When September Ends...

Well here it is my fellow Disney fans and friends...

The end of September is here. Over the next several weeks keep an eye out where you walk or you'll run into a wall...

Somewhere/everywhere. October is a wonderful month and Fall is my favorite season. This year, it has even more meaning than it normally does.

Don't expect it to happen all at once... but do expect it to start.

See you next month...

Disney's Kingdom Beats Universal's Kingdom...

In a bit of a surprising move Disney's "The Game Plan" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson beat out Universal's big political actioner "The Kingdom". The PG rated family film surprised many by grossing an estimated $22.7 million from 3,103 screens. It could be that "The Kingdom"'s R rating limited its appeal to parents wanting to take their kids to a movie for the whole family. Still, the Peter Berg directed film starring Jaime Foxx grossed an estimated $17.7 million from 2,793 screens. Not bad for second place, but considering everyone felt that "The Game Plan" was going to be taking that spot it's a little more disappointing for Universal.

Bob Iger has got to be the luckiest CEO ever... He's been doing a lot of the right things, but he's also had an incredible amount of good luck on projects he's had little if anything to do with. That's ok though... it helps to have luck every now and then... Maybe he's just the beneficiary of some good ole' Disney Magic?

The Bomb That Wasn't...

Oh, it's going to make less than the last film...

Oh, it shows that there is a downward spiral for the last few Pixar films...

The domestic box office for it is going to be way below what it was for "Cars"...

This is clearly Pixar's first flop...

These are all variations on statements made about "Ratatouille".

What we are talking about here is a movie that has grossed over 400 million dollars. And it still has quite a few territories to open up in. When it's finished the grosses should match or exceed that of "Cars"...

The domestic take will come in under what "Cars" had, but the international take will come in over that. Remy was a hit in America, but it's a much bigger one overseas.

There was a term coined decades ago by a Senator from New York named Daniel Patrick Monahan... he wrote a book that used the term: "Defining deviancy down". What it basically meant was that we were taking crimes and decriminalizing them so as to make that behavior less of a stigma and while doing so making it appear the reduction of crime was taking place. It was a way of dealing with problems by avoidance... if you legalize it, you don't have to address it's societal impact. To me, this way of dealing with Pixar films of late is a form of this.

When you have to change the definition of film being a disappointment or even in some cases a bomb/flop to be a film that makes upwards of close to half a billion... well, you're pretty much defining success downward.

Where does it say that every film has to make more than the last? They're all different and appeal to varying groups of people. It simply is ridiculous to think every one will make more than the last. It's expecting disaster even when it doesn't appear. It's being excessively negative about something for the simple sake of it. I realize that the last couple films the Lamp has made have made less than the previous ones. My response...

So???

When they have a real stinker come out. One that doesn't generate hundreds of millions of dollars, one that sucks more cash than it takes in, one that is overwhelmingly abandoned by the critics... well, then give me a call. Otherwise, you're simply participating in a form of incestual "Pixar Bashing"...

I've said it before, but it always bares repeating. Life is difficult. Being negative is EASY. Being positive is hard... The more you work at being negative and miserable, the more it will reflect on you and your outlook of life. Don't be part of this. Don't fall victim to it. Live life. Enjoy it. And go see "Ratatouille" again just to see that even a rat knows how to live life better than most human beings. That was one of the messages I found in the film that was so positive... be yourself. Don't conform to what society wants you to be. Don't let others define you. And most of all...

Enjoy the world around you. It's actually fun to do so. Imagine that...

Tim Burton Returns To The Mouse?

Over at Aint It Cool News they have a report from a student on an advance screening of "Enchanted" that is pretty positive. The reviewer thinks it's definately the right direction Disney should be going.

But the big news is what was said afterwards...

Dick Cook let loose some surprising info the reviewer said: "He said that the project would be helmed by the creative mastermind behind the majority of stop-motion pictures in the last decade. Our Dean looked at him slyly and asked, "This guy has never worked with Danny Elfman before has he?".

Sounds pretty exciting... I wonder if this was in the works before Tim had his meeting with Pixar a while back? Maybe he got along well with Uncle John. Hmmm...

The Difference Between Electrical Outlets: Convergence Part 3...

So here we are with another example of convergence. Today we're going to take a look at the Main Street Electrical Parade, which is now known as Disney's Electrical Parade. This entertainment parade was created by Bob Jani and debuted in 1972 at Disneyland. It lasted for the most part of two decades and was finally retired in 1996. After the bad performance of DCA's opening it was decided to bring it back to bolster attendance at the new park. It was re-branded as "Disney's Electrical Parade" since DCA doesn't have a Main Street(yet... hehe). The rides are basically the same as the Main Street version, minus one float. The ride is simple and yet magical, but is clearly not on a technological level with other parades and attractions. The DCA version is simply the old Disneyland version brought out of mothballs...

While certain attractions have had major overhauls, the beloved EP has not. While I know this may anger some Disney Geeks, the current show is fun, but painfully long in the tooth. It would be nice if the Mouse updated it...

Could it really be improved?

Yes, actually... it could. I'm not saying that we replace everything, but the floats could/should be updated to reflect modern technology like... well, like Tokyo Disneyland's version. Actually its second version. TDL's original version of the Electrical Parade ended in 1995. The new version they have has been running since the park was turned into a resort back in 2001. Now I don't want you to get the idea that everything is great in Tokyo, but they are an example of a park which spares no expense and has lavish, extravagant rides and attractions that in the past could never even be thought of for state-side parks. With Uncle John in charge the possibility for such things is not only doable... but probable based on the rumblings around Glendale water coolers.

So what exactly is so wonderful about TDL's version?

Well, it's called "Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: Dream Lights" and it has the basic setup that ours has... only the rides are, uhem... here we go again. They're more detailed. If you've ever got a chance to see EP's floats in daylight you'd understand how ugly and plain they are. Yes, they have provided countless children, young and old much joy... but I'd like to see them update the floats. Maybe add a new one or two... like TDL. They've got several new floats they've added to the older, but extremely detailed other ones. The new floats are Pixar floats, mostly from Nemo and Monsters, but are beautiful to watch. Another thing that the parade at TDL has is the music is synced to the lights. So many floats have the lights flashing to the music... which can be quite striking. The Cinderella float is amazing as you watch her gown dance to the music and change colors right before your eyes. The technology shows what WDI can do if given the green-light and greenbacks to go with it. While our snail can barely move his head, the one in Tokyo can blink his eyes and have facial expressions that create quite a dramatic affect.

I know I could go on describing it, but the old adage: "a picture is worth a thousand words" seems to be the best way to convey what I'm trying to describe.


Now a picture may be worth a thousand words, but a video has to be worth an entire story. So let's tell that story...

Here is a video of Tokyo's Electrical parade from the beginning.

Now this is the Electrical version at DCA, not bad but somewhat dated. I know it doesn't show it as much with these small videos but hopefully the point can be made effectively enough for the time being.

Here is another video of TDL's EP with some more of the highly detailed floats. Not the detail and design of the "Alice in Wonderland" float.

Now compare that to this video of our own "Alice in Wonderland" float. Alice appears around 1:17 seconds into the video so you can know when to expect it.

Let us remember that these parades and attractions were designed by the Mouse... so this isn't a knock on their ability to be creative. It's a call to the Suits to cut the restraints. Break the chains and let WDI show the world why Disney has always been well above the rest of the theme park business. When given the ability to imagine, Imagineers can do great things... we shouldn't settle for ok. We don't have to...

We won't.

Now, if the current crop of Suits will understand that then class can be dismissed.

Pixar Reveals "Wall-E" Teaser Poster...

Pixar, through Disney's own Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures(formerly, Buena Vista International) has released the teaser poster for the animation studio's 2008 theatrical release: "Wall-E". Not bad... not bad at all.

Hat Tip goes to Upcoming Pixar.

Disney's Game Plan This Weekend...

Walt Disney Pictures "The Game Plan" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a self-absorbed superstar quarterback opens up today against Universal's "The Kingdom". While it's likely "Kingdom" will be on top, it remains to be seen if "The Game Plan" can pull in strong numbers at number two this weekend. The last Disney movie that came out during the summer was "Underdog", which seriously underperformed(I was worried about that one from the moment I saw the stills and knew it was doomed upon seeing the trailer).

Another movie that's in limited release right now, opening up last Wednesday is "Into the Wild", directed by Sean Penn and based on the best-selling book by Jon Krakauer. I hear this one is amazing and plan on seeing it next week.

So tune in Sunday and see if an egotistical professional football player can overcome terrorists fighting FBI agents. Can you smell what the Mouse is cooking?

Jay's Baby Is A Sophomore...

The second "Year Of A Million Dreams" kicks off its second year on October 1st during Good Morning America's broadcast. The Mouse is going to try and use its cross-promotion with its own ABC network to try and get people excited and insprired about the marketing campaign that most people really don't know much about. You'd be surprised at the people that brush off the Dream Squad when they try to award them a prize because they think it's somekind of promotion to get them to buy something... not nearly as bad as it was last year, but Jay Rasulo and Michael Mendenhall's love child is still a pour substitute for "The Happiest Place on Earth"...

Now there is a marketing campaign Disney Geeks could get behind and love. I wonder if they have any plans to bring that back? Hmmm...

Walt Frees Fun...

Walt Disney Productions releases its ninth animated feature on this date, sixty-years ago today. The movie, "Fun and Fancy Free" features two classic animated shorts, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" and "Bongo The Bear". Also of importance is this being the debut of Jim Macdonald as the voice of Mickey Mouse.

A Guide To Blue Sky Disney-Speak...

Well, I've gotten a few e-mails over the summer that have asked me what certain terms I used meant or for a clearer explanation of something. Some of you will remember my post on "Creatives Vs. Suits" that was published a while back... I guess it was time I created a mini-dictionary... a guide sort of. One that explains terms used on this blog so that visitors new to Blue Sky DIsney can catch up...

Here we go:

Battle For Pooh - The long, ongoing fight between the Slesinger family and the Walt Disney Company over the rights to the billions-of-dollars-generating characters.

Blue Sky Alert - A Blue Sky Alert is when we publish a detailed account of the goings on in Glendale(read: WDI)... it most likely will refer to things happening at the Disneyland Resort, but periodically we'll have Alerts about Walt Disney World, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. There are no specific times that these are published, it usually happens when my Bothans have gotten/given sufficient information to make a post worthwhile...

Bothans - Speaking of the Devil... Bothans are my sources throughout the Walt Disney Company. Some are Corporate, Animators, Imagineers and a few Cast Members. Oh, and the term for you that aren't Sci-Fi Geeks comes from "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" where Mon Mothra was describing how "many Bothans died to bring us this information"...

Convergence - This is a term used only recently to describe a coming together of information, technology and the ability to have action to create a change. Basically, it's the power of the new media(read: blogs, YouTube, cable and other sources) to influence and educate people... in our case, Disney Geeks/Fans.

Creative, A - The ones within the Walt Disney Company that believe in creativity. Art is the highest achievement. The creation of something noble, something entertaining that captivates the observer. These would be the Imagineers, the directors, writers and other storytellers with in the company.

Disney Geek/Fan - If you are new to this site, please take a moment to go to the mirror, look in it and then come back. Are you back? Chances are you now know what one of these is...

Eeyore, A - A person that is exceedingly, unnecessarily negative. Even if there heart is pure, they forecast doom and gloom without noticing it.

Forgotten Mouse Tales - Movie projects that were under development at Walt Disney Studios that were never made for a variety of reasons.

Fun Factories - An endearing term used as a nick-name for Walt Disney Parks across the world.

Glendale Kingdom, The - Blue Sky Disney's description of the business complex in Glendale that houses Walt Disney Imagineering, DIsney Toons and Walt Disney Animation Studios(Walt Disney Television Animation is located on the studio lot in Burbank).

Golden Age, First - This is the time usually referred to the period from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" through Bambi and basically includes the first five Disney films: Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.

Golden Age, Second - This is the time usually refereed to the period from "The Little Mermaid" through "The Lion King" and from Blue Sky's view actually includes these DIsney films: The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.

Lamp, The - Slang for Pixar Animation Studios.

Mouse, The - Slang for the Walt Disney Company.

Mouse Traps - Originally a description of the new off-site properties and entertainment centers that Jay Rasulo has planned for the company. Usually used to refer to projects/attractions that Disney planned on building to seperate guests and their cash.

Nerdvana - Slang used to describe the San Diego Comic Con. If you've ever been there... you know why we use it.

Old Maestro, The - Not a term we came up with, but one used periodically here at BSD. It was a nick-name given to Walt referring to his ability to grasp creative talent and play it like a symphony.

Owl, A - Someone who bloviates on and on about a subject... hey, whatayoulooking at?

Pooh, A - Someone who is exceedingly, unrepentantly positive. A person who always sees the bright spots and is contagiously optimistic without noticing it.

Rabbit, A - Someone that is a pragmatist. One who goes about their belief that good can happening, but preparing for the worst and expecting it.

Suit, A - These are the people whose main concern is the bottom line. The essential part of the company where cost is all that matters. Everything has to be looked at through the prism of how it affects the bottom line. You've heard the term "Money is God"... well, these are the true believers.

Uncle John - Our endearing term for John Lasseter... a homage to the dear founder of our obsession, your host... Walt Disney.

Virtual Shareholder - A term used to describe the internet community of Disney Geeks/Fans that use their keyboards to display love and affection or hatred and venom toward the actions of the Walt Disney Company and its Executives.

As time goes by I'm sure we'll develope more to add to this short list...

A Mickey Mouse Joint...

The Mouse and KB Home are teaming to turn your house into your very own Disney themed home. Through Disney Consumer Products, a unit of WDC, they plan on offering design centers that let you customize your house to reflect you Disney obsession... This service will be offered to eager Disney Geeks and home owners come 2008.

A "Solsbury Hill" Moment...

This is a reflective post. You see, a couple days ago was the anniversary of Michael Eisner being voted in as Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company. I deliberately chose not to report it. I've had a great deal of post that reflected negatively on him and the Suits he brought with him so I felt like it would have been piling on unnecessarily if I had mentioned it.

Now as much as I criticize Mr. Eisner, I have mentioned the good he has done, but probably it bares repeating so that people don't get the idea that I'm trying to bash him for the sake of it. I want to get across the fact that I believe the success that the Mouse has had over the past two decades wouldn't be possible without Michael Eisner and Frank Wells...

My gripe has always been that Eisner overstayed his welcome and basically lost his balance in 1994 when Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash. During his first decade, I feel he got eighty to ninety percent of what needed to be done right. The problem was he spent the next decade doing the exact opposite and doing eighty to ninety percent wrong. If he would have retired by, oh say... 2000 he would have gone down in history with a much kinder record. I believe he'll still be remembered rather well... just not as high on the ladder as he could have been.

Sometimes people have to know their limitations. Sometimes people have to know when it's time to leave the party. Sometimes it's necessary to call the game and head home. That takes humility and perspective... these are two things missing from Eisner once Frank Wells exits the stage in this play.

Now, what does this have to do with the title of this post? Solsbury Hill? Well, it refers to a song. My favorite song by my favorite solo artist. Peter Gabriel.

The song has a very colorful and interesting history. You see, he wrote it after going insane... alright, that's the politically incorrect way of saying it. The PC term would be that he had a mental breakdown. He lost his wife because of an affair he had with someone... presumably, Kate Bush. He realized that he'd made a mistake and the world around him was crumbling because of his own mistakes, his own stupidity and his mind just snapped. He was put in an insane asylum... oops, sorry. A mental institution, I mean. And he spent some time reconstructing his mind, going over the details of his life and trying to piece it back together until one day it was over. Someone famous came to take him home. Now the song was written about his experience being there... supposedly, he used to look out the window and see Solsbury Hill and it became a symbol for him. It became his freedom. Not so much from the place he was at physically, but where he was emotionally. For when he could finally get out and go to it... well that meant that everything was back to normal. Everything was fine.

Now, I'm sure you're saying... "nice story, but again, how does this have anything to do with Disney? Well, as I said at the beginning of this post... this is a reflective post. I'm just in that sort of mood so bare with me a bit.

See, I tend to use a lot of analogies(and if you don't know that you've not been reading the blog very long)... what this has to do with the Mouse is in how it mirrors the time of Eisner's reign. See Eisner was riding high at the company, its stock was high and the success was making him feel like he could do no wrong. Like he could do what he wanted and nothing bad would come of it. Like Peter Gabriel when he cheated... he wasn't thinking clearly. Anyway, the disaster for Gabriel was the infidelity and destruction of his marriage. The disaster for Disney and Eisner was EuroDisney.

Eisner's first mistake was in locating the park in Paris instead of where it should have gone, which was Barcelona. This was the location that the park was originally going to go. The area was good and the weather was much closer to the American parks so that the company wouldn't have had to deal with the harsh winters that made them design certain things for the Paris theme park. Well, France dangled all these goodies... all these financial incentives in front of Disney and Eisner gave into temptation and took it. Just like Gabriel... he then started building far more hotels than the resort could fill effectively. Eisner indulged in his excesses the way Gabriel continued his affair not thinking of the repercussions and not believing he would get caught.

When it all started coming together... when the park was a hit, but the hotels weren't being fill, the realization of overspending took place. And everything... EVERYTHING Eisner had planned to come after it would suffer from the bitter sting of EuroDisney. Port Disney with it's DisneySea park... gone. WestCOT with it's immersive worlds... canceled. The "Disney Decade" that Eisner announce earlier... dramatically cutback. Several other projects fell by the wayside. Everything afterwards was overly cautious... dealing from the sting of his excesses... Eisner now did the exact opposite and the results of that fruit are DCA, WDSP and HKDL...

This was Eisner's mental breakdown. And the company's as well... and of course I'm being metaphoric in using these things. You see, for Disney and it's fans... well, to see the return to glory we've been wanting? That would be us looking out on Solsbury Hill, wanting to be free again. The symbolic nature of the Mouse being alright again comes with Eisner realizing it was time to go and moving on. Essentially the process of knowing what has to be done. The rebuilding that has to happen so that we can go back to a better time when everything was well. That's where we were last year and today. We're in a state where we know what is right, we know what went wrong and as Iger himself has said about knowing what went wrong so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Now some of you will take this analogy as a stretch... that's understandable. But I like it... it's good for me and that's all that really counts right now. I hope you got an understanding of what I was trying to convey though...

It's good to finally have the Mouse be in a position where it knows what was done right, what was done wrong and what needs to be done over the next decade or so to bring about some form of sanity. For the Mouse, the Shareholders and the Fans.

Now does that sound crazy?

Suing Is What Tiggers Do Best...

Well the Walt Disney Company has won another round in the "Battle for Pooh". A California Appeals Court declined to reinstate a long-running case against the Mouse over royalties it paid for ther Winnie the Pooh characters.

The Slesinger family has been in a fight with The Walt Disney Company for decades over money from a beloved cartoon figure that brings in over two billion dollars a year for the company. You can read more of the legalees here.

Goofy Sightings...

It appears that with the new Goofy short finished, Walt Disney Animation Studios is moving on to its other productions and people in the know are starting to get a look at the final product.

Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew has seen Goofy's comeback vehicle and has a review of it over on the site. What's his verdict? Well, go read it and see... but let's just say that directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton have done for Goofy what Quentin Tarantino did for John Travolta.

I can't wait to get a look at this and hope that Disney announces soon which film they plan on releasing it with... I hope my sources are right about which one it may be attached to.

Pooh In Motion: Convergence Part 2...

Another ride we've talked about and even showed you still pictures of is Tokyo Disneyland's "Pooh's Hunny Hunt" ride... well for those of you that can't yet afford to go there and would like to see it we have a special treat.

Here is the video for Pooh's Hunny Hunt... take a look and compare it to our very own "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" here in Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom. The quality difference isn't just noticeable... it's staggeringly different. Just take a look at the incredible detail that WDI did with this ride. There is a reason this is the number one ride in Tokyo Disneyland...

To get an overall impression of the ride just take a look at this slickly put together piece...

And here a video that centers on the middle of the ride showing quite a bit of detail... or this one which compliments the previous video...

And then we have another which is the least favorite of riders because it occurs at the end of the ride meaning it's over and they're going to have to get in another two hour line if they want to see it again...

WDI had originally proposed this type of project for the American parks, but the Suits weren't willing to pour this kind of money into it. The Oriental Land Company was, though... which is why they got the ride we all deserved and why we got the ride Eisner thought we would except. The reviews for "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" ride were lukewarm at best. Ironically, the lines for this ride are lukewarm at best as well. There were no four or five hour long waits for this attraction and there never will be. If this has been built in Disneyland we'd probably still have long lines to ride it just like in Tokyo. Now, we have to hope that Uncle John has taken a ride on "Pooh's Hunny Hunt" when he was at Tokyo Disneyland... and cross our fingers over a future rehab of the Anaheim or Orlando versions.

Let's not loose sight of the fact it was WDI that designed the ride in Tokyo. Many of the people that designed this breathtaking ride are still around. If only they could be turned loose; unleashing the talent they have within them...

Something quite beautiful could emerge....

Number 224...

On this date, seventy-three years ago...

Frank Thomas, whom I'm sure many will remember from previous posts on Blue Sky Disney, joins Disney to start animating shorts as employee number two-hundred-twenty-four... he will go on to become Legend.

The Art Of The Poster...

I'm a huge fan and collector of posters, Disney and all others. One thing I've found out is that even though a movie can turn out as a disaster, it doesn't mean the poster isn't a success. The same can be reverse, a successful movie can have an unimaginative poster.

Posters in and of themselves can be a form of art.

There are posters I have for movies that I would never watch, but there is something more in the poster that conveys what the movie failed to get across. What's great is when a movie is great and a poster displays that as well.

My favorite poster is one for "Apocalypse Now", a movie I think is brilliant btw. It happens to be done by a man named Bob Peaks, my favorite poster artist, that sadly has now passed away. The most well known poster artist is a guy named Drew Struzman who has done hundreds of famous movie posters.

I thought it would be nice to look at some Disney posters that are beautiful, while not all of the movies they represent are of the same caliber.

Some are from good movies that weren't hits...


Others from movies that were disappointments...


Even some hits had posters better than the film...


Then there were movies which were better than you remember and the art was beautiful...


Lastly, we have great posters for movies that are forgotten gems...


There are many, many more you can find if you're determined to mine the vaults of Google. You might try looking around it, or find a poster shop near you... or one that is online. Sometime even a bad movie can create art... and sometimes you can frame that art on your wall. Good things come even in bad packages it appears.

The Beginning Of The Convergence...

Remember how I was talking about with the World Wide Web it was going to be difficult for Disney to hide what it designs for the Oriental Land Company? I got a ton of e-mail related to that. Most of it was positive. Well this is sort of a continuation of that... only more of a practical demonstration. I call this the beginning of the convergence. Basically when a tool comes along that gives you knowledge and ability and is combined with action... there is a meeting, a convergence so to speak of forces that creates a form of "social corporate activism".

With fan websites and blogs you can get a better perspective of what is going on in the world outside America. Not just Disney, but everything. Of course, this being a Disney blog we're going to focus on just the Mouse. Years ago, the Suits could have gotten away with providing top-notch design work for TDL and then giving the American parks a sub-par version because we had very little way of seeing or hearing what was over there. It's with this in mind that I felt a demonstration was in order.

Fellow Disney Geeks and fans I give you...

YouTube.

Yes, I know most people have heard of this website, but it's a living, breathing textbook example of what I was talking about. Go over there and type in something you want to know about Disney and hundreds of videos instantly pop up. Sure many of them are crude and the quality is bad or the sound is horrible. But you have to look beyond the trees to see the forest. This is in its infancy. By the end of the decade, many of these people will have hi-def cameras with better sound and professional editing systems. Many of these people will be making ads or infomercials for the Mouse without any blessing from Burbank. They'll be making highly critical videos as well. This is another example of the "Virtual Shareholders" philosophy that I talked to you about a while ago. We may not own shares of the company, but we can shine a spotlight on parts of the company that we feel don't measure up to Walt's exacting standards. We may not have a tangible vote, but we can influence how those that do vote. We can shine a light of truth on things... keeping them honest, so to speak.

Now I'm going to posts several articles over the next couple of weeks that will provide you with samples of videos that show what the Mouse can and should do. Some are bad, most alright and a few are almost professional. But all are informative and enlightening as to where we stand in terms of the quality trail of WDI. Since I've talked quite a bit about it before, I felt it appropriate that I show you some videos of Tokyo DisneySEA. I've broken them down into several sections.

Enjoy.


Rides & Ports...


Now here is a fansite video that someone made which shows the promise of what the future holds. This showcases the rides in TDS's Mermaid Lagoon area. I think this is my favorite that I've found so far.

One of the most popular rides in the park lies in Mysterious Island. It's the Journey To The Center Of The Earth ride. And this is a video a fan made of the ride done to the Beatles "Getting Better"... it's pretty good. This is a brief panoramic view of Mysterious Island. And least we forget Mount Prometheus... this is a very active volcano.

Here is a rough video of the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull.

Least we forget the Tower of Terror ride that is in Tokyo.

Some of TDS's shows are simply amazing and can be seen in these videos, but none of these will do justice to actually seeing them in person... that being said, it's really impressive to wathc these shows because it shows you the quality of productions they put on in Japan.


Entertainment & Shows...


Here is a video showing the beginning of the BraviSEAmo! show. And this one shows BraviSEAmo!'s finale.

This is one showing the TDS Water Carnival ETERNO.

And now one showing Tokyo DisneySEA's Fireworks Show.

Oh and let's not forget that the OLC makes commercials for it's parks. Here's one.

And we have one displaying the entertainment in the Mediterranean Harbor.


Christmas in Tokyo DisneySEA.


Christmas is a great season to celebrate anywhere... it's even better at a Disney Resort and best at someplace like TDS's Christmas events... take a look at last years Christmas Celebration.


Tokyo DisneySea 5th Anniversary


This is a commercial made for the 5th Anniversary of TDS.

This is just a sampling of what one can find and how as I've said before... quality or mediocrity, have no place to hide.

Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time, things were going really well in the land of Disney.

Really.

I get accused at times from some e-mailers of wearing rose-colored glasses, of viewing the "Disney World" through Poliannish eyes and while it is true if bad decisions were being made so much like back in the late 90's/early 2000's... I'd have a lot less posts and lot less optimism.

But what can you say? Things are going very well for the Mouse right now. The only blemish is the park in Hong Kong with the negativity that's been attached to it since opening. That will take care of itself in time... wait till it's been around as long as DCA and see if it has the same problems. I have a feeling it won't, but time will tell. It's interesting that Disneyland Paris is not the albatross around Mickey's neck right now, hmmm?

For the most part things are going splashingly good. I mean, films, the internet, television and well, the parks. Take for example that little report Yahoo news has posted that talked about how more people had visited Disney's American theme parks in the last 12 months than any previous year in history! Now that's good news for sure... maybe the Suits will stop making excuses for why they don't build rides as elaborate as OLC's because of Americans spending versus Japanese spending?

Here's one quote I like: "The company said attendance numbers this year will likely surpass its record-breaking 2006 totals that were given a boost as the parks celebrated Disneyland's 50th birthday". Not that some of that isn't news to we on the web, since Blue Sky and others have been reporting how the parks are doing better than the 50th... but it's nice to see someone in the MSM do the same and elaborate on it.

See what happens when quality is a great business model. Wait a minute... where have I heard that before? Someone said that recently... hmmm.

An Opening For The Mouse...

It looks like Paramount buying Dreamworks has started to turn sour according to an article in the Los Angeles Times by Claudia Eller. This is mere speculation, but Iger has been trying to woo back talent that was alienated by Eisner... the George Lucas brown-nosing that's been going on over in Glendale is a prime example of it. I know that many inside TeamDisney Burbank would love to work with Spielberg again so hopefully they're going to go after this incredibly big fish.

One of the key parts of the article the author notes: "Smarting from sellers' remorse, the DreamWorks principals are expected to bolt as soon as they are free to late next year. Already, Geffen has been telling people in Hollywood that he and Spielberg plan to look for a new financial backer and studio home".

Could Mickey find room on the lot for Steven Spielberg should he call it quits with Paramount? Who knows for sure, but as long as Iger is doing the wooing, he should spread a little bit of it around and aim it in Steve's direction. Get Uncle John to invite him over to dinner... talk, discuss, eat. But this is an opportunity the Mouse hasn't really had in over a decade to heal wounds inflicted by Eisner. Better hurry before he gets invited back to Universal.

What are you waiting for Mickey?

Visualize, Growing Pains...

For all of you that are wondering what the new Grand Californian DVC units will look like? Here you go... now, I didn't steal this... the Mouse actually let this image go into a recent DVC guide. I've seen several pieces before, but hadn't seen them published yet. And so begins Disney's campaign to woo Anaheim voters over the next year.

Let the bribery commense!

Now, if we can get them to put out some of that cool artwork I've seen for the makeover of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim then we can get some Disney Geeks excited enough to make reservations for the completion around 2010 or so...

thanks to David for the Hat Tip.

The Mouse Gets More Expensive...

It appears that Disneyland has now raised it's prices like WDW has.

New prices take affect today. Looks like whoever bought their annual passes yesterday got a bit of a discount. Here's the rundown if you're interested...

Single Day Tickets:

Single Park...$66, $56 for kids 3 - 9 years old. ($3 increase)

ParkHoppers... $91, $81 for kids 3 - 9 years old. ($8 increase)


Multi-Day Park Hopper Tickets:

A 2 Day ParkHopper, $132 for Adults, $112 for kids 3 thru 9 years old. ($10 increase)

A 3 Day ParkHopper, $189 for adults, $159 for kids 3 thru 9 years old. ($10 increase)

A 4 Day ParkHopper, $214 for Adults, $184 for kids 3 thru 9 years old. ($5 increase)

A 5 Day ParkHopper, $234 for Adults, $204 for kids 3 thru 9 years old. ($5 increase)


Annual Passes:

Premium $379 ($20 increase)

Deluxe $259 ($20 increase)

Southern California $169 ($15 increase)

Southern California Select $129 ($5 increase)


No word as to if you will have to sign over the life of your newborn child yet...

HalloweenTiming...

A lot of people have been writing in complaining about the lack of detail in DCA's "HalloweenTime" decorations. While Disneyland Park is getting some additions to the successful displays they had last year, many are noticing that DCA doesn't seem to be getting an equal share of the theming... even more so, some areas seem to be getting less theming than last year.

There's a simple answer to this...

The main reason that it's not getting more "HalloweenTime" decorations is purely a financial decision. Does this mean, Iger and his Suits have morphed into Einser? No, not really. It simply makes economic sense really... I happen to agree with the reasoning as well.

You see, DCA is about to undergo a dramatic transformation. One that will last at least five to six years and if that part proves successful then we can count on another four or five years more of even more dramatic changes. Now in the middle of all this, would you create a bunch of expensive decorations only to have them be obsolete and useless in a couple years? It wouldn't be smart to do this. If you're looking for an elaborate expansion of the "HalloweenTime" theming it won't be coming to DCA before the 2010/11 timeframe. By then, enough of the changes will be established so that the can use some truly creative designs that won't fit into the current layout of the Park.

Until then, you'll just have to watch DCA's older sister get all the attention as the details get lavished on it over the next couple years and the new Halloween fireworks show gets underway next year. But enough about that... if I keep talking and my next Anaheim Blue Sky Alert won't be more than a sentence long! Let's just suffice to say that DCA isn't trying to "Trick" anyone...

They're just going to be giving out those "Treats" over the next few years.

Mouse Has Nine Lives...

Sorry to disappoint, but we're not talking about a sequel to "The Aristocats" here...

Jerry Bruckheimer has gotten the Mouse to lay out $1.75 million in a deal for the Jonathan Hensleigh action pitch "Nine Lives" which will be written by Hensleigh and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer through his company for Disney.

The story is about a Manhattan detective nick-named Nine Lives because of how many times he's survived shootings while on the job. Hensleigh has worked often with Bruckheimer, including "The Rock,""Armageddon,""Con Air" and "Gone in 60 Seconds"... but we won't hold that one against him.

The project has been in development for years. The Scribe first sold the original script back when he flew out to do an interview with George Lucas as a writer on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." The deal lapsed before anything happened on the project... Hensleigh pitched the project to Bruchheimer and he bought it up... this time I feel it has a better chance of seeing daylight.

Growing Pains...

Well, Bob Iger finally announced that addition to the Grand Californian that everyone on the internet already knew about. It's going to be 200 new hotel room and 50 DVC units... most people thought it was just the Vacation Units, but the designs were way too big and extravagant for just those 50 units. Plans also call for an additional 300 parking spots for guest. These plans will bring the hotel rooms, which currently are at 750, to 1000 room... counting the DVC units.

The expansion of the only Disneyland Resort hotel actually designed by Disney will be open in late 2009. Hmmm... late 2009. What could be happening then? Paradise Pier should be fairly close to being done... a new water show would be there that could be seen from the roof of the expansion and then there's that...

Whoa. That's enough speculation for now... we'll have to save some stuff for our next BSA. Hopefully by then, the folks over at TeamDisney Burbank will have let a little more information slip. They could have dropped it all at once, but I feel they want to have a continual peppering of items so that it looks like every few weeks to a month or so, the Disney company will be letting Anaheim voters know that they have ambitious plans for the Resort and would like them to check the box accordingly duing next years ballot.

There's going to be a great deal of construction over the next four to six years that will be a pain to a lot of people visiting the Resort... but after it's all completed, most people will realize it was worth it. And if they show their appreciation by spending more nights in those hotel rooms and spending more money at the parks you'll see the next five years filled with even more creative works... works which will be topped off by an amazing Disney announcement. But that won't come for quite a while. Until then...

Watch out for walls. They seem to be popping up everywhere...

What's In A Name?

On this date, seventy-nine years ago... Walt Disney is granted a trademark application for the name "Mickey Mouse" by the U.S. Patent Office. Aren't you glad he didn't go with Mortimer? Can you imagine "Who's the leader of the band that's made for you and me... M-O-R... Well, you get the picture.

And the world of entertainment would never be the same. From this one, tiny little character, an empire would grow...

The Illegitimate Son Of Carl Barks...

Now if you're a true Disney fan then you know who Carl Barks is. And if you've been reading this blog for very long you should definitely know who he is since I've posted a few things about him over the past year.

For those new to this world of Disney Geekdom, Carl Barks is the most famous Disney comic book artist... he started work at Walt Disney Productions in the animation department, but then started drawing Disney Comics and made some of the best stories concerning Donald Duck. He essentially created a lot of the mythology that revolves around Donald... from his home town of Duckburg to his foul relatives. One of these relatives is his greatest creation: Scrooge McDuck... one of the most popular Disney Comics characters and later in the late 80's/early 90's the star of his very own show "Ducktales", which was based on Carl Barks stories.

Whew... that was a long set-up for something that is not about Carl Barks. Anyway, Carl was irreplaceable... no one could take his place and certainly, no one could equal him. Now for the longest time Disney fans held this as one of the self-evident truths of Disney lore. Back in the 80's along came an artist by the name Don Rosa. Don not only drew great, highly detailed art for his stories, he actually wrote the stories as well. And they were not good stories... they were great stories. Barks himself would have been proud. It seems no one was as much of a Carl Barks fan as Don Rosa was... he could quote you from specific issues and had every story, every character down pat. Over the last decade his stories have earned him a very loyal following amongst Disney Comic Book fans(his largest following is in Europe). It's widely felt that the successor to Carl that never could exist actually did!

So who is Don Rosa?

Gioachino "Keno" Don Hugo Rosa was born in Louisville, Kentucky on June 29, 1951. An extremely talented comic book writer and illustrator known mainly for his stories featuring Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other Disney characters. Don started working for Gladstone Publishing in the mid 80's after editor Byron Erickson received a phone call from Rosa asking to draw comics for them. Erickson told him send a story and he'd see if it was good enough for publication. Not thinking much else about it, Erickson went about his work until the day the story arrived that Don had written and drawn featuring Uncle Scrooge. The skeptical editor opened up the envelope and read the story Rosa had sent. It was a tale called "Son of the Sun" and the editor was amazed. Elated even at reading this fresh, smart and entertaining story from someone out of nowhere. Needless to say, he published it. The story became a huge success and was nominated for a Harvey Award.
Eventually Don stopped working for Gladstone because of creative differences, but as luck would have it he found work writing and drawing stories for the Dutch publisher Oberon, the publishers of an American Disney children's magazine called DuckTales (based on of the animated series) . He didn't work for them for very long and left soon after over financial disagreements.

Eventually, Rosa was contacted by Danish publisher Egmont, who had been publishing reprints of his stories. They wanted more of his stories. Thankfully for them, Don wanted to write and draw more of his stories as well. He joined Egmont in 1990 as a freelance writer/artist and has had a successful relationship with them ever-since. It was just after joining Egmont that he started work on what was to be his most famous work: "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck", a twelve chapter story featuring his favorite character, Uncle Scrooge. The series was extremely successful and won an Eisner Award(the Oscar of comics) for best continuing series in 1995. If you've never read this series and are a Disney Geek or fan... shame on you. Go out and purchase a copy right away.

Eventually the success of this series spawned a sequel known as "The Life and times of Scrooge McDuck Companion". Unfortunately, Egmont didn't want any additional chapters so the French publisher Picsou picked up the initial run and Rosa started freelancing for Picsou as well as Egmont.

Don Rosa still writes and draws stories for Egmont to this day. Fans of his work look forward to each and every new issue that comes out. Although he is mildly popular in America, he is highly regarded in Europe by Disney fans across the continent. Slowly, he is achieving more notoriety here in the States and his stories and artwork are prized possessions for Disney Geeks everywhere.

Take a break from your normal routine tomorrow and go into a comic-book shop. Ask the large man with the long hair and goatee behind the counter if they have any issues of Don Rosa there. If he's worth his salt in terms of having knowledge of Disney Comics, then he'll direct you to the Disney section and let you fall in love with with Uncle Scrooge all over again.

Just like we did with Carl Barks so many, many years ago...

Time For a Staggs Party?

The Walt Disney Company's Chief Financial Officer, Tom Staggs... aka: the Suit in charge of all spending for Disney, was quoted talking about the Mouse in an article in the International Herald Tribune today. He talks about the Company's ability to withstand the feared economic downturn and appears pretty upbeat and positive. He also mentions a little blurb about they will "likely increase capital spending to beef up its lagging second park in California"...

Well, that's as open as they've been about spending the $$$ for the park so far. I wonder why they released that tidbit right before the financial start of the new fiscal year? Could an announcement of somekind be imminent? Hmmm... I guess you Disney Geeks will just have to keep yer eyes peeled real closely over the next few weeks, huh?

Nation Treasure Found Online...

Somehow I missed this...

The official website for "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" went live over the weekend. I guess I can't notice everything Disney out there.

Captain Barbossa's Pirate Life...

Geoffrey Rush talked to ComingSoon.net about his future in the Pirates franchise. It sounds like he's open to reprising his role as Hector Barbosa, the disputed captain of the Black Pearl. Take a looksie...

Bragging Rights To Ghosts...

The Orlando Sentinel has an article online that talks to Imagineers Eric Jacobson and Kathy Rogers about the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion makeover(no, that's not a new variation on the ride like our own "Nightmare" makeover). Head over and read it by clicking here.

Disney Finds Comfort At The Bottom Of A Glass...

Walt Disney Studios has bought the rights to the pitch "Southern Comfort" by screenwriter Gren Wells. Described as a romantic comedy, the film will be take place in Kentucky and focus on the values of life, friends and family.

John Strauss("The Santa Clause 2 & 3"), collaborated on the concept with Wells and will produce through the Frontier Pictures production company he heads. Louanne Brickhouse will be the Suit for Disney on this film.

Sign Of The Times...

The Sunday Times of London has an interesting article that attempts to dissect the success which is Pixar. Although trying to discover what makes the Lamp a success has been been talked about many times before, this article is an interesting view of the House that John built from a decidedly, British point of view.

Enchanted International...

I've always liked many international movie posters better than the domestic versions. I even have a French version of the movie "Gladiator" framed and in my house... very artsy and much better than the version theaters had displayed in America. Here's one of the foreign posters for Walt Disney Pictures "Enchanted". Very "Snow Whitish", don't you think? I like the dark tone of the poster.

Admit One...

As a counter-balance to the "Forgotten Mousetales" columns we post here at Blue Sky, I thought I'd go through a list of films in various stages of production that actually have a good chance of making it into a theater near you. Most of these projects have been committed to and are heavily in pre-production or actual production so there is much less a chance of them going into "Turn Around". For those of you that don't know what that term means, it's when a studio gets cold feet when a movie is about to be made or is in production and pulls the plug. Sometime those movies die and sometimes a studio will foot the production cost and take over the project. The big hit "Home Alone" was one such production... now wouldn't you like to be the Suit at that studio that put that one into Turn Around? Didn't think so...

Here are a list of films that the Mouse or its other studios will be releasing over the next couple of years.

BEDTIME STORIES (Walt Disney Pictures, 2008) - Adam Sandler will star as a real-estate developer/architect whose life is turned upside down when the bizarre, outrageous bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew suddenly become real. Havoc, then ensues... The script is written by Matt Lopez and Adam Shankman directs.

BOLT (Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2008) - Bolt, a German Shepherd, has lived his whole life on the set of his action TV show, where he believes he has superpowers becomes separated from the studio by accident, he meets Mr. Mittens (actually a female cat) and a hamster named Rhino. Along the way, he learns that he doesn't have superpowers and that the show is not realistic. First time feature director Chris Williams took the reigns of this project from Chris Sanders(Lilo & Stitch).

BOY SOLDIER (Touchstone, 2008) - Not much is known about this project other than that Oliver Higschbiegel(Invasion) is directing.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN(Walt Disney Pictures, 2008) - The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian. The film will be directed by Andrew Adamson(The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Shrek).

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC(Touchstone,2009) - Based on the novel "The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic" by Madeleine Wickham under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella. The story of Rebecca Bloomwood is a financial journalist (just like her creator). When she is not telling others how to manage their money, she is spending her own on shopping. The film will be directed by PJ Hogan(2003's Peter Pan).

DOUBT(Touchstone, 2008) - John Patrick Shanley directs the adaptation of his own play, set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him abusing a black student. He denies the charges, and much of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality and authority.

ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN(Walt Disney Pictures, 2008) - Andy Fickman(The Game Plan) directs Dwayne "The Rock" Johnsonas a Las Vegas cab driver who picks up a pair of tween siblings with mysterious powers on the run from ominous forces. Andrew Gunn produces through his Gunn Films shingle, and Ann Marie Sanderlin is the Suit in charge for the Mouse. The remake is written by Matt Lopez.

HERO (Miramax, 2008) - A heroic young officer returns home from the trenches during WWI, but is pursued by a mysterious deserter who plans to kill him. Directed by Julian Farino.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (Walt Disney Pictures, 2008) - This haunting action-adventure involves an undercover cop at a high school... wait, that's not it. If you've seen HSM1 and 2 then you already know what this is about. The only thing I can add is that it involves graduation. The film will be directed by Kenny Ortega who did the first two films.

THE RESURRECTIONISTS (Miramax, 2008) - based on the best selling Michael Collins' novel with acclaimed director John Madden(Shakespeare in Love) attached to direct.

SNOW (Walt Disney Pictures, 2008) - Also known as "Snow and the Seven", it's an adaptation of the classic story "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" only set in China with the princess guarded by seven Monks. The film will be directed by Francis Lawrence(Constantine).

WALL-E (Pixar Animation Studios, 2008) - The tale of a lone robot left on earth to clean it up 700 years after humanity trashed the place. Andrew Stanton's follow-up to his mega hit "Finding Nemo".

ADVENTURELAND (Touchstone, 2009) - In the summer of 1987, concerns an uptight recent college grad who's forced to take a minimum-wage job at the local amusement park: "Adventureland", after realizing he can't afford his dream European tour. The experience helps him to loosen up a bit as he finds first love, forms new friendships and matures just in time to enter the real world in the fall. The film is written and directed by Greg Mottola(Superbad).

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Walt Disney Pictures, 2009) - Director Robert Zemeckis, having become tired of directing actors, has another animated motion capture film ready for the holiday season two years from now. This one is based on the classic novel, adapted too many times to count, "A Christmas Carol". And no, I wasn't kidding. He really has grown tired of dealing with actors which is why he likes MO-CAP... he has to deal with them for just a few weeks and can spend the rest of the time working on the film not having to pamper egos.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER(Walt Disney Pictures, 2009) - Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. The film will be directed by Michael Apted(The World Is Not Enough, Amazing Grace).

G-FORCE (Walt Disney Pictures, 2009) - The live-action/CG family feature follows an elite group of government trained super-intelligent animal commandoes who set out to stop an evil billionaire from taking over the world. Special effect supervisor and legend, Hoyt Yeatman is directing. Of note, Disney's Secret Lab, the Mouse's old special effects house was co-founded by Yeatman.

JUNGLE CRUISE(Walt Disney Pictures, 2009) - An adaptation of the classic Disneyland ride, the story involves a journey down a jungle river for a magical cure. No director is attached as yet. The screenplay is being written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar(Smallville, Shanghai Noon,The Mummy 3).

PRINCE OF PERSIA (Walt Disney Pictures, 2009) - The story, based on a best selling video game, follows an Arabian Prince that must avenge the death and betrayal of his father all while being framed for the crime and hunted down by his own kingdom. While it's been reported that Michael Bay would direct this film, there is no confirmation of him signing so he may have decided to continue working with giant robots.

PRINCESS AND THE FROG(Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2009) - Set in the 1920's New Orleans jazz era, the story follows the tale of Disney's first black princess. Directed by legendary directors Ron Clements and John Musker(The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules).

THE PROPOSAL(Touchstone, 2009) - Not much is known about this project other than that director Robert Luketic(Legally Blonde) is attached.

UP (Pixar Animation Studios, 2009) - The story of a 70 year-old man that teams up with a wilderness ranger to fight ferocious beast and dastardly villains while still making it home in time for dinner. This film is Pete Doctor's follow up to "Monsters, Inc.".

ALICE (Walt Disney/Touchstone, TBD) - Another live action interpretation of the classic novel by Louis Carroll. No director is attached and it is unknown who will be writing the screenplay.

LIBERTY (Touchstone, TBD) - No information is known about this project at this time.

Of course, as we all know, things can change... but this should give you a clearer picture as to what the Mouse has planned for your local theater in the near future.

Reserve those tickets now...

Mary Poppins Seen In London...

The Bristol Hippodrome opens up with previews of the musical "Mary Poppins" three years ago today. This production, by Disney and Cameron Macintosh has since come to America to play on Broadway. It's a jolly day with Mary...

Enchantingly Cool?

The folks over at Aint It Cool News have posted a review of one of the first test screenings of Disney's "Enchanted". It's an interesting opinion without any real spoilers... Go over and have a looksie...

ABC Getting A Middleman...

ABC Family is about to purchase "The Middleman," as a one-hour pilot for it's network from writer/producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach(Medium).

Javier created the graphic novels himself, which is illustrated by Les McClaine and published for Viper Comics. "Middleman" is the story of a struggling, twentysomething artist recruited by a secret agency to fight comic book-type villains. Javier wrote the script as a spec.

New Book Of Mountains And A Mystery...

I've gotten lots of e-mails from people asking me about the new book: "The Disney Mountains", regarding some artwork inside that depicts Condor Flats with the makeover of it as an expansion of the Golden State area we all know is coming. Yes, that art is one of many blue sky pieces done for pitches to the higher ups. And while that pic is headed in the right direction, it's not exactly what will be happening to Condor Flats... it's close, but not quite there based on artwork I've seen.

Expect to see somekind of official press release about expansion later in the month, more than likely before the holiday season gets underway. When the walls go up in a few weeks, things should really start to get exciting. Stay tuned... stay patient.

Disney Caught In Traffic...

AdWeekMedia's Digital Hot List has ranked "Disney.com" as one of its top five websites based on the number of unique visitors to the site, a record 23.03 million! Wow, that's even more that we get here at Blue Sky. That was a joke for those of you born without a sense of humor. The hits on its webpages were the highest it's ever had. Cross programming with shows like "High School Musical 2" had a great deal to do with it, but other factors were involved as well.

The Mouse site has had a 24 percent increase over August of 2006. Paul Yanover, Executive Vice Suit of The Walt Disney Internet Group and head of Disney Online was quoted as saying: "We believe these traffic milestones are evidence that the site is delivering on our goal of providing an immersive entertainment destination for kids and families,”... I love how Suits turn everything successful into a canned response. It's good news for the WDC, but common Paul... liven it up a little. Be more human in your response, instead of acting like a... a mouse?

Bob Iger is a big believer in the future of DIsney over the internet, as witnessed by his partnership with Apple,Inc. He had "Disney.com" overhauled its website and launched the new Disney.com in February 2007. The site showcased new themed "channels" based on classic characters, Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney Princesses, among others. It also debuted Disney XD, a customizable Disney fan page where registered users could add Disney videos, music, games, graphics and other interactive items.

It seems Iger is talented and lucky... since taking the reigns of the Mouse he's had an incredible run. Let's hope it continues over the next decade for us Disney Geeks, huh?

More Cobwebs, Better Dust...

Today the Magic Kingdom in WDW reopens the Haunted Mansion after an extensive makeover. While not nearly as extravagant as it's older sister in Anaheim, it's an important example of the quality level of the park post-Pressler Era. Hopefully, as this year ends and the new one begins, we'll begin to see even more emphasis regarding upkeep in the MK in particular and WDW in general... one never knows what exciting things one will encounter in the new year.

Does one?

Regarding Bothans...

I've received many e-mails asking me about the Bothans. Some questions are serious, other simply inquiring and a few just down right... uhm, how do I put this... silly? Something like that...

Some people have demanded I name who my sources are. That if I don't then it proves I have no credibility and if I have an ounce of integrity I'll name names so that my post can be validated.

To those people I say sorry, but I'm not going to jeopardize someone's job for a little ole' blog like mine. If you choose to not believe what I write I won't be offended. As a matter of fact, I tend to tell people to take everything I say with a grain of salt... this is "Blue Sky" Disney, after-all. I can guarantee that everything you read here is something that has been proposed, not everything will get made, because the majority of projects that go through the pipeline eventually die of their own weaknesses... either of design or bureaucratic weight. So if someone doesn't want to believe me I have to say... there's an off button on the TV that you can turn off... wait a minute, that was soooo Twentieth Century. Let's try that again... if you don't believe me, you don't have to come here. Simply delete Blue Sky Disney from your favorites list and you'll never have to be bothered by me again. Promise.

Some people have expressed genuine concern over the health and safety of my Bothans. Fear not. So far, none of them have been fired... several have gotten in warm(not hot) water, but all are safely accounted for.

Other's have sent me e-mails with specific Imagineers that they want to know if these are my sources. Uhm... now even if these particular people were my sources, I would not tell you. That being said... No, and you know who you are... No, your friend is not one of my sources. I don't care what he says about sending me e-mails, I don't know him, never have talked to him and apparently he's not even an Imagineer. There. Enough of that.

Finally, many of you have asked about the Blue Sky Alerts, wondering why there are so many Anaheim updates over all the rest. The answer is really, really simple. Most of my Bothans are working on Anaheim projects... by a three to one margin I'd say... it simply takes longer to get information about Orlando(not as much as the rest, though), Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. And yes we do have several BSA's coming up... so keep yer shirt on.

Well now, I nope that clears up some of your e-mails regarding those sneaky Bothans. Just so the Suits know, no Bothans were harmed in the making of this post.

Was Kingdom Of The Sun... More Fun?

MousePlanet has an interesting article about a documentary made about the making of "The Emperor's New Groove" that focuses all the way back to when it was originally called "The Kingdom of the Sun". There's no way we're going to find out if it was better, although it is my belief it probably would have since TENG is one of my least favorite Disney films, but one thing is sure... it sounded really interesting.

The 87 minute documentary was known as "The Sweatbox" and unfortunately is not available for viewing. It sounds like a literal example of how to let Suits screw up a story. So what was "The Kingdom Of The Sun" about? How was it different than "The Emperor's New Groove"?

I'll let Wade Sampson describe it:

"Pacha, the peasant llama herder, was not a heavyset middle-aged married man but a carefree, good-hearted 18-year-old who was a dead ringer for Emperor Manco. (In the final version, the character is renamed Kuzco following Fullmer's horrified discovery of the Japanese slang term "omanco" that politely translates into the word "vagina.") A young Owen Wilson provides the voice for Pacha.

Sting wrote "Walk the Llama Llama" that Pacha was to sing as he led his trio of llamas down the mountainside and into the marketplace. There was concern that Hartley's clever lyrics were too sophisticated for an unsophisticated peasant boy who would never use words and phrases like "panorama" and "the perfect fashion statement."

Manco (voiced by David Spade) had grown bored with being ruler of his mountain kingdom so when he discovers the kindly llama herder who is his doppelganger, he decides to get away from his duties of state by switching places. Unfortunately, a sorceress named Yzma who has her own agenda turns Manco into a llama who cannot talk so Pacha must continue the masquerade.

The situation becomes more complicated when Manco's betroved, the handmaiden Nina, finds the arrogant and haughty emperor is now kind and funny. She finds herself drawn to the seemingly transformed emperor. Pacha also finds himself falling in love with Nina even though she is promised to the emperor.

Sting wrote "One Day She'll Love Me" that was to appear midway through the movie where Pacha and Nina are at a party at the palace and the two teens fight their growing attraction to one another.

Yzma had once been an incredible beauty in the Incan royal court. However, time and the sun have cruelly robbed her of her good looks. Yzma begins dabbling in the dark arts in an attempt to revive her beauty although she firmly believes it is the sun that has robbed her of her beauty.

She wants to snuff out all light on earth by unleashing the demon, Supai who is a force of darkness, to block out the sun. In a world locked in perpetual darkness, Yzma feels that her great beauty will finally be restored."

Like the sound of that? There's more. Go over to MousePlanet and give it a look. Also for your perusal is an older article about "The Sweatbox" over in the Fox News archives.

The Mouse's Eleventh Celebrates Two...

Today, Disney's 11th theme park, fifth "Magic Kingdom" style park, celebrates its second anniversary.

Hong Kong Disneyland was opened on this day on Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. While the smallest "Magic Kingdom" style park, HKDL is richly layered in great detail(unlike DCA), Disney paid close attention to Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when building Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and followed the rules of Feng Shui in much of the park's construction so as to give the park good luck.

It didn't work, unfortunately. More so because of the lack of many E-Ticket rides than anything to do with Feng Shui. Three rides every traditional Disney theme parks has were left for future expansion... Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and It's A Small World were not there on opening day. The park just barely missed its first year projection of 5.5 million guest.

One of those missing three, IASW will open up in early 2008. Truth be told, it should have opened up with at least two of the three... if not all three. The Curse of EuroDisney strikes again... When the park was proposed there were at least five lands, but due to budget cutbacks "Frontierland" was scuttled. We should start to see a lot more activity next year... expect some major announcement during and around the time "Small World" opens up.

Anyway, happy birthday Hong Kong Disneyland! Here's to a bright future. And yes, there is a Blue Sky Alert planned for HKDL, but it won't be before late September/early October... so you'll have to suffer till then. Never fear, the future is bright, if not a little slow... but still bright!

Colored By Envy...

In Burbank over the last few years, several Suits would look outside watching the traffic move past Alameda and shake their heads

Why would they do this? They were wondering, "Why all this blow-back from the new park we built?" They thought that the success of Disney's new park and expansion of the Disneyland Park into the Disneyland Resort was a given. Wouldn't people just love the fact they had another park? Another choice to go to? A great nighttime destination with the new Downtown Disney?

Apparently not.

See, what these executives failed to realize as many have in both business and government is the way the world is connected and how you can't build an entertainment complex in one place and expect no one to find out and compare it to your other offerings. The main reason that the Walt Disney Company has had such a problem can be addressed with three, tiny little letters... an acronym, so to speak.

WWW.

World Wide Web... wondering how? It's amazingly simple really, but sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees as they say. You see, before the mid-90's this wasn't a problem for Disney or any other company. But as the Internet expanded and brought the world to America in a much more personal box, people can get a look, even a little piece of what it's like half way across the world.

Now some people will respond to my earlier statement about Tokyo and say that it's not fair. Disney didn't build Tokyo Disneyland's expansion and doesn't own it. The Oriental Land Company did and does... My response to them?

It doesn't matter. Most people when they see something with Disney's name automatically identify it with the Walt Disney Company. They don't care about the fine print details. If your name is on it, it's your responsibility... especially since YOU designed it. Which gives a few Suits a great deal of headaches. One even told me that it was a mistake to offer the pitch of Tokyo DisneySEA to OLC. They wish they'd have offered them a far more modest proposal. But this Suit doesn't really understand that the OLC wouldn't have excepted something like DCA. Could it be that the executives that reside in the offices at the Tokyo Disney Resort actually care more about quality than the ones shaking their heads in Burbank? I don't think so, but I think many Suits(most of whom are no longer there, I might add) don't take a much longer perspective of the company they work for. Many are not only looking for the bottom line, but the current quarter... they're not focused on what to do for the Mouse that will build more on the foundations already laid out. In other words, a five year plan... maybe a decade long plan. Now that sounds familiar, doesn't it? As I mentioned, many... but not all of these Suits no longer work for Disney and another important thing is that those that do, no longer report to Michael Eisner.

This article is not meant as another rant against the former CEO, but he does play a part in the drama that is this Soap Opera. There was a reason that the Disney Suits didn't want OLC advertising the Tokyo Disney Resort outside Japan... and it doesn't all just deal with the business of granting them a license that has not been issued anywhere else. Disney made the mistake back in the 70's of just licensing the Disney name, characters and the services of WDI, then WED. This was a mistake that Eisner intended never to happen again...which is why every park built since then has at least had a minority ownership by the Mouse(DLRP 39%, HKDL 43%). This is an idea that Eisner was exactly right on... but back to the issue at hand. The other reason besides the license was that OLC tends to spend a great deal more on their park than the actual company that owns them. There are several reasons for this, some that are cultural, some that are due to the corporate structure of OLC and then there is the simple fact that the Japanese love and I mean LOVE anything Disney. They spend far more per guest than any other park that Disney owns... which is why they can take a risk more easily than the original Mouse. Now Disney knew this, they also liked the hundreds of millions of dollars from the park that came with no strings attached. They could let WDI design whatever the OLC wanted, help keep many Imagineers employed and also help defray the cost of developing technologies for its rides. Now this was all fine to Eisner, he didn't foresee the change the Internet would have on people, particularly Disney Geeks. After-all, so they would hear they were better and might somehow get a little bit of information, but that was it.

Well the net changed all that. Remember all those grand openings they had on television to "open" the parks? The one for DAK... the one for Disney-MGM... the one for Euro-Disneyland... the one for TDS? Nope... it didn't happen. Eisner knew that showing this park would reflect badly on the other parks particularly DCA. But when Tokyo DisneySEA opened, we were there. Through the net we had tons of pictures. Reviews of people that had attended were available the same day they were at the park. With U-Tube we could see actual videos of the ride. First a few, then hundreds and finally thousands of videos, images and discussions about it.

The genie was out of the bottle... the Walt Disney Company couldn't keep the dirty little secret about the quality between ours and the Tokyo Resort. Another thing that happened is the internet gave Disney Geeks the ability to scrutinize the American parks much more than ever before. Now we could see the difference in quality between Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. It gave us the opportunity to notice how Disney's Animal Kingdom was doing and how much it improved after Expedition Everest opened. It essentially gave fans that support the Walt Disney Company an outlet to vent and make public our dislike of the business practices of the Mouse's management. It made us, in a sense... "Virtual Shareholders". Yeah, I like that term... perhaps I'll use it in another post(ahem, hint).

Now Eisner, Pressler, Braverman and the other Suits didn't expect all this information to get out. And when it did it created quite the problem for the company. For we Disney Geeks, it created envy. It created a situation where we could see what was offered to Disney fans far away... and it was nice. It was beautiful and it was what we looked for when we thought of Disney. Unfortunately, it was not for us to enjoy. Unless of course, you want to hope on a plane and fly all the way to the Land of the Rising Sun, purchase your tickets for TDR, which I must say are not anything like what Californians and Floridians are used to with things like a Park Hopper and such. This could have been avoided had the Mouse bit the bullet and built WestCot or (my fav)Port Disney, which is where TDS sprang from... but Eisner, stung by the financial mess that was Euro-Disney pulled back and gave us a McDonalds when he promised us a Mortons.

Now Eisner and the others Suits seriously misjudged the cries they heard about the park before building it and they also felt confident that no one would really be able to compare TDS to DCA... they were thousands of miles apart, right? In quality and actual distance yes... they were. But the World Wide Web shortened that distance from an ocean to mere inches. The inches a computer monitor was away from your face.

We can thank Eisner for the years of arguing, whining and general discussion we've had over the years and the envy... oh, the envy. We have to thank the former Disney CEO and his Suits for that... now there are years ahead, a decade really... to fix this mess and finally give Anaheim the park it was promised and deserves. Maybe that's what he planned. Maybe Eisner wanted to ensure a way to continually employ WDI for years into the future. He planned this so that he would be able to make sure he never had to have a massive layoff of Disney's Imagineers again.

If you believe that, then I envy you... because you're wondering around in Fantasyland. Not the one in Disneyland, but the one Eisner created... the one that also felt DCA would be a hugh hit. So big a hit that work began on a third park, possibly a water-park to be placed in the newly purchased strawberry field that Disney had just bought. But it wasn't a hit... it wasn't a disaster as some have said. It was a disappointment, shall we say... compounded by what we saw on the internet. No matter what Eisner and Pressler could say we could tell what we were being told and being sold.

Now the tide is turning... much good will come over the next few years... even more over the next decade should beds get filled and turnstile clicks spike up... it cost Disney a lot more than that 2 billion it would have spent on the original park too... when you think about what it cost Eisner in the long run...

Don't ya envy him?

Remembering 911...

Today is the sixth anniversary of the attacks on 911...

2,974 people died in the attack on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the plane which crashed near the small town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was the largest loss of life in an attack on our homeland in American history...

God bless the souls of those that were murdered that day and the families they left behind. I can't say the same for the terrorist that carried it out.

Needless to say, Disneyland and Walt Disney World were closed as a result of the attack. Most people at the parks were in a panic... no one knew what was happening or if they would be next.

No one still does, but memories fade. Perhaps that's how humanity deals with the pain and sorrow of loss... but it also leaves one with a false sense that everything is back to normal.

Since that day, America views the world from a prism of fear and doubt. Nothing is normal anymore... hopefully with places like Disneyland and great Disney animated films we can escape a little of the sadness and heartache, but we should never forget what happen.

Never...

Another Nine Travels On...

On this day, twenty-eight years ago, Disney animator and legend, Les Clark (one of Disney's "Nine Old Men") passes away, just 6 months after being diagnosed with cancer. Of the original Nine Old Men, Les' career was the only one that lasted from the silent-movie era all the way to Disney's entry into television. He will always be in our hearts and on our minds...

Return To Game...

It appears the Mouse is planning on finally putting together a sequel to its 1982 film, "Tron". They are in final negotiations with director Joseph Kosinski, whose mainly known for his stylish commercials. The film would not be a reboot but continuation of the original. Sean Bailey is producing via the Live Planet banner, as is Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film. Kosinski will be directing Warner Brother's "Logan's Run" remake before moving over to Disney. The script is being written by "Lost" screenwriters Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Kosinski will have input on the story which Disney Suits are mum about. The property is being eyed for a 2010/11 timeframe.

Ratatouille In Black & White...

The Animated-Views blog has an interesting interview with Enrico Casarosa, one of Pixar's talented storyboard artist. Enrico discusses his association with the Lamp, how he got into the biz and even what he's working on next(if you're too lazy to read it, he's working on Pete Docter's "Up"). Very entertaining... Give it a read.

In Memorium: Ralph Kent...

I didn't realize this till I read Jeff Pepper's 2719 Hyperion blog...

Legendary Imagineer Ralph Kent passed away. Kent worked on the Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room and many other Disney Imagineering projects. The many attractions that were developed for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair hold a great deal of his influence.

He's also credited with designing the first Mickey Mouse watch. He retired in May of 2004 after forty-one years of Mouse service. Ralph was responsible for many things Disney fans take for advantage, but without whom much joy would not have come... our condolences are with his family and friends.

WDI has lost a giant. A great spark of imagination has faded out somewhere in the universe...

If Adventure Has A Name...

It appears the new Indiana Jones film has a name...

"INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL"

This title is very similar to Tokyo DisneySEA's Indy ride, which is known as "Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull". Wow, so Tokyo DisneySEA got a great park and the new film will be based on it?

I don't know how different the story is but I can tell you this...

Disney is going to be tying the theming of this film in with its promotions and rides and you know that the Tokyo Disney Resort will definitely milk the fact that the film is working off of a similar title. Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom and most other parks will be involved in promotions for this to varying degrees.

Let the merchandise begin...

Walt's Last Work...

Walt Disney never got to see this in theaters... he passed away almost a year earlier the previous December. But it was the final work that he produced. It was a great film, like so many others before it. The film was filled with wonderful characters, an engaging story and memorable songs.

It was based on "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling. But the film is loosely told according to Kipling's story and leaves out many characters while taking a far less dark tone. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman(whose own son Bruce played the voice of Mowgli). The story was by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson and Vance Gerry, based on Rudyard Kipling's "Mowgli" stories in The Jungle Book. Of note, the number of classic Disney songs that can be found here, including "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You" are some of the most charming. Most of the songs are by the Sherman Brothers(Richard and Robert). They were not originally supposed to do the songs, but came in after Walt was unhappy with Terry Gilkyson's work and started from scratch. The only piece of Gilkyson's to survive was "The Bare Necessities" which was the only song of his that had the "upbeat" tone that Walt Disney wanted. Also interesting was that the song Kaa sings "Trust in Me" was based upon a song entitled "Land of Sand" that had been written by the Sherman Brothers for Mary Poppins, only to be cut.

The animation in this film is great and features many of the "Nine Old Men" we've discussed earlier. Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas and John Lounsbery were directing animators on the film, while character animation was done by Hal King, Eric Cleworth, Eric Larson, Fred Hellmich, Walt Stanchfield, John Ewing and Dick Lucas. The stunning background paintings were done by Bill Layne, Ralph Hulett, Art Riley, Thelma Witmer and Frank Armitage.

This film is one of my all-time favorites. It shows the wonder and genius that is Walt Disney. This wasn't the first adaption of the "Jungle Book", that was in 1942, or the only one by Disney... there was a live action version done for the Mouse in 1994. It was, however the only one done by Walt Disney.

And it shows...

Look forward to getting this on DVD in October. Maybe I'll see you in line?

Mouse Pays For The Blind...

Walt Disney Studios owed but independently run studio Miramax Films has purchased the rights to Fernando Meirelles' new thriller "Blindness" for $5 million dollars. The story focuses on a city overtaken by an epidemic of its citizens becoming blind. The story is told from the point of view of several victims played by Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal.

I'm a huge fan of Meirelles' "City of God" and liked parts of "The Constant Gardener", although I thought that film was politically heavy-handed and don't tend to like preachy conspiracy takes on life. The film was very well done though and received a great deal attention from a guy named Oscar.

It appears Miramax's Daniel Battsek is still trying to stay artsy despite the absence of Harvey Weinstein. Don McKellar wrote the script, which is adapted from Portuguese Nobel Laureate Jose Saramago's 1995 novel. Filming is going on in Toronto right now.

The $400,000,000 Dollar Rat...

$400,000,000 Dollars...

Sometime early next week "Ratatouille" will pass this figure...

$400,000,000 DOLLARS!

Not that there hasn't been enough negative talk between critics on the net and Suits in the bowels of Burbank, but I'd have to say that marking such a milestone calls for a little respect, don't you? I mean, for all the negativity about how low Pixar's new film has performed... any film from any studio that makes this much money should be considered a hit.

Now it may not be the top film of the year, it may not be in the top five... but it is one of the most successful so can we just agree on that and stop trying to prove a point? Ok, I'll agree with you that it's not Pixar's best or highest grossing. How's that? Now let's congratulate Brad Bird and John Lasseter for making a good film that made hundreds of millions of dollars in three months.

How long did it take for "Sleeping Beauty" to break even? Decades? You bet... and I wonder if anyone thinks that it was a big mistake to make it cause it wasn't an immediate success? Let's take a look at the long run here friends. The present for this film is pretty bright and as time goes by the Mouse will probably see a good return for this film and its characters. That's the perspective we need to judge this from.

For now, just congratulate Remy for making the Mouse an unbelievably huge amount of Cheese...

Imitating Reality...

Robert X. Cringely of I, Cringely has a really interesting article on the Walt Disney Company's biggest single shareholder. It's an interesting look at what it's like to deal with Jobs. What the problems are and how he's able to control things. One wonders what it would be like to be a fly on the wall in the boardroom when he's there talking shop...

Oh btw, the cool mosaic is by tsevis.

The Long Farewell...

We've seem to been posting a lot of things about Frank Thomas lately...

Well, this is one I wish I didn't have to post but feel that it's deserved by all who loved and respected this great and kind man.

On this day, just three short years ago, Frank Thomas passed from this earth to better place. One where dreams never die and growing old never happens...

He was 92 years young.

Walt now has another companion to sit around and talk about the old days with... I wonder if it's possible to start an animation studio in Heaven?

Blue Sky Alert-America (Anaheim): October Surprise...

Fall is upon us...

No, I'm not talking about the season for everyone... just us Disney Geeks. You see, next month is October. October is the new fiscal start of the new year. Things happen then, not because of funding being approved... but because of funding being disbursed. As I've said before, October will see the beginning of the Walls.

Walls will start going up. They will become a common fixture for guest entering the Resort. Particularly if you're in DCA... over the next few years it'll be hard to walk anywhere without seeing a wall up where something was... or will soon be.

Through the end of the year you'll be able to notice the busy work and come the new year you'll find the pace step up considerably.


A MAGICAL PLACE, A FANTASY PLACE...

So what will be happening behind these walls?

Well as for the resort, the hotels in particular you can already see. If you've visited the resort lately you've already noticed the DVC units under construction at the Grand Californian. These new additions got started a couple weeks ago because they were already approved on a previous budget.

Now as for the Disneyland Hotel and its renovation, well most of that won't be in the October construction. There'll be a little bit of preparation, but the majority of the work on the original DLH will be done after the holidays. It seems the suits don't want the construction to interfere with the massive amount of money it generates during the Christmas season. So the majority of the work and walls will start after new years. The nine to ten month renovation of the first tower would be done just in time for next years holiday activities and we would have our first view of what the others will look like since all three towers will be basically the same. So around a year from now you'll know what the "Fantasy and Dreams" look you've been hearing about will look like. Of course, we might know a little sooner if the publicity that the Resort wants the Anaheim area to get excited about happens. Then they might release some artwork so you can wet your appetites and hopefully so the Suits can influence a few voters for next years ballot measure.

As for the Paradise Pier Hotel there is still nothing concrete, but many inside WDI want to either reshape the look of that building or tear it down altogether. If all the work going into the PP area over the next two years works then you can bet that there will be some really nice blue sky projects for that hotel that get a serious second look.

As for those stories about the GardenWalk? Well, I can say after doing some recon that YES, it's true. But it's nowhere near a done deal. They're in the negotiation phase. Nothing has been signed yet... and this doesn't put a damper on the plans for that hotel near the Paradise Pier Hotel. That hotel should come to light near the end of the decade.



WHERE DREAMS FINALLY COME TRUE...

Over in Disneyland, Tony Baxter is hard at work trying to make sure the end of the decade goes out with a bang... literally. Preliminary work begins on a Wild-West show more than likely to follow "The Lone Ranger", but time will tell as the script for Disney's big summer 2010 blockbuster isn't even done... right now it's blue sky possibilities with an eye toward matching the release date of the film. Things are evolving slowly on this one, Pilgrim.

Over in the land of tomorrow... nice segway, don't ya think? Much is going on with the area that's supposed to look like what tomorrow will resemble. Or will it look like a long time ago... in a galaxy far, far away? It depends on how cozy the Mouse wants to get with George. There are plans that have been developed that focus on the Star Wars building in the renovation of the ride, but if the Mouse can work it out you may see a great deal more of the that Galactic Empire. Right now the current contract for Innoventions runs about two years and it is after that that the plans for a new E-Ticket will commence. One plan is to gut the attraction and give it an all new facade, the other is to bring in the bulldozers and start anew... we won't know until early next year what plan wins out... but yes we are getting a new Star Tours. The Imagineers have worked up some really creative things to show George Lucas and thus will begin the mending of relationships that have long been left tattered.

The plans for Fantasmic 2.0 have taken the back burner for right now, not that they don't plan on enhancing the wonderful night time show, but the desires are to shape up parts of the park that need it. Fantasmic really isn't drawing lesser crowds so don't expect to see an update till the beginning of the new decade. 2011, perhaps? That date is not for certain as plans could change, but as of now it's looking more like a target date for F2.0... The area where the Fantasyland theater has been is getting a great deal of attention as they plans to put a new enclosed theater in are becoming more crystalized. Expect this to possibly come about by spring/summer 2010.

One thing for sure is that Disneyland will be changing over the next few years and it's all for the better. Tony Baxter is focusing on making the turn of the decade a really exciting experience at the Happiest Place on Earth.


A MICKEY NOT SO HIDDEN...

Across the Esplanade in the ever changing DCA...

Work is moving ahead on the transformation of Paradise Pier. Come June of next year the center of the pier will look dramatically different. When Toy Story MIDWAY Mania opens up the detail the ride has will stand in stark contrast to the rest of the area. Notice I said "Midway"... well my sources insist that it will be called this. WDW will not get their way and change the name of our ride just so they can have uniformity according to at least three separate Bothans. When guests wall through the cream colored building with a red roof they'll get to see a very elaborate D-Ticket ride that is meant to emphasis rides for the entire family. Something that has been lacking for the most part since the park opened up.

Another thing that will change is detail to be added to the buildings around Ariel's Grotto. The structures will be dialed back to an earlier time period. The bottom section of restaurant will become enclosed giving climate control for thankful guest on hot days like we had here last week and give the cast members a lot of difficulty when trying to clean them... but hey, it'll look beautiful to us, right?

The rest of the area will likely be behind walls within the next year or so... the final look of the pier won't be done until late 2009. By this time at least one other E-Ticket will be deep under construction and another D-Tickey as well should be done. The Maliboomer is slated for removal, but the concepts to take its place are not finalized yet. There will be another D or E-Ticket that will eventually be constructed in the helix to the left of the carousel. If you don't know what a helix is... well, it's the round section of a roller-coaster track. The Maliboomer is inside one and the other is taken up by grass and palm trees right now... but that may soon change.

Another key fixture of the area likely to go is the sun face on the Sun Wheel. Current proposals are to take the face off and replace it with a Mickey Mouse face. This face would be used to hide various electronics and lasers that will be projected from it during the water show in 2009.

And speaking of that water show... the name of the show is "Disney's World of Color". There is no "Wonderful" in the title no matter what you hear on other sites. The experts they have who handled the Bellagio are helping test the jets that will power a water show so tall you will not see the Sun Wheel if you are standing near Golden Dreams.

And speaking of that... I know Al spilled the beans about the "Classic Disney" character that would be going into that section. The current plans I've been told are not an exact copy of the old proposal that was designed by Baxter. Lasseter is having a good deal of input as to how this ride will work in this area. The Golden Dreams building will be torn down and replaced with only the Palace structure remaining as an exit to the ride. Nice Exit, don't you think?

As for the ride that takes Mulholland Madness' place, well I know everyone says that it is based on "Ratatouille" but it's not a done deal. The current plans are between that and an altered variation of the Crush Coaster in Paris... not an exact copy, but close. The decision hasn't been made as to which will get the green light, but we'll know soon.

As for the Golden State... the plans involve the layering of the GRR area with the turn of the century National Park look. This won't happen for at least a year, although the retheming of the Condor Flats area to blend in with the Northern California image is being looked at for a go sometime in late 2008/early 2009.

There is a proposal to remove the Trail area in the park that serves as DCA's Tom Sawyer Island type-area and replace it with an E-Ticket ride. While I welcome the addition of an E-Ticket to the Golden State, I really think the Trails area is one of the few that screams out Disney. There are proposals on the table for more than one new E-Ticket in GS over the next decade so this area is going to be very busy once this expansion is done in a decade.

The majority of these changes are to take place during the first half of the plan. Most will be done by 2011, with a few projects that will be finished up in 2012... now if all this makes the attendance rise to acceptable levels the remaining five years will be icing on the cake. Trust me folks, if you show your loyalty with what is to come by DCA's tenth you'll get an even bigger surprise over the next five years... so buy those annual passes now and when you go in the park start buying merchandise out the wazzoo... it'll bolster the Suits in Anaheim and Burbank to grow some testicular fortitude.

The Hollywood Backlot section will finally start looking like... get this...

Hollywood. The plans are to make it look more like an old Hollywood experience and less of a backlot experience. The plan to enclose the Hyperion will be done by 2010. The area around it will be dressed like a 1930's walk-through with many little details that make a Disney fan giggle. The old vehicles sputtering through will only accentuate the experience.

The makeover of Sunshine Plaza will start in 2008 and last throughout most of the year, if not a little more. By the time the tarps and walls disappear well notice that 20's Los Angeles Walt once knew. The area around the Golden Gate will be much more layered and covered to be like DL's berm so that people outside the park cannot get a free view inside the park. Not that the buildings won't make the entrance look much more enticing. Lastly, the gaudy letters that spell out California for anyone who can't quite figure what the park is about will leave giving guests a clear view of the new entrance. The decision hasn't been made yet if Whoopi's Golden Dreams will make it to the front entrance... several inside WDI realize the film is flawed and want it to just go away. By early next year after the dust has cleared, we'll know who won.

Well, that's it for this time folks. Sorry for the lag in updates but my Bothans are finding it tough with all the NDA and traps being laid to find the spies. Hope you enjoyed it...

A note, many of the Bothans I talk to have notice that Disney is very much employing "Apple" and "Pixar" type tactics. Information has been planted to nab suspected leakers and a couple of my Bothan sources have come up against these kind of tactics and it makes it very difficult to discern what information is bogus and what is real. That being said, I can assure you after checking with several sources the majority of what you have heard here is planned and will be funded. Certain things will change as time goes by but most of the ideas that we've talked about will be seen before you know it. Trust me... around the tenth anniversary of DCA the plan will come into view and you'll start to see what Uncle John and his warriors from the Glendale Kingdom have in store for us.

And that will only be the beginning of the decade... wait till you see what lies ahead for the next... wait a minute. I'm getting ahead of myself there. We'll have to save something for later.

Stay Tuned for more alerts.

Disney Down With Decadence...

It appears that producer Scott Rudin has bought the rights to make a film version out of Robert Graves' sweeping Roman Empire novel, "I, Claudius". The Uber-Producer paid a hefty two million dollars for the rights to do so... and those aren't Disney Dollars.

Leonardo DiCaprio is said to be interested in starring and William Monahan("The Departed") is thought to be in line to adapt the novel, but no deal has been set as of yet.

What does this have to do with Disney you ask? Well, Scott Rudin's development deal is with the Mouse, so more than likely this will be a project for Disney's Touchstone Pictures label.

The novel, which was written in 1934, surrounds the Emperor Claudius who ruled Rome from 41-54 AD. It covers an extremely dark and decadent period of the Roman Empire where incest, cannibalism, paganism and just about every other "ism" was practiced... "Gladiator" it ain't. It makes "Rome" on HBO look tame by comparison. The book had previously been adapted twice before, most notably the BBC miniseries starring Derek Jacobi and John Hurt... oh and some guy named Patrick Stewart in 1976.

No word as to when a director will be attached as Rudin is trying to line up his script first. Expect this to be something seen in the later part of this decade should it get put on the fast track... should it not, we could always apply it to our "Forgotten Mouse Tales" posts sometime in the future.

One never knows...

The Real First Film Of The Second Golden Age...

Most people seem to credit the start of Disney's Second Golden Age with the success of "The Little Mermaid"...

Now, although the success of this film is what actually catapulted the animation department from the brink of death when it comes to the Walt Disney Company releasing animated films... when it comes to the Second Golden Age it wasn't the first. It was actually the second.

What was the first, then?

That which came before it, of course... I mean, creatively speaking the film that showed the potential that Disney can do came with the 1986 film "The Little Mermaid". I'm talking about that long forgotten classic: "The Great Mouse Detective".

The box office numbers are nowhere near as high as Ariel's film or any other that came after it... but you could see the concern for story... the quality of animation... the great characters and even the music.

Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Burny Mattinson and Dave Michener, this adaption of "Basil of Baker Street" by Eve Titus about a mouse version of Sherlock Holmes was a wonderful tale with engaging characters and a compelling story that is magical from beginning to end. Although the music may not be as memorable as Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, but Henry Mancini does a great job of creating memorable songs.

Barrie Inghamas as the Basil of Baker Street was perfect casting and Val Bettin as Basil's trusty assistant Dr. David Q. Dawson was equally good. Those of you familiar with "Duck Tales" will recognize Alan Young playing Hiram Flaversham as the voice of Uncle Scrooge. Also Vincent Price as Professor Ratigan was a deliciously nasty villain... and we also got to hear Vincent Price sing for the first time.

If you haven't seen this film lately... or haven't seen it at all, then head down to your local Blockbuster right away. Pick up a large soda, some popcorn, settle down in front of your entertainment system and enjoy...

Enjoy.

Be Our Guest...

I promised the guys over at "Disney Geeks" that I'd write a guest column for them a long time ago. Well, I finally got around to doing it, so if you want to read it go over to their website and give it a glance.

It's a post I wrote for them about what it is the be a Disney Geek... appropriate for a website called "Disneygeeks", don't ya think?

One Of The Nine's Birthday...

And speaking of the "Nine Old Men"...

Frank Thomas was born today in Santa Monica, California in 1913. Shortly, he and his family will move up north where he will be raised in Fresno, California. After graduating from Stanford University(ok, so he's not perfect), Frank would study at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. While there he heard about a job opening at Walt Disney Studios...

He became employee number 224 and was assigned to work on the Mickey Mouse short: "Mickey's Elephant". Frank went on to work on almost 20 animated features including, "Pinocchio," "Peter Pan," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "The Jungle Book," and "101 Dalmatians," as well as numerous shorts.

One of Frank's loves was playing piano with a group of fellow Disney artist called the "Firehouse Five Plus Two", a jazz band that included among others, Ward Kimball. Frank retired from Walt Disney Productions in 1978. He's led a very active life afterwards writing four books with best friend Ollie Johnson. Which in case you're too lazy to look up the titles are called: "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life," "Too Funny For Words," "Walt Disney's Bambi: The Story and the Film," and "The Disney Villain." They even have an official website you can check out if you're interested.

The Nine Old Men...

After my post about Ward Kimbell I received a few e-mails from people asking me what was "Walt's Nine Old Men"... being as I have always read about this stuff I guess I forgot that not everyone is as geeky about this stuff as me or my brethren on the web(yeah, guys like you, George)...

So I guess a little Disney Animation 101 is in order.

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men is a term given to the original supervising animators who worked on/helped create Walt Disney Studios' classic animated features, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Dumbo", "Pinocchio" and "Bambi" among others. The name was a joke that Walt used to use in calling them his "old men"... and was a nod to FDR's reference to the nine old men on the Supreme Court at the time. These men would be the original Disney Legends, both figuratively and literally...


Ward Kimball - born March 4, 1914, he started work at the Disney Studios on April 2, 1934. Ward also started as an inbetween artist. As well as being an animator he designed many characters and was a producer on Disney's television projects, including "Man in Space" and creator of the television show "The Mouse Factory". He was the Directing Animator on "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad". Like Walt, Ward was an avid fan of trains and had a full size one in his back yard... parts of which were recently bought by John Lasseter btw. Ward was real personality and for any that said Walt only hired yes men... well, all you need to do is look at Ward.


Les Clark - born November 17,1907, he was the first of the nine to join the Disney Studios on February 23, 1927 as an inbetweener(someone that creates the drawings that appear between the normal action that is drawn by the Lead Animator) on Steamboat Willie(1928). He went on to animate the first Silly Symphony, "The Skeleton Dance" and then everything from "Fantasia" to "Dumbo". He was Directing Animator for "Alice in Wonderland", "Peter Pan" and others. Les retired from Walt Disney Productions on September 30, 1975.


Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman - born June 26, 1909, he started work at the Disney Studios on May 21, 1933. He worked on "The Wise Little Hen" which marked the first appearance of Donald Duck(so for that alone, Woolie has a special place in my heart). Woolie directed classics like "The Jungle Book", "The Sword in the Stone"( he made history by being the first in the Disney company to be the sole director of an animated feature with this film) and "The Rescuers" as well as the producer on films like "The AristoCats". Wollie retired from Walt Disney Productions in 1981. Ironically, the man that Woolie trained to take over from him left a couple years earlier: Don Bluth.


Marc Davis - born March 30, 1913, Marc began working for the Disney Studios on December 2, 1935. He was an animator on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Marc created Cruella De Vil for "101 Dalmatians", Maleficent for "Sleeping Beauty" and was primarily responsible for Tinker Bell in "Peter Pan". Of all the "Nine Old Men", he is the one original animator to actually be an Imagineer... he started there when Walt was dreaming about opening up his Mickey Mouse Park, as it was called at the time. One of Disney's original Imagineers, Davis influenced the creation of Disneyland attractions such as the "Enchanted Tiki Room", "It's a Small World", "Haunted Mansion", "The Jungle Cruise" and my favorite "Pirates of the Caribbean. Marc retired from WED(Walt Disney Imagineering's old name) in 1978 before seeing the building of his greatest creation, "The Western River Expedition"... for which, we're still waiting.


Milt Kahl - born March 22, 1909, Milt began working at the Disney Studios on June 25, 1934. He contributed to all the early classics "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and others. He designed many characters such as Merlin the Magician from "The Sword in the Stone". He was Directing Animator for "Lady and the Tramp" and "Sleeping Beauty" as well as being one of the head animators on "The Rescuers". He retired from Walt Disney Productions on April 30, 1976..


Frank Thomas - born on September 5, 1912), Frank joined the Disney Studios on September 24, 1934. He started out working on Mickey Mouse shorts. Thomas contributed greatly to "Fantasia", "Dumbo", "Bambi", and the classic "Cinderella". He later served as Directing Animator for Woolie on "The Sword in the Stone" and "The Jungle Book". Thomas retired from Walt Disney Productions on January 31, 1978. Of note, if you've seen the Mickey Mouse short: "Runaway Brain", you'll notice the villain is named "Frankenollie"... this was a homage to Frank and his best friend Ollie.


Ollie Johnston - born October 31, 1912, Ollie was hired by the Disney Studios on January 21, 1935. He was an inbetweener on the Mickey Mouse shorts also, which is where he met his best friend Frank Thomas. Ollie was a Directing Animator for films such as "Alice in Wonderland", "Lady and the Tramp", and "101 Dalmatians". Ollie retired from Walt Disney Productions on January 31, 1978. He's a huge force in the life of Brad Bird who's had cameos for him in "The Iron Giant" as the conductor and "The Incredibles" which has an animated version of Frank and he near the end of the film.


Eric Larson - born September 3, 1905, was hired by the Disney Studios on June 1, 1933. He began as an assistant animator on shorts. Larson served as Animation Director for films such as "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", and "Dumbo". His last animation work was on "The Great Mouse Detective". Larson retired from Walt Disney Feature Animation in February of 1986.


John Lounsbery - born March 9, 1911, John was hired by the Disney Studios on July 2, 1935. He was as an assistant animator on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". His other work included "Pinocchio", "Dumbo" and "Lady and the Tramp". John was a Directing Animator on "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" and my favorite "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day". John didn't retire unfortunately, he passed away while still working for Walt Disney Productions on February 13, 1976.


Well, that's it. I hope that gives you an idea of who these men were... hopefully, it'll make you want to go out and buy a book about them or something they've done. It couldn't hurt and could be very entertaining for you...

What A Beautiful Sight To SEA...

Six years ago today, Tokyo DisneySEA opened up in Japan completing a transformation of the Tokyo Disneyland Park into the Tokyo Disney Resort. The new park along with two new hotels(Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Disney Ambassador Hotel) and an Downtown Disney-like entertainment center(Ikspiari) make the Resort a much more attractive tourist destination. Of course when Disney fans walked down the themed ports of TDS they were a little startled at the level of detail that the park had. Ok, maybe more than a little startled... this was arguably the most beautiful park created by Imagineers.

After this day, the Walt Disney Company would continually hear fans gripping about what we got in America(DCA) versus what the Japanese got(TDS). Of course, most Disney fans don't realize that Tokyo DisneySEA is not owned by Disney, but by the Oriental Land Company.

If you EVER go to Tokyo and are a Disney fan then do not miss the opportunity to see this park. Take a look at what WDI can do when given the chance to shine...

If you'd like to see some lovely pictures of TDS then go over to Chris' Tokyo Disney Resort Fan Site. He's got a great eye with a camera... most of his pics are better than the official website.

Mouse Really Wants To Be Cloned...

Animation Magazine is reporting that Disney really wants the Clone Wars television show for its ABC network. This is something that several sources on the net have announced before(including yours truly months ago in an early summer Blue Sky Alert). What's different is the intensity with which the Mouse is going after the project.

Although Fox and HBO are also contenders, Disney appears to be going out of it's way to please Mr. Lucas and are dangling several carrots in front of him to get him to bite. Many of these projects would involve the park and other activities that Star Wars/Indy fans will love... not to mention Disney fans.

The show, if Disney wins the right to broadcast it would debut in fall 2008 on ABC with additional showings on Disney Channel or ABC Family. Cross your lightsabers and pray the Force is with us...

8 For 8...

Not a bad record, eh?

I mean... nobody's perfect. Even Pixar... but they're close. Every movie they've made has been a hit. Some more than others. And the last two have made less than the ones before it as we are so often reminded by certain people that want to point out the rose is off the bloom.

Eight movies. Eight hits. Not bad at all...

I mean, even Walt Disney Animation Studios back in the Second Golden Age had half as many. Under the reign of Katzenberg's hand they had "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin" and "The Lion King". Everything after that was a little disappointing... not that they were bombs, but they didn't measure up to these gigantically successful movies. If WDAS can recapture that lightning in a bottle is not a given, we'll have to wait for the Thanksgiving holiday season next year to see what John Lasseter's touch has truly done for the Mouse's animation studio. The word I've been hearing is good, but you can never tell in this business...

But back to the Lamp. Since 1995, Pixar has put out eight films, only one is a sequel and all have engaging stories that most live action films seem not to have.

Toy Story

A Bug's Life

Toy Story 2

Monster's Inc.

Finding Nemo

The Incredibles

Cars

Ratatouille

Only eight films... but any studio would kill to have films like this with box office reciepts to boot. Will the streak continue? Will "Wall-E" make it nine? Should we shake the magic 8-Ball and await an answer? I'm not going to bet against Pixar, Lasseter and Stanton by any means... they all know story. They've proven they can make a good film. Now we just have to see if the public is wlling to sit through "R2D2: the movie", which is how Stanton describes it. If it turns out to be as entertaining as his last one about a little clown fish we could be in for a treat... as long as the enviromental message it has doesn't slam the audience over the head and come off too preachy I think the oddsmakers in Vegas will be nervous about my bet.

Either way, I like to play the odds...

I'll let the dice roll.

Happy Labor Day...

For all of you that work in this vibrant American economy to bring home the bacon... or in the case of a holiday like today, a steak.

Have a very Disney Labor Day!

Dirty Stinkin' Rich Rat...

Well, as we mentioned before the weekend...

Pixar's latest movie crossed the 200 million mark... "Ratatouille" made $200,726,000 to be exact. The International figures keep on rising as well. Brad Bird's film is on it's way to equalling "Cars" in terms of box office. Although it won't make as much domestically, it will likely make up the amount overseas where it's raking in cash as more and more territories open up. Now let's sume up what we've learned here...

Never bet against Lasseter. Never bet against Bird. Never bet against the Lamp.

Oh, and let's add a new one for the coming year...

Never bet against the Mouse.

I like that one. Got a certain ring to it, don't ya think?

The Railroad's Coming Through...

Twenty-eight years ago today, The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction opened in Frontierland at Disneyland. This wild ride that took guests thundering through dark caverns and abandoned mine shafts was inspired by the scenery in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.

BTMRR has become a fixture at many "Magic Kingdom" style parks across the world... thrilling riders at the original Disneyland in Anaheim, the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, and Disneyland Paris in France... could a variation of it be headed elsewhere in the future?

John Lasseter's Shorts For Sale...

His as well as many other Pixar employee's shorts are going on sale. No, they don't think they're soooo special that you'll buy their boxers or briefs... we're talking the animated shorts.

For the first time all 13 Pixar Animation Studios short films are available in "The Pixar Short Films Collection Vol. 1" on DVD and high definition Blu-ray. The disc will be available on November 6 and includes many behind the scenes interviews and never before seen bonus material featuring John Lasseter and many others that shaped the Lamp.

Get in line today... or just pre-order it.

Sweet Honey...

Seven years ago today, Tokyo Disneyland opened up "Pooh's Honey Hut" and became the most popular ride in the park.

It still is, I might add...

Many of you have heard me talk about this ride and yes, it is as amazing as I say it is. While Disneyland got "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" a few years later... the 30 million they spent on ours really does become painfully evident when you get a look at the Japanese version. Even worse when you ride it, considering the concepts for this were from the original blue sky phase for the ride we were supposed to get state-side.

Anyways, enough crying over spilt milk. The ride in Tokyo is a much more layered ride of what we have here where you ride his large trackless honey pots that are guided by GPS as you go through the story of Pooh and become immersed in the world A.A. Milne created. If you ever go to the Tokyo Disneyland Resort, don't forget as you visit Tokyo DisneySEA to check out the original park and ride this attraction...

Once you leave the ride, you'll dislike Michael Eisner even more knowing what we were robbed of.

Disney Serves Up Third Course Of Duck...

I know it's been reported before and elsewhere about the Walt Disney Treasures featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the Chronological Donald, Volume 3 and Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic, but they've finally released the official artwork so I thought it might be time to refresh everyone's memory. After-all... December 11th is just around the corner.

Walt Disney Home Entertainment's "Walt Disney Treasures" series releases its 7th installment with three new 2-Disc DVD sets featuring rare footage presented with amazing color and sound just in time for the holidays.

Chronological Donald, Volume 3 - Features everyone's favorite navy-attired duck in Walt Disney Productions, solo shorts dating 1947 through 1950. This is the one I'm most looking forward to since DD is my favorite Disney character.


Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Along with the Alice shorts, and before Mickey Mouse, the legendary and rarely-seen "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" was Walt Disney's first big animated creation, and having recently returned to the Disney fold(courtesy of the Al Micheals deal), comes out of the vault for the first time ever on DVD. These silent shorts were made from 1926 to 1927 with Walt's personal touch, are revitalized with a brand-new score made specifically for this seventh installment of WDT.

Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic - is a comprehensive look at the "Happiest Place on Earth." The centerpiece of this volume is a new documentary with archival footage, including Walt's own words, as well as new interviews revealing the magic and manpower behind one of the world's most famous destinations.

As in the past, each volume is hosted by Leonard Maltin. Each volume is individually numbered, with an authenticity certificate, and an exclusive lithograph in the collectible, unique packaging tins and available in a limited supply.

Now you all know what to ask Santa for...