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You know where I'm headed next week? The San Francisco Bay area. Why for? Because Nancy wants to check out some animation schools up thataway. There's one in Emeryville, CA (home of Pixar!) that we'll be checking out next Tuesday morning. Plus there's some art academy in downtown S.F. that she also wants...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill here. You know, one of the real pleasures of running a website like JHM is you just never know who is going to toss an e-mail your way. Like late last month. I had just put a story up on the site, announcing the beta test of JimHillMedia.com's Walt Disney World tours, when this note...

Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina. Nancy and I are twelve days into a two week long road trip. And frankly, we're both kind of fried. The upside is ... I've scored lots of great in-depth material for new JHM stories. Some of which you'll see going up on the site as soon as tomorrow. But for now...

My apologies if today's column comes across as somewhat scattershot. But I'm in the middle of packing for my upcoming trip down to Orlando ... "Wait a minute, Jim," I hear you say. "Didn't you say -- at the start of last Friday's 'Remembering Light Magic' story -- that you were leaving for Central Florida...

Hey, gang! Happy Monday. Like a lot of you out there, I've been trying to decide whether it makes any sense to sign up for the new Disney Visa. Whether it's actually wise to take on a whole new credit card just so I can rack up some Disney Dream Reward Points. Whatever those are. Thankfully, Paul Schnebelen...

Hey, Gang! Jim Hill here. It's a pleasure to welcome Andrea Monti -- aka MickeyFantasmic -- back to JHM. Once again, Andrea shines a spotlight on the latest behind-the-scenes doings over Disneyland Paris. Many of you, I'm sure, are already aware that French theme-park operator Euro Disney SCA recently...

Hey gang! Jim Hill here. You know, one of the things that I really love about the Internet is that -- every so often -- something truly wonderful pops up in your e-mail. Three weeks ago, it was all that "Project Gemini" stuff. And just this past weekend, I received a wonderful gift from a MrTheFrog...

I started off with another column this week, when I was confronted by the calendar and noted that my piece would fall on Valentine's Day. So out the window went the other one, and here's what we ended up with instead... A Selection Of Romantic Disney Spots -- Past and Present The R.M.S. Queen Mary, Long...

When is too much not enough? That's what I kept wondering as I was reading through "Disney on Broadway" (Disney Editions, 2002). This attractive paperback was edited by Michael Lessell, the writer behind "Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA: The Making of the Broadway Musical"...

Picture a tall, somewhat handsome and imposing man. A guy who automatically catches your eye whenever he enters a room because of his physical stature as well as his impressive charisma. This is the Disney CEO. Wouldn't you love to really know what's going on inside of this guy's head? Find out what...

When the phone rings at 2 a.m., you just know that it's not going to be good news. That's why when I picked up the receiver with much trepidation early yesterday morning. Only to find my ex-wife, Michelle Smith, at the other end of the line. I'll say this much for Michelle: She didn't mince words. My...

I know, I know. You've come by JimHillMedia on Thursday. Which means that you're looking forward to reading a new book review as well as seeing what sort of new Disney-related crafts Patrick Hurd has put together for us. Well, Pat won't be showing up today ... Now don't worry. Mr. Hurd's fine. In fact...

Well, I guess it actually DOES pay to write about silly things like theme parks, feature length cartoons and talking mice. To explain: Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to bump into a loyal JimHillMedia.com reader who works for one of the Disney Catalog Outlet stores. (Please don't ask me to tell...

There are all sorts of movies in theaters right now. Big budget blockbusters like "The Two Towers," "Die Another Day" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Not to mention a couple of Disney flicks you may have heard something about: "Santa Clause 2" and...

You know, just because I write about the Walt Disney Company, I get some VERY interesting mail. Sometimes, it's letters from people who are sharing secrets about various projects that the Mouse currently has in the works (EX: Even more juicy inside info on "Destination Disney" came rolling in yesterday...

I know, I know. What with the talking interactive plush and the hidden digital cameras, this all sounds like something out of Michael Crichton's "Westworld." But the fact of the matter is, kids, the "Destination Disney" program IS real. By that I mean, key components of this ambitious program are already...

Okay. So the Walt Disney Company reinvented the theme park experience with its 1999 introduction of "Fast Pass," a virtual queuing system which basically allowed Disneyland and Walt Disney World guests to pre-book a ride time for their favorite attractions and shows. Unfortunately, the competition was...

Let me be honest here, kids: I'm really getting tired of writing stories about how the Walt Disney Company keeps screwing up. Last week (and yesterday), it was that article about how Buena Vista Home Entertainment dropped the ball with the release of the 2-disc collector's edition of the "Lilo &...

Okay. Where were we? 1) Michelle was right. 2) Michelle was right. 3) Michelle was right. 4) Michelle was right. Oh, yeah. NOW I remember ... You may recall last week that our fearless editor, Michelle Smith, took JimHillMedia.com out on a very long limb last week by running this story which reported...

Earlier this week, EdwrdScssrhnds wrote to say: Jim - Really loved your articles this week about forthcoming projects from Disney Theatrical as well as that new Clive Barker book. Your story about how Disney closes the deal with Clive - by offering him his very own "Abarat Land" at Disneyland - got me...