Browse by Tags

It's been an amazing eight days here in Southern California. I've met with a lot of great people while I was out here. And these folks then shared tons of tremendous stories. Many of which I'll be posting on JHM & the Huffington Post in coming weeks. But before I blow town, I did want...

35 years ago today, Disneyland 's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad officially opened the public. And the very first Guests were then able to climb aboard the I.M. Brave & U.R. Daring for the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness." Zooming along 2,780 feet of track at speeds that sometime reached...

Go ahead. Admit it. After hearing about all that cool stuff Comic-Con attendees got to see last week, you're now wishing that you'd gone down to San Diego. But then again, when you factor in what it would have cost to travel to Southern California (Not to mention that all 130,000 badges which...

There has long been this legend about the importance the 1964 New York World's Fair played in the history of the Walt Disney Company. How the Fair was supposed to be this vital stepping-stone in the creation of Walt Disney World. How Walt had to see if his theme park rides and attractions would meet...

This ain't your Dad's Walt Disney Company anymore. Sure, every so often, you'll see the Company fund the construction of some massive immersive environment like Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park or that AVATAR-inspired "land" which finally officially broke ground at...

You know, as I sit and watch footage of Shia LaBeouf behaving like a jackass at the Berlin Film Festival or hear yet another story about how Justin Bieber continues his transition from talented tween to delusional jerk , I wonder: How did Shirley Temple do it? Shirley Temple on the red carpet at the...

What with " Saving Mr. Banks " being out in theaters right now, there's been a lot of talk lately about " Mary Poppins ." How this Academy Award-winning film was perhaps Walt Disney's crowning cinematic achievement. But me? I can't help but look at the two Disney-produced...

So just how far did the " Saving Mr. Banks " production team go when it came to replicating the look & the feel of a early 1960s version of Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Park ? Pretty darned far. Or so says Becky Cline , the Director of the Walt Disney Archives . "When the Studio...

So where exactly -- in the great holiday scheme of things -- does Disneyland Park 's latest attempt at a seasonal overlay fall? Is the Jingle Cruise that Xmas gift which you've always dreamed of getting or more of an itchy sweater? Changing a single letter makes a really big difference at this...

You think -- what with all the attention that he's been getting lately -- you'd think that the Headless Horseman would have a bigger head. If he had a head, I mean. Copyright 2013 FOX and its related entities. All rights reserved To explain: Until relatively recently, if you were looking for...

It's been a busy couple of days, Disney news-wise. With all sorts of official announcements being made and weird rumors bubbling up. So as a special Columbus Day treat, I thought that it might be fun to dig down into this pile and then offer some additional information about some of the stories that...

Just a quick heads-up to all you animation & theme park history buffs out there: Profiles in History is holding an animation art auction on Wednesday, July 31st that you really don't want to miss. Copyright 2013 Profiles in History. All rights reserved Joseph Maddalena and his PIH team always...

Figment's Friend sent me a rather anxious e-mail last week. This JHM reader wanted to share a bit of news coming out of WDW's Magic Kingdom which had really upset him: Did you see what happened to that portrait of Tony Baxter which was hung in the new interactive queue of Big Thunder Mountain...

So what does it actually take for D23 to pull together those Fanniversary events that they've been presenting around the country for the past few weeks? According to Jeffrey Epstein, spokesman for the Official Disney Fan Club, it takes a solid six months of behind-the-scenes effort to produce each...

Never mind March coming in like a lion. This month is really more a mouse, given all of the Disney-related events that are going to be happening all over the country in the coming week. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Like what? Well, for starters, today through Monday, March 11th...

For three weeks now, photos of a mysterious bankers box have been making the rounds on the Web. Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof reportedly deliberately put these images out there to help whet people's appetites for " Tomorrowland ," the sci-fi -themed project that these two wrote which is...

You're going to be seeing a lot of stuff about Tony Baxter online today. Stories about how this longtime Disney Company employee (i.e. Tony started at Disneyland Park back in August of 1965 as a sweeper and eventually rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President of Creative Development...

Go ahead. Ask a Disneyana fan who Marc Davis was. Better yet: Find yourself a comfy chair, sit down, and THEN ask a Disneyana fan who Marc Davis was. Marc Davis shows Walt one of the Audio Animatronic figures that were built based on his designs for Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean"...

Kristin T. sent me an e-mail earlier this week offering her thoughts about Disney Parks ' new Limited Time Magic promotion. To be specific ... ... I can't help but think that this money could be better spent in other ways. Wouldn't it have made more sense in the long run if the Imagineers...

The Tinker Bell drone that Disneyland almost got Over the past week or so, there have been a number of stories out there about media companies and drone technology. With TMZ insisting that it wasn't really in the market for a celebrity-seeking missile, Mid-Missouri NPR affiliate KBIA revealed that...