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It was kind of interesting hearing the reaction yesterday when Meg Crofton , president of The Walt Disney World Resort , revealed that the “ Main Street Electrical Parade ” would be returning to the Magic Kingdom this summer. When Ms. Crofton initially made this announcement at WDW’s “What’s New, What...

Alec M. writes in to say: I’ve really been enjoying all of these stories that you’ve been running lately that tie back to the D23 EXPO . As someone who wasn’t able to get out to the Anaheim Convention Center last September in order to experience this Disneyana fan event in person, I have to admit that...

When it comes to real estate & retail, there are two adages that these worlds share: “Timing is everything” and “Location, location, location.” Which brings to mind “ Studio Disney 365 ” (i.e. that tween-centric store which opened in the Disneyland Resort ’s Downtown Disney shopping district back...

At last month’s “ Practically Perfect Night at Mary Poppins ” event at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre , a D23 member stood up and asked the cast of the North American touring company of this Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production how they did it. Where they found the energy to perform like that, night after night...

GnatteringGnate writes in to ask: So you were out in Southern California last week. Did you do anything cool? Did you get to see any celebrities? Well, I did get to see the cast of one Academy Award-nominated film up-close while I was out on the West Coast … Photo by Noe Valladolid … but they were all...

I know, I know. Wednesday is typically the day we talk about books here at JHM. But today, I just had to make an exception. I mean, take a look at this beauty. Copyright 2010 Help the Hodges. All Rights Reserved This copy of Jeff Kurtti ’s “The Art of Mulan” redefines one-of-a-kind. By that I mean, this...

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...

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...

First up, RedRyderBB writes in to say: Disneyland can’t be serious about bringing back “Captain EO.” I saw that 3D movie when it first opened in 1987 and once was really enough. “EO” was just a glorified music video. And even MTV doesn’t show music videos anymore. So what’s the point of bringing “Captain...

You know what they say in Hollywood. That your movie is only as good as your villain. Well, one of the main reasons that Disney’s “ The Princess and the Frog ” was so highly praised (Richard Corliss of “Time” Magazine flat-out called Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation “… the best film of the year...

Well, it’s official. Provided – of course – that the Securities and Exchange Commission actually signs off on this merger, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company . Marvel shareholders voted last Thursday to approve this $4.24 billion acquisition, which...

With just hours to spare ‘til 2009 gives way to 2010, I thought that it might be interesting to review the year from the Orlando Fun Tickets point-of-view. 2009 got off to a pretty fast start with tens of thousands of runners pouring into the area January 8 – 11th to take part in the Walt Disney World...

The last four months of 2009 saw plenty of upheaval on the Studio side of things at The Walt Disney Company. With many senior staffers in Marketing being let go . Not to mention Disney Channel president Rich Ross replacing Dick Cook , a 38-year Mouse House vet, as Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios...

Have you looked at the calendar lately? No, I’m not talking about how there are just seven shopping days ‘til Christmas. I mean that – as of today – we’ve just two weeks left ‘til 2010 gets underway. Well, the folks who run The Walt Disney Company are clearly already making plans for next year. Over...

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time when we reconnect with friends & family. And this year, The Walt Disney Company must be feeling especially thankful for the way the public passionately re-embraced the Muppets last week. I mean, who would have thought that a viral video (which was shot on the...

If you’re a fan of The Walt Disney Company’s theatrical productions , then you should probably make a point of setting your TiVo to record Friday’s “ Live with Regis & Kelly ” (when the Las Vegas company of “ The Lion King ” will be making an appearance on that syndicated morning talk show) as well...

It happened this past July. After another long day at Comic-Con , my daughter and I had just exited the San Diego Convention Center . We were trudging across those trolley tracks in the usual crush of conventioneers when Alice suddenly stopped and pointed at something off to the side. “Do you see that...

All of you “ Pirates of the Caribbean ” fans who have been feeling seasick ever since Johnny Depp said that his interest in appearing in a fourth installment of this film series had waned can now breath a bit easier. According to what Bob Iger said last Thursday during The Walt Disney Company’s fourth...

It always looks so easy in those Disney films. Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother just waves her magic wand and a pumpkin immediately becomes this beautiful coach. But when it comes to removing the hundreds of jack-o-lanterns that are used to decorate the Magic Kingdom for “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween...

Can it really be almost twelve years since Julie Taymor ’s acclaimed stage adaptation of “The Lion King” first bowed on Broadway? Given that the London production just celebrated its 10 th anniversary at the Lyceum Theatre , I guess the answer to that question would have to be “Yes...