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Figment's Friend sent me a rather anxious e-mail last week. This JHM reader wanted to share a bit of news coming out of WDW's Magic Kingdom which had really upset him: Did you see what happened to that portrait of Tony Baxter which was hung in the new interactive queue of Big Thunder Mountain...

Go ahead. Ask a Disneyana fan who Marc Davis was. Better yet: Find yourself a comfy chair, sit down, and THEN ask a Disneyana fan who Marc Davis was. Marc Davis shows Walt one of the Audio Animatronic figures that were built based on his designs for Disneyland's "Pirates of the Caribbean"...

PixiePal 225 recently wrote into say: I've been following the Fantasyland expansion project at WDW's Magic Kingdom for a couple of years now. And while I love the level of design and attention to detail that I've been seeing in the completed portions of Storybook Circus, as a Tinkerbell fan...

Wow. Has it really been 15+ years since Beth Dunlop wrote " Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture " ? Obviously Disney's world has gotten a whole lot bigger since 1996. Which is why I think it's terrific that Disney Editions recently decided to revisit Dunlop's book....

It was supposed to be Disneyland 's first thrill ride: Monstro the Whale ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which - in much the same way that Dumbo the Flying Elephant ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... was just a Disneyified version of that amusement...

Picture this: It's the Fall of 1990. And after a highly successful summer (with attendance levels at the Happiest Place on Earth reaching record highs thanks to this theme park's 35 th anniversary celebration as well as the popularity of the Party Gras Parade ), Disneyland management is now facing...

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...

As any good gardener will tell you, Fall is a great time to prune. Why For? Because once the leaves are off the tree, you can actually see what you're doing. More to the point, flowering plants that are pruned back in the autumn usually experience vigorous regrowth the following spring. Photo by...

So how did Disney diehards react to the recent news that Walt Disney World would soon be getting a brand-new interactive experience, " Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom " ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... and Disneyland Park would soon be bumping out the borders of...

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...

Disneyland Park celebrated its 56 th anniversary of its opening yesterday. But for those who couldn't wait to get that party started, there was the Disneyana Fan Club 's annual convention . Photo by Paul Schnebelen Held just down the road from the Park at the Anaheim Crowne Plaza Resort in Garden...

For most people, when you mention the month of July, they think of the Fourth & fireworks, family get-togethers. The chance to kick back and relax. Whereas for Mouse House enthusiasts, the fun actually starts after the Fourth. When hundreds of these folks hit the road for Garden Grove, CA. so that...

The redo of Disney California Adventure Park is really coming together nicely. As you can see from these shots that Noe took yesterday, its Pan-Pacific-Auditorium-inspired entrance is getting closer & closer to completion. Photo by Noe Valladolid How close? A quick peek over that Disney-characters...

We got any " No Ordinary Family " fans out there? The cast of "No Ordinary Family." (L to R) Romany Malco, Kay Panabaker, Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Jimmy Bennett, Autumn Reeser and Stephen Collins. Photo by Bob D'Amico. Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights...

What's the weirdest place you ever got a job offer? Because I bet John Tartaglia has you beat. Let me set the scene for you. It's September of 2009. And the star of " Johnny and the Sprites " - having a fun few days exploring & experiencing the inaugural D23 Expo - was over at Disneyland...

Okay. Quick show of hands. How many of you remember Mr. Creosote from " Monty Python's the Meaning of Life "? That grotesquely fat man (played by Terry Jones ) who ate so much he literally exploded after consuming one-too-many wafer-thin mints? The reason that I bring that character up...

This past Sunday, I spent an hour or two wandering around the Disneyland Hotel . Photo by Jim Hill Which was something of a challenge. Given all of the construction that's going on at that Resort right now. Photo by Jim Hill "So what's going on behind all of those construction fences?,"...

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...

Before we get today's article started, a quick word of warning: Today is the very last day you can purchase tickets for Saturday's Marvelous Mechanized Magic Kingdom event. And if you're a theme park history buff and you don't attend this multi-media extravaganza (which is being held...

Yesterday's article about DCA 's entrance complex seems to have struck a nerve with JHM readers. Especially the part of that column which talked about the California Zephyr replica that sits in Sunshine Plaza. I can't tell you how many e-mails I got from rail fans who moaned about how their...