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October 2011

Report on Disney World Monorail Accident of July 2009 released by NTSB

The monorail station could be looking like this a lot more when Disney institutes its new reduced hours for the trains.

All the adjustments in policy and procedures have already been made, employees disciplined, OSHA fines levied, and the family’s lawsuit settled. All that we have been waiting for is the final federal investigation’s Accident Report. Today the National Transportation and Safety Board released that report putting a period on the end of a long sentence that I’m sure Disney World would like to put behind them.

That sentence started with a conflagration of errors by operators, management, and poor enforcement of existing policies that ended in the tragic death of a Walt Disney World Monorail Operator early on the morning of July 5th, 2009.

The report itself, issued this afternoon (releasing something on a holiday is almost like intentionally burying it, I wonder if that was coordinated in any way?), is written a very factual manner and in a plainly stated way. The facts outlined clearly put majority of the blame on inadequate procedures and failure to enforce the exact safety procedures that would have prevented the accident. To its credit Disney has made a lot of changes to correct what went wrong, but even if Disney had just enforced one of the common sense errors, this tragedy could have been averted.

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Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 2 – The Thing You Love Most

“Once Upon a Time” was back this week, picking up right where it left off. Regina brings Emma a basket of apples and asks that she leave town. Emma does not agree, worrying that the more the Mayor threatens her the more Henry must be… Read More »Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 2 – The Thing You Love Most

John Lasseter Talks Wine, Gets Hollywood Star

John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Animation, has a soft spot for wine. So when he reached that point in his life where he could afford it, he and his wife bought a winery in Napa Valley. This appears to… Read More »John Lasseter Talks Wine, Gets Hollywood Star

Halloween Makeup Tips from Walt Disney World

Happy Halloween everyone! The talented cast members at Walt Disney World cosmetology have some timely tips for applying make up to your family this Halloween. Are you wearing a Disney related costume tonight?

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Blu-Ray/DVD Review

The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland has spawned one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. That’s quite a tribute to Walt Disney and the Imagineer team that created the ride. So, how does the fourth movie in the the set measure up? Pretty well, I thought.

A new Director, Rob Marshall, set much of the cast from the first three films on the sidelines and instead focused on Johnny Depp’s character of Captain Jack Sparrow by taking him out of his element for much of the film. That creates much of the films tension while the other characters went around in their sub-plots without many surprises. That’s not to say the performances were bad, they were great, or the writing was stiff, it moved the pace along quite nicely. But it was a different film than the first three. Which, for many, was a good thing.

The best Blu-Ray extra was the commentary from director Rob Marshall and executive producer John DeLuca. I also liked the deleted scenes. If you’re lucky enough to own a 3D TV, then you’ll want to make sure to pick up the Limited Edition version with the 3D.

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Club Penguin Rolls Out New Features

Disney’s most popular Virtual World, Club Penguin, has just rolled out a set of new features designed to make the game more social by making it easier for the participants to find each other and communicate. Over 56 million chat messages are sent a day and the new system helps automate part of that process. Another major update allows kids to better organize their friends list.

“We’ve added powerful social networking technologies to the biggest online world for kids, making it much easier for kids to find and connect with each other in Club Penguin,” said Lane Merrifield, co-founder of Club Penguin and executive vice president of Disney Online Studios. “The new Friends and Chat systems are the most significant enhancements we’ve ever made to Club Penguin and we’re just getting started.”

Club Penguin maintains a fun and safe experience by using filtering technology and live moderators. The game contains no third-party advertising and is free to use and enjoy, however a subscription membership provides access to additional features that enhance the play experience. If you want to try Club Penguin for yourself, The Disney Blog readers get 12 months of Club Penguin membership for the price of 8 months.

The press release with more details is below the jump:

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Review: Happiest Haunts Guided Tour At Disneyland – Do you Dare?

Editor: Please welcome our latest guest author Megan Prine. I apologize for not posting this earlier this month, she wrote it on time. But it slipped through my schedule. I hope you get a chance to enjoy the tour this year or next. Review: Happiest… Read More »Review: Happiest Haunts Guided Tour At Disneyland – Do you Dare?

Revenge 1.6: Intrigue

Spoilers and more spoilers.

Only on a show like Revenge would a woman fall several feet onto a taxi and SURVIVE.

Yes, you heard me. Lydia is not dead. She’s in a coma.

I’m as shocked as you are, believe me.

This week, luckily, we caught a reprieve after the constant action from the last episode. Yet again, Emily zeroing in on one person and surprising us with her super powers doesn’t happen. Instead, Emily is dealing with the aftermath of Lydia’s fall and what this could mean for her entire game plan. Nolan shows Emily the webcam, and they decide that Frank is the one they have to get rid of now. Nolan emails the video to Conrad who takes the bait, and immediately jumps into action.

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