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Last month when I was out at the D23 EXPO , longtime Imagineer Doug Hartwell was nice enough to give me a brief tour of the "Journey into Imagineering pavilion. Doug Hartwell and Jim Hill stand in front of the Disney Springs model. Photo by Nancy Stadler As part of that tour, we stopped in front...

So it's been a week now since the first big on-property beta test of MyMagic+ was held, where Guests staying at four different WDW resorts were given the opportunity to personalize their vacation experiences. Of course, when these people elected to be part of the MyMagic+ beta test, I don't think...

Since sinkholes are back in the news again in Central Florida , Hungry Howie was inspired to drop me a line earlier today to ask about the sinkhole that almost swallowed EPCOT Center back during the construction of that theme park: For years now, I've been hearing stories about EPCOT's sinkhole...

I got a note from Diana D. a few weeks back. It turns out that her husband has become a fan of those "Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish" podcasts that Len Testa and I have been recording for iTunes. And since her husband was now addicted to behind-the-scenes stories about The Walt Disney World...

It's been a while since JHM last did a story about the various domain names that The Walt Disney Company has registered. Me personally, I always love the research phase for pieces like this because they then allow me to peek over the horizon. See what the Mouse possibly has planned for the future...

Jeannine B. writes in to say: I have a friend who worked in the Character Department at the Magic Kingdom back in the 1980s. She has lots of great stories about what it was like to be a member of the Zoo Crew back then. But one of the stranger ones that my friend tells is about when Michael Eisner wouldn't...

There's a joke from " Annie Hall " that I love: Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort. And one of them says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." And then the other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." I bring this story up today...

Take a moment. Go check out your Disney t-shirt and coffee mug collection. There's an awful lot of anniversary logos & celebration slogans there, aren't there? 35 Years of Magic . 40 Years of Adventure . 100 Years of Magic . Remember the Magic . Year of a Million Dreams . What Will You Celebrate...

Okay. It's confession time. I know that the following statement may be hard for Disney hardcores to hear. But when you make your living as I do -- writing about The Walt Disney Company five days a week, 52 weeks a year, year in, year out -- there really is such a thing as too much Mouse. So when...

First up, Mark K. writes to ask about WDW ’s Night Kingdom / Jungle Trek project: There was considerable talk several years back about a potential 5th park opening but I have heard no mention of it recently. Did the recession and the decision to remake fantasy land doom this project? Dear Mark K. – There...

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...

Denny P. dropped me a line on Saturday to ask: Did you see Jason Garcia’s story in the Sentinel yesterday about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter ? As a Disney fan, this sounds like complete hype to me. But what do you think? Is this Islands of Adventure addition really going to be a game changer for...

What with that $1.1 billion worth of construction that’s currently going on at Disney’s California Adventure (not to mention that $100+ milllion redo of the Disneyland Hotel that just got underway), the next three years are going to be a particularly tough time for the Disneyland Resort . Walt Disney...

Because Kermit the Frog helps hammer together the framing for a new Habitat for Humanity house, he gets to take his little nephew Robin off to Disneyland to experience “ Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride .” And because Miss Piggy muscles some plywood into place at this very same construction site, she then gets a...

Okay. I know. This is a really tough time to be a Disney World fan. Especially with last week's news about how advance reservations for the Resort were 'way down and WDW officials were already getting ready for what looked to be an incredibly lean 2009. But -- you know -- it's not always going to be...

Bob Iger didn't mince words during yesterday's earnings call . Though Disney's CEO said he was pleased with the Company's overall performance in fiscal 2008, 2009 looks to be a very different story. What with advance bookings at the Walt Disney World Resort down almost 10% from what they were a year...

It all comes down to what happens tomorrow night. More importantly, Wednesday morning. As in: Who winds up in the White House and how Wall Street & consumers then react to this news. That's what I've repeatedly been told by Mouse House personnel. That the Walt Disney Company wants to see who wins...

As you might expect, NYC's World of Disney is currently all tricked out for trick-or-treat time. Photo by Jim Hill And as you wander all three floors of this 5th Avenue store, you'll find all sorts of Halloween-related materials. From 15th anniversary " Nightmare Before Christmas " merch ... Photo by...

This past Friday night, visitors to the Adventurers Club got to see a brand-new artifact added to the wall in the Main Salon : A video projection screen. Photo by Max Schilling Given that this piece of Pleasure Island is supposed to be a recreation of a gentlemen's club from the 1930s, one might wonder...

Christy S. writes in to say: Jim When I was a little girl, my father and I flew down to Walt Disney World . This was just a year or so after the resort opened and I distinctly remember taking a boat ride with my father out to some island. Once we got there, these pirates led us on a treasure hunt which...