You may know him onscreen as Tony Stark’s friend and security chief “Happy” Hogan, but behind the camera Jon Favreau is leading a revolution in Hollywood. The techniques he helped develop for Disney’s “live-action” photo-realistic productions of “The Jungle Book” and “The Lion King” have… Read More »Trailer for new official Star Wars documentary – “Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian”
When I looked at this photo of the Market House at Disneyland I was shocked by how little has changed in this space in the last 10 years when so much of the rest of Main Street has seen upgrades. Now its time is up and Market House will expand to accommodate the much-anticipated addition of Starbucks into the park.
Alas, for fans of Disneyana, that means it will be evicted from Main Street and forced to join its spiritual twin on Main Street in the Disney Gallery, which now occupies the former space of the Bank of Main Street. That’s such a beautiful space on Main Street, I’ll be sad to see it close. But I am happy it’s not being replaced by a wall of plush.Read More »Starbucks Moving into Market House space on Main Street USA at Disneyland
Imagineer Kim Irvine hosts a new video that takes us through some of the changes brought by recent remodeling along Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland. I can almost taste the delicious decor in the Candy Palace and am impressed with what they’ve done with the… Read More »Tour Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland with Imagineer Kim Irvine
The Disney Gallery has returned to Disneyland. Reopening after a forced hiatus when the store evicted from its perch above New Orleans Square, Disneyland decided to re-incarnate the store in the old Bank of Main Street location in Town Square. That makes two Disney collectible… Read More »Disney Gallery returns to Disneyland
The failed experiment that was The Children’s Place attempt to run The Disney Stores is now officially over. Disney takes back operations today after The Children’s Place had to file for bankruptcy in the subsidiaries that ran The Disney Stores. In 2000, there were 741… Read More »Disney regains control of The Disney Stores today
The latest edition of my Kenversations(TM) column was posted today at http://www.LaughingPlace.com. In this column, I lament the closure of the Disney Gallery by sharing my Disney Gallery memories from the past 20 years.
The Children’s Place is one step closer to buying the once proud and vibrant chain of Disney Stores. The Disney Stores used to be known for providing a little bit of the Disney Magic via a cadre of highly trained employees (er Cast Members), a cache of unique Disney merchandise, and access to collectibe art and merchandise without having to visit one of the theme parks. Paul Pressler, who failed so miserably as President of Disneyland, led the charge of the Disney stores from 75 outlets to over 600. When he left to take the Disneyland position The Disney Stores seemed destined to be a strong part of The Walt Disney Company for the long term future.
When I lived in Southern California I used to goto Disneyland on the average of 3.5 times a week. (3.54 actually, but who’s counting.) I was frequently asked what I did there. Well, I hung out with friends, watch the shows, and even occaisionally rode some attractions. A significant portion of time was spent people… Read More »People Watching