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• Just how spectacular was WDW's Bicentennial spectacular?

  In this week's Why For column, Jim Hill looks back to July of 1976. To be specific, all of the advance preparation that WDW officials put into that resort's Bicentennial fireworks display Read More... Posted Friday, July 18, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Why For, parade, fireworks, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot, promotion, Disney's Polynesian Resort, Disney's Contemporary Resort, World Showcase, World Showcase Lagoon, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Seven Seas Lagoon, WDW, cast members, Jeff Lange, cast member, hotel, 1974, Crowne Plaza, 1976, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, show, staging, WDWCelebrations , fireworks extravaganza , parades, fireworks display, water , lagoon show, water pageant, lagoon , sound check, soft opening, January, audience, water skiing, JeffLangeDVD, visually stunning

• Monday Mouse Watch : Inside "The American Idol Experience"

  Jim Hill shares what he's heard about this new DHS attraction. In particular how WDW Guests will make their way through the "American Idol" audition process Read More... Posted Monday, June 23, 2008 12:00 AM | 25 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, attraction, Walt Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, FastPass, Disney Parks & Resorts, WDI, WDW, Operations, theme park guest, 2009, The Walt Disney World Resort, TV show, show, backstage, theme park attraction, WDW guests, December , tourist , high profile project, capacity , once-in-a-lifetime , Festival of the Lion King, performers, Kinks, January, singing, The American Idol Experience, DHS, Disney Guests, interactive entertainment , American Idol , closed-door sessions , Superstar Television, Doug Live ! , crowd-pleaser, onstage, audition, auditions, audition process , recording booth , solo, video screen , initial screening , pre-recorded instrumental track, a cappella, pre-recorded music, live instruments, perform live , talent pool , finalists, preliminary shows , finale, goldfish, judges, Actors' Equity, Simon Cowell, finalist, Dream Ticket , guaranteed reservation, regional audition , Club Penguin, jump the line, hopefuls, round of auditions, age limit , ineligible, Disney Legal , Peter Barsocchini, production company , operational issues, behind-the-scenes , vocal coach , hair , make-up , make the cut , Ops staff , simulcast, Jumbotron, Hollywood Boulevard, High School Musical 2: School's Out! , pep rally , Block Party Bash, working the bugs out , talent-free singer , WDW executives

• Monday Mouse Watch : WDI complains about all those complainers

  Whose side are you on? The WDW cast member who finds fault with "Toy Story Mania" 's acoustics? Or the veteran Imagineer who's grown tired of the online Disneyana community continually knocking WDI's efforts? Read More... Posted Monday, May 05, 2008 12:00 AM | 77 Comments Filed under: Disney, Jim Hill Media, theme park, Imagineering, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Toy Story, Spaceship Earth, Orlando International Airport, it's a small world, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, MiceAge, WDWMagic, Disneyana Enthusiasts, theme park visitor, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, theme park fans, Disneyana fans, theme park attraction, Disney World vacation, Disneyana community , Imagineers, Toy Story characters

• Monday Mouse Watch : Has WDI solved all of "Toy Story Mania" 's problems? Not Yeti

  Jim Hill talks about Pixar's on-going frustration with the Imagineers. Who seem far more interested in protecting their own jobs than they do with delivering a quality product for the theme parks Read More... Posted Monday, April 28, 2008 12:00 AM | 26 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Pixar, attraction, Imagineering, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disneyland Paris, Pixar Place, Disney Parks & Resorts, WDI, WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, DAK, Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, show building, 2008, theme park guest, Disney / Pixar, theme park fans, attractions, shows, rides, ride, show, Imagineers, 2006

• Forget about giving a Mouse a cookie. Never feed a Gator a turkey leg

  As he gets ready to return to New England, Jim Hill shares one of the more bizarre stories that he's ever heard about the Walt Disney World Resort. Which involved actual alligator wrestling right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom Read More... Posted Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:00 AM | 27 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Walt Disney World, Disney's Animal Kingdom, The Magic Kingdom, Disney Parks & Resorts, the boys: the sherman brothers' story, WDW, tourists, theme park visitor, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, Frontierland

• Monday Mouse Watch : It's lights out for DAK's "Rivers of Light" parade, while Beastly Kingdomme makes a character-based comeback

  Jim Hill brings you the latest news on Disney's Animal Kingdom. Including how WDW has been meeting with DAK curators to see who'd be willing to go take care of the animals that will soon be on display over at Disney's Night Kingdom Read More... Posted Monday, March 24, 2008 12:00 AM | 36 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, parade, attraction, Imagineering, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Dinosaur, The Magic Kingdom, Disney Parks & Resorts, WDI, it's a small world, the boys: the sherman brothers' story, WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, Beastly Kingdomme, DAK, Finding Nemo -- The Musical, Rivers of Light, Dan Haskett, theme park visitor, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, theme park fans, attractions, rides, ride, show, theme park attraction, Animal Kingdom , WDWCelebrations , A Wild Decade, Pleasure Island, night club, Disney's Night Kingdom, DNK, Imagineers, Steve Davison, It's Tough to Be a Bug, Japanese Lantern Parade, ROL, Pocahontas and her Forest Friends, Festival of the Lion King, Rafiki's Planet Watch, Camp Minnie-Mickey, character greeting area, Quest for the Unicorn, Dragon's Tower, horticulture, nighttime parade, after-hours extravaganza, character-friendly addition, pathway, night clubs, parades, Disney characters, Disney brand

• Disney testing new ways to slow down FastPass counterfeiters

  Jim Hill talks about the plan that Disney Parks & Resorts has in the works to catch folks who are using bogus "Attraction Re-entry" tickets that they've purchased off of eBay. Which will involve scanning each individual FastPass for authenticity before the Mouse then allows that guest to enter a particular ride, show or attraction Read More... Posted Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:00 AM | 34 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, attraction, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, The Jungle Cruise, Anaheim, The Walt Disney Company, FastPass, The Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Resort, Disney Parks & Resorts, WDW, cast members, cast member, Disneyana Enthusiasts, Mouse, theme park visitor, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, ticket sales, theme park fans, attractions, shows, rides, ride, show, theme park attraction, admission , admission fee

• Will making WDW seem more appealing to young urban professionals really be enough to turn around this resort's merch per capita problem?

  Jim Hill shines a spotlight on Disney World's recent efforts to recruit guests with deeper pockets. With the hope that an influx of affluent theme park goers will then help shore up WDW's sliding souvenir sales levels Read More... Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:00 AM | 50 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, The Walt Disney Company, Euro Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney Parks & Resorts, Year of a Million Dreams, souvenir, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, ticket sales, ride, theme park attraction, Disney World vacation, 2011, Disney's Night Kingdom

• A PC Haunted Mansion ?! Now that's scary

  Jim Hill talks about the new script that the Imagineers have written for this attraction's Foyer area. Which is reportedly being added to the stateside versions of this classic attraction because a handful of guests complained about the macabre remarks that a few Disney cast members have made over the years Read More... Posted Thursday, January 03, 2008 12:00 AM | 43 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Imagineering, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Anaheim, Orlando, The Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Resort, The Haunted Mansion, WDI, Glendale, WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, Paul Frees, Ghost Host, The Foyer, The Portrait Gallery, The Entrance Hallway, stretching room, theme park visitor, theme park guest, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, guest, guests, macabre, ghoulish, butlers, maids, ad-lib lines, staging, blocking, acting classes, official script, 1401 Flower Street, sinister, theme park attraction, squeamish