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Blog Post: How the Imagineers came to create the "Country Bear Christmas Special" show

Jim Hill

Back when I lived in Central Florida in the early-to-mid 1990s, one of my favorite things to do this time of year was to go into Frontierland at WDW 's Magic Kingdom and then catch a performance of "Country Bear Christmas Special." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved...

on18 Dec 2011
Blog Post: How a Toon Elevator helped Mickey Mouse learn how to talk

Jim Hill

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...

on7 May 2010
Blog Post: Mickey & Minnie say "Farewell" to Toontown Fair, "Hello" to the Town Square Exhibition Hall

Jim Hill

What with all of the excitement associated with the Fantasy Forest project , Disneyana fans seem to have overlooked one important aspect of this Magic Kingdom expansion. As in: Given that Mickey's Toontown Fair is going to be flattened to make way for new Dumbo Circus & Disney Fairies -themed areas...

on29 Sep 2009
Blog Post: "The Art of the Walt Disney World Resort" is worth going out of your way for

Jim Hill

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...

on27 May 2009
Blog Post: Seldom-seen concept art a highlight of "The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland"

Jim Hill

Having already put together Imagineering Field Guides for the Magic Kingdom , Epcot and Animal Kingdom , Alex Wright has taken a break from writing about the Walt Disney World Resort (Reportedly because the folks at Disney Editions want WDW Guests to get used to calling the park-formerly-known-as-MGM...

on12 Nov 2008
Blog Post: Disney World postpones Fantasyland's facelift

Jim Hill

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...

on9 Oct 2008
Blog Post: Tune Tuesday : "Hello, WALL-E! Well, Hello, WALL-E ..."

Jim Hill

It's one of the main reasons that people just can't stop talking about " WALL-E ." And -- no -- I'm not talking about the opening weekend grosses for this new Andrew Stanton movie (Though -- now that we've broached this subject -- while "WALL-E" didn't earn the $70-million-plus that Mouse House officials...

on30 Jun 2008
Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Disney World's new grim grinning gracious ghosts

Jim Hill

Do you remember that story that JHM ran back in January? You know, the one where we talked how -- in response to guest complaints about somewhat gruesome gags like "Please drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room" and "Please follow the blood red carpet into the Foyer" -- the Imagineers...

on1 Jun 2008
Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : It's lights out for DAK's "Rivers of Light" parade, while Beastly Kingdomme makes a character-based comeback

Jim Hill

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 ...

on23 Mar 2008
Blog Post: Does WDI plan on gagging our next Commander-in-Chief as part of the 2009 redo of WDW's "Hall of Presidents" ?

Jim Hill

While some of us are obsessing about the impact that today's primaries may have on the upcoming presidential race ... The Imagineers are already looking ahead. Nine months ahead, to be exact. To that period immediately after the U.S. has selected its next Commander-in-Chief. Which means that it will...

on3 Mar 2008
Blog Post: Will Liberty Square bridge repairs actually force the Mouse to reroute the Magic Kingdom's parades?

Jim Hill

It was supposed to be one of the more authentic touches found in the Liberty Square section of WDW 's Magic Kingdom . A recreation of Concord Bridge ... Copyright 1969 Walt Disney Productions. All Rights Reserved ... AKA the Old North Bridge. Where -- on the morning of April 19, 1775 -- 300 to 400 colonials...

on26 Feb 2008
Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Get ready to make the "Disney Magic Connection"

Jim Hill

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...

on13 Jan 2008
Blog Post: WDI's X-Scream Makeover of WDW's Haunted Mansion: Part 3

Jim Hill

Picking up where we left off on Tuesday ... I know that this is going to sound a bit bizarre. Particularly given that -- back in 1955 -- Walt Disney built an entire theme park for just $17 million . But $30 million doesn't go as far as you might think these days. Which is why WDI really had to pick...

on23 Oct 2007

Editor In Chief

Blog Post: How the Imagineers came to create the "Country Bear Christmas Special" show

Blog Post: How a Toon Elevator helped Mickey Mouse learn how to talk

Blog Post: Mickey & Minnie say "Farewell" to Toontown Fair, "Hello" to the Town Square Exhibition Hall

Blog Post: "The Art of the Walt Disney World Resort" is worth going out of your way for

Blog Post: Seldom-seen concept art a highlight of "The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland"

Blog Post: Disney World postpones Fantasyland's facelift

Blog Post: Tune Tuesday : "Hello, WALL-E! Well, Hello, WALL-E ..."

Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Disney World's new grim grinning gracious ghosts

Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : It's lights out for DAK's "Rivers of Light" parade, while Beastly Kingdomme makes a character-based comeback

Blog Post: Does WDI plan on gagging our next Commander-in-Chief as part of the 2009 redo of WDW's "Hall of Presidents" ?

Blog Post: Will Liberty Square bridge repairs actually force the Mouse to reroute the Magic Kingdom's parades?

Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Get ready to make the "Disney Magic Connection"

Blog Post: WDI's X-Scream Makeover of WDW's Haunted Mansion: Part 3