- Doombuggies’ blog is back from a haunting silence with two great posts. First is a bit more detail on the changes coming to the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom. The re-opening ceremony is on September 13th and I can’t wait to see if the Ol’Manse got all the love and care it deserved. Not wanting the original Haunted Mansion in Disneyland to feel left out, Doombuggies then posted this internal WED document written four months before the official opening of the attraction. The ‘Info Sheet‘ tells a version of the attraction’s story that almost came to be.
- The Disney Enquirer has a photographic look at some of the construction going on around The Walt Disney World resort. Looks like the Haunted Mansion is getting its awning back and the Mickey Hat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is getting some lighting upgrades. (Shouldn’t that be heading the way of Mickey’s Wand soon?)
- The Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau reports success with its new promotional campaign targeting Mom’s as the decision makers when it comes to family vacations. They’re so happy with the campaign, this year’s version will be essentially the same.
Disney has shrunk down their Fab Four Star Wars Big Fig statues to mini-bobble head size (Goofy Darth Vader pictured). Not only do I think these are just as collectible, they’re more affordable and they’re just as cute.- Another writer claims his idea for a movie/show/play was stolen by Disney. This time it’s Buddy Sheffield claiming that "Hannah Montana" was his idea. You almost never hear these lawsuits making their way through the courts. Either the claimant has proof in the form of a signed contract or they don’t. Either way the suit is usually settled. The most famous case is Art Buchwald vs. Paramount over the movie "Coming To America".
- Not happy with twisting the image of Mickey Mouse to meet their propaganda needs, Palestinian group Hamas has now appropriated Simba from The Lion King to spread their message. This is more than a bit ironic, since there was a big dustup over Disney stealing Simba from Kimba the White Lion in the first place. What goes around comes around, I guess.
- Congrats to the folks at the “WDW Radio Show.” For the second year in a row, the voters in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards have selected Lou Mongello, author of the Walt Disney World Trivia books, as the host of the Best Travel Podcast of 2007. More than 1.3 million people voted for the 220 finalists, making this award truly the “People’s Choice.”
- The NFFC, a Disney Fan club, is holding it’s east coast convention September 27-30th this year. Confirmed speakers this year include: Dave Smith, Head of the Disney Archives; Charles Ridgway, Former Director of Public Relations for Walt Disney World Resort; Terri Hardin, Sculptor and Former Imagineer; and Virginia Davis, who was the original live action star that Walt Disney cast as Alice in the Alice Comedies, before Mickey Mouse was created. Just added is a special screening of "Dream On Silly Dreamer" on the 30th with a talk from Director Tony West.
“(Shouldn’t that be heading the way of Mickey’s Wand soon?)”
I wouldn’t plan on it. Unlike the Wand, the Hat has become the icon for the park. Barring an extreme remodeling of the Chinese Theater (or Disney able to get certain rights from WB/Paramount), the Hat will likely stay for a fairly long time to come. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that it received much less criticism than it’s Epcot Counterpart (only common complaint seems to be location).
Mansion will be so indescribably cool when it reopens that it will leave all other versions in the dust. Mark my words! =)
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