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Steven Clark was a very busy man in July. When he wasn't down in Anaheim, helping Tony Baxter dispatch StarSpeeders full of D23 Members at last month's "Star Tours Final Flight" event ... (L to R) Steven Clark and Tony Baxter actually suited up in this July 26th members-only event,...

In the months leading up to the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, whenever I spoke with Disney insiders about what the Company was going to do in response to this highly-anticipated Islands of Adventure addition, Mickey's mantra was pretty much the same: Just wait 'til you...

The summer of 1970 wasn’t exactly a time when Walt Disney Studios was covering itself with cinematic glory. By that I mean, its big new release for the summer movie-going season was that utterly forgettable Don Ameche – Robert Morse Aquacomedy, “ The Boatniks .” Copyright 1970 Walt Disney Productions...

Given that – numerous times over the past year -- while Disney’s Color of World was under construction, many folks that I spoke with within the Company compared this new nighttime spectacular to the Fountains of Bellagio … Well, that’s where I decided to go Wednesday night. To that 8.5 acre lake out...

Do you hear that loud beep-beep-beep noise coming from Burbank? That’s The Walt Disney Company backing up. Rapidly retreating from its earlier attempts to make the Winnie the Pooh characters seem hip, fashionable and contemporary. “Coming off of ‘ My Friends Tigger and Pooh ,’ we did a lot of research...

David Kracov remembers the night that he decided to quit working in animation. “A bunch of my friends took me out to Astroburger . And while we were eating, Brad Bird tried to talk me out of quitting. Brad said that he wanted me to come work with him on this new movie he wanted to make. Which was about...

Do you remember that moment in Epcot ’s “ Journey into Imagination with Figment ” ride when Dr. Nigel Channing realizes that “ … Imagination works best when it’s set free” ? And then suddenly you’re surrounded by multiple versions of Figment? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Well...

It’s long been said that – if you build a better mouse trap – the world will beat a path to your door. Well, as the folks in charge of D23 have learned, if you give Disneyana fans an exciting new way to celebrate the Company that (as Walt Disney once so famously said) was “ … started by a mouse,” an...

From the people who brought you Passamaquoddy , Heffalumps and Woozles as well as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo , now come Disney Pook-A-Looz . The official tagline for this quirky new line of plush is “Too cute for their own good.” But these classic Disney characters didn’t get that way all by themselves. They...

On the heels of last week’s news that there would be no D23 EXPO in 2010 – but, rather DESTINATION D , a history-based event that celebrates Disneyland ’s 55 th anniversary – I reached out to Steven Clark, the Head of the Official Community for Disney Fans . And – as usual – Steven was forthcoming. ...

Alec M. writes in to say: I’ve really been enjoying all of these stories that you’ve been running lately that tie back to the D23 EXPO . As someone who wasn’t able to get out to the Anaheim Convention Center last September in order to experience this Disneyana fan event in person, I have to admit that...

At last month’s “ Practically Perfect Night at Mary Poppins ” event at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre , a D23 member stood up and asked the cast of the North American touring company of this Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production how they did it. Where they found the energy to perform like that, night after night...

This past Friday night, Anthony Lyn -- the director of the North American touring company of Disney & Cameron Mackintosh ’s “ Mary Poppins ” – strode onstage at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre and said that he had a few brief announcements to make before that performance could get underway. First of all, Lyn...

D23 is still a few weeks out from its really-for-real birthday (Just for the record, The Walt Disney Company launched its Official Community for Disney Fans back on March 10, 2009). But given that D23 just revealed that it will be holding first anniversary parties at Disneyland and WDW’s Magic Kingdom...

“ … There is hope for the future. When the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass, in God's good time.” Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved The above quote is – of course – from Walt Disney Productions’ Academy Award-winning version of “ 20,000 Leagues Under The...

As lucky moviegoers who live in New York & LA get their very first glimpses of “ The Princess and the Frog ” today, Global Disney Consumer Products is taking a look back at all the Disney Princesses that proceeded Tiana. Of course, you may not remember ever seeing a picture of Snow White as she might...

If you keep an eye on DisneyAuditions.com , you’ll see that Casting is constantly looking for people to play the Characters . New hirers who’d be willing to climb inside one of those often hot walk-around suits and then go out & entertain Guests on a Disney cruise ship and/or in one of the theme...

You want proof that The Walt Disney Company is serious about its commitment to creativity & technology? Then look no further than the Disney Dream , that 128,000 ton vessel which is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg , Germany. Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved...

It wasn’t exactly the news that animation fans were expecting. That Walt Disney Animation Studios would be following up “ The Princess and the Frog ” (i.e. The Company’s much anticipated return to hand-drawn animation) with a feature-length Winnie the Pooh project . Ah, but there was method to the Mouse...

It’s been quite a month for the Mouse, don’t you think? Inside of one single 30 day span, The Walt Disney Company has: Revealed that it would be spending $4 billion to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its library of 5000 characters At the D23 EXPO , the Studios announced a new production label...