That's not a mouse. It's a cat with very large ears. Honest!

There's been some interesting things heading round the blogsphere over the last few days. One of them that caught my eye was this amusement park in China which, with its slogan "Disneyland is too far", claims to not at all be based on any of Disney's ideas or creations. Indeed, Disneyland isn't really too far in China now, since Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005...

The United States have said they're going to file a complaint with the World Trade Organisation over rampant copyright piracy in China, which they claim costs them billions of dollars a year.

According to the JapanProbe blog, who found the YouTube video of a news report from the park:

The President of the park, who is interviewed in the video, tells them that nothing is copied from Disney and that all the characters are original creations (He also says the line about Mickey rip-off = big-eared cat). However, a little girl they encounter tells them that she sees Disney characters, and even the people inside the character costumes admit that they’re based on Disney’s creations.

He may say that, but the official website of the park refers to the "Gothic Cinderella Castle and proudly boasts the slogan at the bottom of every page:

Disneyland is too far away. Please come to Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park!

The park's website says it opened in 1986, almost 20 years before China saw it's first real Disney park. Of course, this isn't the only blatant rip-off of Disney parks in Asia...

Links:
- Shijingshan Amusement Park - Official Website
- Fake Disneyland in China - Boing Boing
- Shijingshan Amusement Park - The Emerald Buddah
- Disneyland in China? - JapanProbe
- Disneyland in China News Report - YouTube
- Chinese government-managed amusement park - Kansai.com Blog (Japanese - Google Translation)
- Shijingshan Amusement Park - Funny sightseeing [tsu] beam! (Japanese - Google Translation)
- Fakes a real fact of life in China's heated economy - The Standard

Wanna know what it's like working attractions for Disney?

Those of us that have had the opportunity to work in one of Disney's theme parks know how interesting and fun it can be. We also know how demanding and tricky it can be, too.

Over the last couple of days, a set of four flash games have been floating around the blogsphere, and with good reason. They're four simulations of Disney attractions which you can control with the aim of running the attraction as efficiently as possible and by getting as many guests through as possible.

Sounds easy? You'd be wrong. The four attractions are the Disney-MGM Studios version of the Tower of Terror, and the Disneyland Paris versions of Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain Mission 2 and Phantom Mannor, and the games are quite tricky to master. You have to control the doors, queue, loading and dispatch of each ride for up to four ride trains as well as attending to breakdowns and the ever growing line of guests forming at the entrance to your attraction.

So, what are you waiting for? Go on and give it a play!

Links:
- Simulations on themagical.nl

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Advanced warning: Planned server maintenance
Tomorrow (Sunday 29 April) evening at around 22:00 GMT the server which hosts the images used on A Kingdom of Dreams will be taken down for maintenance. During this time the blog itself will still be available however none of the images on the pages will work. The maintenance should last no longer than an hour. The aim is to keep downtime to a minimum, however it will be necessary for the server to disapear for a short period of time.

Tree attacks guest at Disneyland Resort

A guest riding the world famous Jungle Cruise at Disneyland Resort this afternoon (Wednesday 18th) was hit by a falling tree branch.

The guest suffered minor injuries when the branch fell from the tree at 12:40pm. It is thought that the branch was blown from the tree in strong winds at the resort this afternoon.

Links:
- Tree Limb Falls on Person Riding Boat at Disneyland - abc7.com Local News

Disney wedding dresses debut

A while back I reported on Disney's Wedding Dress plans. Well today, it seems that more information is available - including pictures of the dresses themselves. (For the curious, the one on the right is Sleeping Beauty.)

The dresses, designed by Kristie Kelly, are showcased on DisneyBridal.com, and includes dresses based around Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Disney's Jasmine, Ariel and Belle.

Many more photos of the dresses can be found on the Disney Consumer Products website, along with a press release.

Links:
- Disney Bridal
- Photo Gallery -Disney Consumer Products
- Further information -Disney Consumer Products

New Pixar floats in Dreamlights parade

Tokyo Disneyland have given their Dreamlights parade (think Main Street Electrical Parade) an update with some new floats based on the Pixar animations.

The new floats include Finding Nemo characters and Monsters Inc. characters, and look (in my opinion) rather good.

DLRP.fr has a few photos of the new floats, and the official website's Dreamlights page also has some details.

Links:
- Tokyo Disney Resort
- Dreamlights Parade Information
- New float photos (DLRP.fr)

Happy 15th Birthday, Disneyland Resort Paris!

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Once upon a time... a master storyteller, Walt Disney, inspired by Europe's best loved tales, used his own special gifts to share them with the world. He envisioned a Magic Kingdom where these stories would come to life, and called it Disneyland.

Now his dream returns to the land that inspired it. Euro Disneyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration for all the world."

- Michael Eisner's dedication of EuroDisney. 1 April, 1992

Walt Disney's Passport up for auction

As spotted by the folks at BoingBoing, Walt Disney's passport is up for auction on eBay. That's right. For $3,600 (at the time of writing this), you could own this rather random, yet unique piece of Disney history.

According to the auction page, the passport is dated just after the release of Mary Poppins, and contains visa stamps from a trip to London.

Check out the auction on eBay here.

(Via BoingBoing)

The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

As spotted by the folks over at Boing Boing, Modern Mechanix has a very nice look at an article from the January 1938 issue of Popular Science. The article is a look at the pioneering film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The article has scanned pages of the original article as well as a typed transcript. Also available are some very high resolution scans, suitable for those who want to print it out (I'm sure there's someone out there who'll print it and make it into a poster for their wall...)

Links:
- The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Modern Mechanix (via Boing Boing)

Once Upon a Dream...

...in a Disneyland not so far away...

Disneyland Resort Paris did a suprise "soft-opening" of its new parade this weekend. Officially supposed to start on April 1st, the Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade made its way through the park despite the wet and rainy weather in its first public outings.

Quick off the mark, Photos Magiques quickly got some photos online, followed by DLRP.fr, who also now have a video of the parade available for those of you who either can't wait to visit the park and see it for yourself, or are unable to visit.

Various rumours had been circling recently that the parade and its floats wouldn't be ready in time, but the parade was performed with all of its brand new floats completed. According to Photos Magiques, the floats are named: The Dream of Imagination, The Dream of Laughter and Fun, Dreams of Friendship, Dreams of Fantasy, Dreams of Power, Dreams of Adventure and Dreams of Romance.

Links:
- Once Upon a Dream Parade - Photos Magiques
- Parade Photos - DLRP.fr
- More parade photos and video - DLRP.fr

Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee) trailer released

Disney and Pixar yesterday released a new trailer for the upcoming film Ratatouille. The trailer is currently on the official Ratatouille website.

The new trailer gives us some more hints as to what the story may be (although I'm not going to write it down here, since some of you might want to wait and see!) It also introduces a couple of the characters, and tells us a little more about the main character - a rat.

Currently I've not been able to locate a HD version of the trailer (or indeed anything larger than the one on the Disney website). This'll probably change soon (or maybe already has and I've just not spotted it!)

Anyway. Enjoy!

Links:
- Ratatouille website and trailer - Disney.com

Prepare to be lifted

It's been a kind of tradition with Pixar to release a new short film with each feature film. With The Incredibiles, it was Boundin'; with Cars, it was One Man Band. Ratatouille will be no exception from this, and its short film will be Lifted.

Lifted is a short film about a teenage alien who is taking an exam in abducting humans under the watchful eye of his instructor, Mr. B.

The film has already been previewed at The 42nd Chicago International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Short Film at the 79th Academy Awards a few weeks ago.

Pixar's website contains a short introduction to the film, and has a quick peek at the artwork and storyline. The film is directed by Gary Rydstrom and is around five minutes long.

Links:
- Short Films: Lifted - Pixar Animation Studios

Official Pirates 3 website live, new production photos

The official website for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has now gone live, with some new artwork, pictures and of course the new trailer.

On a similar note, ComingSoon.net has several new pictures from Walt Disney Pictures, showing various scenes and characters from the film.

If you haven't seen it already, the official HD trailer is on the Yahoo! Movies! Website! Still!

Roll on May 25th!

Links:
- Official PotC3 website
- New photos - ComingSoon.net
- HD Trailer - Yahoo! Movies!

Please stand clear of the doors...

So you've been to Walt Disney World. You've ridden the monorail, bought the toy monorail that's sold in the gift shops around the resort. What next?

How about buying your very own full size Walt Disney World Monorail System Mark IV car?

Used at the resort between 1971 and 1999 this monorail car will have traveled almost a million miles around the Florida resort and could be yours for $1000.

The auction is on eBay with 9 days left on the clock right now. Take a look. Even if you don't want to buy it, there's some interesting photos of the driver's cabin and what's underneath the monorail.

Links:
Disney Monorail Front Cabin Auction - eBay

Quickies: Reminder - Pirates of the Caribbean Trailer - Tonight!

Just a reminder for all you Pirates fans out there, the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will première on the Yahoo! Movies! Website! Tonight!

At the time of writing this, the countdown sits at 9 hours and 39 minutes until you can watch the trailer on the website. For those of you lacking the mathematical skills to add the times together (like me!), it's 10pm EST.

Links:
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Trailer - Yahoo! Movies

Pirates of the Caribbean video game on the horizon

Yarr! Soon, the familiar faces from the Pirates of the Caribbean films will set sail on your favourite gaming platform*.

Reports say that you will be able to play as Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner or Elizabeth Swann, and the game will be based on the upcoming film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, including events and locations from the film as well as events and locations from the previous two films.

Those of you looking for a more interactive adventure may want to consider the Nintendo Wii version of the game, which will make use of the console's innovative controller for actions such as sword swings, etc. The games on all platforms are expected to be rated T for Teen in the US with the exception of the Nintendo DS version, which will have an ESRB rating of E10+, for anyone aged 10 and over.

The games are scheduled to be released towards the end of May 2007.

* Assuming your favourite gaming platform is one of the following: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, XBox 360.

Links:
- Pirates to Set Sail on Consoles and Handhelds - ComingSoon.net

Disneyland Resort Paris celebrates St. Patrick's Day

Disneyland Resort Paris was among the many venues that celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style on Saturday, with a special parade and fireworks.

DLRP.fr has some photosets of both events, starting with the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which included Irish dance troupes, marching bands and - of course - the Disney characters all dressed in green outfits for the special occasion.

At 9pm, Fantasyland closed so that preparations could take place for the special fireworks, which took place later in the evening. Fireworks danced to the sounds of Riverdance and music from the recent Pirates of the Caribbean films. A video of this is available on the DLRP.fr website along with many photos and a (French) description.

Links:
- St Patrick's Day Parade Photos - DLRP.fr
- St Patrick's Day Fireworks Video and Photos - DLRP.fr

Star Wars Weekend 2007 Guest List

Disney had released the guest list for this years Star Wars Weekend:

Celebrities scheduled to appear this year include:

Weekend 1 (June 1, 2, 3)
o Warwick Davis ("Wicket the Ewok")
o Kenny Baker ("R2-D2")
Weekend 2 (June 8, 9, 10)
o Ray Park ("Darth Maul")
o Daniel Logan ("Boba Fett" - Episode II)
Weekend 3 (June 15, 16, 17)
o Jeremy Bullloch ("Boba Fett")
o Peter Mayhew ("Chewbacca")
Weekend 4 (June 22, 23, 24)
o Anthony Daniels ("C-3PO")
o Bonnie Piesse ("Beru Lars")

As always Celebrity appearances are subject to change without notice.

According to Disney, Star Wars celebrities will be participating in daily autograph sessions, Legends of the Force Celebrity Motorcade and Stars of the Saga Talk Show.

The weekends will also feature over 40 characters and many special events.

Star Wars Weekend will be held on the following dates:
June 1, 2007, 9:00AM - 10:00PM
June 2, 2007, 9:00AM - 9:00PM
June 3, 2007, 9:00AM - 10:00PM
June 8, 2007 - June 10, 2007, 9:00AM - 10:00PM
June 15, 2007 - June 17, 2007, 9:00AM - 10:00PM
June 22, 2007 - June 24, 2007, 9:00AM - 10:00PM

Links:
Official WDW Star Wars Weekend Site

Laugh Floor Open for Business

According to Kevin Yee, a columnist on MiceAge, the new laugh floor has opened.

March 17th, the Laugh Floor opened with an unofficial, soft launch. This doesn't mean that the attraction will stay open, but for now you can ride Magic Kingdoms newest attraction, before its official opening day.

The official grand opening on April 2. Annual passholder previews will be held March 30 – April 1

Kevin has complete review of the ride on MiceAge.

Links:
Kevin Yee's Site
MiceAge

Guest collapses at Blizzard Beach, later dies in hospital

The Orlando Sentinel is today reporting that a guest collapsed at Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park yesterday (Thursday), and later died in hospital.

The guest is reported to have told his wife that he wasn't feeling well whilst climbing the steps to one of the parks water slides, and said he'd meet her at the bottom. Upon reaching the bottom, the man - who has not been named - collapsed and was taken to Celebration Hospital, and later died. It is reported that he had a pre-existing heart condition. Last night Disney offered their "deepest sympathies" for the family of the guest.

Links:
- Disney visitor collapses on water-park ride, dies - The Orlando Sentinel

Disney Legend Marty Sklar, to speak at annual American Creativity Association conference

Marty Sklar is scheduled to appear Airport Hilton, for the American Creativity Association annual conference from March 21 - 23.

Marty will reveal the basic precepts that the Imagineers use whenever they design a new Disney theme park.

In-house, these WDI-specific tenets are known as "Mickey's 10 Commandments." And here are a few highlights of Sklar's list.

When designing a Disney theme park, you should ...

1. Know your audience - Don't bore people, talk down to them or lose them by
assuming that they know what you know.

2. Wear your guest's shoes - Insist that designers, staff and your board members
experience your facility as visitors as often as possible.

3. Organize the flow of people and ideas - Use good story telling techniques, tell good
stories not lectures, lay out your exhibit with a clear logic.

4. Create a weenie - Lead visitors from one area to another by creating visual magnets
and giving visitors rewards for making the journey

5. Communicate with visual literacy - Make good use of all the non-verbal ways of
communication - color, shape, form, texture.

Mr. Sklar will be speaking on Wednesday, and following his talk, he will be taking part in an on-site book signing.

This is a must attend for any imagineer in training!

Links:
American Creativity Association
American Creativity Association Conference Overview
Marty Sklar Bio

Disney Channel, Disney Online and Walt Disney Records Launch Virtual 'D*Concert

Disney Online, part of the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG), Disney Channel and Walt Disney Records today announced the launch of "D*Concert: Disney Channel Concert Series," a virtual concert series premiering exclusively in Disney Xtreme Digital(SM) (Disney XD(SM)). The series will feature Disney Channel-headlining musical acts Hannah Montana, The Cheetah Girls and the cast of High School Musical. Available only on Disney.com, Disney XD is a customizable, personalized entertainment and social networking experience that now allows fans to rock out online.

The three-month online concert series, spanning from March through May, will kick off with a Hannah Montana performance beginning March 13 and available through March 19. Concerts featuring the cast of acclaimed Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical and singing sensations The Cheetah Girls will take place, respectively, in April and May. Fans can register online at www.disney.com/dconcert to collect exclusive D*Concert badges, chat with other fans and compete for the highest score in new D*Concert games. Each concert will host its own set of unique and fun interactive content making each show a musical must-see event for all ages.

"We're excited to be working with Disney Channel and Walt Disney Records to bring the D*Concert Series to the millions of fans of these great artists. D*Concert is a great example of the original content that will be showcased on Disney.com," said Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director, Disney Online. "Working with the many creative teams across the breadth of The Walt Disney Company, we are focused on bringing audiences new, amazing entertainment experiences that fully leverage the unique aspects of personalization, on demand delivery, and interactivity with our brands that the internet offers."

"We are dedicated to providing Disney Channel viewers with access to their favorite shows and characters on all of the platforms they are using," said Albert Cheng, executive vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Television Group. "These online, on-demand concerts are a great way that we can connect kids with the music and talent they love in a truly unique way."

"The internet has become a favorite resource for discovering and enjoying new artists and their music. Disney XD is uniquely positioned as a powerful destination for people to discover exclusive performances from the exciting artists from the Walt Disney Records family," said Jim Weatherson, senior vice president/general manager, Walt Disney Records. "The segue from hit Disney Channel properties to concert arenas and now to the internet is a natural progression that continues our tradition of bringing great music to families. These concerts follow on the heels of our record-breaking, sold-out Cheetah Girls and High School Musical tours."

The Hannah Montana D*Concert will feature Miley Cyrus performing as "Hannah Montana," the character she portrays in Disney Channel hit live-action comedy series that follows typical tween Miley Stewart, who lives with her older brother and widowed dad, a songwriter. The Hannah Montana Soundtrack, released last Fall, was the first-ever TV soundtrack to enter the Billboard Top 200 at #1.

The High School Musical D*Concert will showcase performances from the recent sold-out, 42-date High School Musical: The Concert tour. Featuring many of the stars of the blockbuster Disney Channel Original Movie including Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman, along with newcomer Drew Seeley, the High School Musical D*Concert special will also be featured on Disney Channel in May. Walt Disney Records will release the first-ever live CD + DVD package with High School Musical: The Concert on May 1. The set will contain all 10 songs from the quadruple platinum soundtrack on the audio CD, plus concert highlights on the DVD. The concert was filmed at Houston's Toyota Center in December.

Featuring the high energy singing and dancing trio made up of Sabrina Bryan, Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon, The Cheetah Girls D*Concert will showcase songs from the platinum-selling soundtracks of the Disney Channel Original Movies "The Cheetah Girls" and "The Cheetah Girls 2." The Cheetahs 86-date sold-out concert tour was one of the most successful tours of 2006/2007. Walt Disney Records will release the second installment of the live franchise with The Cheetah Girls: The Concert CD + DVD in June.

Disneyland Resort Paris is (nearly) 15! [Updated]

As the 15th anniversary of Disneyland Resort Paris draws nearer, the decorations are all going up. As pointed out on Subsonic's forums, the castle decorations are being put into place, including characters atop the turrets, and including the return of the Christmas lights.

No, it's not quite Christmas again yet (I'll let you decide if that's a good thing or not!), but they're most likely going to be used as a part of the special 15th anniversary Castle Lighting ceremony, which will be called Candleabration.

You can see the pictures in this thread on the forum.

Disneyland Resort Paris opened on the 12th of April 1992, and will start its 15th anniversary celebrations on the 1st of April (and no, that's not an April Fool!). Details of all the celebration are availble on the official website.

UPDATE: DLRP.fr has put up a lot of pictures of the castle decorations. The page is in French, but hey.. A picture speaks a thousand words, right?

Imagineering new ride development.

The ocregister has a couple of short but interesting articles on the development process of a Disney ride.

There are a couple of great books I have read that discuss WED/WDI history and process:

Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park

Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real

Links to the ocregister articles:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/columns/article_1617385.php
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/article_1617391.php

Quickies: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End artwork

ComingSoon.net have some more new artwork. This time, it's the one-sheet posters for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The artwork includes pictures of the main cast and is likely to be what we'll see more and more of as the film draws nearer to its release date.

Click here to see the pictures over at ComingSoon.net.

First pictures from the set of Narnia: Prince Caspian

NarniaWeb has put together a gallery of photos from New Zealand, where filming has begun on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Currently, you can see an overview of the set, one of the actors riding a horse and a road sign warning of film crews in the area.

Meteos: Disney Magic reviewed

Ars Technica has put together a short review of Meteos: Disney Magic for the Nintendo DS on their Opposable Thumbs journal.

This isn't a game that would be easy to port without losing much of what makes it such a classic. In short: blocks fall from the sky, and you have to move the blocks up and down their rows to get three or more next to each other. Once you accomplish that, they launch up off the screen, clearing them.

Meteos: Disney Magic is available now at around $30.

Links:
- Game Review: Meteos: Disney Magic (DS) - Ars Technica: Opposable Thumbs
- Buy Meteos: Disney Magic from Amazon.com

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Trailer - March 18

As spotted by comingsoon.net, the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will début at a special fan event, in which lucky fans will not only see the new trailer, but also get a special screening of the original Pirates of the Caribbean film.

To win a chance of attending one of the events, you'll need to register on the Disney website. Fan events are taking place in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis and Washington D.C. The events take place on March 18th, and if you can't get to one of them, the trailer will be released on March 19th during the première episode of "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC. Following that, it'll be put on Yahoo.com in HD at around 10pm PST.

So you've got no excuse to not see it. Really.

Walt Disney Feature Animation announce The Frog Princess [updated]

Disney today announced in a press release that in 2009 they will release an all new animated feature film, The Frog Princess.

The Frog Princess will introduce a new Disney Princess who will be called Maddy, who will take us on an "unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm". The film will be based upon an original story by John Musker and Ron Clements, who you may recognise as the duo behind such classics as The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and will also feature music by Randy Newman, who you may also recognise from such films as the Toy Story series and Cars.

Speaking at Disney's annual shareholder's meeting, John Lasseter said of The Frog Princess: "Aside from being longtime friends and colleagues, John and Ron are two of the most influential and imaginative filmmakers in the animation medium, and I am so excited to be working with them in bringing their creative vision".

Further information is available in the official press release.

Update: There's a picture on the Yahoo News website which shows what The Frog Princess actually looks like. You can see it at this page.

Quickies: Jay Rasulo talks to the Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel has a short interview with Jay Rasulo, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in which he touches on the recently discussed urban hotel and nightlife centres away from the current parks and resorts.

From the article:

Jay Rasulo, 51, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and chairman of the Travel Industry Association of America. The association helped create and submit to Congress the Blueprint to Discover America report, recommendations for how the tourism industry and government can promote international tourism to the United States. Rasulo spoke with Beth Kassab of the Sentinel staff.

Links:
- Rasulo says U.S. can treat visitors more efficiently - Orlando Sentinel

Arrivederci, L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante

If you like your alfredo sauce and a view of Spaceship Earth, you better make your reservation now.

According to mouseplanet.com

L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante will be the first of the original table service restaurants in Epcot's World Showcase to disappear from the park. The restaurant will close at the end of its current contract on August 31, to be replaced by "a new Italian restaurant concept."

Disney has not released any details of what the new restaurant concept might be, only that they are "currently finalizing negotiations with a strategic partner." They have confirmed, however, that the new "dining experience" will continue to have International Program cast members staffing the location. That would seem to rule out the fears expressed by some that a domestic Italian-American chain would move into the location.

Alfredo's has not announced any plans to open another location in the Central Florida area, so if a trip to Rome is not on your itinerary, you'll need to head to New York City for the only other location in the United States. (Another location is planned for Las Vegas, though.)

It's not known why Disney and Alfredo's are parting company, but it's a pretty sure bet that Disney either made the break or created a situation that led to the break, as the location was certainly not a money-loser for Alfredo's. In fact, for the year 2004, Alfredo's was number 13 on Restaurant and Institutions Magazine's Top 100 Independent Restaurants listing in terms of food and beverage sales. It's not likely that the restaurant would look to leave with that kind of income rolling in.

Alfredos has locations in Rome, NYC and soon Las Vegas.

Will this be a new theme at Epcot, the changing of the guard of restaurants? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Links:
alfredos.com
Epcot
L' Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante

Siemens at Spaceship Earth

It appears that Siemens is about to put its stamp on Spaceship Earth.

According to wdwmagic.com
Siemens, the new sponsors of Spaceship Earth recently revealed a few bits of information about the changes to the attraction. The new post-show, which is currently under construction, will include 9000-square feet of interactive exhibits based on Siemens technology. The new corporate lounge at Spacehip Earth will be called Nexus 21. It will be exclusively for the use of Siemens employees and customers. The center serves as a hospitality and briefing center showcasing the company’s story of innovation and technology.

The new hands on items sound like a rework of the AT&T New Global Neighborhood that was at exit of the ride. The corporate lounge sounds similar to the AT&T VIP Lounge.

Links:
Siemens /Disney Press Release
Spaceship Earth

Bunsen and Beaker make their debut!

Last week the new free roaming Muppet audio-animatronic was unleashed on Disney's California Adventure. The Seattle Times has a good article on the unveiling of the Muppet Mobile Laboratory.

Jim Hill media also has a good article on Imagineerings "Living Character Initiative".

I was lucky enough to see Lucky the Dinosaur (no pun intended) at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2005. The interaction with the crowd and his "trainer" were phenomenal. Hopefully Imagineering will keep up with this trend of interactive displays.

Links:
Seattle Times: "Disney re-animates theme park with no human in sight"
Jim Hill Media: "The Muppet Mobile Laboratory to begin rolling..."

A closer look behind the magic

The Orlando Sentinel has a rather interesting three page article about what the Character Performers go through on a daily basis.

Today Disney World employs about 1,900 character actors, about 40 percent more than just 10 years ago. The performers earn between $7.60 and $13.65 an hour with opportunities for extra pay for certain duties, such as driving parade floats.

The article looks at what the characters go through each day and how the costumes are designed, as well as looking at some of the classes and training that the performers get before they go out into the parks.

Of course, we all know that there's nobody inside them, because they're all the real thing. I mean, that's the real Mickey and Minnie, not some person in a costume. Right?

Links:
- A closer look behind the magic - Orlando Sentinel

John Lasseter profiled by The New York Times

Laura M. Holson of The New York Times has written a very interesting profile of John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Animation for the Walt Disney Company, which is available to read on the New York Times website.

From the article:

Enter Mr. Lasseter who, along with a close team of handpicked animators had made Pixar this generation’s premier storyteller with an unbroken string of hits including “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles.” The first filmmaker to run Disney’s animation operations since Walt Disney died in 1966, he said he wants to reclaim the studio’s golden era.

Links:
- He Runs That Mickey Mouse Outfit - The New York Times
- Official Pixar Executive biographies

Winnie the Pooh censored in the Middle East

Over on Qatar Living, there's an interesting article about a book the author bought. The book is "My Very First Encyclopedia with Winnie the Pooh and friends" and it seems that there's something not quite right about it. Take a look at the picture above and see if you can work out what's wrong.

That's right. Piglet has been blanked out using a black marker pen - And the book is like that on every page. All 192 pages of it.

The article suggests some reasons why this may have happened, and the author suspects that the book arrived in Doha via Saudi Arabia, where it may have been censored. Muslims, as in Judaism, are forbidden to eat pork as pigs are believed to be unclean. That doesn't say, though, that it's forbidden to draw cartoon pigs for children. Now, I have absolutely no intention of starting a religious argument here, but I do think that it's going a little too far when they're censoring children's characters that are known the world over from books. Especially when, as the article says, you can buy a Winnie the Pooh DVD from the same shop and see Piglet playing with his friends perfectly clearly.

Links:
- Disney's Piglet banned in Middle East - Qatar Living
- My Very First Encylopedia with Winnie the Pooh and Friends: Nature - Amazon.com
- Winnie the Pooh official website

Walt Disney World to introduce new resorts

Walt Disney World yesterday announced plans to expand its resort. The plans, announced by Meg Crofton - The President of the Walt Disney World Resort, include a luxury resort and a value resort and will be built in phases over the next 8 to 10 years.

Disney has signed a letter of intent with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to develop a luxury resort, forecast to open in 2010, on the north eastern side of the Walt Disney World property on around 900 acres of land.

The value resort will be built on 400 acres on the western side of Walt Disney World property where the Western Beltway connects to Western Way.

Groundbreaking is expected to happen later this year for the value resort, and if things go ahead as planned for the luxury resort, ground could be also be broken there within this year.

The value resort will also include 300,000-500,000 square feet of commercial space containing shops, restaurants and entertainment as well as 4,000-5,000 value priced lodging units.

Further information and more early pictures are available on the Walt Disney World Public Affairs website.

Links:
- Official Walt Disney World Press Release
- Walt Disney World Resort
- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Walt Disney Pictures release (more) new artwork

ComingSoon.net again have an article showing some new artwork from Walt Disney Pictures, this time for several of their upcoming films.

The artwork is said to come from a new Investors Report released by the company, and includes images and logos from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Wall-E, Toy Story 3, Ratatouille and American Dog.

See the ComingSoon.net article for the pictures.

Disney Vacation Club Comes to the Windy City

According to wdwmagic.com

Disney is set to open a new DVC preview center in Chicago. Disney's Doorway to Dreams in the Woodfield Mall, is set to open in summer 2007, and will include a full scale model of a room from the new Animal Kingdom Villas.


Links:
www.disneysdoorwaytodreams.com

Assault at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Florida local news stations are reporting this morning that an incident took place in Disney's Animal Kingdom between two workers last night that ended in one of them being doused with gasoline and threatened with being set alight.

The fight started when the two contractors got into an argument whilst cleaning the black rhino exhibit in the park. One of the contractors, 33 year old Stephen Kim, poured gasoline over 22 year old Brian Hoffman and proceeded to threaten him with a lighter. When that didn't work, he swapped the lighter for a shovel.

Kim was taken to Orange County Jail on Wednesday and will appear before a judge on Thursday on an Aggravated Assault charge.

Links:
Police: Worker Nearly Set On Fire During Fight At Animal Kingdom - Local6.com
Man Accused Of Dousing Co-Worker With Gasoline During Fight - WFTV
Worker tosses gas in fight at Disney hippo pond - Orlando Sentinel

Bob Iger to speak at the Bear Stearns 20th Annual Media Conference

Disney just released the following:

BURBANK, Calif., February 28, 2007 – A general discussion with Bob Iger, president and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) will be hosted by Bear Stearns at its Twentieth Annual Media Conference on Monday, March 5, 2007, at 7:45 p.m. EST/4:45 p.m. PST. To listen to a live audio Webcast of the session, please point your browser to www.disney.com/investors approximately fifteen minutes prior to the start time. A re-play will be provided through Monday, March 19, 2007, at 4:00 p.m. PST.

We will have a recap of what he says, however, I recommend giving it a listen. Hopefully we will get some discussion about the classic animation division and perhaps some info on plans to expand the parks.

Disney Princess Wedding Dresses

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Disney are launching a series of Disney Princess outfits suitable for being worn by brides-to-be at their big day.

Costing between $1,100 and $2,900, some of the dresses will take their designs from the looks of Princesses Jasmine, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Ariel and will be known as the Disney Fairytale Wedding Collection. Initially, the dresses will be available only from one location in Central Florida.

Further information is available in the articles below.

Links:
- Disney exec expects princess brides to go for gowns - Orlando Sentinel
- Brides can soon say 'I do' like a princess - Orlando Sentinel

Disney Cruise Line to expand

The Walt Disney Company announced recently that it will expand its popular Disney Cruise Line by adding two more ships which more than doubles its current capacity.

The two new ships will each be two decks taller than the current fleet which is made up of the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. Where the new ships will be docked and what routes they will sail has not yet been decided. The new ships will be built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany and the two 122,000 ton vessels will launch in 2011 and 2012. Each will have 1,250 staterooms and have not yet been named.

"With a larger fleet, we'll have greater flexibility to offer a variety of itineraries," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "This is a business that our guests love, and we're pleased to give them more options to explore the world with Disney with two new ships."

Links:
- Disney Announces Expansion of Successful Cruise Business
- Disney Cruise Line

WDW - Party Green at Pleasure Island

According to wdwmagic.com, Downtown Disney Pleasure Island celebrates St. Patrick's Day March 15-17 from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. The island will "turn green" with live music, videos by Irish artists, leprechauns, stilt walkers and more.

This year guests can enjoy the activities taking place in the common areas of Pleasure Island, without buying admission.

Links:
Pleasure Island

Alfredo's to close at the end of July?

Many sites including Intercot are reporting the impending closure of L' Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante in the Italy pavilion of EPCOT. The scuttlebutt is that it will close at the end of July and be replaced by as a yet unnamed Italian themed restaurant. Reports are coming into various forums that cast members will be calling those with priority seating reservations to reschedule at a different restaurant.

Hopefully we will be able to confirm or deny this rumor soon.

Quality reports have varied for this restaurant for some time. I know on our honeymoon in 2001 we very much enjoyed our meal. Having not eaten there since I can't comment on the current quality of it's menu.

Meet the Robinsons artwork

Over on comingsoon.net they have some exclusive pictures of the artwork for Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming film Meet the Robinsons. The artwork is in the form of a bus shelter poster and two window posters, which we'll be seeing more of as the film nears its release on 30 March.

Links:
- Comingsoon.net article with exclusive artwork
- Meet the Robinsons official site
- Meet the Robinsons Trailers

Just like we dreamed it - 15 years of magic

This year, Disneyland Resort Paris has a very special celebration going on. On 12 April 1992, what was at the time called The Euro Disney Resort officially opened its gates to the world. This year, on 1 April 2007 the resort will start its celebrations for its 15th anniversary.

Several websites have already been starting to release pictures and information about some of the things that will be happening around the resort during the celebration, and it looks like there's going to be a lot of fun things happening for visitors to the resort during the festivities. Ranging from a brand new parade to new attractions and shows.

The Walt Disney Studios Park will be introducing the new attractions, which include the Tower of Terror (which is based on the Anaheim version of the ride) as well as two new attractions based on Pixar's Finding Nemo and Cars films. The Disneyland Park will introduce Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade along with a special celebration show in front of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. During a Shareholders Meeting recently, the resort revealed the characters with their new costumes for the anniversary celebrations along with a special 15th anniversary song called "Just like we dreamed it". Photos of the costumes and a MP3 file of the song are available on DLRPMagic's DLRPToday website.

The resort also opened up it's special Disneyland 15 website to coincide with the Shareholders Meeting, which contains lots of information about the celebration (although some sections aren't live yet) and some special trailer videos. There's also a special "Behind the Scenes" video, which features some of Disneyland Resort Paris' creative team talking about what's going on during the celebration. It's very likely that more and more details about the celebration will be announced or otherwise revealed over the next month as the resort prepares to start what is sure to be a fantastic celebration of 15 years of magic that only Disney can create.

Links:
- Disneyland Resort Paris' official 15th Anniversary site
- Disneyland Resort Paris' official website

The loss of El Rio Del Tiempo

Disney is reporting that El Rio Del Tiempo is closed for refurbishment until April. It seems according to WDWMagic.com that it is being changed from its original format to "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros".

Some of my favorite memories include eating dinner at the San Angel Inn and then riding El Rio a few times to relax afterwards. The whole Mexican pavilion is great from the Volcano to the night time atmosphere. I will sorely miss the original song and ride no matter how out dated it was.

Let's hope the new version of the ride is as entertaining as the previous. At least they didn't try to incorporate a Pixar character into it and are using classic characters.