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. Like -- say -- this domain name that the Company registered on March 15th ... beautyonbroadway.com ... which suggests that Disney Theatrical is perhaps toying with the idea of reviving its first major...

Okay. The first field test of xPass / FASTPASS+ officially wrapped yesterday. And while Disney correlates all of that data which they collected from those 4200 individuals, groups and families who agreed to take part in this pilot program at the Magic Kingdom , the Company's already reaching out -- via e-mail -- to those Disney's Magical Express passengers who were recruited at Orlando International Airport to take part in this two week-long trial run, asking them questions like ... Did you...

There certainly seem to be a lot of Spider-Man fans who read JHM. Because this site just got bombarded with entries for last week's trivia contest , with all sort of folks competing for that Disney XD goody bag full of "Ultimate Spider-Man" swag. Copyright Marvel Studios. All rights reserved Sadly, this time around, there could one winner. So the lucky JHM reader -- who was randomly selected from all of the entrants who correctly answered all four of these Disney spider-related questions...

Earlier this week (Monday, to be exact), Bond from Upstate dropped a line to ask: Hi Jim, Long time fan... just wondering with "The Avengers" making a kajillion dollars and receiving near universal love, is Disney ready to go all in with a high profile Marvel area? With Universal Hollywood getting Potter in 2016 and Shanghai opening in 2015, it seems like the window is getting tight to get full leverage. Any word from your inside sources? Copyright Marvel Entertainment / Paramount Pictures...

The old adage is "April Showers bring May Flowers." Image courtesy of S/R Laboratories. All rights reserved Well, Nancy and I are down in Orlando right now. And this year, April Showers seems to be bringing May Downpours. Which suggests that June might be a really good time to go shopping for a snorkel. Image courtesy of S/R Laboratories. All rights reserved Anyway ... For now, we're both safe & warm & inside. And to kill time while we're waiting for the rain to stop, I'm...

When you're someone like Lora Wallace (i.e. the show director of Universal Studios Florida 's new Superstar Parade ) , and you've spent weeks in the pre-dawn darkness teaching your young, energetic cast the proper way to move through that theme park ... It's kind of ironic that the light at the end of your tunnel turns out to be the sun. Photo by Nancy Stadler "Yeah, the rehearsal phase -- when it comes to the launch of a new parade -- can be pretty brutal," Wallace admitted...

Greetings, trivia contest enthusiasts! Clearly JHM readers enjoy a competition. Why For? Because we saw a significant jump in the number of people who decided to participate in last week's Pirates-themed trivia contest, which took its inspiration from that popular Disney Junior series, " Jake and the Never Land Pirates ." Anyway ... The correct answers to last week's JHM trivia contest were: Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved 1) What was the name of the first...

Elizabeth Jane Cochran didn't exactly make headlines when she was born in Western Pennsylvania 148 years ago this Saturday. But all of that would change when -- at just 16 years of age -- Ms. Cochran took up the pen name Nellie Bly and thus became America's first female investigative reporter. Nellie tackled the sort of stories that few men would dare to do. Like spending 10 days undercover in a New York City lunatic asylum so that she could then reveal how poorly the patients there were...

So we're two days into WDW 's first real field test for the Resort's new xPass / FASTPASS+ system . And the results so far look rather promising. Perhaps the biggest news so far is that we've discovered one of the ways that Disney is recruiting Guests to take part in this two-week-long field test. And that's through randomly selecting people at Orlando International Airport as they head downstairs to check-in for Disney's Magical Express Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc....

"Harry Potter vets lend their voices to Aardman Animations' 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' " It's kind of a weird way for a relationship to start. This great big Irishman falling for a wee small man made out of clay and his silent, long-suffering dog. But to hear Brendan Gleeson tell the tale, that's exactly how he wound up working with Aardman Animations on their latest feature-length production, The Pirates! Band of Misfits . "Have you seen the Wallace and Gromit...

"You're serious? You really want to do this?" That's what Chris Prynoski remembers saying to Mouse House executives when they had their very first conversations with Chris about he and his Robin Red Breast, Inc. team possibly producing a brand-new animated series for Disney XD . Copyright Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved Why the trepidation on Prynoski's part? Because Chris and his crew are probably best known for that Adult Swim favorite...

You have undoubtedly already heard all of the news coming out of last week's big blogger event at Walt Disney World . With all sorts of Web-based tastemakers getting treated to construction site tours of the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland expansion area as well as Disney's Art of Animation Resort . Not to mention getting interviews with the key creatives on the Agent P's World Showcase Adventure , the reimagined Test Track as well as the Splitsville project. Photo by Matt Stroshane....

Today's the day that the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival officially gets underway. And given that -- for the past four years now -- this annual event has been a lot of animation fans' radar thanks to those "Evenings of Disney Rarities" screenings that Oscar-nominated producer Don Hahn and Disney Creative Director Dave Bossert have hosted ... Well, I thought that I'd reach out to Dave and see if another one of these genuinely fun evenings of film is in the works for this year's...

My apologies to those of you who entered last week's contest for those two copies of "Jim Henson's Designs & Doodles: A Muppet Sketchbook" and have since been patiently waiting to learn who won. But what with Friday's not-all-that-surprising announcement that Rich Ross would be exiting Walt Disney Studios effective immediately ... Well, I had to put last week's Why For column on hold while I went off and chased that story . And rather than make you all wait 'til...

For the past three days, the story that's been dominating entertainment news is Rich Ross' removal as Chairman of Walt Disney Studios . Now most of these articles seem to lay the blame for Ross' exit on " John Carter " 's box office . And while it's true that this Andrew Stanton film did play a role in Rich being shown the door last week, that movie's lackluster ticket sales weren't quite as big a factor in this decision as you might think. Why For? Because Walt...

Arrrrgh you looking for something fun to do this Friday afternoon? Then why not head on over to +Sony at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. Where you can join in on a Google+ Hangout session, where Peter Lord -- the co-founder and creative director of Aardman Studio -- will be talking about @Sony Pictures' upcoming film " The Pirates! Band of Misfits ." Copyright Sony Pictures Animation, Inc. All rights reserved Now what's particularly cool about this Hangout event is that Lord (who is "Pirates...

There are those who talk about the big planetary alignment that's supposed to occur at the end of 2012 and what that then means for the fate of mankind. But me? I'd prefer to talk about the planetary alignment that just happened this past weekend at Carnegie Hall . Seriously. Someone must have moved heaven and earth prior to Saturday's "Jim Henson's Musical World" concert . Because there onstage right alongside the New York Pops were ALL of the Muppets. To explain: Ever...

Well, it turns out that Friday the 13th was pretty luck for two JHM readers. Because Beth Strutz and Todd Burnside (who was playing for his 8 year-old son) just won copies of Ridley Pearson 's new " Kingdom Keepers " book, " Shell Game ." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Congratulations to Beth & Todd. I'll be putting your "Kingdom Keepers" books in the mail bright & early on Monday. So please keep an eye out for those hardcovers...

Trish D. of Tallahassee, FL. wrote in to say: I enjoyed reading today's story about "Tangled Ever After" and how Disney used all of its divisions to make the most of that animated short . But what really intrigued about today's article was the final photo, which showed a shelf full of Disney Animator's Collection Dolls . I haven't been to our local Disney Store in quite a while, so I'm unfamiliar with this line of toys. What's their story? The Disney Animator's...

In response of yesterday's "Looking back / looking ahead at Marvel Entertainment's merger with The Walt Disney Company" story , She Hulk wrote in to say: In this article, both Jay Rasulo and Jeph Leob use the term "bandwidth" while discussing what Marvel used to be able to do on its own versus what Marvel can do now that it's owned by Disney. I've never heard "bandwidth" used in this way before. Could you perhaps explain what Jay & Jeph were talking...

It's been almost three years now since Bob Iger asked then-Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel to pass along a message to Isaac Perlmutter . To be specific, the Chairman & CEO of the Walt Disney Company wished to talk with the Chief Executive Officer of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. about the Mouse possibly acquiring Marvel and its portfolio of over 8,000 characters . What followed was three months of highly secretive, very intense negotiations. Mind you, what made these talks particularly...

In honor of Easter, I thought it might be nice to shine a spotlight on one of Disney's better-known bunnies: Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh . Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Now I don't know how many of you saw that full-length version of "Winnie the Pooh which Walt Disney Animation Studios produced last year, but Rabbit was the same only different in that animated feature. Thanks in large part to the talents of master animator Eric Goldberg . To explain: "When...

So let me get this straight: Disney Theatrical has just produced a brand- new Broadway show (i.e. that limited engagement of " Newsies: The Musical " which is now running at the Nederlander Theatre through August 19th) which isn't some special effects-filled extravaganza? The cast of Disney "Newsies: The Musical." Photo by Deen van Meer. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved So there's no nanny that flies out over the audience? No mer-people on Heelies...

Do you remember how -- back in the Summer of 2000, just after " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire " was published stateside -- some people began grumbling about the direction J.K. Rowling had taken with her best-selling series of books? Among the complaints that you typically heard back then was " ... I'm uncomfortable with my kids reading the 'Potter' books now. They've gotten too dark, too violent." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Photo by Nancy Stadler Following its acclaimed run at the Papermill Playhouse last Fall, Disney Theatrical Productions' " Newsies: The Musical " opened at NYC's Nederlander Theatre last night for a special limited engagement. The press lines up to get shots of celebrities as they walk the red carpet on "Newsies: The Musical" 's Opening Night. Photo by Nancy Stadler And -- of course -- the Disney brass turned out in drives to support...