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Plussing . It's a practice at the Disney theme parks that reportedly dates back to the late 1950s. When Walt -- while he was visiting Disneyland one weekend -- supposedly overheard a mother tell her child: "We don't have to go on the Jungle Cruise again. We saw that ride the last time we visited this...

Given that the Disney theme parks are now home to a plethora of peaks (i.e. The Matterhorn , Space Mountain , Big Thunder Mountain , Splash Mountain , Mt. Mayday , Summit Plummit , Grizzly Peak , Mt. Prometheus and Forbidden Mountain ), it may seem somewhat bizarre to hear that there was actually a time...

Hirota K. of Yokohoma writes in to say Dear Mr. Hill -- I have been greatly enjoying your recent articles about Disney theme park attractions that were never built. Could you please share some stories about rides that were proposed but never built for my favorite theme park, Tokyo DisneySea ? Thank you...

Are you familiar with the old adage that "Good things come to those who wait"? Well, Disneyana fans have been waiting a long time for " Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park ." And a lot of folks are now wondering why it's taking so long for this Disney Editions...

Mike P. wrote in yesterday to say: I loved last week's "Why For " about all the pavilions and attractions that were planned for Epcot and Disney World but ultimately never built. But what about Disneyland ? Do you have any information about rides, shows and attractions that were proposed for the Disney...

Do you want to be sure that you can score some FASTPASSES for your favorite Disney theme park attractions the next time you visit Anaheim or Orlando? Well, if that's really the case, then you'd best make reservations now for one of Disney's high end hotels. Why For? Well, according to information that...

Okay. Let's start your Monday morning off with a funny little Disney-related story from the September issue of " Star Wars Insider " magazine. Which alludes to a particularly bizarre moment during the production of " Episode IV - A New Hope ." It seems that -- with the hope that they might be able to...

Roger A. writes in to ask: Jim, Bravo on your two recent articles on the Disney-MGM name change . After hearing the news, I was thrilled to find your very-informative articles on the subject. One thing you mentioned really intrigued me, and begs for more info: "We'll have to wait 'til "Disney's Hollywood...

Were you surprised by the rather generic-sounding new name that the Walt Disney Company saddled Disney-MGM with last week? Well, you weren't the only one. Many of the Mouse House managers that I spoke with over this past weekend were really taken aback by the studio theme park's new moniker. As one Disney...

First up, Michael R. writes in to ask: I was wondering if there was any specific reason why there has not been a release of the " Disney-MGM Studios " version of (the " Imagineering Field Guide ") series? They've released books for the other three parks and I understand now they're working on the CA...

Earlier this week, Jill T. wrote in to say: According to today's Los Angeles Times , the Walt Disney Company and SunCal have failed to reach a compromise on that big housing project. So now we're back to Disney pushing the Anaheim City Council to get this zoning issue put on the November ballot. What...

Notice anything unusual about those bundles of nerves that you see up there on the "Body Wars" sign? Photo courtesy of Jeff Lange Does anything (or should I say any one ) look familiar? Photo courtesy of Jeff Lange Yep. That's Mickey Mouse. Right in the center of the above photo. Directly above the blue...

In response to last week's "Why For," Lou P. writes in to say: Your latest column just doesn't make any sense to me. Back in the earlier 1990s, the Imagineers were given $1.4 billion and told to do something spectacular with Disneyland 's old parking lot. Working with that limited amount of money, they...

Mindy T. writes in to say: I'm a big Beyoncé fan. So last week's story about how Disney was after her to star in the movie version of "Aida" really excited me. Is there any other new on this project? Dear Mindy T. Talk between Ms. Knowles and the Mouse are continuing. And though Beyoncé has yet to officially...

Earlier this week, Perry T. sent me the following e-mail : Jim, Are you as sick as I am about how the Imagineers keep forcing characters into older attractions at the Disney theme parks? Just in the past six months, we've had that new " Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor " show replace the Magic Kingdom 's old...

As you might expect, I got an awful lot of e-mail yesterday concerning that "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" project that Universal Studios just announced. That $500 million re-theming of the "Lost Continent" section of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park . First up, Kurt G. wrote in to say...

Have any of you folks checked out those "X-marks-the-spot" hotspots that went live at Disneyland as well as at WDW's Magic Kingdom last week yet ? If not, I really suggest that you make a point of dropping by some of them sometime this summer. For the people-watching in these parts of the theme parks...

There is an old Zen Koan that goes something like this: If a Tree Falls in the Forest, and No One is Around to Hear It, Does It Make a Sound ? Last week, Walt Disney Imagineering experienced the corporate equivalent of that tree falling in the forest. In that last Tuesday, there was this extreme makeover...

It was three years ago this week that -- after more than a decade of doggedly pursuing Miss Piggy & pals -- the Walt Disney Company finally completed its acquisition of the Muppets. And on the heels of the completion of this deal came news of Mickey's very ambitious plan to revive this much beloved...

By now, you've probably heard that Nikki Finke has confirmed what I wrote back back on February 5th (Though -- to be fair here -- I guess I should acknowledge that it was actually Arthur Levine of About.com & Lance Hart of Screamscape who first reported this story). That Universal Studios has in...