Disney Execs Admit They Feel Pressure Replacing Splash Mountain Creating Tianas Bayou Adventure
During a Q&A in New Orleans, the creative minds behind the forthcoming re-imagining of the classic ride shared details about what to expect from the 'Princess and the Frog'-themed attraction to come Days before Splash Mountain 's final drop at Disneyland on May 31, a group of Disney Imagineers fielded questions from press and influencers about Tiana 's Bayou Adventure, the new attraction ...
Disney Expansion: Who Will Pay
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Now that they know what they want to see built, Anaheim and the Walt Disney Co. have to decide who will pay for it. Disney plans to spend $2.2 billion creating the most elaborate resort in California, a labyrinth of wonders displayed in a lake-laced international-theme park dotted with fancy hotels. But the environmental blueprint endorsed Tuesday by the City Council also calls for surrounding the ...
Disney Faces $400,000 Fine For Illegal Workers
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Disneyland and federal immigration officials met Thursday to discuss a recommendation that the famed amusement park pay a fine of nearly $400,000, the largest in California history, for violating immigrant hiring laws. Immigration and Naturalization Service agents recommended the huge fine late last month because of 1,156 violations that were found when investigators attempted to examine the files of ...
Disney Fairy Tale Isn't For Everyone
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The job description is simple: Make the customers believe that Disneyland is "a magic kingdom where life is a fairy tale and dreams really do come true." But at the end of the workday, many of the people who work at the "Happiest Place on Earth" sleep on air mattresses, in by-the-week motel rooms and in apartments shared with other families. "I've been at this motel since 1997," said Derrick, a ...
Disney Fans Flock To Lynnwood For Mouse Meet
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Bob Gurr may not be a household name to most. To Don Morin, John Garcia and a legion of Disney fans worldwide, his accomplishments are legendary. Gurr, the brains behind the original Disneyland monorail and the Matterhorn roller coaster, is one of the Disney celebrities who'll appear at Mouse Meet, the second annual gathering of Disney enthusiasts scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the ...
Disney Fast Pass Program Datacenter Style
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My wife and I have 21-month-old identical twin boys. Maybe a month ago we took them down south for their first trip to Disneyland (and the companion park California Adventure). As a southern California native (I still cannot bring myself to type out SoCal), I had been to Disneyland enough that once I headed north, I had no real urge to go back. So this particular trip was my first since they implemented ...
Disney Fights Common Carrier Regulations In California
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Walt Disney Co. continues to fight against a contention that operators of amusement rides be considered common carriers and as such be held to the utmost standard of care when deciding liability for injuries suffered by riders. In a continuation of a case stemming from the death five years ago of a 23-year-old Disneyland visitor, the California Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments on whether ...
Disney Finds Big Savings In Buzz Lightyear's Spacesuit
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One of the original attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, the Jungle Cruise is a tongue-in-cheek voyage that, on both coasts, carries riders past robotic lions, zebras, snakes and hippos. And yet, for years, the boat captains in California wore different costumes than their Florida counterparts. That changed just a few years ago, when Disney adopted identical outfits for both Orlando and ...
Disney Fire Keeps Space Mountain Riders Grounded.
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Two boys vacationing at Disneyland sprinted to Space Mountain when the park opened Wednesday morning, hoping to be first in line. But the escalator leading to their favorite roller coaster was on fire. The English boys were told the ride, being worked on as part of Tomorrowland improvements, would be down for an hour. ''Ah, man!'' yelled Matthew Hickson, 14. ''Now I'll have to wait in line ...
Disney First Latin American Princess Elena Of Avalor Makes Her Park Debut
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Orlando's Walt Disney World welcomes a new princess at Magic Kingdom today. Elena of Avalor, the entertainment giant's first princess "inspired by diverse Latin cultures," will be available for meet-and-greets throughout the park and appear in a live performance "The Royal Welcome of Princess Elena." The presentation, which is staged at Cinderella's Castle, features Cinderella, Prince Charming ...
Disney For Adults
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Disneyland is a magical place. Fifty years after it opened its doors, it continues to excite and thrill children - and children at heart - the world over. It's a place where you can truly escape from the world and where you can act like a kid no matter your age. You see them all over the park, adults with Mickey Mouse ears perched on their heads, others joining packs of youngsters lining up for a few ...
Disney Gallery Set To Re-Open In New Location
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Disney art fans will have a new place to see displays and buy merchandise after a two-year absence at Disneyland. The Disney Gallery is set to re-open Friday at the former Bank of Main Street building near Disneyland's entrance. The gallery had sat above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride until 2007 when it was closed for construction of the Disneyland Dream Suite. The gallery opened in 1987 to ...
Disney Gardners Create Cartoons Sculptures From Plants
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At Disneyland even the gardener is a cartoonist. Working with pliable shrubs and plants, Disneyland horticulturists are creating a set of green masterworks for a Topiary Garden. Topiary is the art of creating life-like sculptures from plants. Headed by Morgan Evans, Disney's chief landscape architect, the ornamental gardeners are growing-and clipping, naturally-the figures of 25 shrub ...
Disney Gave Input On Measles Health Messages
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As the measles outbreak spread last month, Disneyland executives sent a series of emails to California health officials asking them to emphasize that the theme park was not responsible for the illnesses and was safe to visit, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. There is no evidence Disneyland - or health officials, who incorporated at least some of the theme park's suggestions - tried to ...
Disney Gets Federal Permission To Fly Drones Over Theme Parks
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Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has received federal permission to fly drones over its theme parks. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a waiver this week allowing Disney to use drones through November 2020. Disney asked for permission last year to fly the drones at Disneyland and Disney World for entertainment purposes, including fireworks shows. The waiver will allow nighttime use of ...
Disney Gets Pricier
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Gas prices are climbing, house prices are soaring and Disney theme-park prices are keeping pace. The regular adult admission ticket jumps to $56 on Monday, and the price for children 3-9 goes to $46. Each price reflects a $3 increase, and it's the second time this year Disney has raised prices for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. The price will be $9 higher than 2003, a 19 percent ...
Disney Gets Serious About Saving Star Wars Land
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"Do or do not," Yoda famously says in The Empire Strikes Back. "There is no try." With the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge expansion at both of Disney's stateside theme park resorts falling into the "do not" camp these days, the entertainment giant is rolling out a promotional blitz on its own cable and media network properties to promote the new Star Wars-themed lands. The media blitz kicks ...
Disney Getting Good At Recycling Movie Ideas From Disneyland Rides
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If Disney CEO Bob Iger ends up running for California governor - as has been rumored - I'm sure that the environment will stand atop his platform, because nobody in the entertainment business recycles more than Disney. Animated movies becoming live action films, movies becoming theme park rides, theme park rides becoming movies. It's the Circle of Life, Hollywood style. Most recently, Disney ...
Disney Ghosts Feast On Mansion's Gingerbread
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Halloween and Christmas collide at the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland when characters from "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" take over the home of 999 Happy Haunts. Brian D. Sandahl is the art director in charge of the annual conversion of the mansion into the Halloween/Christmas-themed ride that plays off of Burton's animated movie. He said one of the most anticipated features is the ...
Disney Gives Heave-Ho To Ho-Hum Food Items
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Is the world ready for the Banana Dog? Will kids really eat something called a Pale of Mud? The world will find out Friday, when Disneyland opens three new restaurants and introduces a line of huge, showy foods that are supposed to make visitors shout, "I want one!" "I'm focusing on the overall `wow' of the food," said James Wierzelewski, 33, Disneyland's new executive chef. "I do the `wow' kind of ...
Disney Goes On A Jungle Cruise
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Following the record-breaking success of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Walt Disney Pictures is giving high-priority status to another movie project based on a Disneyland ride. The Hollywood Reporter says "Smallville" showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar are in talks to write Jungle Cruise, an adventure movie and potential franchise that is being produced by David Hoberman and Todd ...
Disney Guests To Skip Ride Lines With New Plan
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Disneyland Resort park visitors will be able to reserve times for rides and check into hotel rooms from home under a new system that the company is developing, the parks' chairman announced Thursday. Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, announced the new plan for visitors to avoid lines and personalize their vacations during a 25-minute presentation at Walt Disney Company's 2011 ...
Disney Halloween Tickets Resell For $200 Online
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Tickets for Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland are at a premium this season as the event continues to grow in popularity, with online ticket brokers attempting to resell them at up to three times face value. Tickets for the special event are sold by the Disneyland Resort for $46 for pass holders to $69 for the public. But they quickly sold out on several nights and are being advertised ...
Disney Halts Famed 'I'm Going' Super Bowl Ads
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Who is going to Disney World after winning the Super Bowl on Feb. 6? Nobody, because after 19 years the Magic Kingdom has elected to halt the promotional series in which a star of the game proclaims he is headed for the popular Florida theme park. The absence of the promotion by family-oriented Disney comes as the NFL attempts to clean up the Super Bowl after Janet Jackson's breast-exposing ...
Disney Has A New Skinless Robot That Is So Human
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Disney Research has recently released footage of a new robot that has human-like characteristics. The robot has subtle head movements and some blinking patterns that look similar to how a human interacts. The robot has a sensor inside of its chest that notifies it when to move and how to move its eyes for contact with other humans, too, Gizmodo reports. The robot uses ...
Disney Has More In Store For Visitors
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As Disneyland puts away the 50th anniversary party hats from its 18-month celebration, Walt Disney Co. executives are faced with their next challenge: how to avoid a midlife crisis at the company's theme parks. Banking on the momentum of their packed theme parks, Disney executives this week said they planned to lure tourists back using advertising, prizes and new attractions. Gary Slade, editor ...
Disney Hikes Annual Pass Prices By Up To $50
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For the second time in less than a year, Disneyland Resort has hiked prices for annual park passes. Starting today, theme park-goers will pay between $30 and $50 more than they paid in early 2009 for the same annual passes that can be used at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. The hikes range from 11 percent to 26 percent. The prices for annual passes depend on the number of ...
Disney Hikes Price Of Socal Ticket Deal
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Disney hiked the price of its annual two-day ticket deal for Southern California residents a promotion that begins Sunday (today). Southern California residents can pay $99 for two days at Disneyland Resort parks Disneyland and Disney California Adventure (The usual cost for a single-day, one-park pass is $76). In recent years, Disney sold two-for-one park tickets to Southern California ...
Disney History President Sends Turkeys To Disneyland
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Take a look at what happened this week in Disney history: Nov. 24, 1955: Mickey Mouse Club Circus, starring Jimmie Dodd and many of the original Mouseketeers, premieres in Fantasyland (it will become one of the shortest lived attractions at the Park, closing January 8, 1956). Nov. 24, 1955: "Christmas Show Parade" kicks off its first holiday season at the Park on Thanksgiving Day and runs daily ...
Disney History: Dixieland At Disneyland
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Take a look at what happened this week in Disney history: Sept. 26, 1955: The First Annual Horseless Carriage Day is held on Main Street, U.S.A. Oct. 1, 1960: Dixieland at Disneyland debuts on the Rivers of America in Frontierland. Six Dixieland bands draw 9,000 jazz fans to a musical procession of boats and rafts on the Rivers of America followed by concerts at locations throughout the park. ...
Disney Holiday Fireworks Parade Return Friday
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Crowds at the Disneyland Resort are expected to thicken as the popular holiday season, including special fireworks and a parade, return Friday. The resort's season runs through Jan. 2 with special entertainment, attraction makeovers and festive decorations. Disney crews have been installing decorations in the parks since Halloween. Earlier this week, the snow features were on Sleeping Beauty ...