Browse by Tags

Given that April 1st is typically the day when a number of Disney news sites post these elaborate prank stories where they then try & convince a few poor April Fools that their obviously bogus article is legit, I thought that JHM should go the other way today. In that I'm going to post a story...

So what it take to create a killer canvas like this? Well, it takes time, talent and a friend who really knows their way around a train. "Right on Time" by Maggie Parr. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Luckily, artist & designer Maggie Parr has all three of those things...

Maddy Mouse wrote in to say: I have kind of a weird question for you to answer. I notice that Walt Disney World has lots of rides, shows and attractions that the Imagineers originally designed for Disneyland . But when it comes to rides, shows and attractions that the Imagineers originally designed for...

You don't normally find alligators lurking inside of the Disneyland Hotel . Photo by Jim Hill Or - for that matter - PeopleMover cars parked just outside of this hotel's Grand Ballroom . Photo by Jim Hill But - then again - this past Saturday night wasn't exactly your average night at the...

My apologies if this week's Monday Mouse Watch is somewhat on the short side. But I just got back from Southern California. And since I'm flying down to Florida tomorrow morning to start covering the grand opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I really don't have time to write a full-blown...

By now, you’ve no doubt seen those online videos that made many a theme park fan go gaga. Where a few lucky Guests – as they were making a stop at Mickey’s House at Disneyland earlier this week – suddenly found themselves face-to-face with a NextGen walkaround character. A Mickey Mouse who not only addressed...

I'm sure -- by now -- you've seen photographs of those colorful construction fences that ring " The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure " work site. Photo by Angela Ragno Just as I'm sure that -- by now -- you've seen a concept painting or two of what the exterior of this currently-under-construction...

At the D23 EXPO back in September, I noted – with some amusement – that the new attractions that are now in the works for Hong Kong Disneyland follow the tried-and-true WDI formula. In that the critical event, the thing that sets everything in motion (Be it Albert the monkey opening an enchanted music...

Pavement Chaser starts things off with a rather succinct query. Which reads: Copyright 1995 Disney. All Rights Reserved Was there ever a Pocahontas ride in development? Pavement Chaser Dear Pavement Chaser – Whenever Walt Disney Animation Studios has a new project in development, you can pretty much...

Did you hear about the play test that WDI ran at The Magic Kingdom last month? Where the Imagineers used Guests who were waiting in line for a character meet-n-greet right outside of Pooh’s Playful Spot to try out a new entertainment-based queuing system? Though the Imagineers are being pretty close...

While I was out at Comic-Con last month, I was slipped a preview copy of the Fall 2009 issue of Disney twenty-three magazine . Which features a terrific cover story, “Celebrating 40 years of Frights & Delights at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.” Copyright 2009 Disney. All Rights Reserved This 10 page...

Over the years, I have heard a lot of stories from Disney insiders that I’ve been lucky enough to interview. Like how Alice Davis once told me that she knew that Mary Blair must be dealing with some horrific personal problems. Given that – in the early 1970s – this Disney Legend’s acclaimed sense of...

Danni T writes in to say: You've been posting an awful lot of Disney World stories lately. Isn't it time that you wrote something about Disneyland again? Maybe do another one of those stories where you talk about rides, shows or attractions that never got built? Ask and ye shall receive. The history...

Do you hear that squealing noise coming out of Burbank? That's the sound of Mouse House management stomping on the brakes. Slowing down (and -- in some cases -- shutting down entirely) some of the more ambitious projects that the Walt Disney Company currently has in the works. All because of what's been...

Did you catch that story late last month about Shanghai Disneyland? Wen Wei Po , a Hong Kong-based newspaper, reported that " ... after 10 years of tough negotiations ..." the Walt Disney Company had finally cut a deal to build a theme park in China's business hub. What was fascinating about this particular...

Folks who visited Disney's Animal Kingdom late last month got something of a treat. In that -- for a while there, anyway -- most of " Expedition Everest " 's effects were actually working. The scenic mist that's supposed to drift off of Forbidden Mountain top actually did that. The fog bank that your...

By now, you've probably heard about the Mr. Potato Head that's been installed in the queue area of " Toy Story Mania ." How this 5 foot, 2 inch AA figure (Which reportedly cost a million dollars to build) will actually address individual quests as they stand there, waiting in the attraction's queue area...

For Disney's Animal Kingdom fans ... It's one of those bad news / good news kind of day. The bad news is ... Plans for DAK's long-in-development nighttime parade -- "Rivers of Lights" -- have been tabled. Not because Animal Kingdom management lost confidence in Steve Davison's original concept. But ...

When " Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! " re-opened last month after a three month long rehab, Disneyana fans were hoping that some significant changes would have been made to this DCA dark ride. But with the exception of some new safety gates that had been added to this attraction's load...

Imagine that -- as you walked through a Disney theme park -- you could carry with you a wireless device that would: Tell you in real time what the current wait time at your favorite attraction was Also let you know whether there were any FastPasses left for that particular attraction And when these FastPasses...