Mini-Update: Disney-MGM Studios (link)
LaughingPlace offers an update from Disney-MGM Studios showing the new
Lights! Motors! Action! stunt show, the stadium, stage, and surrounding
areas, now called the Streets of America backlot area.
A Walk in the Park II: A Disneyland Photo Update: Working
on the subs, rehabs, more (link)
In another Disneyland photo update, MiceAge offers photos of divers
and officials looking around the Submarine Lagoon, and even a photo
of a boat going into the Submarine Voyage caverns. The Submarine Voyage
is rumored finally get a new attraction to replace its long empty Submarine
Lagoon. The Submarine Voyage Finding Nemo overlay is rumored to come
into Tomorrowland soon. There are also photos of construction of the
new Buzz Lightyear ride in Tomorrowland, more Sailing Ship Columbia
refurbishment photos, an empty Disney's California Adventure, and DCA
preparing for ABC Primetime Weekend.
A Walk in the Park: A Disneyland photo update, rehabs,
construction work (link)
MiceAge offers an update from the Disneyland Resort. The Disneyland
photo update includes the Snow White's Scary Adventures refurbishment,
construction around the Matterhorn Bobsleds pathway, photos of Disneyland
attraction refurbishments, including Sailing Ship Columbia refurb photos.
Remembering Frank Thomas: 1912 - 2004 (link)
"Jim Hill looks back on the life & career of a real show business
legend (NOT just a Disney Legend): Franklin Thomas."
Jim Hill Media mourns the death of Disney Legend Frank Thomas, who was
responsible for some of the greatest characters and scenes in Disney
films:
· The Seven Dwarfs weeping over the fallen princess' body in
1937's "Snow White."
· The little wooden boy capering at Stromboli's puppet theater
in 1940's "Pinocchio"
· Thumper teaching the young prince to ice skate in 1942's "Bambi."
· The panicked school teacher trying to escape the Headless Horseman
in 1949's "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad."
· The cold & scheming stepmother, Lady Tremaine, in 1950's
"Cinderella."
Disney Confirms Street View on Hurricane Impact (link)
Reuters reports that Walt Disney World's closures during Hurricane Frances
would cost Disney about $30 million to $45 million in pretax earnings.
That is expected to reduce Disney's quarterly profit for this year by
at least a penny per share, the article says. The article talks about
Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney World damage from Hurricane Frances
from a financial standpoint.
Hurricane Ivan / Iger; a Disney World hurricane update;
Plus Bob Iger's future job plans (link)
Kevin Yee of MiceAge offers a report on how things went at the Walt
Disney World Resort during Hurricane Frances. The Hurricane Frances
update includes information on Walt Disney World damage due to Hurricane
Frances (mostly downed trees and branches), Disney World closures due
to Hurricane Frances, and the lack of crowds during the hurricane. A
quote from the article: "Local radio stations reported that the
theme parks lost an estimated $41 million over the Labor Day weekend
due to the closures." The article then talks about recent news
that Bob Iger is the person Michael Eisner would like to replace him.
There are also lots of Walt Disney World damage photos from Hurricane
Frances, including one of Cinderella Castle's stained glass windows
boarded up to protect them from the strong winds of Hurricane Frances.
Disney Parks Spared by Hurricanes (link)
"The Walt Disney Co.'s theme parks unit has weathered a metaphorical
storm the past couple of years, following the blow that tourism was
dealt by Sept. 11. Now, analysts think the high-profile Disney division
will have a relatively easy time overcoming the one-two punch of a pair
of hurricanes that in recent weeks have closed Disney's Orlando, Fla.
parks but left them virtually unscathed save for some minor damage to
the roof of one backstage structure and to landscaping. Walt Disney
World, the biggest revenue generator among Disney's parks, was closed
all day Saturday and Sunday during Labor Day weekend, traditionally
a high-attendance period, as Hurricane Frances ripped across the state.
In addition, last month the Orlando parks comprising the Magic Kingdom,
EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom were all closed
for a short period because of Hurricane Charley. Both times, particular
attractions like Animal Kingdom were closed for a longer period because
of staffing and assessment concerns. Analysts estimate the bottom line
financial impact at $15 million-$20 million from Walt Disney World and
$7 million-$8 million from the Florida-based Disney Cruise Line, but
say it shouldn't have a major impact overall on Disney's performance
for the current quarter."
Port Canaveral still closed; Disney changes cruise departure
location (link)
"Disney Cruise Lines has moved departures and arrivals of the Disney
Wonder and the Disney Magic from Port Canaveral to Port Everglades,
near Fort Lauderdale, until further notice."
Disneyland News and Information (link)
MouseInfo offers an update from Disneyland park: "Welcome to our
September 7, 2004 Disneyland News and Information Update. Here, you
will find photos of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Construction, Snow White's
Scary Adventure refurbishment, and more..." There is also a quick
look at the Submarine Voyage and Submarine Lagoon, where a new Finding
Nemo submarine ride attraction may surface in the near future.
Working for the Mouse, Part 3: College Program Traditions
(link)
MousePlanet offers the next installment in its series on what it's like
to work at Disneyland and advice on how to get hired. The article today
talks about the Traditions orientation program for new Disney cast members
and offers advice from several more cast members. The article talks
about the Walt Disney World College Program and how to get into the
Walt Disney World College Program
A Mouseketrips Mouseke-tip: How to make eating out at
Disney World NOT take a bite out of your wallet (link)
"Disney travel expert Scott Liljenquist returns with some tips
about how you cut food costs during your next WDW vacation."
Jim Hill Media offers an article about how to save money on meals while
at Walt Disney World (and other Disney theme parks like Disneyland,
for that matter). Tips include bringing a sack lunch, eating appetizers
instead of entrees, and ordering kids meals at Disney restaurants.
DisneyGeek's Flashback (link)
"A look back at the First DCA PrimeTime weekend in 2002 today.
This year's edition kicks off Friday. Anyone going Friday or Saturday
and want to take some pictures to share with us?"
Princess power: a marketing and cultural phenomenon
(link)
" They are the Disney Princesses and their goal is world domination.
In 2004, 23 years since the publication of "The Cinderella Complex:
Women's Hidden Fear of Independence," princess culture is entering
what can only be considered its Golden Age. In the three years since
Disney executives decided to consolidate Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping
Beauty, Ariel ("The Little Mermaid"), Belle ("Beauty
and the Beast") and Jasmine ("Aladdin") into one brand,
princess merchandise sales have skyrocketed from $200 million in 2000
to $2 billion last year.
In Los Angeles, Disney Princess teas held in conjunction with the release
of "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" at the El Capitan
Theater sold out weeks before the movie premiered. Those teas and other
princess-themed events have become popular permanent additions to Walt
Disney World attractions. In Japan, princess classes, which began in
Tokyo three years ago as an attempt to introduce the new princess brand,
have spread to five cities -- last year, more than 15,000 girls paid
$150 a pop to learn from Snow White how to love animals or from Ariel
how to sing."
The original announcement for Disney's Swim with the
Stars tour with Olympics gold medallists Michael Phelps, Lenny Krayzelburg,
and Ian Crocker did not include detailed information on where exactly
the actual tour locations would be.Visit the above
link for more detailed information on each of the stops for Disney's
Swim with the Stars tour and where the tour will stop in each city.
This listing includes the "Disney's Swim with the Stars" tour
actual locations, start times, ticket prices, addresses, and ticket
purchase information.
Walt Disney World Resort Update (link)
MousePlanet covers the preparations for and recovery from Hurricane
Frances as it ripped through Central Florida, the Orlando area, and
the Walt Disney World Resort this past weekend. The update covers some
of the Walt Disney World damage created by Hurricane Frances, and how
the Walt Disney World Resort responded to the hurricane. The Walt Disney
World update, Hurricane Frances edition, talks about how the Disney
cruise line and cruise ships the Disney Magic and the the Disney Wonder
dealt with Hurricane Frances and how the Tom Joyner Family Reunion event
was cancelled. An interesting note in the Hurricane Frances update was
that the water level of the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom was
lowered to help handle the runoff. The update also talks about how because
much of the Hurricane Charley damage had been cleared out, the horticultural
damage to Walt Disney World from Hurricane Frances wasn't as bad, even
though Hurricane Frances was larger and slower than Hurricane Charley
and could potentially have caused more damage. In non-Hurricane Frances
related news, the update reports that Goofy's Country Dancing Jamboree
has been cancelled due to budget cuts and that some of the Epcot Food
& Wine Festival events are selling out.
Disneyland Resort Update (link)
MousePlanet offers an update from the Disneyland Resort. The talk this
week is of the ABC Primetime Weekend at Disney's California Adventure.
There is also a news tidbit about the "Mysteries, Myths, and Legends"
tour tickets, prices, schedule, and other information.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (link)
ScreamScape reports that the dates for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween
Party have been increased from 10 to 13.
Addicted to Disney: What on earth drives people to spend
a small fortune returning time and again to Florida's theme parks, asks
Jeremy Skidmore (link)
From Travel.Telegraph: "The choice for fanatics in Florida is vast.
Disney has four main family parks, Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot and Animal
Kingdom, as well as the water parks - Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach
- and the night-time Downtown Disney area. Rival Universal Studios has
a main park plus Islands of Adventure; there's the water park Wet 'n'
Wild, the marine adventure centre SeaWorld, and nearby Discovery Cove,
a more exclusive venue limited to 1,000 visitors a day and offering
the chance to swim with dolphins. An hour and a half's drive away in
Tampa is the animal adventure park, Busch Gardens."
Court clears the way for family to sue Disney (link)
From IOL: Crime and Courts: "Disney Enterprises has lost its bid
to set a aside an attachment order against its South African-registered
trademarks, enabling the family of musician Solomon Linda to sue them
for royalties in a South African court.
Pretoria High Court Judge Hekkie Daniels on Tuesday dismissed Disney's
application against the executors of Linda's estate, which represents
the musician's three daughters.
The executors obtained an attachment order in July against the more
than 240 locally registered Disney trademarks, including well-known
marks such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Disney."
Disney, other Orlando parks to reopen today (link)
The Sun-Sentinel reports that all the theme parks of the Walt Disney
World Resort will reopen Tuesday after Hurricane Frances.
Illness, hurricane form perfect storm for vacationers
(link)
Interesting story from katu.com about a family vacationing at Walt Disney
World right before Hurricane Frances hit; the family's son needed an
emergency appendectomy, so the family was able to get priority booking
out of the Orlando airport due to the boy's illness.
Disney Snaps Up Clive Barker's Abarat (link)
ComingSoon.net reports that Walt Disney Pictures has purchased the rights
to Abarat by Clive Barker. From the article: "The stories for "Abarat"
are dreamt up as Barker paints, and written down only after the plot
has been committed to canvas. In the first novel, Candy Quackenbush
is growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota, yearning for more--which she
finds, quite unexpectedly, when a man with eight heads appears from
nowhere in the middle of the prairie, being chased by something really
monstrous. And so begins Candy's epic adventure to the islands of the
Abarat."
Londoners still stuck in stormy Orlando hotel room (link)
The London Free Press tells the tale of a family stuck at the Walt Disney
world Resort during Hurricane Frances. From the article: " Not
even a magic kingdom could be spared from hurricane Frances's wrath.
The Slivinski family from London watched the storm from their hotel
room at the Disney All-Star Music Resort in Orlando, hoping for a happy
ending to their weather-ravaged vacation. Contacted yesterday, parents
Ted, 42, Gillian, 41, and children Nicole, 15, and Michael, 12, were
still in the thick of it, hunkered down in their hotel room for the
second day after almost a week in Florida. What was happening outside
was far more terrifying than any theme park ride. Disney officials asked
their guests to stay in their rooms until Frances passed through, prompting
some cabin fever in the holiday resort.
