The LA Times has an interesting look a the John Lasseter/Randy Newman duo that has worked to provide so many of Pixar’s films with wonderful soundtracks. John Lasseter and Randy Newman both grew up in Southern California, but they couldn’t possibly come from more different worlds. Lasseter is from Whittier, son of the parts manager… Read More »Lasseter, Newman: two peas in a pod?
The Imagineering Re-birth blog continues its examination of where Disney has strayed from the path set out by Walt and his original Imagineers. This time they take apart the arguments for updating various attractions and compare them against the original apocryphal story. Walt was roaming Adventureland disguised as a floppy-hatted tourist when he overheard an… Read More »Re-Imagineering “Be Yourself”
Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and add to that list Bahrain, all lists of places where Disney has been rumored to be building future themeparks. Usually it’s a government agency making the claim, but sometimes it’s a private individual. In almost every case, Disney denies that they’re in talks to build a themepark then eventually down the… Read More »Here we go again… Disney Bahrain? or not?
A little bird told me the new Disney.com site might be opening this morning. Looks like they were right. I haven’t had any time to really explore, but it at first glance it looks good, if a little slow loading. Plenty of goodies to explore including a ‘XD’ interactive area (still in beta). The whole… Read More »New Disney.com Debuts
Chuck over at O-Meon, posts a round up of the latest rumors for the Disneyland Resort. Seems like Tony Baxter’s idea of opening up California Adventure has been moved aside in favor of Tom Fitzgerald’s idea to expand the place-making efforts with the eventual goal of a new overarching theme for Disneyland’s neighbor. Maybe then… Read More »Disneyland Resort Rumors
Pixar does their thing, and Disney is returning to more hand-drawn features. Now, according to Reuters, the Walt Disney Co. and director Robert Zemeckis (Polar Express, Monster House) have joined to create a new company that will work entirely with 3-D animation. While Zemeckis’ has already directed two such movies (see above) and is currently… Read More »3-D Makes 3 Kinds of Official Animation at Disney
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I mean it. Head Coach Tony Dungy and running back Dominic Rhodes of the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts Sunday night became the latest to realize a dream, stand in front of a TV camera, and shout the famous words “I’m going to Disney World”.
No word yet on exactly when the parade through Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will occur as the Colts will be feted in Indianapolis today.
Their “We’re going to Disney World” pronouncement, part of the production for one of TV’s most enduring and celebrated commercials, was captured Sunday night on tape at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium just moments after the Colts’ 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. Dungy became the first African American head coach to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl champion, while Rhodes rushed for a game-leading 113 yards and a second-quarter touchdown that put the Colts ahead for keeps.
The commercial – which also includes a Disneyland version for the West Coast – is the 37th of a series that began in 1987 following Super Bowl XXI. The first “ I’m going to Disney World” commercial, featuring New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, was regarded as a groundbreaking concept – a produced national commercial involving a current event, airing on major networks hours after the event. And this latest installment is to follow a similar script, airing Feb. 5.
Dungy and Rhodes join a lineup of sports heroes such as Tom Brady, Emmitt Smith, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Joe Montana, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Doug Williams, Magic Johnson, Patrick Roy and Super Bowl XL star Hines Ward who have been featured during two decades of “I’m going to Disney World” commercials.
For the trivia oriented, the full history of the "I’m Going to Disneyland" commercial is below the cut.
Disney has announced the dates for the 2007 Star Wars weekends at Disney-MGM Studios. This years event will take place on four consecutive weekends (Friday-Sunday) beginning June 1, 2007 and running through June 24, 2007. 2007 event dates are June 1-3, 8-10, 15-17 and 22-24. As I speculated earlier, it looks like rather than split… Read More »Dates set for 2007 Star Wars Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios