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  • Blog Post: The 2010 holiday season kicks into high gear at Disneyland, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando

    With only 20 days now 'til Christmas, theme parks around the country are really getting serious about the holiday season. Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer / Disneyland. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved At the Park that started it all, this past Friday, JHM's Shelly Valladolid got...
  • Blog Post: October is a very knife time to visit the Disneyland Resort

    Now let me say from the very start of today's photo essay that the Security Hosts who patrol the grounds of the Disneyland Resort actively discourage people from bringing knives on property (That's why they do those bag checks at Disneyland Plaza, after all). But that said, this time of year...
  • Blog Post: Getting ready for this Sunday's Great Disney Scavenger Hunt

    Take 2000 people (who are divided by 575 teams) and then set them loose at the Disneyland Resort for just over five hours ... and what do you have? And - no - the above is NOT one of the questions from D23 's Great Disney Scavenger Hunt (which will be held this coming Sunday morning in Disneyland...
  • Blog Post: Carolwood Foundation's fundraiser will reunite 5 of the 6 cars that originally made up the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad

    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...
  • Blog Post: Disney California Adventure's original entrance complex gets ready to make its exit

    I know that this is going to sound strange to all of you folks out there who absolutely hate Disney California Adventure , who have been happily sitting back and watching as this theme park undergoes its $1.4 billion makeover ... But it kind of makes me sad that they've begun dismantling Sunshine...
  • Blog Post: Knott's Berry Farm rises above the competition with its new WindSeeker ride

    Southern California is an incredibly competitive market. Especially when it comes to themed entertainment. So what with the Disneyland Resort rolling out its new World of Color nighttime water spectacular this past June and Mickey's Soundsational Parade & DCA 's " The Little Mermaid...
  • Blog Post: D23 staffers puts the finishing touches on Great Disney Scavenger Hunt, Destination D event

    Steven Clark was a very busy man in July. When he wasn't down in Anaheim, helping Tony Baxter dispatch StarSpeeders full of D23 Members at last month's "Star Tours Final Flight" event ... (L to R) Steven Clark and Tony Baxter actually suited up in this July 26th members-only event,...
  • Blog Post: Disneyland Alumni Club presents “55 Years of Music Magic”

    You’re a Disney fan, right? So I’m guessing that I don’t really need to explain the significance of the upcoming July 17 th to you. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Which brings me to my next question: Where are you planning on spending Disneyland ’s 55 th anniversary? Disneyland...
  • Blog Post: How a Toon Elevator helped Mickey Mouse learn how to talk

    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...
  • Blog Post: Pook-A-Looz give classic Disney characters a quirky new look

    From the people who brought you Passamaquoddy , Heffalumps and Woozles as well as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo , now come Disney Pook-A-Looz . The official tagline for this quirky new line of plush is “Too cute for their own good.” But these classic Disney characters didn’t get that way all by themselves. They...
  • Blog Post: Electrical Parade” unplugged, sent back East as DCA preps for “Disney’s World of Color”

    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...
  • Blog Post: D23 fine-tunes its selection of special events for 2010

    D23 is still a few weeks out from its really-for-real birthday (Just for the record, The Walt Disney Company launched its Official Community for Disney Fans back on March 10, 2009). But given that D23 just revealed that it will be holding first anniversary parties at Disneyland and WDW’s Magic Kingdom...
  • Blog Post: How it came to snow on Main Street USA

    During the 11 years she spent at The Walt Disney Company, Cynthia Harriss worked on an amazing array of projects. She helped grow The Disney Store chain from just 140 stores in North America to over 400. She also guided the Disneyland Resort through its $1.4 billion transformation, when this Southern...
  • Blog Post: Coaster Corner: Tomorrowland favorite gets a warp speed makeover

    It’s been the smash hit of this year’s Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort . That Ghost Galaxy-themed redo of Space Mountain . During which Tomorrowland visitors have a far-too-close encounter with an angry spectre from outer space. Disneyland Guests have just been marveling at some of the effects...
  • Blog Post: You don’t know Jack about Disneyland’s “Halloween Screams - A Villainous Surprise in the Skies"

    Boys and girls of every age, Wouldn’t you like to see something strange … Like – say – Zero flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle . Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer. Copyright 2009 Disney. All Rights Reserved Or – better yet -- a 20-foot tall magical orb that rises 45 feet in the air behind the Castle. Which then...
  • Blog Post: Summer Nightastic! brings an exciting new look to some old Disneyland Resort favorites

    "Don't throw the past away You might need it some rainy day Dreams can come true again When everything old is new again" That Peter Allen tune kept running through my head this past Thursday night as Alice and I took part in the Summer Nightastic! press event. Where we wandered from Disneyland over to...
  • Blog Post: Is free admission to a Disney theme park on your birthday really a good enough reason to schedule a "Celebration Vacation" ?

    Okay. It's time to test your observational skills. Please check out the photo below of a typical NYC street scene and then identify the person and/or items that don't quite belong. Photo by Jim Hill That's right. It's the guy with all of those Mickey Mouse balloons who looks out of place in modern day...
  • Blog Post: Well, so much for that conspiracy theory ...

    Let me tell you about a rather breathless phone call I received just yesterday from a reporter who works for a major American daily. This reporter (And -- no -- I'm not going to reveal his name. The poor guy's already embarassed enough as it is) thought that he had stumbled upon this truly huge Disney...
  • Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Get ready for WDW's monstrous new coaster

    Judging by the long lines at " Toy Story Mania " as well as the brisk business that "Hey Howdy Hey!" & the gift shop across the way have been doing, it would appear that Pixar Place has already proven to be a very popular addition to Disney's Hollywood Studios . The only problem with the studio theme...
  • Blog Post: Disney testing new ways to slow down FastPass counterfeiters

    The next time you use as a FastPass at a Disney theme park, pay close attention to what the cast member does once you walk up to that FastPass Return entrance. After you hand over your ticket, do they quickly run their finger along the top of that FastPass before then allowing you to enter that ride...
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