney fans. So as they prepare to rotate off the team at year's end, Disney faces a bit of a problem: Does it just let them go? Do they have their own online fan base?

"They've done an incredible job of launching the first year of the Moms Panel," Jakubowski said. "We want to make sure they still have a role. We haven't determined that yet."

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Disneyland in loan extension talks

The Standard -
Hong Kong Disneyland is considering asking for an extension on the HK$3.3 billion in debt that falls due this month.

The Walt Disney Co and the Hong Kong government are continuing discussions regarding a capital realignment and expansion plan for the park, Hong Kong Disneyland vice president of public affairs Lo Bing-chung said yesterday. "As part of these discussions, the shareholders, as well as the management company, are exploring several options with regard to the commercial loan," Lo said.

One of the options under consideration is asking lenders for an extension on the HK$3.3 billion in financing that comes due this month, Lo said, confirming an earlier report in debt-industry newsletter Basis Point.

"This is one of the options that is under consideration to allow more time for both shareholders," Lo explained.

He added that Disney is prepared to invest further in the park.

A spokeswoman for the SAR government said a 30-day extension on the debt repayment is "to allow more time to tease out the best option" for Hong Kong International Theme Parks and its shareholders.

HKITP, the joint-venture company that operates the park, is asking for an extension of at least one month on the HK$3.3 billion debt maturing this month, Basis Point reported yesterday.

The financing is comprised of a HK$2.3 billion term loan and a HK$1 billion revolving-credit facility.

The Hong Kong government owns 57 percent of the joint venture, with Disney holding the remaining 43 percent interest.

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Tuesday September 23, 2008

HSM3 Tickets on Sale This Week
Netflix signs streaming deals with CBS, Disney television
Pleasure Island, how I'll miss you
Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection on DVD
High School Musical 2: Deluxe Dance Edition on DVD
Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season on DVD
Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Second Season on DVD
Will you celebrate your birthday at Disney World
Miley Cyrus says she's not quitting "Hannah Montana"
Vail businesses get advice from Disney
Magical Memories Travel Designated as an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner

HSM3 Tickets on Sale This Week

MarketWatch - HSM fans who can't wait till opening day Oct. 24 to get their tickets to this fall's most anticipated movie "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" will have a chance to buy their tickets early. Beginning at 12 p.m. PT on Sept. 26, 2008, tickets will be available for advance purchase on the movie's official website www.disney.com/HSM3.
 
"The 'High School Musical' phenomenon has generated such a loyal fan base and fans have been eagerly awaiting the big screen opening of 'High School Musical 3: Senior Year,'" said Jim Gallagher, president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. "We're giving our devotees an opportunity to get their tickets now, a month before the movie opens, to show them we appreciate their loyalty and recognize their excitement for the movie."
 
Fans simply log onto www.disney.com/HSM3 to search for showtimes in their area via Disney's proprietary FIRST IN LINE ONLINE(TM) ticketing application. The application will also be accessible on MySpace Profile and Facebook Fanpage. After entering their zip code or city and state, users will be presented with a list of area theaters with available showtimes. Once they make their selection, users will be directed to a third party site such as Fandango.com or Movietickets.com to make the final purchase. Fans who purchase tickets through Fandago.com or Movietickets.com between Sept. 26-Oct. 23, 2008, will receive a free download from iTunes of the song "Can I Have This Dance" from the original HSM3 soundtrack.
 
Hosting Screening Parties via HSM3 Party Planner
 
Additionally, fans can invite friends to join them for a group screening of "High School Musical 3" via the HSM3 Party Planner. Once users choose a showtime and theater, they can email friends and create an event page where all invitees can monitor who's coming to their ultimate HSM3 screening party.
 
About the Movie
 
Disney's "High School Musical" phenomenon leaps onto the big screen in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR, in which America's favorite high school students (ZAC EFRON, VANESSA HUDGENS, ASHLEY TISDALE, LUCAS GRABEEL, CORBIN BLEU and MONIQUE COLEMAN) hit senior year. Amidst a basketball championship, prom and a big spring musical featuring all of the Wildcats, Troy and Gabriella vow to make every moment last as their lifelong college dreams put the future of their relationship in question. A crew of sophomore Wildcats (MATT PROKOP, JUSTIN MARTIN, JEMMA MCKENZIE-BROWN) joins in the fun as the film's incredible new music and exciting dance numbers take maximum advantage of the big screen. Directed by Kenny Ortega from a screenplay written by Peter Barsocchini, the film opens in theaters Oct. 24.

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Netflix signs streaming deals with CBS, Disney television

Bizjournals - Online movie rental company Netflix Inc said it partnered with CBS Television Network and Disney-ABC Television Group to allow episodes of current season television shows to be streamed.

 
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix (NASDAQ :NFLX) said late Monday the two new deals "add meaningfully to a growing library of 12,000 choices that Netflix members can watch instantly on their PCs and TVs as part of their existing subscription plans and without impacting the number of DVDs they receive."

The CBS deal brings to Netflix "CSI." Starting in October, when it returns for a ninth year, current season episodes of the original "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" can be instantly streamed, and beginning this week, current season episodes of the spin-offs "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY" join the roster.

The CBS agreement includes two additional current shows, "NCIS," which dramatizes the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and the FBI drama "Numb3rs," from producers Ridley and Tony Scott.

The agreement for Disney Channel content centers on three of the Channel's original series -- "Hannah Montana," "Wizards of Waverly Place," and Disney Channel's newest original series, "The Suite Life on Deck," a spin-off of the Emmy-nominated "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."

"Wizards of Waverly Place" and "The Suite Life on Deck" can be streamed instantly at Netflix beginning this week, 24 hours after each episode's initial broadcast. Disney Channel's series "Hannah Montana," starring Miley Cyrus, will be available online at Netflix beginning this November.

Brokered by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, a unit of the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), the deal represents the first Netflix digital license for Disney-ABC Television Group content since Netflix launched the instant streaming component of its service 18 months ago.

The agreements with CBS and Disney Channel also add catalog shows to the library of choices that can be watched instantly at Netflix. Some 500 episodes from Disney Channel's library, including previously aired episodes of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Hannah Montana," as well as episodes of the animated series "The Replacements," "Lilo & Stitch: The Series," "The Emperor's New School" and others, will come online to Netflix beginning in 2009.

Some 350 CBS episodes covered in the deal include prior seasons of the three "CSI" series and "Numb3rs," the first two seasons of the popular "Jericho" series and, among others, episodes from TV classics such as "Star Trek," "MacGyver," and "Family Ties." The catalog episodes will come online this fall.

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Pleasure Island, how I'll miss you
 
Theme Park Rangers - Warning: Blogs are generally self-indulgent though here at Theme Park Rangers, dear readers, we strive to provide you with useful information as well. The bulk of this post, however, is completely self-indulgent. Read on at your peril. If you want to skip my meanderings and remembrances and head straight to the practical info, you won't hurt my feelings. Just click through to the jump.

Gearing up for the final weekend of the Pleasure Island nightclubs has brought back a flood of memories. I had one friend fly in last week from California just to party one last time. Really. In an effort to be happily nostalgic and not bitter and depressed, here are 10 favorite moments.

1. The first place I went upon vacationing in Orlando for the first time was Pleasure Island. My friend Chris picked me up at the airport and drove me straight there. Coming from tiny Ithaca, N.Y., in the middle of a frigid winter, it was like going straight to paradise. I met Chris's friend Lolita, who was waiting at 8 Trax with a Goldschlager shot for me. I'm still friends with her today. That same night, I saw for the first time the midnight New Year's Eve show on the old West End stage. Fireworks. Glow sticks. Confetti. The plaza was packed. Hundreds of people doing the Macarena. (Hey, it was the '90s.) I couldn't believe that they did this EVERY NIGHT. And we were outside. In February. Glory days, indeed. I'm not saying Pleasure Island made me move here but... it didn't hurt.

2. My first encounter with creepy Phantom guy at Mannequins. Back when they had the Phantom of the Opera dancers perform to a dance-club version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber song, there was a guest -- bald and with cape, of course -- who insisted on dancing in the dead center of the revolving dance floor. I say dancing, but it was more like bowing, swooping and paying homage to the Phantom onstage. I made the mistake of being in his spot once. "I have to dance here," he told me with panic in his voice. "The Phantom expects me to be here!" I yielded him his spot.

3. At the Adventurers Club to celebrate my friend Casey's birthday, she had a Kungaloosh. She's not a big drinker, and not a big person: About 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. We're not sure if it was the late hour, the drink, or the fact her legs couldn't reach the floor on her library stool but all through the show she kept sli-i-i-i-i-d-ing down off the stool. She finally gave up and stood. Later that night, on the third floor at Mannequins -- routinely open then -- she and I staged a scene where it looked to our friends like they caught us having an affair. They were shocked ... for two seconds, until our insane laughter gave the ruse away. Ah, ha, ha ... Maaaaanequins.

4. One Fourth of July weekend, Diana (the best bartender at P.I.), invented a drink for my friends Stuart, Mark and me. It involved red, white and blue. Stuart, being more politically attuned than me, had several funny names for it. It also packed quite a punch. It was the only time in all my years of P.I. partying I wasn't diligent enough about my alcohol consumption. Stuart drove me home.

5. My friend Mike's going-away party was at 8 Trax. Now, Mike was the sort who would not try a bite of your pie, in case your germs were on it. No taking a sip of your drink either. But that night, people had been buying him drink after drink and he was not thinking quite clearly. When someone dropped a bottle of beer, it rolled across the dance floor toward him. Without missing a beat, he picked it up off the floor and took a swig. The rest of us missed several beats, staring in disbelief. Though Mike will now take a taste of a friend's entree, he assures us he has never done that again.

6. At the Adventurers Club one night, Graves the butler delivered me a letter, reprimanding me for dancing on the tables with a lampshade on my head during a library committee meeting. I mean, the library committee! Sympathetic club maid Beulah Belle, however, agreed with me that president Pamelia Perkins was being a bit of a fuddy-duddy -- calling my behavior contemptible. Really! That same night, dashing Hathaway Brown passed me on the stairs and said "Kungaloosh, Sir." I felt cooler just being in his presence. If you have no idea what I'm babbling about, you have missed the wackiness of the Adventurers Club. Kunglaloosh to you all, my friends.

7. My friend Frank had run the Disney Marathon and was looking forward to a free night at Pleasure Island. We were at 8 Trax, and I was jamming away, busting a move to everything from "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" to "Grease Megamix." Finally, our group dwindled down, and I shouted across the blaring music, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" Wide-eyed, Frank mouthed back, "Take. Me. Home." I hustled him out of there, as he announced, "I'm about to fall down." It's remembered now as the night I almost killed Frank by taking him dancing.

8. There used to be some arcade games in P.I., over toward Motion. A favorite for Stuart, Mark and me was the ... well, I don't know the name. And it wasn't really a game. Basically, you gave a machine money to electrify two metal handles and then you tried to hang onto them as long a possible while they shocked you. Yes, we paid money to do this. It was a great test of machismo. Or a dumb way to spend money. But those things often go hand in ... zap! ... hand.

9. At 8 Trax on my birthday one year, a kind DJ searched through stacks of old CDs to find a certain song for me, requested by Mike. There's no pride left in this post, so here goes: Samantha Fox. "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)." Yep, I was a fan. Any reader under 35 is wondering "Who's Samantha Fox?"

10. And finally, I am still laughing about the first time an esteemed co-worker described the Mannequins dance floor on a Thursday night as the "Wheel O' Meat."

See you at the Island this weekend.

Some practical advice for this weekend:

* I am told clubs will open an hour earlier than usual, beginning Thursday. We have already seen bigger crowds as people try to club-hop one last time. Mannequins' third floor was open some nights last week, and Adventurers Club was about at capacity from time to time. The hour-earlier time means Adventurers Club will be open, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

* Word is Disney will let guests line up for admission to Adventurers Club beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. Don't expect to wander up to the door about 10 p.m. Saturday and get in.

* I was told last week, the annual passholder benefit of getting a guest in for free on Friday will be allowed this weekend. Remember, you have to get your guest in before 8.

* If you smoke, know that Disney has curtailed readmission to clubs from smoking areas in recent times. There's a good chance that if you step outside of 8 Trax or Mannequins to smoke, you will be required to go back around to the main entrance and queue again for re-entry.

* It will be crowded and emotional, so be careful and safe. And, it goes without saying, be nice to the staff, who face big change in their lives.

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Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection on DVD

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment - Rediscover the infectious music, witty lyrics and colorful animation from the Emmy-winning animated series that rocked America for more than a decade when Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection comes to DVD September 23, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. As all eyes turn to the presidential election, it couldn't be a better time for this collection of classic election-themed tunes including "I'm Just a Bill," "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," the timeless songs that taught a generation of Americans that learning can be fun! The limited edition DVD also features the entertaining new to DVD song "Presidential Minute" with two surprise endings and an exclusive Election Tracking Kit with stickers to help viewers keep track of the actual voting results in all 50 states.
 
Remember Saturday mornings past at the ABC Network, when a series of three-minute animated shorts harnessed the power of music to educate children of all ages? From 1973 until 1986 and the early nineties, Schoolhouse Rock! used catchy music and sassy lyrics to teach kids the basic principles of grammar, arithmetic, history, science, government, computers and money management. The show became a smash hit and won four daytime Emmys (Outstanding Children's Instructional Series, 1976,1978, 1979 and 1980) and one daytime Emmy nomination (Outstanding Children's Instructional Series, 1977) for its cha rming and informative musical lessons.
 
From the original creators of Schoolhouse Rock!, executive producer George Newall, producer Radford Stone and music director Bob Dorough, Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection will introduce youngsters to important information, refresh the holes left by high school civics classes or provide a moment of pure nostalgia for grown up fans of the show.
Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection has a suggested retail price of $19.99 (U.S.) and $24.99 (Canada).

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High School Musical 2: Deluxe Dance Edition on DVD

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment - What time is it? Time to work those dance grooves with Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Chad and the rest of the gang from East High when High School Musical 2: Deluxe Dance Edition comes to DVD on September 23, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Fans can dance along with the cast and learn their favorite kickin' routines with moves actually taken from the top rated Disney Channel Original Movie! Jam-packed with over five hours of bonus material, Deluxe Dance Edition also gives fans an exclusive sneak peek at High School Musical 3, premiering in movie theaters nationwide on October 23! The two-disc set also includes deleted scenes, a virtual scrapbook featuring the cast and crew, and an exclusive musical number that will make the coolest summer vacation ever last all year round.
 
Directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, The20Cheetah Girls 2), HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: DELUXE DANCE EDITION comes with all new bonus features that fans have been clamoring for, including:

Backstage Disney
 
Exclusive sneak peek at High School Musical 3!
 
High School Confidential! - A virtual scrapbook bursting with exciting behind-the-scenes moments and more. Features like the Zac Factor" let you see stars like never before in exclusive footage, and hear the cast and crew weigh in on the film's valuable life lessons. Sharpay's sidekicks, The Sharpettes are on hand, as are Manly the Dog, Kenny Ortega and the magnificent High School Musical 2 dancers.
 
Then try and guess what that the stars of High School Musical 2 looked like as babies and check out favorite cast members in an special photo gallery.
 
The Making Of The Exclusive Music Scene - Lucas Grabeel delights audiences with a South Seas rendition of "HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A."
 
Cast Favorites - Cast members talk about some of their favorite things.
 
On Location – Visit the resort area of St. George, Utah, High School Musical's stunning setting.

In The Kitchen - Lucas Grabeel takes fans behind the scenes of the clubhouse kitchen set.

Music and More

Dance Along – Think you have the moves to groove with the East High Wildcats? Follow along as the stars of High School Musical 2 demonstrate the actual dance routines used in "What Time is it?" and "All For One." Viewers can speed up, repeat and flip around the action, making it perfect for dancers of all skill levels. Each routine is taught in short segments that can be easily repeated until mastered and special camera angle shows both front and rear views of the dancers. And once those moves are solid, the entire sequence can be played at the touch a button!
 
Music Video "All For One" - A special performance of the song is intercut with the cast recording session and behind-the-scenes footage.

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Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season on DVD

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment - Samantha Who? That's what Samantha Newly, irresistibly played by Christina Applegate, wants to know. ABC's fresh new hit comedy comes to DVD with Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on September 23, 2008. The debut season of this critically acclaimed show will be available in a multidisc set with bonus features including deleted scenes and hilarious bloopers.
 
After emerging from an eight-day coma, Samantha Newly can't remember a thing, her boyfriend, her parents, her job—not even herself. Although some things are best left forgotten, Sam is determined to dig up the "goods" on herself. With a little help from her ex-boyfriend, ex-doorman, her too few (make that two) friends and slightly odd parents, Samantha gets a once in a lifetime opportunity to become a bad-girl-gone-g ood.
 
The ultimate do-over fantasy Samantha Who? — The Complete First Season stars Emmy Award-winning Christina Applegate ("Married with Children," "Jesse") and a hilariously quirky supporting cast including two-time Emmy -winner Jean Smart ("Frasier," "24"), Jennifer Esposito (Crash, "Rescue Me"), Kevin Dunn (Transformers, "Prison Break"), Tim Russ ("Live Free or Die Hard", "iCarly") Melissa McCarthy ("Gilmore Girls," White Oleander,") and Barry Watson ("7th Heaven," "What About Brian?") The series is produced by ABC Studios.

Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season on DVD is priced $29.99 (SRP) for U.S.; $35.99 (SRP) Canada, from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

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Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Second Season on DVD

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment - Enter the fascinating world of the Walker family when Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Second Season comes to DVD from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on September 23, 2008. This must-own five-disc boxed set contains all 16 one-hour episodes of Season Two of one of television's most intriguing and insightful dramas plus an array of exclusive bonus features including hours of behind-the-scenes peeks, deleted scenes and bloopers.
ABC's popular hour-long series follows the heartwarming story of a sprawling and occasionally brawling group of adult siblings. Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Rob Lowe, and Ron Rifkin lead a stellar cast in Season Two of the critically-acclaimed hit, about which the San Francisco Chronicle raves, "This is a series to watch." Though they live sometimes conflicting lives, the five Walker siblings learn to put personal differences aside as they strive to find their own identities and remain close.
 
The all-star cast also includes Dave Annable ("Reunion"), Balthazar Getty ("Alias"), Sarah Jane Morris ("Felicity"), Matthew Rhys ("Titus") Emily VanCamp (Everwood"), and Patricia Wettig ("Prison Break"). The series is executive-produced by Ken Olin ("Alias, "thirtysomething"), Jon Robin Baitz (The Substance of Fire, "The West Wing"), Greg Berlanti ("Dirty Sexy Money," "Everwood") and Mark B. Perry ("Party of Five," "The Wonder Years"), and produced by ABC Studios.
Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Second Season on DVD is priced $59.99 (SRP) for U.S.; $79.99 (SRP) Canada, from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

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Will you celebrate your birthday at Disney World

Theme Park Rangers - My initial reaction to last week's Disney birthdays-free announcement was lukewarm, but my attitude is improving. Bottom line: they're offering free stuff to everyone. Granted, there are restrictions aplenty, but that's life. And the retail value is way more than my earlier plea for a summertime break on parking fees, so who am I to complain?
How many of you flipped to your calendar to see what date your birthday falls on this year? I'm a Monday (Aug. 10, many shopping days left) -- a workday, but probably a light day attendance wise.

On the con side, I'm still relatively unmoved by the extras you can now purchase, a good chunk of which have already been available, such Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Epcot DiveQuest. Maybe it's good promotion for lesser-known elements of the resort, but it also feels a little repackaged/warmed over. Plus, I don't really go to theme parks for a specialty cake ...but I am surprisingly  drawn into the "My Mini-Cake Surprise). Maybe I'll feel better after some are spotted in the park.

How do you gentle Theme Park Ranger readers feel about this promotion?

Other tidbits culled from the press release and Web site (www.disneyparks.com):

+ You don't have to preregister your birthday on the site, but it might save time. You can request the pass at the gate on the day of your birthday (with proper identification).

+ Beware the fine print on some of the alternative gifts for annual passholders. For instance, the gift card ("birthday fun card") is good for select "merchandise, recreation or fun activities" only on the actual birthday.

+ New experiences for "all park guests" in 2009: street parties at Magic Kingdom, a Tomorrowland Party featuring Stitch at a "retro-futuristic music video dance party," complimentary celebration buttons. Also park decor will now be festive banners, balloons, party hats. Translation, goodbye Year of a Million Dreams look.

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Miley Cyrus says she's not quitting "Hannah Montana"

Newsday - " Hannah Montana" fans can breathe easier: Despite reports of an early exit, teen superstar Miley Cyrus says she isn't retiring her blonde wig anytime soon.

"I am fully committed to 'Hannah Montana.' It's what gave me this amazing opportunity to reach out to so many people," Cyrus told People magazine, adding, "I couldn't do it alone. We have an amazing cast that is so supportive, including my dad who has been there for me every step of the way."

Over the weekend reports circulated that Cyrus, 15, and her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, have been causing drama on the Disney Channel set by coming to work late and openly talking about wanting to get fired. There were also rumors of a rift between Miley and her co-star Emily Osment.

A Disney Channel rep said talk of on-set squabbles is "just gossip," while a source close to Miley Cyrus says: "It's a lot of craziness."

"Miley is really devoted to the show and she's really upset by the gossip," the source added. "Miley is never late to work. Every minute of her day is planned out. When she's not shooting the movie or the series, she's recording the ['Hannah Montana'] soundtrack. She has a lot invested in 'Hannah Montana.' It's not going away anytime soon."

On set "they're like a big family," the source said. "Emily and Miley are like sisters. Occasionally they have disagreements but they make up and they never let it affect their work."

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Vail businesses get advice from Disney

Vail Daily News - At first blush, Columbine Market in Gypsum doesn’t seem to have much in common with the Disney entertainment empire. Look closer, though, and some similarities start to appear.

“It’s all about customer service, making guests happy — no matter what business you’re in,” said store employee Jennifer Heffran.

A small group from Columbine helped nearly fill the ballroom at the Lodge at Vail on Monday to hear a presentation from the Disney Institute, in which people from the entertainment giant tell other business people how the company that gave the world Mickey Mouse has become one of the most successful customer-service companies in the world.

During the portion of the daylong seminar that focused on management, trainers Mike Reardon and Alicia Matheson took turns talking about how Disney’s managers get their employees — called “cast members” — to buy into the corporate culture. At Disney, managers lead by example.

Reardon told the crowd about the “Disney scoop” and the legends surrounding it.
The scoop started with company founder Walt Disney, who would pick up and put in a garbage can any piece of trash he found at Disneyland.

Corporate legend holds that Disney once picked up a piece of trash while he was touring Disneyland with a group of company executives. One of those executives asked Disney why he’d stoop to stooping himself when there were employees available to do the job. The story ends with that executive cleaning out his desk the next day.

The point, Reardon said, is that employees see managers doing things like greeting customers and picking up trash. At Disney’s parks, employees try to “out-scoop” managers, who are determined they won’t be out-scooped by their people.

The idea of a hard and fast corporate culture starts with hiring. Disney prides itself on hiring for attitude first. After they walk into an argyle-pattern building with cartoon characters on the front door handles, applicants have to walk up to an auditorium, where they’re shown an eight-minute video about the company, what it expects, and things — like a ban on beards — that the company won’t budge on.

About 10 percent of all applicants leave before filling out any paperwork.

Applicants also need to have a sense of fun, even those who fill “backstage” jobs and will never see a paying guest.

Matheson told a story about interviewing a candidate for a job in the company’s financial office.

“I tried to get him to smile,” Matheson said. “I couldn’t do it.”

He didn’t get the job. Anyone who works at the self-proclaimed “Happiest place on earth” needs to be able to smile.

But Disney hires most of its people in and around Los Angeles and Orlando, where, presumably, there’s a deeper pool of potential employees. How does hiring to suit a company culture work in this employee-short valley?

“If you have the right culture, you can attract the right people,” Columbine Market owner Howard Tuthill said.

Tuthill’s son, Howard Jr., said Columbine has several employees who have been with the store for between several and many years.

“People stay because they like where the work,” Tuthill Jr. said.

Paul and Lourdes Ferzacca, who own two local restaurants — LaTour in Vail and ZaccaZa in Avon, said they try to hire for attitude as well.

“Sometimes you’re limited in the resources you have available,” Paul Ferzacca said. “But we try to do that.”

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Magical Memories Travel Designated as an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner

openPR - Magical Memories Travel has been designated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as an “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” (not an agent of The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates), based on its strong support in selling Disney vacations.

Magical Memories Travel has been in business in Kennesaw for 4 years, with affiliates across the US, and has established itself as an area expert on vacations to the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Cruise Line vacations specializing in families, couples and groups.

All travel specialists at Magical Memories Travel have received extensive training on Disney Destinations theme parks, resorts, cruises, vacations packages and more, and can provide the utmost in professional assistance in planning customized Disney vacations. In fact, one reason the agency attained the “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” status, is that at least 50 percent of the frontline leisure travel agents are College of Disney Knowledge graduates. The College of Disney Knowledge is an indepth comprehensive correspondence course that allows agents to develop their expertise regarding the Disney Destinations – knowledge, that consumers can take advantage of when planning a Disney vacation.

Magical Memories Travel is based in Kennesaw, GA. Their Travel Specialists are located around the USA and specialize in family and group travel.

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Monday September 22, 2008

The Fun Gets Better With Age
Disney's magic music helps world's troubles fade away
Watch an extended clip from Disney's 'Bolt'
Disney's Goslin On The Pirates Of The Caribbean MMO's 'Velvet Rope'
Disney Raises the Bar on Playroom Fun & Enrichment with New Playhouse Disney-Themed Preschool Toys
Disney offers internships to students of all majors
Nicholas Sparks, Disney and Miley Cyrus

The Fun Gets Better With Age

Disney News - Call ‘em “tweenagers” -- the crowd whose generation falls somewhere between life’s fast lane and easy-does-it, between P.Diddy and Presley, between lasers and lava lamps.
 
Baby Boomers born from 1946 through 1964 represent a whopping one-third of the U.S. population. They grew up with Walt Disney World. But they haven’t outgrown Walt Disney World.
 
Never mind that the kids have moved out and gray hair is moving in. Never mind that they can name the original Mouseketeers but are clueless as to who or what constitutes Unk or Stone Sour.
 
As the Boomers have grown up, so has Walt Disney World Resort. From one Magic Kingdom to a 40-square-mile vacationland consisting of theme parks, water parks, resort hotels, Downtown Disney nightlife/shopping district and other magical attractions and recreational centers.
 
Now that they’ve paid off the mortgage or maybe the kids’ college tuition, it’s their time. And what better way for Boomers to spend it than to revisit and remember the magic of Walt Disney World Resort?
 
Sure, kid-friendly attractions are the cornerstone here. But there’s a grown-up, less frenetic side of the Vacation Kingdom. Like music in a splendid dance palace. Salmon steaks at breakfast. Golf lessons. Flower gardens that look as good as they smell.
 
“Lots of adults, both younger ones (‘pre-kid’) and older people whose children have flown the coop (‘post-kid’), are descending on the parks with needs and notions that are vastly different from those of the parental persuasion,” observed Jill Safro, editor of Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World without kids (Hearst Business Publishing).
 
And, OK Boomers: You can ride Space Mountain like you did 20 years ago. Or drop in a free-falling elevator in The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, just to prove to your kids you’re hip as ever.
 
But if your vacation march is to the beat of “brushes on snares” rather than ear-splitting heavy metal, here are some Disney best bets with a “grown-up” slant:

Resorts
 
Disney’s BoardWalk is a whole district of dining, entertainment and recreation that might have shifted 700 miles south. A broad wooden boardwalk on a waterfront is the “main drag” of the resort complex. Stroll the boardwalk or rent a peddle-driven surrey bike built for two or four. Shoot a “hoop,” win a prize. Taste the micro-brewed beers of Big River Grille & Brewing Works. Dance the night away in the elegant Atlantic Dance ballroom. Accommodations evoke the charm of early
Mid-Atlantic coastal inns. 
 
“A forested wonder” -- that’s the way Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World: The Official Guide depicts Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. It is more than 700 acres of cypress and pine forest that have been carefully laid out as a campground with nearly 1,200 sites. It’s a home-away-from-home for everyone from tent campers to folks who prefer one of the Wilderness Cabins complete with fully equipped kitchens, air conditioning and maid service. There is a white sand beach and a marina on Bay Lake, a nature trail and waterways for fishing. Canoeing and pedal boating complete this idyllic vacation setting. To make reservations, phone 407/W-DISNEY.
 
Imagine times and places long ago and sometimes far away. The fantasy experiences for which the Walt Disney World theme parks are world-famous extend to the resorts. Across Seven Seas Lagoon from Magic Kingdom are ports of call that welcome guests to the South Seas (Disney’s Polynesian Resort) and 19th century South Florida (Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa). Some of the other adventures: the old New England seaside (Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort), the heyday of the mid-Atlantic shore (Disney’s BoardWalk), America’s great western parks (Disney’s Wilderness Lodge), the American Southwest (Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort), the Old South (Disney’s Port Orleans Resort), exotic Africa (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge), and the fads and crazes of the 20th century (Disney’s Pop Century Resort).

Recreation
 
If golf’s your game, Walt Disney World Resort has days worth of challenges that have helped earn the Vacation Kingdom a distinction as one of the country’s top golf resorts. Disney’s Osprey Ridge Golf Course was crafted by Tom Fazio, while veteran designer Joe Lee was architect of the Magnolia, Palm and Lake Buena Vista courses. To make reservations, call 407/WDW-GOLF.
 
Tennis, anyone? Walt Disney World Resort answers with 30 of the finest courts in Central Florida. 
 
For guests who love the great outdoors, adventures abound by land or by sea. There are trails for jogging, biking and horseback riding. And for fun on the water, guests can skim across Walt Disney World waterways aboard a personal Sea Raycer watercraft. These modern-looking mini-powerboats make waves as they cut through open water. Sailboats, pontoon boats, canopy boats, pedal boats, rowboats and canoes are also available rentals at select Walt Disney World marinas. For more information on these activities call 407/WDW-PLAY.
 
Even sports fishermen’s dreams come true at Walt Disney World Resort. Guests on BASS-guided fishing excursions routinely catch bass weighing 2 to 8 pounds.   And BASS fishing participants at Walt Disney World Resort receive a one-year BASS membership, including 11 issues of Bassmaster Magazine, special discounts and more. For reservations, call 407/WDW-BASS (939-2277).

Relaxing and Eating
 
Breakfast can be a civilized great adventure if you know the menu. Some ways to start the day at Walt Disney World Resort: Smoked Norwegian salmon with bagels and cream cheese (Concourse Steak House at Disney’s Contemporary Resort), thick French toast stuffed with bananas (Kona Cafe at Disney’s Polynesian Resort) and Egg Rotollo -- eggs with chorizo, onions, peppers and cheddar rolled in lavosh (Spoodles at Disney’s BoardWalk).
 
Need a lunch break? If you’re spending the day in Magic Kingdom, at lunchtime hop on the monorail for a quick trip to Grand Floridian Cafe at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, where you’ll experience a great meal and a nice change of pace.
 
Dinner is a regal occasion at Victoria & Albert’s, an intimate dining room with just 18 tables at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Elegant touches include Royal Doulton china, Cristofle silver and Riedel crystal. Culinary offerings are created daily with the best available fresh ingredients.
 
Indulgence knows no boundaries with the pampering guests receive at the two full-service spas at Walt Disney World Resort. The Spa at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort combines Disney’s expertise in service with natural spa therapies from around the world. The Grand Floridian Spa & Health Club offers 17 treatment rooms for massage, herbal wraps and aromatherapy.
 
Snuggled away on the far southeast corner of Walt Disney World property is Celebration, a new community with an old-fashioned downtown where an evening stroll can end at a cinema or a cozy restaurant with tables along the sidewalk.

Nightlife
 
Downtown Disney West Side, a hip corner of Downtown Disney, features some of the world’s most exciting restaurants, nightclubs and shopping adventures. Highlights include Cirque du Soleil, Virgin Megastore, House of Blues, Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Bongos Cuban Cafe. 
 
Downtown Disney Pleasure Island is a nightlife district that includes a comedy club that is always good for a chuckle. Note: You’ll hear plenty of hot-rocking sounds from clubs along the street en route to your club of choice. And how is this for Boomer nirvana -- adults can savor a smoke and premium cocktails at Fuego by Sosa Cigars, a stylish lounge next to Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant.
 
Watch a dazzling fireworks show. Choose between “Wishes” at Magic Kingdom and “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” at Epcot. Or catch “Fantasmic!” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or the “SpectroMagic” parade at Magic Kingdom as they light up the night sky.

Theme Parks
 
Take a grand circle tour of Magic Kingdom aboard the Walt Disney World Railroad, churn along Rivers of America aboard a Liberty Square riverboat and catch a ride on a horse-drawn trolley down Main Street, U.S.A.
 
Be a kid again, revisiting the attractions of Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom -- it’s a small world; Peter Pan’s Flight; Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel; Snow White’s Scary Adventure; Dumbo, the Flying Elephant; The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; and “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” 3-D spectacular.
 
Epcot World Showcase features 11 nations of the world in architecture, dining, art and history exhibits, entertainment and shopping. A tree-lined promenade encircling a peaceful lagoon is the byway connecting the countries: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada.
 
In the Future World section of Epcot, Boomers can get lofty on Soarin’ -- a breathtaking, wind-in-your-hair experience simulating flight over the natural wonders of California. Riders are softly lifted 40 feet into an 80-foot projection screen dome that fills their field of vision with the spectacle of the Golden State.
 
The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is an annual six-week-long rite of autumn celebrating the food, beverages and cultures from more than 25 regions.
 
The gardens of Epcot are never brighter than during the months of March through early June, when guests discover the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. There are lectures, demonstrations and gardens ablaze with colorful displays from the entrance plaza to the far reaches of World Showcase.
 
The heyday of Hollywood is captured in the architecture of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The park has its own Hollywood and Vine, and also a Sunset Boulevard that recalls the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown. The trip down memory lane is completed by The Great Movie Ride, a ride through famous moments from the big screen, and The Hollywood Brown Derby, where the famous Cobb salad of the former Vine Street restaurant is alive and well along with the interior design of the
one-time hangout of Hollywood stars. Boomers who grooved to '70s rock will want to take a spin on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
 
Unleash your inner explorer with a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Up-close encounters with exotic animals and adventures of the prehistoric kind await guests at this theme park that sprawls across 500 acres. The park’s largest attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris, is an incredible journey across an “African savannah” where hundreds of animals roam free. 
 
Timing your visit for the cooler months and away from the peaks of family vacationing can add to the comfort of the adventure. Prime time for family vacations is when the kids are out of school -- during the summer months of June, July and August, around major holidays and spring break late February to mid-April. 

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Disney's magic music helps world's troubles fade away

The Grand Rapids Press - There's a little kid in every one of us, and that's a big part of Walt Disney's success.

It's why families travel to Disney's theme parks in Florida and California, pay steep admission fees and stand in incredibly long, slow-moving lines for hours under a broiling sun.

It's why Disney's animated movies have such timeless appeal as parents and grandparents see them once more through the eyes of their children and grandchildren.

The Grand Rapids Symphony opened its Pops Series season Friday in DeVos Performance Hall with music made famous by Disney films, especially more recent films such as "The Lion King" with songs by Elton John and "Tarzan" with tunes by Phil Collins.

A little bit of light entertainment couldn't come at a better time. It has been a heck of a week, from Wall Street to Main Street, these last few days.

Associate conductor John Varineau led his intrepid musicians through two hours of music that circled the globe from Africa to Europe, China, Arabia and back to Africa.

Several medleys were accompanied by still images from the movies, plus a few brief film clips of Tarzan swinging through the trees, and Aladdin and Jasmine flying a magic carpet, all projected onto a screen above the stage.

Some technical difficulties got in the way. The DeVos Hall staff had to manipulate manually images that were supposed to have been computer controlled. They did a good job. Many would not have noticed what was happening.

Film music is unforgiving. It's intricate, involved, thick with percussion, heavy on the brass, one big moment after another with few letups. A steadily changing stream of styles -- Broadway to novelty, opera to gospel -- kept the players on the edge of their seats.

Varineau kept his crew swinging for the fences all night, and they scored a fair few hits. Ironically, a medley from "Mulan," perhaps the least successful of the films visited, featured some of the most heroic, poetic, delicate music making of the night.

Much of the music has been reorchestrated or reimagined in different ways. Recognizable, certainly, but curiously different, much like seeing good friends at a masquerade, wearing a costume that brings hidden aspects of their personalities to the surface.

Particularly entertaining was a "Mary Poppins Fantasy," featuring the familiar melodies from the 1960s. But in reorchestrating the film score 30 years later, arranger Irwin Kostal slyly played musical chairs, not to mention hide and seek, with how he rearranged the tunes.

Grand Rapids' own Diane Penning joined the orchestra to sing several songs from "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Her light, lyrical soprano fits Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" like a custom-made pair of flippers. Her presentation as Cinderella singing "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" was enchantingly lovely.

For a few hours, at least, some of the world's troubles faded away. But that, too, is part of the magic of Disney.

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Watch an extended clip from Disney's 'Bolt'

Hollywood News - Walt Disney Pictures have released a new clip from their upcoming animated film BOLT, which wings its way into cinemas on November 21st. I don't know much about this flick as we've seen very limited promotion from it as yet. Expect that to change over the coming months though. Here's how the official synopsis goes.

For super-dog Bolt, every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue - at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet - a cross-country journey through the real world. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions - a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens and TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino - Bolt discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero.

The film stars (the voices of), John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman and Mark Walton. You can watch the extended clip from the film over at this LINK 

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Disney's Goslin On The Pirates Of The Caribbean MMO's 'Velvet Rope'

Gamasutra - "I’ve found that with these massively multiplayer games, you’ve never learned it all -- you keep learning," says Mike Goslin, president of Disney Online Studios. Goslin was at the Austin GDC to discuss the company's newest MMO, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and the lessons learned.

Goslin started at Disney at Walt Disney Imagineering, working on virtual theme park rides, specifically Disney Quest, a "theme park in a box," as he called it. The most popular ride was apparently Pirates of the Caribbean.

"The most important thing we learned was that everybody loves being a pirate," he says. "Grandmas, little girls, everybody gets on there and has a good time."

While Goslin wasn’t able to reveal the subscription numbers for the Pirates of the Caribbean game, he did impart a number of interesting statistics, including:

- 104 million ships sunk
- 5,445 cumulative years of play
- 2.7 billion gold won in blackjack minigame
- 4.2 million male pirate avatars
- 1.3 million female pirate avatars

"Movie games tend to suck," Goslin admits. "That’s because a lot of money gets tied up in the license, and there are milestones for a movie, and things like that."

Creating The World

Disney was lucky in that it owned the rights to the movie, and was itself the licensor. The team initially decided to capture the experience of the movie, rather than clone its plot or more specific elements.

Initial character models for the game followed the concept art of the ride -- "And I think that was a mistake," Goslin says. "If you’re a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean now, you’re thinking of the movie first. The number of people who think of the ride is very small."

The initial goofy, cartoonish avatars "dragged down the appeal in terms of age," he says. “The older kids didn’t think this was cool, because they looked like animated characters. And that was a mistake, because we wanted to live up to the expectations of these movies."

So the team then focused more on detail, and changed the avatars to fit more within the world of the movie. "Keep in mind we were also very constrained, because it needs to run on every damn PC out there, and there are some really low-end PCs. Another thing you can do to bring these (player) characters into the game is really put them into the world."

The team’s conclusion was cut-scenes, which most people don’t do in MMOs, because "they’re very expensive, it’s hard to get it right, especially with humor."

But it got the characters acting right within the world. "If you’re introducing a broad new audience to this new kind of game, which they haven’t really played before, it helps them to know there’s something familiar in there."

“Since we were doing it in-engine, we were able to put your player-created character in there with Jack,” he says. But the player character is mute, and so “it seems like some sort of strange monologue, so we put in at least one other character (into a scene) so it’s not so flat.”

Unfortunately the team couldn’t get Johnny Depp to do the voice acting, so they had to use a voice mimic. "The problem with sound-alikes is they’re one extreme or the other," says Goslin. "Either they’re great at mimicry, or they’re great at acting, but rarely both."

In order to create the online world, the game, ride, and movie teams got together and dumped everything that was known about the world into a bible. This would make sure the fiction was consistent across the books, the movies, and the game.

"It was a large investment across all parts of the company," says Goslin. "One thing we did decide to do, was that because we wanted all the cool things in our game, we played fast and loose with the timeline, so we could bring in all the cool things from all the films."

Accessibility

"How do you get people into this world?" asks Goslin. "I already talked about using the Pirates material as a bridge, but one thing that’s really important is a good tutorial. One thing we could do a better job on is keep it shorter. You always think there’s a bare minimum number of things people need to know to play this game, and it just winds up being really long. It’s probably (still) two times too long. We need to continually whittle that thing down."

To add to accessibility ,one should "give people things to do that don’t require huge time investments," he says. "One of the most fun things is crewing up and going on ships. But while you’re waiting around, what do you do? So we added card games into it. I think there are people where this is largely what they do."

"Violence was a tough one for us," Goslin admits. “The series is all about violence, people fighting and blowing things up. But this game is for kids too, and we didn’t want a T rating from the ESRB because that really limits us. We made our problem worse when we started going more realistic. If it were cartoony violence, it wouldn’t be a problem."

"It’s all in the perception," Goslin says. The impact of violence depends on the context. You don’t die in the game -- you get unconscious and get thrown in the brig. You have a death penalty, but it’s not actual death, and Goslin finds that this makes the game more accessible without getting rid of a staple of pirate existence.

Business Model

According to Goslin, the number one lesson is to make your "velvet rope" soft. Pirates of the Caribbean Online uses a model in which the player can try limited parts of the game for free, but then hits a wall where they’re forced to pay a $5/month subscription charge if they want to continue.

"How much do you give away for free?" Goslin poses. "The one thing I do know for sure is that at the beginning was that it was way too close. It wasn’t a velvet rope originally, it was barbed wire. It didn’t feel like a free game, and more like a free trial. On the other hand, a lot of players were converting."

"I think ultimately it’s a good business model," he says, "and we’ve gone back and added it to (Disney's previous MMO) ToonTown. I think people have to play it for a while before they say, "'Hey, I’d be willing to pay this thing.'"

Goslin’s argument is counter to that of Min Kim, who in a talk the very same day, decried this model as a false pretender to the free to play business model idea. The variety of methodologies and passions behind them is evident nowhere as strongly as at the Austin GDC.

How valuable are the freeloaders, Goslin asks? "What would happen if you gave 90 percent of it away for free? I’d really like to try it," Goslin says. "When you start buying into these communities, your status within that community is very important, so if there’s some exclusive content that’s exclusive to a pay wall, maybe more people will actually do it."

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Disney Raises the Bar on Playroom Fun & Enrichment with New Playhouse Disney-Themed Preschool Toys

Business Wire - Disney Consumer Products today announced an exciting fall line-up of preschool toys and electronics geared toward enriching playtime. Inspired by hit Playhouse Disney preschool shows on Disney Channel including Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Disneys preschool toys and electronics spark creativity and imagination while creating a fun experience full of discovery any time, anywhere. They also make great holiday gifts for preschoolers.

The Disney preschool toy line features favorite Disney Channel Playhouse Disney characters that little ones know and love, said Robert Marick, vice president, toys, Disney Consumer Products. Parents and caregivers can engage with youngsters and help them recreate some of the key developmental elements of the shows. Our goal with this new toy line is to make the experience so much fun that they wont realize how much theyre actually absorbing.

Disney celebrated the launch with an event just for preschoolers with special readings from the assortment of Playhouse Disney-themed books read by Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty) and Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl), and guest appearances by Elisabeth Hasselbeck (The View), Kim Raver (Lipstick Jungle) and Matt Settle (Gossip Girl) at ToysRUs Times Square on Saturday, September 20, 2008. Product demos, a reading station, sing-alongs, face painting and more provided fun for all while preschoolers took pictures with Handy Manny, Tigger and Darby.

Among regularly scheduled series on broadcast and basic cable with kids 2-5 in summer 08, Playhouse Disney held four of the top 12 series with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (tied at #4), Handy Manny (#7), Disneys Little Einsteins (#11) and My Friends Tigger & Pooh (#12). These series all rank #1 or #2 in their weekend and weekday time periods this summer. Core attributes of each Disney Channel Playhouse Disney show are as follows:

  • Handy Manny: Conflict resolution, problem-solving, imagination, bilingual education.
  • Little Einsteins: Music, art, curiosity about the world, creativity, interactivity, teamwork.
  • Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: problem solving and early math skills including sequencing, counting, classifying, sorting, complex patterns, spatial relations, size and distance comparisons, addition, subtraction, weights and balances.
  • My Friends Tigger And Pooh: Social and emotional development, discovery, friendship and learning about nature.

Disney Channels Playhouse Disney programs invite and encourage co-viewing with parents, grandparents and caregivers to bring fun, curriculum-based entertainment to preschoolers and their parents. Key toys for holiday include, among others, the following: (product photos available for download at www.disneyconsumerproducts.com/press/us)

Handy Manny

Fix-It-Right Transforming Tool Truck

Mannys truck transforms into his tool bench and is equipped with four tools from the show and tons of playthings to fix. When kids pick the right tool for the job, the Fix It Right song from the show plays as the child fixes the problem. Bilingual phrases and sound effects and fix-it jobs included. SRP $49.99, DisneyShopping.com, Disney Store, Wal-Mart, ToysRUs, Kmart, ages 3+.

Disney V-tech Create-A-Story

Create-A-Story comes with My Friends Tigger And Pooh software and cartridge, with additional titles available (Cars, Disney Princess, Finding Nemo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Its interactive platform helps children discover the love of reading through the magic of Disney stories. Youngsters can choose Read A Story or Create A Story software books for each title. Read A Story mode lets kids hear a story and engage in fun reading activities. Create A Story lets kids take characters on a fun-filled adventure by choosing the elements of the story, selecting characters, backgrounds, objects and actions. Preschoolers can then watch their story come to life on the TV/cable included. SRP $99.99, mass retailers, ages 3+.

Little Einsteins

Transform & Go Rocket

As youngsters transform Rocket into three different vehicles, theyll hear great rocket sounds and character phrases relating to each vehicle. Transform & Go Rocket is equipped with pre-programmed motorized action for each vehicle and can also be custom-programmed with up to 15 different commands. Comes with the Turbo Booster gadget from the show that lights up and spins. SRP $39.99, Wal-Mart, ToysRUs, Target, Kmart, ages 3+.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Mickey Motors Speedway

Charge up the cars at the two Rev n Go stations alongside of the track and send them speeding for action-packed, head-to-head racing with Mickey and Pete. A Mickey hand elevator lets kids send the cars to the upper tracks for high-speed fun. Includes two racecars, silly sound effects and fun Mickey phrases. Requires 3 AAA batteries/not included. SRP $49.99, Wal-Mart, ToysRUs, Kmart, ages 3+.

Disney Preschool Electronics:

Disney Pix Jr. Digital Camera

Styles: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger And Pooh, Disney Princess

This drop-tested, rugged 1.3 mega pixel camera is kid-friendly and extremely durable. The Disney Pix Jr. features a large 1.5-inch display screen for easy viewing, and a powerful on-board processor allows kids to snap pictures rapidly. It has approximately 15 hours of battery life and holds up to 150 photos. Youngsters can use Disney Photofriends character overlays to put their favorite Disney friends into their images. SRP $59.99, DisneyShopping.com Target, ToysRUs, ages 3+.

About Disney Channels Playhouse Disney

Playhouse Disney is a standalone channel in eight countries and a daily, learning-focused programming block on Disney Channel in the U.S. It showcases new, original characters and classic Disney favorites.

Designed for preschoolers, Playhouse Disney programming invites co-viewing with parents, grandparents and caregivers. Popular series include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Johnny and the Sprites, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, JoJos Circus, Higglytown Heroes, The Doodlebops, The Wiggles and My Friends Tigger & Pooh.

About Disney Consumer Products

Disney Consumer Products and affiliates (DCP) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) that extends the Disney brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys, home décor and books and magazines to foods and beverages, stationery, electronics and fine art. This is accomplished through DCP's various lines of business which include: Disney Toys, Disney Apparel, Accessories & Footwear, Disney Food, Health & Beauty, Disney Home and Disney Stationery. Other businesses involved in Disney's consumer products sales are Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world's largest publisher of children's books and magazines, and www.disneyshopping.com, the company's official shopping portal. The Disney Stores retail chain, which debuted in 1987, is owned and operated by Disney in North America and Europe. The Disney Stores chain in Japan is operated under a license agreement with Disney. For more information, please visit www.disneyconsumerproducts.com.

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Disney offers internships to students of all majors

Daily Vidette - Students of all majors and from colleges around the world are participating in the Disney College Internship Program.

Recruitment for the Disney internship in both Florida and California is starting now. Students of any major and with at least one semester of classes behind them can apply for this spring and summer internship.

"We're recruiting for spring semester and those interested for spring through summer," Beth Horbas, senior special education major and internship recruiter, said.

The spring through summer internship is called spring advantage. To apply for the internship students must view a presentation, either live or online, fill out an application and have an interview.

"Most people [who] apply usually get accepted," Jessica Vietzen, senior theater major and internship recruiter, said. "I think 30 [students] applied last year."

Once students are accepted for the internship they are given a job and trained after arriving at Disney.

"When you interview you list preferences for jobs. They set you in an apartment with students from all around the world," Horbas said. "You do training on behind-the-scenes [aspects] and then spend a week of training for your job."

"It is paid, so that's a bonus."

With the Disney internship, students are given the chance to get real-world experience that could potentially benefit their resumes.

"It's a really good opportunity to get work experience," Vietzen said. "Plus, it's a Fortune 500 Company. Everyone knows of Disney. You can get such great skills to work with people and help people out."

Not only do students get the chance to travel to another state and work for a well-known organization, they are also given the chance to meet peers from around the world.

"You meet a great variety of people. I lived with and met people from Las Vegas, Oregon, Hong Kong, from everywhere," Vietzen said. "Meeting people was the best part about it."

Being a part of the Disney family also gives students the chance to attend speaking events and activities.

"You have education opportunities while down there. There are classes you can take," Vietzen said. "Also, speakers come from Disney to talk. You're all working for Disney so they are really willing to talk to you,"

The internship jobs range from selling snow cones in Cinderella's castle to dancing in parades and driving a safari ride in Animal Kingdom.

"It's a great experience to meet students from around the world. It's great to get out. It's so diverse," Horbas said. "You get a lot of culture."

Information sessions are being held tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Services Building room 375 and at 6 p.m. in Schroeder Hall room 242.

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Nicholas Sparks, Disney and Miley Cyrus

Orlando Sentinel - Writer Nicholas Sparks, the author of numerous hit novels  that became hit movies, films such as The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and the Mandy Moore Christian-themed romance, A Walk to Remember, has gone on the dotted line with Disney to write a novel and script ("simultaneously," he says) that will be adapted into a feature film starring Disney's "IT" girl, Miley Cyrus.
 
Miley has, the gossips say, grown ever-so-tired of the Disney TV gig. And daddy's over it, too. Nothing like having a potential feature film blockbuster to keep the star child content with the Mousework a bit longer.

Dear John, his story about a soldier home on leave who falls for a conservative college student, starts filming in October, Sparks says. Lasse Hallstrom directs, Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum are set to star in that.

Sparks will see his novel Nights in Rodanthe hit theaters this weekend.
And Sept. 30, his new novel The Lucky One, comes to bookstores.

"That'll probably be optioned next week," he half-joked in an interview I had with him last week.

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Sunday September 21, 2008

Disney takes a hand in effort to bring Muppets back to life
Disney may not need to spread risk on movies
Disney tapping new sources for family musicals
Walt Disney patted me on the head
Four-day Disney cruise a sampling of fun
Artist Recreates Disneyland in Miniature

Disney takes a hand in effort to bring Muppets back to life

Dallas Morning News - Poor Miss Piggy. Like most aging stars in Hollywood, that prima donna pig, along with most of her Muppet pals, has struggled to find substantial roles. Almost nobody under the age of 30 remembers "Pigs in Space." What's a down-on-her-luck puppet to do?

Walt Disney Co. feels her pain. Since it bought Miss Piggy, Kermit and crew in 2004, executives have struggled to figure out how to put them to work. Efforts in 2005 to rejuvenate the furry creatures created by Jim Henson sputtered as the Muppets got lobbed between corporate divisions.

Now Disney is giving it another go. This time the Muppets are getting the Hannah Montana treatment, being blasted into every pop-culture nook and cranny that the company owns.

"We think there is a Muppet gene in everybody," said Lylle Breier, a Disney executive who is the new general manager of Muppets Studio.

Disney Channel is presenting new specials – the first ran last month, the second will be shown in October – in which Muppets interact with High School Musical stars and the Jonas Brothers.

A stream of comic videos is in production for Disney.com, where a new Muppet channel recently made its debut, and videos have been unleashed on YouTube. NBC will broadcast a Christmas special in December, and special skits will arrive on certain ABC DVD releases.

And then there is the merchandise: Muppet clothing at Urban Outfitters and Limited Too stores; a Muppet boutique at FAO Schwarz.

Disney does not want to create a flash in the pan, but creating any flash at all is the challenge. With the exception of a guest appearance here and there, the characters have largely been in cold storage for the last three years. Ms. Breier said recent focus groups indicated that some children could not even identify Kermit and Miss Piggy.

It has been a rough decade for the Muppets. After Mr. Henson's death from a rare bacterial infection, at 53, in 1990 his five children took control of the company. The last Muppets movie, Muppets From Space, sputtered at the box office in 1999.

The next year Mr. Henson's heirs sold the family business to the German media company EM.TV and Merchandising for about $680 million. But as the German conglomerate slumped under crushing debt and an insider-trading and fraud investigation, the Muppets stagnated. The Henson children later bought back the classic Muppets and the characters from the HBO series Fraggle Rock for $78 million (before selling the classic characters to Disney in 2004 for $75 million); the Sesame Street Muppets were sold to Children's Television Workshop.

But even Disney has struggled to rekindle the Muppet spark.

Gently attaching the Muppets to today's touchstone issues – healthy living, the environment – is one way Disney hopes to make them more relevant to the young and the trend conscious. Hence Miss Piggy's donning of workout gear and Kermit's recent appearance on ESPN (yet another Disney outpost) chatting with athletes about being environmentally friendly.

At the same time maintaining the core DNA of the characters is crucial. Miss Piggy, as a result, does not suddenly become a vegan; she communicates about exercise by talking about how she hates to exercise. Kermit does not pontificate on going green; he listens to others talk about it in his humble, unassuming way.

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Disney may not need to spread risk on movies

BloggingStocks - Earlier in the month, I caught an interesting article from on Reuters about Disney (NYSE: DIS) and its movie division. The president of Disney Studios, Alan Bergman, speaking at a conference, stated that profit margins have jumped five-fold at the studio. The reasons behind this success include an aggressive attack on costs and a streamlined film slate. Instead of releasing a whole boatload of features, why not focus on Disney-branded flicks? That's what Disney has been doing, making bigger bets on a smaller number of projects. Things have been going so well that Bergman said that it was conceivable that the Mouse might not need to seek partnerships with funding entities to spread a portion of the risk. What this means is that, instead of offering up a percentage of celluloid profits to a funding corporation in exchange for an investment in the budgets, Disney will just pay for its movies itself and not transfer any risk. There's an obvious reason for this: Disney then gets to retain all profits instead of sharing them.

Well, it should be stated that Disney has not said that it will definitely do this. According to the article, Bergman just mentioned that it's possible that Disney could do this if it wanted to. My opinion? End outside financing. Hey, if I want to go and make a film, I'm going to have to use other people's money, I have no choice. But Disney? The company is big enough to not need any help in financing. The problem here is that human nature comes into play. When a studio division is doing poorly, then co-financing seems attractive. When a studio division is firing on all cylinders, then becoming risk-averse doesn't appear so fetching. Well, I think any media company producing films these days should really stop and try to understand the movie business for what it is. It's always going to be a risk. Doesn't matter if you have a huge star in a picture or not. It might fail either way. But when the windfall comes, when that big hit is found, you want to own 100% of the profits. This not only goes for Disney, but it applies to others such as Viacom (NYSE: VIA), General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal, and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).

Disney should no longer use outside finding. Bob Iger should borrow a little bravery from those kids in the Narnia movies (they were co-financed by Walden Media) and increase the company's risk posture. Considering that Disney is a strong cinematic brand, and that there's a whole lot of marketing synergy available to the studio in the form of sibling platforms such as ABC and The Disney Channel, and that an entire theme-park wonderland is at each project's disposal in terms of promotional opportunities, I am confident that Disney shareholders would be positively impacted by increased exposure to risk from the movie business.

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Disney tapping new sources for family musicals

Columbus Dispatch - Disney has built its Broadway brand with family shows inspired by some of its best-known animated films.

Yet the mostly charmed circle of stage life -- which started with Beauty and the Beast in 1994 and The Lion King in 1997 -- is about to expand.

Beyond the animated titles, the company is seeking more-varied sources for a new cycle of family-oriented musicals, according to Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions.

Schumacher discussed the past and future of Disney while visiting Columbus to help oversee a backstage revamping of The Lion King.

The second tour in central Ohio continues through next Sunday in the Ohio Theatre.

"The sweet spot of the business is Disney musicals for the broadest-possible family audiences," Schumacher said.

Hitting that spot, he said, remains the goal.

As the culture shifts, however, Disney is changing to come up with material that connects with new generations and a new era.

Among the new musicals in development:

Peter and the Starcatchers -- Author Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) and director Roger Rees are adapting the Peter Pan prequel, billed as a play with music, from a 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson about the young orphan battling pirates in a high-seas adventure. The first workshop production will run Feb. 13 to March 8 at La Jolla Playhouse in California.

The Man in the Ceiling -- Author-cartoonist Jules Feiffer (Little Murders) and composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party) are adapting Feiffer's 1995 book about a boy cartoonist who dreams of becoming a successful artist. The show recently had its first reading.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- Disney's first original foreign-language production, which ran from 1999 to 2002 in Berlin, is being revamped for its U.S. premiere. The 1996 animated film inspired by Victor Hugo's novel was rewritten for the stage and directed by James Lapine (Into the Woods). Songs by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) were added as well.

Following in the footsteps of Disney's first "original" musical, Elton John's pop adaptation of Verdi's Aida, Schumacher is seeking more books and live-action films as sources for new shows because not every animated film can or should be adapted for the stage, he said.

"Animated movies are a form of haiku. You create a series of visual images and thematic concepts and move through it very quickly in 74 minutes," he said.

Moreover, most fairy tales are too similar -- and skimpy -- in plot and character to justify a worthwhile two-act production, he said.

Even with director-designer Julie Taymor's imaginative puppetry and stagecraft for The Lion King, the 88-minute film was expanded into a live show running close to three hours only with a deepening of the characters and their stories, Schumacher said. He shepherded the animated film during his former tenure as president of Disney's animated-film division and later guided its Broadway incarnation.

"Who is Nala and why did she leave Pride Rock? In the movie, she just leaves," Schumacher said.

"The stage version shows that she left because of the drought, . . . and because Scar is making advances on her. Nala sings Shadowlands to explain that she can't stay anymore."

Using the next Disney musical slated to tour as an example, Schumacher said Mary Poppins works well onstage because its story -- a blend of the original novel and the 1964 film -- expands the dynamics of a family that was broken.

Other than The Lion King -- the 1998 Tony winner for best musical -- most Disney musicals have met with a mixed to negative critical response in New York.

From Ben Brantley's January review of The Little Mermaid in The New York Times: "Loved the shoes. Loathed the show. OK, I exaggerate. I didn't like the shoes all that much. But the wheel-heeled footwear known as merblades, which allow stage-bound dancers to simulate gliding underwater, provides the only remotely graceful elements in the musical blunderbuss."

Meanwhile, reflecting the Broadway community's still-wary response to Disney's "invasion" of its turf, the Tony awards have often overlooked Disney musicals or relegated them to lesser design nominations.

Even so, The Little Mermaid and other Disney shows have found an audience.

"The Disney name is a hefty thing," Schumacher said. "We also have a global theater business. We have 17 productions running right now, and only three are on Broadway."

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Walt Disney patted me on the head

TheCelebrityCafe - When I was three or four, dad took me to an empty conference room at the Disney Hotel. After a while, Dad opened the door for somebody who patted me on the head. I remember seeing a pair of legs in suit pants and somebody saying, "What a fine you man." Following that, a whole bunch more legs came into the room, it got noisy, and we had to leave. The event annoyed me at the time, but the memories of how my father went out of his way to do special things for me, like "introducing" me to Walt Disney, grow more precious with the years.

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Four-day Disney cruise a sampling of fun

MLive - The photo in our family vacation archives that most sums up blissed-out happiness is of our 7-year-old son Tanner, lounging in a hammock beneath a palm tree, holding a frothy chocolate milkshake delivered to him by a beachside waiter.

His words right before the photo was snapped: "This is the life!"

Our family's Disney Cruise vacation was nearly a year ago, but we still talk about it with eyes-glazed-over rapture. And we didn't even take the deluxe version, opting instead for the four-night Bahamas cruise we figured would be a test: Does our family like cruising?

Here's a glimpse of our cruise journal:

Day One

We board the Disney Wonder at 1 p.m. and the tone is immediately set. As we board, we're "announced" like royalty by the white-gloved crew: "We welcome the Hamilton family!" Then they applaud as we trudge past, wide-eyed. Is this for real?

At 4 p.m., we join the other goofily grinning passengers for the Sail Away Celebration, dancing on deck with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale as streamers fly, music blasts and we pull away and head out to sea.

Already, deckside servers are everywhere with tall, frosty smoothies -- get 'em with alcohol for mom and dad or without for the kids. And the tab begins ...

But 14-year-old Tate is in for a cool surprise when he discovers he can eat all the hot dogs, burgers, fries and pizza he wants -- "SWEET!" -- at the ship's numerous snack stands. For free! Mom and Dad already paid, kid, so eat up and get our money's worth. (And that was $2,300 for our family of four.)

We eat dinner at the Animator's Palate, one of several restaurants on board. We'll eat at a different place every night, but our servers, Tino and Colleen, will follow us, dishing up seafood in puff pastry, fillet wrapped in bacon and plenty of kid-friendly grub. The floor shifts slightly beneath us as we munch peanut butter pie. Oh, yeah -- we're ON A SHIP!

We head happily back to our state room and discover that Ron, our room host, left chocolates on our pillows and created a swan out of one of our bath towels.

Our huge port hole looks out on the tumbling waves, and we fall asleep to the hum of the ship's engine.

So far, so fun ...

Day Two

We wake up in Nassau, the Bahamas. We eat the breakfast buffet -- waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse! -- on the deck with the breeze in our hair.

We booked our shore excursion ahead of time -- Blackbeard's Cove stingray experience. This is not included in the cruise -- it's an extra $49 for adults, $39 for kids 3-9 -- but worth it. We take a pretty blue boat for a 25-minute ride over the remarkably turquoise sea to a small island. My husband, T.J., and oldest son, Tate, don snorkeling gear and hang out with about 30 stingray, stingers removed for safety. Tanner and I wade in the water and giggle as the flat brown creatures nudge and bump our calves. We marvel as we feed them handfuls of slimy squid.

Dinner later is at restaurant two -- Parrot Cay. Tino impresses Tanner with magic tricks and squirts ketchup on his plate in the shape of Mickey Mouse.

We catch the live show "Hercules the Muse-ical" in the opulent theater (the current show is "Toy Story") and head to bed, discovering Ron has left us a towel in the shape of a monkey, hanging from Tate's upper bunk.

Tate heads up to Aloft, a cool teen hangout where he plays "Guitar Hero," dances and enters a food-eating contest during which he has to catch marshmallows in his mouth. Great video camera fodder, but no grown-ups allowed.

Day Three

We wake up at Disney's private tropical island, Castaway Cay. Tate begins a blissful day here with a four-hour, teens-only excursion called The Wild Side (an extra $35), which includes biking, sea kayaking and snorkeling. Tanner spends an hour at Scuttle's Cove, a supervised activity area for kids. He digs for whale bones and finds a cool gold coin on a treasure hunt. T.J. and I settle into lounge chairs on the beach and think, "Imagine how fun this would be without the kids!" (I mean, "What a great family vacation!")

We end the night with a Pirate Party on deck, wearing eye patches and pirate hats and partying with Mickey and friends. Fireworks light up the sky. Ron's bath towel creation at bedtime: an elephant -- wearing Tate's sunglasses.

This is the life.

If you go

Disney cruise

-- Visit disneycruise.com for more information.

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Artist Recreates Disneyland in Miniature

The Patriot Ledger - California native and miniaturist extraordinaire Dale Varner of Milwaukie, Ore., arrived in Marceline, Mo., on Wednesday to begin arranging, touching up and making minor repairs to the scale version of Disneyland that he has been working on for more than 40 years.

The miniature is on permanent public display at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in the Missouri town.

Varner, who suffered a somewhat debilitating case of rheumatic fever as a child, became interested in creating miniatures with the encouragement of his parents.

His brother made model cars and planes, which did not appeal to him; however, he was interested in creating miniatures. So, the budding artist turned his love of Disneyland into a serious lifelong hobby of recreating the buildings, rides, and scenery back in the early ‘60s.

To date, he has visited Disneyland no less than 50 times. He has also been to Disney World, but feels that Disneyland is the place that truly brings Walt Disney’s dream to life.

The miniaturist contacted Walt Disney by letter in 1964, asking if he could obtain photos of the park. Disney forwarded the letter to the publicity department, and Varner has since collected literally hundreds of publicity photos. He has also taken a vast number of photos himself when at the park studying the particular architecture of the different buildings.

When Varner first began creating the miniatures, he used colored paper, which meant the structures would last two, perhaps three, years at the most. Since that time, he discovered that if he used pebbleboard, which is lightweight and about 1/16” thick, to create texture and paint the individual pieces, he can extend the lives of his creations from two or three years to 30 years.

He said that oftentimes, people who view his work will ask him where he gets the ‘kits’ to build his miniatures from. They are almost always surprised to hear that he has never used a kit. Every piece that he has created is the result of a plan he has drawn for the different buildings, with the exception of the Matterhorn.

Some of the materials he uses in addition to the pebbleboard are small pieces of wood, thread, hat pins, straight pins, and lace. He uses gelatin capsules for the street lamps and makes the individual bricks for some of the buildings with ordinary file cards.

Varner said that in the beginning, he used colored paper for the buildings, but now paints each structure so that if the color scheme changes, the models can be painted to reflect the change.

The very first Disney miniature Varner created was the Sleeping Beauty castle. However, over the years he has recreated it many times, with the one that will be on display being the newest. It is his favorite piece, and feels it embodies what Walt Disney originally wanted the park to be, a place where fantasy comes to life and families can have fun.

Varner has not visited the Disney parks in Japan or Europe, although he wants very much to visit Disneyland Paris. The pictures he has seen of the Sleeping Beauty castle show a more “fairytalish structure that looks like it grew right out of the landscape, and is the finest piece of architecture I’ve ever seen“

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