Late last year, Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner trumpeted that no one living west of the Mississippi River would escape the marketing blitz that heralds the March 3 opening of the Indiana Jones Adventure thrill ride at Disneyland. After reviewing all the pieces of Disney's promotional campaign, Disneyland's marketing vice president, Michele Reese, has upgraded Eisner's assessment to simply "no ...

Imagine you run a theater and you're faced with 21,000 people in line every day expecting nothing but the best. There are 2,400 eager customers queued at any given time waiting to get in. Your venue seats 180 people for each performance. Those impossible numbers would make most producers with any sense throw in the towel. But not Disneyland. The Magic Kingdom has spent the past 40 years fine-tuning ...

This column wasn't supposed to happen. The subject was supposed to be out of the way, and out of my life, last Sunday. That was before readers started calling: A few even stopped me on the street. "So how was ... " The "D" word. Disneyland. Inevitable. My wife and I took our son to Disneyland during spring break. Every kid has to go to Disneyland at least once; it's an inalienable ...

A fun-filled day at Disneyland came to an abrupt end two years ago when Edward Bates tried to help his elderly mother step from an It's a Small World boat. A novice ride operator is alleged to have accidentally hit a switch that caused the boat to lurch, throwing Bates off his feet and wedging him between the boat and walkway. The 50-year-old truck driver from Walnut wrenched his back and knee, racked ...

Federal law enforcement officials Saturday denied that a Japanese cult had planned to release nerve gas at Disneyland during the crowded Easter weekend and said that a threat received by park officials was a hoax. Justice Department spokesman Carl Stern said in Washington that the FBI has launched a criminal investigation to determine who is responsible for the phony threat, which prompted worried ...

If you want to have fun, and you enjoy Mickey and Minnie Mouse as well as the rest of Disney's wonderful creations like my wife and I do, then you certainly should visit Disneyland when in the Los Angeles area. The rides are more accessible in Disney World, which is in Florida, but allowing that Disneyland was built 40 years ago, these folks have done a great job of modifying their facilities where they ...

For 40 years, the theme park chose ride operators based on gender-with frilly-frocked females working Storybook Land and macho men in pith helmets wisecracking through the Jungle Cruise. But last month, the first woman took up oars to help guests paddle canoes around Tom Sawyer Island, and the first man in 38 years piloted a Storybook Land Canal Boat through the whale's mouth. Soon, female conductors ...

Like an adult with a mid-life crisis, Disneyland at 40 is staring at a big decision. It must expand or risk losing attendance and revenue to an ever-widening array of competitors. The stakes are so high that park executives have been pondering, debating and agonizing for years over what to build as a companion park for Disneyland. "The answer is a compelling, entertaining story," says Disneyland ...

In recent years, when Hollywood executives have become as famous as the stars in their films, a number of big names at the Disney organization have achieved celebrity status. Even the general newspaper reader has become accustomed to reading about Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Frank Wells and others. Less known but no less important is Martin Sklar, president of Walt Disney Imagineering. Sklar's ...

January 1995:--A 41-year-old woman going down the Chip 'n Dale Tree Slide struck her left knee on a decorative acorn on the side railing. The woman had to have arthroscopic surgery and a kneecap replacement. [MickeyMousePark: We are unable to find an exact date for this ...

February 1995:--A musician is severely hurt by an out-of-control float in the Lion King Parade. The float smashed the employee into an iron fence. [MickeyMousePark: We are unable to find an exact date for this ...

April 19, 1995:--Robin Paulson, 49, alleges that she and her four children were grabbed, shaken, kicked and punched, by at least five Disneyland ...

July 1995:--A 17-year-old Anaheim girl working as a hostess on the Star Tours ride fractures her skull after falling onto the concrete floor. She had been ordered to climb out on a darkened catwalk to retrieve a fallen brochure. [MickeyMousePark: We are unable to find an exact date for this ...

July 1995:--43-year-old Zipora Jacob claims that she was jostled so bad on the Indiana Jones Adventure that she suffered a brain hemorrhage. She felt ill during the ride and after staggered out of the vehicle, vomited and collapsed. September 26 1995:--The family of Zipora Jacob has filed a wrongful death suit against the Walt Disney Co.. June 1,1999:--Disney settled with the Jacobs for an ...

August 17,1995:--Billie Jean Matay and her daughter, Denise Bennett, and the three children were robbed after visiting the park. The family was climbing into their sport- utility vehicle to go home when, she felt what she later realized was a gun against her neck. Matay said the two robbers, who were not caught, got away with jewelry, credit cards, $165 and driver's licenses after holding the family ...