Disney News and Information — by fans, for fans

After 16 years of spreading Disney magic across Europe, Disneyland Resort Paris welcomed its 200 millionth visitor this week. A lucky French family was chosen as the official 200th guest and were given free entry and a special dinner (no lifetime passes?).

The park opened as Euro-Disney in 1992 and struggled with debt load due to over-built hotels. But debt restructuring and a second gate has accelerated the gate numbers in recent years.

“We are very proud to reach this symbolic milestone of 200 million visitors,” said Chief executive Karl Holz. “It is proof that the Disneyland Resort Paris unique experience is ever-growing as we continuously strive to offer new and exciting entertainment to our guests.”

It does sound like that 200 million number is for both gates. So Disneyland Paris itself may have a way to go to reach the magic number. But you know how marketers like to play loose with facts and figures if it makes their story read better.

In any event, way to go Disneyland Resort Paris. We knew you could do it. Here’s to another 16 years of Disney magic!

Does that Dinosaur look hungry? He’s going to be housed inside a restaurant with his own name on the door and plenty of human sacrifices to fill his belly on a daily basis. Oh sorry, that’s the wrong memo.

That’s actually a photo from this morning of a two-story tall dinosaur being transported on a flatbed truck into Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney. The dinosaur will be featured inside a new restaurant, currently under construction, called “T-Rex: a Prehistoric Family Adventure.” Developed by Schussler Creative, Inc. and operated by Landry’s Restaurants, the 600-seat restaurant will feature dinosaurs, waterfalls, bubbling geysers and a fossil dig site. “T-Rex” will open in mid-October at Downtown Disney. As far as I know, no human sacrifices are scheduled.

(Photo courtesy Disney. Kent Phillips, photographer)

Reader, and the dude that does the server magic for The Disney Blog, Kurtis stumbled upon this film shoot set up in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. After a little asking around he discovered it was a commercial for next year’s big Walt Disney World promotion to be called “Magical Gatherings.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because they’ve done something similar in the past. Back in 2003 they announced a program called “Magical Gatherings” where you could get a group together and have Disney organize an event or two to make your vacation, well, magical.

So this new promotion could either be something similar or something else. In watching the video below, it seems to me this is a real “Magical Gathering” set up by the lucky couple’s friends.

One cast member said those were actors, but if you watch the couple that goes and hugs the couple that was just engaged, they look genuinely happy, so I suspect this was a real “Magical Gathering” that Disney just asked permission to film for promotional purposes.

In any event, I look forward to seeing what Walt Disney World has in store to attract new guests once the second Year of a Million Dreams promotion is over. Oh yeah, this promotion appears to be Walt Disney World only, Disneyland will be getting a new promotional campaign of their own.

Have you been waiting to try out Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean MMORPG, but didn’t want pay for the full version without getting a taste of it first, well batten down the hatches, cause this weekend is the perfect storm.

While PotC has always had a free version, with some abilities and equipment reserved for those who paid for a membership, this weekend (August 15 — 18) all free members will get an upgrade to the full version and be able to do any of the tasks, quests, or other pirates stuff regular paying customers can. Sort of like an open house.

Register your free account today and get ready to enjoy full access this weekend.

LaughingPlace.com’s store has just started carrying a new line of Disney themed home products from Whitehall. There are some great Mickey Mouse Weathervanes, Mickey and Winnie The Pooh themed address plaques, and a Mickey Mouse Doorknocker that I’ll be ordering for myself.

Buy some for yourself or for the Disney fan whose home just won’t be complete without a bit of the magic everywhere, including the roof.

You can read up in the Los Angeles Daily News on a bison herd in Newhall, which is north of Los Angeles.  The herd started as a gift from Disney in the 1950s after they were used in filming “Westward Ho, The Wagons!”

I guess there wasn’t room at Disneyland?

The Los Angeles Times looked into a situation where speculation has been percolating here and there in the media lately: What will Jay Leno do after he is replaced by NBC on The Tonight Show next year and he later becomes free to work for another network? And will he be able to generate a worthwhile audience again after being off the air for months?

One possibility is that the notorious workaholic could end up staying in Burbank - with Disney’s ABC Network. Such a scenario would likely involve changes for the ABC News program Nightline and for Jimmy Kimmel. If that were to happen, perhaps they could get Leno to do something at the Disneyland Resort, too, or something near El Capitan.

Ed note: I’d like to welcome back Leo Holzer with another important guest post.

Here’s a rare chance for Disney/Pixar fans to visit Pixar’s campus in Emeryville, California, and help an environmental cause at the same time.

Some of you may know about the history of Pixar and the respect many of its artists have — from John Lasseter down through the ranks — for the work of Japanese animation master, Hayao Miyazaki.

Well, the people at Pixar are helping Miyazaki’s favorite foundation, one dedicated to saving and preserving a forested area near Tokyo that was Miyazaki’s inspiration for “My Neighbor Totoro.”

The Totoro Forest Art Auction Benefit will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, at Pixar and tickets are now on sale. There are four options available - Please note that all tickets include the stunning Art of Totoro Forest Book (a $40 value). A portion of the ticket price at all levels is tax deductible.

• Forest Friend - $100 regular admission + book.
• Forest Sponsor - $200 includes admission + book + signed limited edition print.
• Forest Champion - $300 includes middle VIP live auction seating + book + signed limited edition print + gift certificate to Blowfish Sushi.
• Forest Hero - $500 includes front VIP live auction seating + book + an original drawing by one of the artists.

Visit www.TotoroForestProject.org for more information and a link to the online ticket sales. There are a limited numbers of tickets so act quickly if you want to be part of this very special event.

Many of the 180-plus donating artists will be in attendance Sept. 6, as will some “key figures” in the film business. It promises to be a night to remember! Pete Docter, Andreas Deja, Ronnie del Carmen, Enrico Casarosa, Scott Morse, Bill Presing, Nate Wragg and Jeff Pidgeon are just a few of the talents who’ve donated works.

All the “Totoro inspired” art is up for preview at www.TotoroForestProject.org. Please take a look at these marvelous works by clicking on the gallery link or alphabetically by the artist’s first name. See if you don’t find a half-dozen or more favorites that appeal to your individual taste.

All proceeds will be donated to the Totoro Forest Foundation, to help save and preserve a wooded area near Tokyo that was an inspiration for Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro.” It’s sort of a cross between Walden Woods and NYC’s Central Park, but it’s being threatened by the burgeoning city.

Following the auction, the works will be displayed to the general public at San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, beginning Sept. 20.

Check this site in a couple weeks to learn even more about the benefit auction and public exhibit.

Previously from Leo Holzer - Walt and El Grupo.

So it all comes down to this. Tonight, we finally find out who is The Mole, how he or she did it, and who wins. [Read more →]

The Walt Disney Company knew they had hit upon a good thing when they invited Dr. Randy Pausch to join their team at Walt Disney Imagineering to help build their virtual reality program. Yes, that’s the same professor who recently died after fighting cancer and spreading the world about the power of pursuing one’s dreams via his “Last Lecture.” Paucsh also co-founded the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and it became a program that graduated many future Imagineers, Animators, and Computer programs into the best jobs at Disney, Pixar, EA, and other leading companies.

Now Disney is opening a permanent lab at CMU with the goal of developing even more great talent, as well as encouraging Disney employees to do research and even teach at CMU and ETH Zurich (The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich).

“Creating the next generation of sophisticated technologies requires long-term vision and collaboration with world-class innovators,” said Ed Catmull, president, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, making the announcement at SIGGRAPH, the world’s largest computer graphics conference. “We are strengthening our commitment to R&D throughout Disney by establishing labs with Carnegie Mellon University and ETH Zurich,” he said.

The labs will connect Disney with renowned academic partners who have world class science and technology talent. The labs will engage in R&D on computer animation, computational cinematography, autonomous interactive characters, robotics and user interfaces, among other initiatives. They will be located at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and ETH Zurich. Each lab represents a five-year commitment from Disney to fund a Director and seven to eight principal investigators. Additional staff will include professors, academic interns, scientific consultants and collaborators.

I can’t help but think this is a great move for Disney and for the learning institutions involved. Hopefully it also signals a growth in the R&D budget for Walt Disney Imagineering. (Although the recent outsourcing of the audio-animatronic work would indicate otherwise.)

Read the press release here.