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February 2015

Dancing With the Stars Reveals Cast For 20th Season

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On a star-studded segment on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “Dancing With the Stars” revealed its celebrity dancers for its upcoming 20th season.

DWTS hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews got an assist from an excited Lara Spencer of GMA, to announce the new roster.

Here is the line-up of celebrities and their pro partners for the new season:

Noah Galloway with Sharna Burgess – Galloway is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq. He lost his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee in an IED attack, and currently serves as a motivational speaker.  He says, “The biggest challenge will just be learning the dancing. I want to make my children proud.”

Robert Herjavec with Kym Johnson – Herjavec is recognized as the “nice” Shark on ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank.”

Patti LaBelle with Artem Chigvintsev – LaBelle’s strong and soulful voice has left an indelible mark all over the world. She has won many awards, including Grammys, for her music, but she is also known for her cooking, and her line of products, Patti’s Good Life.

Nastia Liukin with Derek Hough – Liukin is best known as Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist in gymnastics at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Hough, a previous winner, almost didn’t make this season due to performing in a show at Radio City Spring Spectacular in NYC. But he and Liukin will rehearse in NYC and commute to L.A. to dance in the weekly live show, then red-eye it back to NYC, where she also goes to school.

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New poster for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron

All your favorite avengers are back in a new ‘hero’ poster for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury are joined by Vision, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

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What do you think?

The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.

Official Plot synopsis below:

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Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – The Lion King Section Tour

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When Disney’s Art of Animation resort opened in 2012, it was the first new hotel to be opened on property in seven years. The resort took over what was the “Legendary Years” of Pop Century Resort, that had been sitting undeveloped for nearly 10 years. Some of the sections that had already started construction were left to rot becoming known as Disney’s “Ghost Hotel.”

The good news is that Disney took extra care to make Art of Animation a terrific resort. I’m particularly impressed with the resorts themed sections, which consist of Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.

It had been a few years since I’d been back to the resort, but we stopped in for lunch and took a tour of the resort last week. Turns out the place still looks very good.

Head below a look at The Lion King section to get this tour started:

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Seven Attractions that Disney Wouldn’t Build Today

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Walt Disney and his team of Imagineers practically invented the modern theme park. They took old ideas and elevated them to something guests would be talking about for years to come.

Over the years, the crowds have grown most sophisticated and ride technology has changed too. It still comes down to one thing, telling an amazing and engaging story, rich in detail, and immersive in environment.

Here’s a list of 7 attraction types that will never be built again in a Disney theme park:

Snow White / Pinocchio Dark Ride – The original dark ride at Disneyland was little more than a giant electric train set going through a series of wooden cutouts. Not only are ride systems much more complex, guests are too savvy for simple set decorations. The new rides are all nearly 360 degrees immersive.

The Great Movie Ride / Ellen’s Energy Adventure – Not only are both these rides full of expensive to build and maintain animatronics, their ride systems are large and complex, essentially theaters on wheels. The modern guest doesn’t quite get the metaphor.
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Disney’s McFarland USA Box Office Results

Disney’s McFarland, USA opened up against stiff competition this weekend. It managed to beat all the new films this weekend, but failed to surpass Spongebob, Kingsman, and Fifty Shades of Grey. It did manage to pull in $11 million for the three day weekend, that… Read More »Disney’s McFarland USA Box Office Results

Disney’s Cinderella – How Cinderella got her name

Disney has to walk a fine line in the promotion of its next movie — Cinderella. On one hand everyone knows the story of Cinderella, on the other, you have to potential audience members excited about seeing this version of the film. One of the… Read More »Disney’s Cinderella – How Cinderella got her name

Bob Chapek moves from Disney Stores to Disney Parks Chair

bob_chapek_twdc-chair-disney-parks-disWhen Tom Staggs was announced as Chief Operating Officer, it was mentioned he’d retain control of the Disney Parks division until a successor could be found. I think everyone had a 6 to 12 month timeline on that, but Disney can move fast when it wants to.

Effective today Bob Chapek has been named Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Chapek is a 22-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, having served since 2011 as President of Disney Consumer Products, driving a technology-led transformation of the Company’s consumer products, retail and publishing operations. Prior to that he managed Disney’s Home Video/DVD division.

If this move seems familiar it’s because Disney already tried this once with moving Paul Pressler from President of the Disney Stores to Disneyland (and then Disney Parks). The implication that the parks are little more than giant Disney stores is clear. Paul and his successor Cynthia Harriss were never quite able to shake themselves of the rules of retail and took their eyes off the real important things at the theme parks. I have a few suggestions for Bob on how to avoid that fate at the end of this article.

It’s true that this could be a move to expand Bob’s horizons and groom him for additional responsibility within the company. The good news is that merchandise mix at the parks is one thing the parks are generally doing well (the Big Hero 6 mix was a failure, alas). I don’t know much about Bob, this could a perfect fit for him, and I hope it is, but history hasn’t been kind on similar moves.

“Under Bob’s leadership, Consumer Products has seen great success, focusing on brands and a franchise-driven strategy while launching new products and retail experiences that combine technological innovation and creativity,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said. “He is an experienced and versatile executive well-suited to lead Parks and Resorts into the future.”Read More »Bob Chapek moves from Disney Stores to Disney Parks Chair

Help preserve Walt Disney’s Birthplace and see history of animatronics

Garner Holt Productions, who creates some of the world’s finest animatronics, including many for Disney, is hosting a special “behind the scenes” event at the end of February to benefit the Walt Disney Birthplace projct. During this extremely rare opportunity to tour the Garner Holt… Read More »Help preserve Walt Disney’s Birthplace and see history of animatronics