Welcome back.  I agree about the changes at the Haunted Mansion - I enjoyed it very much, especially the attic.  

I hope you had a chance to figure out if any park "surplus" stores were open yet.  I haven't been able to get a response on that question, even from the owners.

Yay! I'm excited for your new articles. 8o)

yeah i agree with surveying the competition, but sometimes I really  wanna spill hot coffee in Dreamworks lap.

You are *so* back on my "nice" list.  I shall let you live.  This time.

Congrats on taking a break from the monitor and keyboard to go and visit the Mouse! I have a bit of EPCOT envy for anybody who was down there this week. Publicized or not, the 25th is a landmark day and I'm glad to hear that there was some degree of celebreation w/ a little bit of pomp and circumstance.

I've never looked forward to an opening/rehab with a more bittersweet anticipation than the Haunted Mansion. I'll reserve judgement until I see it, and I do think that the additional effects and the technology updates are much-needed. However, I feel that the attic rehab totally changes a backstory (loose and quasi-official as it is) enough to change the tone of the ride to something completely different than the Gracey Manor that I've come to know and love. Maybe your article will sway me in one direction more than the other. I look forward to reading it.

Chris

First off, DreamwerkSucks- I love your screenname/nickname/whatever it is!!!  :-)

As far as your e-mail to Jim- when Jim writes a story about the competition, I, 99.9999% of the time, don't read it.  Especially when it is about DreamWorks/Sony/not Disney and doesn't mention Disney.  The "Harry Potter" theme park story(ies) were relevant in the sense that the technology used and the rumors about where the HP land would be sort of involved Disney, so I read those (I'm not even an HP fan).

But, Jim, it's great to have you back!

Welcome back, Jim.  Looking forward to all the goodies you have in store once your brain is back from vacation!

I don't think that you posted on Bee Movie is all that big a deal . . . it was just bad timing.  That article was up for several days while I am guessing you are gone, which could put off any Disney fan (or Seinfeld hater) off their Dole Whip for a while. *chuckles*

I don't mind posts on the competition as long as they are fair and unbiased.  I think what really gets people riled up is the spin that happens sometimes when one company making X dollars is a big success while a different company doing the same is a big failure.  It's the double standards that bug people.

Hmmm... I've never had the slightest problem with hearing about other aspects of the entertainment industry on JHM.  I mean, for goodness' sake, the subtitle of his website is:

News, reviews, history and commentary about the entertainment industry

(But mostly about the Mouse)

It's MOSTLY about the Mouse, not solely and blindly.  I'd like to think that people's interests aren't so obsessively fixated on Disney that they imagine it's the only company that matters.  As Jim said, what Dreamworks and other companies do affects Disney in a myriad of ways.   Undoubtedly, some of the people at those rival companies will be or were at one point working with or affiliated with Disney.  Although they (and occasionally other companies) horned in on Disney's hallowed ground of animation, I can only hope their presence serves to keep Mickey on his toes, innovating and improving.

Besides, would it be a crime to say that I enjoyed such non-Disney films as Road to El Dorado, Shrek (somewhat), and Anastasia?

In the end, if you don't care about the topic, just don't read it.  It's that simple.  Nobody's going to judge you negatively for skipping it... Jim's interests just happen to vary slightly from yours.

I read Jim Hill Media to read Jim Hill.  The idea of anyone telling him what to write or think is ridculous.

AUGH!  What am I doing on the comments page?!

Glad to have you back Jim... we missed ya.

I too am looking forward to reading all of your articles and am glad you got (a well deserved vacation I can imagine) a chance to take a break.

I do wish, however, that you would stop answering the 'easy' emails and do some of the other emails that I know you get. Do we really need another explanation why you sometimes do articles on non-Disney stuff? I'd rather hear your explanation for all the article series that havn't been finished, or the status of your cd thingy....

My only comment about your non-Disney articles, they always seem to be 99% rosey, while the Disney ones seem to be 75% dark? JMHO I mean.... the BEE MOVIE? Really? You're telling us to be very aware of it's success... and yet I have yet to speak to any person who has even mentioned this movie, let alone is planning on seeing it. I'd say 50% of the people I know don't even know what it is.

As another poster said, "Fair and Unbiased"... that would be nice.

Glad your back!

#1 - IT'S YOUR WEBSITE.  You can write what you dang well please.  

# 2 - As long as you give good and long attention to Burton & Depp's up and coming SWEENEY TODD, I'll be happy..... ;) (And, yes, that's DREAMWORKS, folks....)

Don't stop writing about the competiton Jim.  Those stories are always interesting.  If people don't like them, they don't have to read them.

I went on the Haunted Mansion the week before last and couldn't believe how awesome the rehab went.  It was much needed and long overdue, and they did it right.

The concept for the new resort looks spiffy...almost a Polynesian 2.0.  With so many AMAZING resorts in Hawaii it will be interesting to see what Disney does to compete other than adding characters.  Lilo and Stitch dining anyone?

Still...looks cool.  I wish they would build it on Maui though..

http://www.raymation.net

Now this was a good article today!

First, I agree with everything you said to 'dreanwerkSucks'. I personally didn't like the 'Bee Movie" article or the movie it was about, but I do realize its relevance to Disney. You have to put it all in persective! Everyone doesn't have to read every article, but they are not getting the whole story if they chose not read them. Keep it up!

It is also good to know that you are able to get away and do 'research' on the industry you cover. Looking forward to reading about all you discovered about Disney. Share with us how Disney hopes to counteract the other studios/resorts.  

Glad you went to the 25th celebration Jim!  I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say about it.  The revamped Haunted Mansion is indeed awesome and I can't praise it highly enough.  Here's hoping Disney does the same for some more attractions instead of destroying classics like the Imagination pavilion.  A great moment prior to the 25th anniversary ceremony of Epcot was when the One Little Spark song with the Dreamfinder was played and many people in the crowd sang along!  

"Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow.

Horns of a steer, but a loveable fellow.

From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment.

And there--Voila!--you've got a Figment!"

I like reading about the competition - those articles don't bother me in the least.

I can't wait to read the HM article!  We were there just a few days before it re-opened - I'm sorry I missed it.

Very interesting about DCL in Hawaii.  Not a lot of cruise lines in Hawaii.  It needs some competition.

More on the Oahu Disney timeshare story:

http://starbulletin.com/2007/10/06/news/story02.html

Seems like the citizens of Hawai'i cannot purchase these timeshares from the islands. They have to travel to the mainland to do so.

Hey, Dad, you seem to have a bit of a spacing problem near the end of the article.