There are some interesting and hopefully exciting things quietly happening at Disney. If you’ve seen ESPN Mobile then you probably won’t be surprised about Disney Mobile which will debut this summer and is a phone service in conjunction with Sprint that is geared towards families and children of undisclosed age. Disney Mobile should not be confused with Disney Mobile Studios, which appears to work with a variety of carriers to offer screensavers, ringtones and games.
There are also a few interesting happenings in the world of Disney travel that isn’t exactly Disney travel. How’s that you ask? In addition to the Disney Vacation Club, which being a member I can’t recommend enough, is a new service, Adventures by Disney, where Disney literally takes you on trips to Hawaii, Italy, London, and other locations not typically associated with the mouse. There is also something else that appears travel related, although it is listed in the shopping area of Disney Online rather than the destination section, called Get Up ‘N’ Go Depot which appears to be a blinged out monkey named Go Go trying to sell you trips to Colorado and Montana. I haven’t figured this one out yet.
The question then is whether or not these endeavors, not unlike the podcasts and i-tunes deals, are Disney’s way of staying with the times and keeping themselves fresh, or are they Igers’ contribution to spreading the company too thin, e.g., ABC Family Channel? What do you think?