Here’s a great vintage film that captures Orlando, Florida as it was just before Walt Disney World changed it forever. Walt’s vision for an experimental prototype city of tomorrow is discussed starting at 4:45 and there’s actually some excellent vintage footage of Disneyland scattered throughout.… Read More »Orlando – The Action Center of Florida, Vintage Film Highlights “Before Disney”
Disney has been building its China strategy for over 15 years now. It started with Hong Kong Disneyland, includes some unique film partnerships, Disney English schools, and soon Disneyland Shanghai. Current Chair and CEO Bob Iger has been right there at the center of it for most of the effort. So it’s with more than a little authority that he took the stage last week at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu, China. Bob shared his unique insight into where Disney is headed, the company’s place in the global economy and his overall outlook on business — particularly business in China.
Below the jump are a few highlights from Iger’s responses:
Read More »Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger Talks Strategic Direction and Culture While in China
Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are frequent film collaborators, including the hugely successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise which stars Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Bruckheimer had been intrigued with the idea of relaunching the classic TV show The Lone Ranger as their next franchise, but the project was languishing in development until Depp stepped in.
Depp figured that the best way to get the ball rolling would be to get into character as Tonto. He rounded up two close friends—makeup artist Joel Harlow and photographer Peter Mountain—and set about creating his distinctive version of how Tonto would look in the hope that it would convince Bruckheimer and the studio, Disney, to give The Lone Ranger the green light.
He based his ‘look’ for Tonto on a painting he’d seen of a Native American warrior and added his own, unique, flourishes. The result was spectacular and it convinced Bruckheimer—and indeed Disney Studios— that it was time for “The Lone Ranger” and Tonto to ride back onto the screen.
“I was doing ‘The Rum Diary’ with Bruce (Robinson) in Puerto Rico, and I had already found a painting of a Native American warrior with these stripes down his face,” Depp explained.Read More »Johnny Depp on his role as Tonto in The Lone Ranger
If it’s June, it must be time for the Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite family vacation. His fans know him as Kaka and he currently plays soccer for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaka visited the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort this week. Spending some time with Mickey Mouse and kids before next month’s Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament.
Read More »Brazilian Soccer Star Kaka Returns to See Mickey Mouse at ESPN WWOS
Disneyland’s newest stage show, “Mickey and the Magical Map” features several great songs from classic Disney animated films, and it introduces a completely original song for the show, “Journey to Imagination.” In this new video Adam Watts and Andy Dodd, two thirds of the award… Read More »Composing the Theme Song for ‘Mickey and the Magical Map’
One of the hidden treasures of the new Antarctica opening at SeaWorld Orlando is a conservation-minded program that let’s you interact with Coca-Cola freestyle machines in the area to see how big an impact your drink refills are making on the environment. The Cup That Cares – a reusable cup initiative – encourages guests to help the planet one refill at a time in a cup they create themselves when visiting the realm.
SeaWorld also collaborated with Coca-Cola to create a new custom coca-cola flavor served up only at Antarctica – South Pole Chill. I had a number of cups and enjoyed the light vanilla flavor served without any of the dyes that add color to normal colas.
Here’s a quick video introduction to the Cup That Cares program:
The new Cup That Cares engages guests in a personalized manner to reuse materials and reduce their carbon footprint. An RFID chip embedded in each Cup That Cares interacts with software at Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers to calculate and tell guests how they are being more environmentally responsible by choosing to reuse.
Plus, SeaWorld will donate $1 from each Cup That Cares purchase to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens® Conservation Fund, a not-for-profit foundation that helps protect wildlife around the world. Read More »Cup That Cares Introduces New Conservation Minded Program at SeaWorld Orlando
Whether you’re a Disney blogger, a travel agent, or a super fan who helps friends plan their Disney vacations, you hear the same questions over and over again. Some are funny, some are a little maddening, but as your teachers used to tell you in school, the only dumb question is one you don’t ask. While that may be debatable, here are some of the most common ones I hear:
10. Can I get a refund for my unused park days?
No. This is why you should buy the least amount of days you’ll need, since you can (almost) always add days but you can’t take away days.
9. Can I pool hop?
Non-DVC (Disney Vacation Club) guests may not pool hop. You may only use the pool at your own resort. DVC owners may pool hop with some limitations.Read More »The Top Ten Most Common Disney Questions I Get.
HERCULES! By a huge margin! This means that the tweeting will happen on Friday, June 14th at 9pm EST, when we will all start our movies at the exact same time and tweet using the hashtag #HerculesLive. The day after the tweeting, a “Master Tweeter”… Read More »Our June Live Tweet is…