Disney News and Information — by fans, for fans

A couple quick bits of news from Walt Disney World:

• Kim Possible officially opens Jan. 28 at Epcot
• American Idol will debut Feb. 14 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (Although Annual  Passholders can sign up for a preview)
• DisneyWorld.com has received a fresh paint job with lots of new pictures and some travel planning content.

That last one is big news. Disney has traditionally shied away from offering any planning advice on their websites instead leaving that to the unofficial websites and travel books. This isn’t the rumored extensive website with lots of data and advice that we’d heard about in the website community, but it is a lot of good data that vacation planners who don’t buy a book or invest time in the goodies a fan website has to offer can use to make their trip a little better.

An LATimes.com blog entry discusses why you can almost never trust most reports of film budgets.

Investors, at least, should be getting accurate info.  But “studio math” is notorious, as some people involved may get paid more based on how much money a film makes – but gross and net are two very different things!  Executives and producers and even directors may want to portray themselves as having kept costs down, while the marketing folks might think touting the high expense of a film may draw a larger audience.  Talent agents want to portray their clients as generating much more money than they cost.  And what gets included in the cost of the film, beyond production/distribution and marketing?  Research and development that could also be used in other projects?  New facilities built by the studio?

You get the idea.  There are lies, damned lies, statistics, and studio math.

Architect Peter H. Dominick Jr’s designs impressed Michael Eisner at the time when Eisner was looking to make The Walt Disney Company a leader in architectural design for its hotels and buildings.

His initial presentation to Eisner made a deep impression.

“Michael Eisner leapt up from the conference table to examine the drawing more closely, challenging his creative team to accept our idea,” Dominick wrote about the meeting.

Dominick’s plans for the Wilderness Lodge became the template for two other popular Disney hotels Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and The Grand Californian.

The three hotels design by Dominick are my favorites of all the ones I’ve visited. The grand hall concept is so welcoming while the lodge feel makes your vacation feel so much more intimate.

Dominick died at the age of 67 while cross-country skiing. Our deep condolences to his friends and family.

Via the Orlando Sentinel.

The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) is currently accepting applications for its 2009 grants. Since its inception more than 10 years ago, the DWCF has contributed more than $12 million to the study and protection of the world’s wildlife and ecosystems, providing funding for a variety of conservation projects from Philippine Cave Bats and Southern Laotian tigers to educational programs in Florida and research studies in Congo.

Specific criteria and details about the 2009 application process are now posted at www.dwcf-rfp.com. Proposals are due January 21, 2009 with decisions announced by June 2009.

In 2008, the DWCF worked with 75 non-profit or organizations on 107 projects to help 87 kinds of species in 44 countries.

“The 2008 recipients embody the global focus of the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund,” said Jerry Montgomery, Senior Vice President, Conservation & Environmental Sustainability, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Funding these efforts around the world is one of the most important contributions we can make in support of conservation.”

In 2008, the DWCF partnered with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to build the first gorilla rehabilitation center in eastern Africa which is designed to rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce orphaned gorillas into the wild. The 150-hectare center will be able to house as many as 30 endangered eastern lowland and mountain gorillas.

The DWCF worked with the People & Predators Fund to educate students in rural areas of Africa about their local environment and ecology through a conservation workbook, entitled “Your Environment with Lions.”

Some of the other 2008 programs receiving funds include:

• Bat Conservation International: Conserving Philippine Cave Bats – Partnering with the Philippine government, University of the Philippines and others, Bat Conservation International will initiate bat research, education and conservation programs.
• Caribbean Conservation Corporation: Archie Carr Refuge Education Program - The Carr Refuge is the most important site for sea turtle nesting in the United States. This program provides a focal point for educational exhibits, programs, field trips and summer camps.
• The Nature Conservancy: Establishment of New Red-cockaded Woodpecker Population at the Disney Wilderness Preserve (please cap this whole sentence to be consistent?) - The Nature Conservancy has reintroduced this endangered bird in Central Florida, with funding used to monitor birds released in 2007 and translocate 10 more birds to the site in 2008.
• Wildlife Alliance: Kouprey Express Direct Action Education - The Kouprey Express is a traveling unit that has delivered interactive environmental education sessions to 65,000 rural students and community members in Cambodia since 2004.
• Wildlife Conservation Society: Mbeli Bai Study - Due to their dramatic population decline, western gorillas are now considered critically endangered. The Mbeli Bai Study in northern Congo provides detailed demographic data of a large gorilla population to assess the impact of threats, allowing for the planning of recovery.
• World Wildlife Fund: Tiger Conservation in Southern Laos - World Wildlife Fund will determine the status and distribution of tigers and their prey in southern Laos, and establish a comprehensive tiger conservation program.

In addition, the DWCF Rapid Response Fund helps with recovery from natural disasters such as the catastrophic earthquakes in 2008. Grace Gabriel, Regional Asia Director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), says the recent emergency grant from DWCF helped fund IFAW’s efforts to protect animals in China. According to Gabriel, “the help from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has meant more capacity and more resources to extend efforts to help both animals and people recover from this devastating disaster.” The DWCF Rapid Response Fund has supported more than 90 relief efforts in the past 9 years.

DWCF is funded by Disney and donations from guests of Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line. Everytime you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom and buy a button with the above logo, you’re contributing.

For a complete list of DWCF projects, please visit www.disneyconservation.com

When the SLG comics published Disney branded fizzled out after six issues I figured that was it for a while for Disney in the comics publishing biz. But really, Disney was just switching gears and publishers. Boom! Studios is getting reading to release three new comics with a Disney (or in this case Pixar or Muppets) theme.

Cars (two covers)

Cars fans, start your engines! Before the big Dinoco 400 race, rookie sensation Lightning McQueen is interviewed by Darrel Cartrip. Full of braggadocio, McQueen reveals his scrappy origins as “Bulldozer” McQueen–a local short track racer who dreams of the big time…and recklessly plows his way through the competition to get there! Writer(s): Alan J. Porter, Artist(s): Albert Carreres

Incredibles (collect all four covers)

America’s favorite family of superheroes finally returns, courtesy of legendary scribe Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, The Flash)! The Incredibles face terrifying new villains…and friendly new neighbors, all while Mr. Incredible hides a troubling secret from his costumed clan. Four connecting cover variants by acclaimed artist Michael Avon Oeming!

The Muppet Show (two covers)

The incomparable Roger Langridge (Fred The Clown) brings his absurdist humor to The Muppet Show stage! Longing for the swamp, Kermit forlornly plucks his banjo, while Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the entire gang tries to jolly him out of his funk. Packed full of madcap skits and gags, The Muppet Show is sure to please old and new fans alike.

Look for more titles coming in the future, but you can pre-order these first issues now through a store such as Mailordercomics.com and save a bit off the newsstand price.

Big happenings at the Disney World Moms Panel today. The next crew of family travel experts have been given the keys to the question and answer site. They’ve already started answering questions too. Head on over and read the new bios.

Then on the video page you can meet each of the panelist as well as get some travel tips from Angela Bassett as she meets with the 2009 Disney World Moms Panel.

It’s a marvelous experiment in social media for Disney to turn over the reins to self styled Disney Experts (albeit carefully selected by Disney). I’m happy to see it continue for the second year and wish the Moms (and one Dad) the best of luck.

The only question now is when will Disneyland Resort open their version of the Mom’s Panel.

A huge congratulations to Lou Mongello on publishing the 100th episode of The WDW Radio Show. I’ve only had time to listen to the first part of it and already I’m ready to rank it up there with the best of his podcast.

Here’s what you have to look forward to as you listen in:

To celebrate the 100th episode of the show, I thought it would be fun to gather some guests and friends of the show together to look back at the first 100 shows. We’ll talk about some of our favorite guests, memorable and funny moments, and so much more, as Glenn Whelan, Tim Foster, Lori Burke and George Taylor join me around the table to look back and forward on the show.

Of course, no anniversary show would be complete without playing back some favorite and memorable clips, so sit back and listen as I tune the dial through some of the memorable moments of the first 100 shows.

I’ll update you on out “100% for 100 Shows” fundraising drive with Pat Whitson before announcing the winner of last week’s contest. I’ll play your voicemails at the end of the show, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s 100th anniversary episode of the WDW Radio Show

Download Lou’s 100th show or subscribe via iTunes.

It’s not that synergy was no longer working for the Walt Disney Company, but something was wrong with the model that had developed. It didn’t make sense to try and tie every division of the Mouse House together with every major vehicle. Consumers were wising up and tuning out.

Today’s article on CNN’s Fortune takes a look at how Bog Iger, TWDC CEO, has reworked that model and is making big bucks for Disney through the latest buzz word “Cross Channel Promotion” (aka, Synergy-lite) and through focusing on “Franchise” level vehicles.

The article also includes a nice little “where is he now” update on Iger’s life. Good reading.

As I twittered, I hit the Magic Kingdom on Saturday to see what changes the new year had brought. As it turns out, not much. I guess it takes a big place like Walt Disney World a few weeks to fully switch over from one promotion to another. That makes sense.

I did see a few small signs of the 2009 “What Will You Celebrate?” promotion. For instance, a couple booths at the Ticket and Transportation Center had some decorations indicating this is where you go to get your Free Admission or Birthday Fun Card.

Additionally, in the parks any location that is listed as fastpass, but was not offering fastpass for the day had a special sign up and one open terminal for those who choose the fastpass+ option for their birthday gift.

Once in the park, things were nice. The park was busier than usual in the morning, but real crowds didn’t materialize until early afternoon. By then we were wrapping up our day. We had a nice ride on the ponies.

Then went over to ToonTown Fair to have another visit with the fairies in Pixie Hollow. We entered the queue 20 minutes before the fairies were scheduled to open up their land to guests and there were already a number of families in front of us. By the time we left, the queue had grown very long. It’s a very slow moving queue too, so those families were in for quite a wait.

[ lots more including a new Hidden Mickey on the otherside of the cut ]

[Read more →]

A few links for the first Sunday of the new year.

• Trey Ratcliff takes amazing pictures. He loves the subject of Disney, and we’re all a little richer for it.
• Everyone else is linking to these iPhone Sketches by Disney artist Stef Kardos, so I will too. Amazing what a real artist can do with a pretty blunt tool.
• Do you live near Thousand Oaks, CA? You can save a bundle at the new temporary Disney Warehouse closeout sale via the coupons at this site. Location only open for about 1 month, so hurry.
• The Star Trek Experience is rumored to be moving downtown after the Hilton kicked them out of their space at the casino. Good news for the attraction that Tony Baxter was quoted as saying “best thing outside of Disneyland.”
• The Other Orlando blog reports Universal Studios Orlando now charges for parking after 6pm. Previously this was free to encourage visitors to the Citywalk location, but with Downtown Disney’s entertainment complex undergoing some changes, perhaps Universal feels it has license to stiff its patrons.
• Don’t miss ZapperZ’s look at Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle Suite. A couple of his friends got in and they captured more details than any other look I’ve seen. Apparently, it’s still open to be won randomly in the park on days it’s not being used by other promotions.