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June 2009

Kobe celebrates Lakers NBA Championship at Disneyland

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Celebrating the best in basketball, the Disneyland Resort saluted the 2009 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers today with a victory parade down Main Street U.S.A, for Kobe Bryant, MVP of the recent NBA Finals. Kobe smiled and waved to fans as he rode on a float with Mickey Mouse and other characters.

“It’s like a dream come true to be here and celebrate at Disneyland, coming down Main Street U.S.A. with all the fans cheering,” Bryant said after the parade. “It’s a tremendous honor to represent my team.”

As part of the ‘Fairytale Series’ the presidents of the two Resorts, Ed Grier at Disneyland and Meg Crofton at Walt Disney World, made a friendly wager on the NBA Finals. On Thursday, Meg Crofton fulfilled her pledge by donning a pair of Lakers’ purple and gold Mickey Mouse ears and walking down Main Street, U.S.A., in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. I’m hoping a photo of that will turn up somewhere.

Each of the Resorts also turned the lights of their respective castles to the team colors of the Lakers and the Magic, in celebration of the historic pairing. Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland park was glowing with Lakers purple and gold during the NBA Finals and will stay that way through Thursday night.

“I heard there was a little competition with Disneyland and Disney World and we won,” Kobe Bryant said, “so our colors are staying up a little bit longer.”

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Two of the many Lakers fans at Disneyland on Thursday were selected to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds with Bryant after the parade. David Guerrero and his son Jonathan, 4, of Pomona, are Annual Passport holders and they came to Disneyland in their team jerseys to celebrate the Lakers’ World Championship.

“They just picked us out of the crowd and said, ‘Do you want to ride the Matterhorn with Kobe?’ I’m shaking, this is so exciting,” David Guerrero said as Jonathan jumped up and down. “In Southern California, being a Disney fan and a Lakers fan, it just goes together and that’s why we wanted to be here today.”

A short video of Kobe Bryant at Disneyland is below the cut:

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Pixar’s UP soaring to Incredibles numbers

In bowling parlance Pixar is two thirds a frame away from a perfect game. So far they’re 10 for 10 at the box office and now it looks like “UP” might even become their second highest domestic box office performing animated feature of all. This… Read More »Pixar’s UP soaring to Incredibles numbers

Disney adds Kid Friendly Netbooks to electronics offerings

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When I was a kid I had a Disney branded record player and I thought I was the king of my block. Today’s kids can have their own Mickey Mouse or Princess themed mini-laptop (aka, Netbook) and rule the world. I’m just a little jealous.

Disney Consumer Products division has partnered with Asus, which makes the popular Eee PC netbook, to develop the Disney Netpal. The goal was to create something thats fun, web-safe, and easy to use. It should be available as soon as July for around $350.

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Press release and more photos below the cut:

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“Diana – The People’s Princess” exhibit coming to Downtown Disney Orlando

Those of us of a certain age undoubtedly remember the tragedy, the incredible public outpouring of grief, and the immense sadness that surrounded the loss of Princess Diana in 1997. Personally, there is still a hole in my heart where her tremendous spirit of humanity once existed. I still have a set of video tapes from when I recorded her funeral and procession. Just thinking of it brings back memories of millions of flowers, to the point where flower shops were sold out nationwide, laid in her honor.

It has just been announced that the People’s Princess Charitable Foundation, Inc. (PPCF) is bringing “DIANA–The People’s Princess” – a major new exhibit of royal artifacts – to Walt Disney World Resort. Opening in early July 2009, this limited-time experience showcases the life and story of Princess Diana, one of the most iconic and inspirational figures in recent history, including a sampling of the royal dresses Diana chose to auction for charity and hundreds of authentic artifacts relating to her life.

“DIANA–The People’s Princess” exhibit will be held in the 17,500-square-foot setting at Downtown Disney West Side adjacent to DisneyQuest that formerly housed the giant record store. This unique exhibition is one of the largest collections of royal dresses and rare artifacts ever assembled for an American audience which provides an in-depth historical perspective of her life. The exhibit includes five rarely seen royal dresses worn by Princess Diana.

“We look forward to The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation bringing this unique experience to our Downtown Disney guests,” said Kevin Lansberry, vice president of Downtown Disney. “We remain committed to offering guests new and exciting experiences they can only have at the Walt Disney World Resort.”

“The late Princess used her globally renowned platform brilliantly,” commented Maureen Rorech Dunkel, founder of PPCF. “She understood that the many different experiences she had in her life, both positive and negative, made her more relatable to the public. She used this quality to connect to the common masses and in doing so became known as ‘The People’s Princess.’ She used her compassion to bring support to all those in need and is still to this date, almost 12 years after her tragic passing, regarded as one of the most influential humanitarians of all time.”

A hint at some of the items on display:

  • Royal Doulton figurine of Diana in her wedding dress – Made in 1981 at the time of the royal wedding, the doll is wearing an exact replica of the famous wedding dress.
  • The Black Velvet “V” Neck – Designed by Bruce Oldfield and worn by Diana for her official royal portrait in 1985.
  • Wedding Breakfast booklet – Contains guest names and two tickets to observe the bride and bridegroom before and following the wedding ceremony in the quadrangle at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.
  • Three-foot doll of Diana as a young girl – Released by the Great American Doll Company in 1998 as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.

Tickets may be purchased at the exhibit – $14.50 (ages 10 and above), $5 (ages 3-9). The exhibition will run through Nov. 30, 2009. Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily.  I hope you’ll join me there.

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Nighttime Entertainment Upgrade debuts at Disneyland

At Disneyland everything its Nightastic! Well, almost everything. The much anticipated new Fantasmic! Dragon is still being worked on. But the new Tinkerbell float for the Electrical Parade at Walt Disney’s Adventure Park (I’m hearing that’s one possible new name for DCA) looks good and… Read More »Nighttime Entertainment Upgrade debuts at Disneyland

Progress visible at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to make it out to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. That means my updates on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter have been sorely lacking. However, thanks to Brian Orndorf you will lack for an… Read More »Progress visible at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Disneyland Hotel to finally get makeover it deserves

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From almost the moment the Walt Disney Company took over ownership of the Disneyland Hotel from the Wrather company in 1988 the question has been, will they keep the towers or remodel them. So far during every renovation the answer has ‘keep the towers’.

There had been some rumors that one or more of the towers was scheduled for demolition in the next scheduled renovation, but it now looks like that plan has been scuttled (likely due to the economy) and again they’ll be focusing on making each room a masterpiece as best they can while constrained by the original tower specifications.

That said, there’s a lot of really cool stuff included this time around, including another remake of the hotel grounds, green upgrades, and some crafty use of fiber optics to make your hotel stay dramatically more magical. For instance, the backboard (seen above) features fiber optic fireworks above Sleeping Beauty Castle and a hidden mickey too!.

The full press release highlighting this round of changes, along with more photos of what the finished room will look like, is below the cut:

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Fallen Princesses

A few years ago Disney Parks hired Annie Leibovitz to turn her photographers eye on Disney’s famous characters for use in an advertising campaign for the theme parks. Leibovitz took celebrities and put them in the role of those characters and a very popular campaign… Read More »Fallen Princesses