That is so funny. Some people are just so dumb. :)

That's cool, but what about that Star Tours series.  Sorry Jim, I have to bring it up every once in awhile.  Don't want you to forget.  Funny story though

That is just too funny!  For a moment, I thought it was the approach towards Mama Melroses at MGM.  

It wasn't a Photoshop - she visited Disneyland while she was on the run. :)

Seriously, though, it's not that crazy an idea. Okay, whoever chose the photo could have done a better job, but let's face it - somebody that's running for office in a city she's supposedly been helping to run wants to show off that city in the best liight possilbe, and in that respect NOS is more like New Orleans (or people's perception of it anyway) than New Orleans. What were they supposed to do - take a picture of the hurricane-damaged and trash-stren French Quarter and put it up on the website? I'm sure THAT would have inspired a lot of confidence in her ability to be mayor.  

Have to admit, I've never been to the real Orleans in my life--and DLR only once--and I spotted Walt's Square right off the first graphic.
(Of course, it helps that I'd had that same vacation shot as my desktop photo all this time.)  :)

I got this link froma friend this morning, so I called her campaign headquarters and got her in person.  Turns out it's an old graphic from a previous campaign site.  She said she won that elelction and no one had ever noticed it (tribute to the Imagineers), or if they did, they hadn't brought it to her attention and she'd never noticed it either.  She figures that the web designer must have done a "New Orleans" search on some stock photo site or DVD and pulled the first one that struck his fancy as a nice background without checking the details.  Apparently it was put together for the first campaign, then resurrected and tweaked for this campaign).  She also mentioned that she'd been thinking about changing the header or redesigning the site anyway because some of the Flash work has never worked properly, but the designer is no longer around and they don't have the password to get into it.

Well, that's her story anyway, but whoever PhotoShop-ed the graphic should have been more careful.  

Anyway, she had a good sense of humor about it and said hopefully people will be more concerned about the content than the website design. I told her probably only Disney-philes (yep, I'm one) would notice it anyway, but I thought she should know about it and have a chance to correct it, since it is apparently being circulated.  She thanked me for bringing it to her attention and I wished her luck on her campaign (though I suppose that's only because she's not running for office in my city).

"What were they supposed to do - take a picture of the hurricane-damaged and trash-stren French Quarter and put it up on the website? I'm sure THAT would have inspired a lot of confidence in her ability to be mayor."

First off, not all parts of NO are destroyed from the hurricanes. They just had mardi gras there last months & many parts look just as great as always. It would have made sense to have the picture taken during then (when spirit there was at a high). And yes, it doesn't make sense to have a picture of NOS. That shows that (whether she put it there or not), she doesn't know her own city from something 2000 miles away.

After seeing this article, I admit, I had to spoil the fun for Ms. Bulter.  I went over to the WDC Press Website and placed a call out to Anaheim.  I told them what I read.  The woman asked me why I called.  I told her that I visited WDW in 1982, 1989, and 2003 and was treated so well each time, that I didn't want to see someone defile such a great company.  I also sent an e-mail to Disney's ABC affiliate (WPVI) in my hometown of Philadelphia.  Their chief news director wrote me back to say she placed it on the wire to the ABC affiliates, which reported the story.  Thus, I dnon't know if it was my phone call, some suit within WDC that saw the site, or if someone with JHM called the WDC.  WDC is only quoted as "they had been made aware of the situation."  

I'm from New Orleans, so I got a laugh out of this article.
I emailed to some friends and two local news outlets yesterday.
Today they published the following articles:
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1145080648105120.xml
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/041506cckrWwltvdisney.3b21e9b3.html

"A Disney public relations official confirmed that the picture comes from the theme park and that the company had been made aware of the unauthorized use of the image.

'We've referred this to our legal department,' the official, who did not give his name, told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune on Friday before referring further questions to a lawyer who could not be reached."

This is just ridiculous, a great example of gross incompetence in the PR department. How long does it take to google a pic of the french quarter and at least check where it is from??

Well, it could be worse... she could have posed in front of the "Aunt Jemima Pancake House..."

PingBack from http://blogometer.com/2006/04/18/kimblerly-williamson-butler-disneyland/

Well, it looks like old Alan took down his comments.  In short, someone posted a nasty message about us calling WDC and reporting the site.  Did anyone see that she photoshopped out the trashcan? How stupid.  You can still see its silohuette.  Plus no street in the French Quarter (not even near Cafe Du Monde or the open air market) looks like that.  Plus, there are no curbs and the streets are not wide enough.  If she really is New Orleans,  she should photoshop herself vomiting in the street or doing what most drunken people do for the beads. Its the only way the person would get elected.

Well, she finally changed the banner on her website.

Should anyone care, Kimberly Williamson-Butler lost the election. She received 793 votes (1%). C. Ray Nagin was once again elected with 38% of the votes (coming in at a fairly close second was Mitch Landrieu with 29%.

Actually, there is a run-off next month.
She would have been a fun mayor.