Jim Hill

Tune Tuesday : "Hello, WALL-E! Well, Hello, WALL-E ..."

Forget about Pixar's latest production. Jim Hill talks about the many other ways that Jerry Herman's Tony Award-winning musical has popped up at the Mouse House Read More...

Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 19 Comments

Monday Mouse Watch : Why Pleasure Island has to close

Jim Hill talks about the real reason WDW's night club complex is shuttering. Which is Mickey's desire to create a seamless Guest experience for all those shopping & dining at Downtown Disney Read More...

Posted Monday, June 30, 2008 12:00 AM | 50 Comments

Filed under: Adventurers Club, attraction, Disney Village Marketplace, Disney World, Downtown Disney, guest, night club, night club complex, night clubs, Pleasure Island, The Walt Disney World Resort, the West Side, Walt Disney World, WDW

What's in store for the Disney Stores

With nearly a hundred of these shops closing around the country this week, Jim Hill looks to the future of this troubled retail chain. To be specific, Disney Consumer Products' plans to make the Disney Stores seems special & unique again Read More...

Posted Friday, June 27, 2008 12:00 AM | 25 Comments

Filed under: "Back to the Future" , Andrew Mooney , Assess Your Guest, best customers , bottom line , brand loyalty, Buffalo, Canada, cast member, cast members, chain, Chairman of Disney Consumer Products, Conclude, customer loyalty , Davenport, DCP , Disney, Disney Consumer Products, Disney Store, Disney Stores, Disneyana fans, DS, exceed expectations, Greet Your Guest, Individualize Service, industry average , Licensing International Expo, Licensing International Expo 2008, liquidation , Macy’s, MAGIC Guest Service program, Maintain Your Presence, mall , Michigan, mid-1990s, Missouri, Naples FL, New York State, Nordstrom, North America , Palm Springs , Pennsylvania, premier retailers , public perception , reignite , relaunch, repeat customer, restructuring, retail chain , revival , Rockford IL, scarcity , selling space , special , specialty retailer, The Gap , today's marketplace , Toronto, unique , units

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 | 24 Comments

Filed under: "American Idol" , "American Idol" TV show, "Block Party Bash" , "Doug Live !" , "Festival of the Lion King", "High School Musical 2: School's Out!" , "Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue" , "Superstar Television", "The American Idol Experience" , "Toy Story Mania", 19 Entertainment, 2009, a cappella, Actors' Equity, age limit , attraction, audition, audition process , auditions, backstage, behind-the-scenes , capacity , closed-door sessions , crowd-pleaser, December , DHS, Disney, Disney Guests, Disney Legal , Disney Parks & Resorts, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Dream Ticket , FastPass, finale, finalist, finalists, Grand Finale, guaranteed reservation, hair , high profile project, Hollywood Boulevard, hopefuls, ineligible, initial screening , interactive entertainment , January, judges, Jumbotron, jump the line, Kinks, live instruments, make the cut , make-up , once-in-a-lifetime , onstage, operational issues, Operations, Ops staff , pep rally , perform live , performers, preliminary shows , pre-recorded instrumental track, pre-recorded music, production company , recording booth , regional audition , round of auditions, show, Simon Cowell, simulcast, singing, solo, talent pool , talent-free singer , The Walt Disney World Resort, theme park, theme park attraction, theme park guest, tourist , TV show, video screen , vocal coach , Walt Disney World, WDI, WDW, WDW executives, WDW guests, working the bugs out

Stage version of "Mary Poppins" draws a lot of its inspiration from ... Well, drawings

Jim Hill looks back at the development of this Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production. Which is not just based on the 1964 film, but also draws its inspiration from P.L. Travers' stories and Mary Shepard's illustrations Read More...

Posted Friday, June 20, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments

Filed under: "A Spoonful of Sugar" , "Anything Can Happen If You Let It", "Bad Wednesday" , "Jolly Holiday", "Let's Go Fly a Kite" , "Mary Poppins Comes Back" , "Mary Poppins in the Park" , "Mary Poppins Opens the Door" , "Mary Poppins", "Practically Perfect" , "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", "Temper Temper" , "The Marble Boy", 1934, 1943, 1964, 2009, Academy Award, Annie, Anthony Drewe , Ashley Brown , bake shop, barley-sugar, birdcage , Bob Crowley, Broadway, Broadway musical, Broadway production, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Cameron Mackintosh , chapter, Chicago, constellations , costume designer , costumes, creative team , Dick Van Dyke, Disney, Disney Theatrical, Drama Desk Award, Ed Wynn, England, Fannie, film, footman, Gavin Lee , George Stiles , gilt stars , gingerbread , Gingerbread Stars , governess, illustration, illustrations, Julian Fellowes, Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice, London, March, Mary Poppins, Mary Shepard , Matthew Bourne , Matthew Garber, Miss Andrew, motion picture, movie, Mrs Corry , musical, national tour, Neleus, New Amsterdam Theatre, New York, North American National Tour , NYC, P L Travers , penguins, production team, Richard Eyre, road company, Robertson Ay, Royal Doulton , Ruth Gottschall, set, set designer , setting, stage, stage show , stage version, Starlighter , statue , statues, talking shop, Theatre Royal Plymouth , title role, Tony Award

When it comes to the retail world, Speed Racer whomps WALL-E

Jim Hill shares an interesting tidbit about Pixar's latest picture. To be specific, how difficult it was for Disney Consumer Products to convince toy manufacturers to produce "WALL-E" -related merchandise this year Read More...

Posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:00 AM | 26 Comments

Filed under: "Cars", "Speed Racer" , "Toy Story", "WALL-E" , Disney, Disney / Pixar, Disney Consumer Products, merch, merchandise , Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios

Brownouts cause temporary news blackout

Jim Hill checks in from the 2008 Licensing Show. Where NYC's recent heat wave has made it extremely difficult to post any new articles on JHM Read More...

Posted Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:00 AM | 8 Comments

Filed under: 2008, 2008 Licensing Show, Big Apple , blackout, brownout, hotel, Jacob Javits Center, New York City, NYC

"Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill shares what he's heard about this new Andrew Stanton film. Which looks ready to reverse the domestic box office trends that tripped up Pixar's last three pictures Read More...

Posted Monday, June 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 21 Comments

Filed under: "10, "Cars", "Cloverfield", "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who", "Finding Nemo", "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both World Concert" , "Ice Age" , "Ice Age: The Meltdown" , "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Iron Man", "Kung Fu Panda", "Kung Fu Panda" animated series, "Kung Fu Panda" TV series, "Madagascar", "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa", "Ratatouille", "Sex and the City", "Shrek 2", "Shrek the Third", "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", "The Incredibles", "Toy Story 2", "Toy Story", "WALL-E" , "You Don't Mess with the Zohan", 2004, 2008, Andrew Stanton, animated feature, animated features, animated series , box office, box office estimates, box office projections, CG, CG feature, Disney, Disney / Pixar, DreamWorks, DreamWorks Animation, franchise, John Stevenson , Labor Day, Mark Osborne , opening weekend, opening weekend grosses, research, Summer, TV show, Walt Disney Pictures

Will pirates soon be returning to Treasure ... er ... Discovery Island?

In this week's Why For, Jim Hill talks about the history of Treasure / Discovery Island. More importantly, how WDW Entertainment and Food & Beverage are allegedly thinking of using the "Pirates of the Caribbean" characters to help get this place re-opened Read More...

Posted Friday, June 06, 2008 12:00 AM | 14 Comments

Filed under: "Blackbeard's Ghost" , "Lost", "Myst" , "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise , "Treasure Island", 1950, 1960s, 1967, 1974, 1976, 1998, 2008, ABC, April , aviary, Bay Lake, Ben Gunn's Cave, bird sanctuary , Blackbeard's Island , boat ride , buccaneer, buccaneers, buzzard, buzzards , Capt. Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow, cast member, cast members, corporate groups, Discovery Island, Disney, Disney officials , Disney World, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, dough-dough-dough, enclosure, Food & Beverage , food component, Food Service, Future Attraction, Future Attractions , Hispaniola, honeymoon, honeymoon cottage, honeymoon cottages , Imagineer, Imagineering, Imagineers, interactive, interactive gaming , January, Johnny Depp, Johnny Depp lookalike, Leota Toombs, Long John Silver, marshmallow, marshmallow roast , marshmallows, operational hours , Peter Ustinov , pirate-themed adventure , Raz Island, Robert Louis Stevenson , rum , rum drinks , skeleton, snack bar, Spy Glass Hill , The Blockhouse , The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney World Resort, Tom Sawyer Island, treasure hunt , Treasure Island, treasure map , vulture, vultures, Walt Disney World, WDI, WDW, WDW Entertainment, WDW Food Services, WED, Why For, wilderness preserve , wizards of WED , Wreck of the Hispaniola, Yo-Ho-Ho

Toon Thursday: "Kung Fu Panda" is one fun summer flick

Jim Hill reviews this new DreamWorks Animation release, which opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow Read More...

Posted Thursday, June 05, 2008 12:00 AM | 22 Comments

Filed under: "Kung Fu Panda", "Speed Racer" , "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", "There are no accidents", "WALL-E" , action film , action sequence, animated feature, animation, balance , Brad Bird, breakfast soup, CG, character-driven , cherry blossoms, chopsocky , Chorh-Gom Prison, Crane, Dragon scroll, Dragon Warrior, DreamWorks, DreamWorks Animation, Dustin Hoffman , feature animation fix, fight scenes, flurry , fortune cookie , Furious Five, genre, Glenn Berger, Ian McShane , Jack Black , Jade Palace , James Baxter, James Baxter Animation, John Stevenson , Jonathan Aibel , Kung Fu, Kung Fu master, Kung Fu student, Kung Fu students, lush visuals, lust for power, Mantis, Mark Osborne , martial arts, master , message, mis-step , Monkey, mystical, noodle shop, Oogway, Pacific Data Image, panda, PDI, Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom , plane of existence , plot description , Po , Pool of Sacred Tears, rope bridge, run-for-the-curtain, screenplay, secret ingredient, serious, Shifu, snow leopard , student, stylized opening , summer flick, Tai Lung, third act , throwing stars , Tigress, townspeople, traditionally animated , transcends, turtle, Valley of Peace, Viper, visually stunning , warrior

"High School Musical 5 & 6" ?! "Beauty & the Beast" headed back to Broadway ?!

Jim Hill shares some of the domain names that the Walt Disney Company has recently registered. Including a new year-long promotion for 2009 that looks & sounds an awful lot like 2003's "Magical Gatherings" campaign Read More...

Posted Tuesday, June 03, 2008 12:00 AM | 22 Comments

Filed under: "Aida", "Annie" , "Beauty & the Beast", "Disney’s Magical Celebration", "Disney’s Magical Celebrations", "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical" , "High School Musical 3", "High School Musical 4", "High School Musical 5" , "High School Musical 6", "High School Musical", "High School Musical" franchise, "High School Musical: Get in the Picture" , "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" , "HSM3" , "Magical Gatherings" , "My School Musical" , "Toy Story Mania", "Toy Story Midway Mania", "Year of a Million Dreams", 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, ABC, Anaheim, Big Apple , birthday buttons, Broadway, Broadway musical, Broadway production, consumers, Disney, Disney Channel, Disney Channel Original, Disney franchise, Disney Parks & Resorts, Disney Theatrical, Disney vacation, Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Resort, domain name , DP&R, East High, gasoline, heads in beds, Hilton Theatre, holiday treat, hotel, hotel rooms, hotels, Jay Rasulo, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, Justin Martin , Matt Prokop, musical, national tour, Old Globe Theatre, on property, Orlando, Paul Kolnik, pins, plane reservations, plush, Regular Unleaded, revival , seasonal production, seasonal run , St. James Theatre , The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney World Resort, theatrical release, theme park tickets, TV movie, TV movies , Walt Disney World, WDW, Wildcats, year-long promotion

Monday Mouse Watch : Disney World's new grim grinning gracious ghosts

Forget about fright. Now it's all about being polite. Or so says Jim Hill as he talks about the new spiel that cast members are expected to recite whenever they work at this Magic Kingdom attraction Read More...

Posted Monday, June 02, 2008 12:00 AM | 14 Comments

Filed under: "Grim Grinning Ghosts", "The Haunted Mansion", acting classes, acting coaches , attraction, blasé , blood red carpet , butler, butlers, cast member, cast members, CD, Denise Preskitt, dialogue , disc, Disney, Epcot, Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, final arrangements, fireplace, fright, grim grinning ghosts, grim grinning gracious ghosts, gruesome gags , guest, guest complaints , guests, Imagineer, Imagineering, Imagineers, Jeff Lange, JeffLangeDVD, JHM, kindly , Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom, maid, maids, material, MouseSteps, photos, please, plussing, polite, PR team , retraining, screensaver, script, show narration , spiel , The Ballroom, The Entrance Hallway, The Foyer, The Haunted Mansion, The Portrait Gallery, The Stretching Room, Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney World, WDI, WDW, wretched bodies

Mist Direction or How DAK Operations just slipped Joe Rohde a Mickey

Jim Hill talks about "Expedition Everest" 's faltering effects. More importantly, WDW's long-standing tradition of bamboozling senior Disney officials whenever they come on property Read More...

Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008 12:00 AM | 20 Comments

Filed under: "Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain", 10th anniversary, attraction, attractions, Chairman, DAK, Dick Nunis, Disney, Disney / Pixar, Disney Legend, Disney Parks & Resorts, Disney World, Disneyland, Disney's Animal Kingdom, effects, Expedition Everest, Expedition Everest : Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, Food Service, guests, Joe Rohde, John Lasseter, Liberty Tree Tavern , Magic Kingdom, Michael Eisner, Operations, Pixar, ride, rides, show, shows, The Jungle Cruise, The Magic Kingdom, theme park, theme park attraction, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, WDI, WDW

Indiana Jones and the lost action sequence

As a special Memorial Day treat, Jim Hill shares a scene that was cut out of Lawrence Kasdan's original screenplay for "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Where Indy battled samurai as well as a machine-gun toting warlord Read More...

Posted Friday, May 23, 2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments

Filed under: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", film, film franchise, George Lucas, Indiana Jones , Lawrence Kasdan, Marion Ravenwood, movie, movies, screenplay, screenwriter, script, Shanghai, Steven Spielberg

Are you Jonesing for a good time at the movies? Then go see “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”

Jim Hill shares his thoughts on the new Indiana Jones film. WARNING ! This review does contain some spoilers Read More...

Posted Monday, May 19, 2008 12:00 AM | 9 Comments

Filed under: "A Tin Toy Christmas", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", 1980s, film, film franchise, George Lucas, Paramount , Paramount Pictures, Steven Spielberg