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  • Blog Post: WDI's "Carousel of Projects" looks to put a new spin on the D23 EXPO's Parks & Resort pavilion

    So what was the very best part of the original D23 EXPO ? To be honest, that depended on what aspect of the Walt Disney Company most excites you. For fans of Disney's live-action movies, it would be hard to top that moment from the Studio Showcase when the wreckage of a sailing ship slowly rotated...
  • 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: From “Just Around the Riverbend,” here comes a brand-new Why For column

    Pavement Chaser starts things off with a rather succinct query. Which reads: Copyright 1995 Disney. All Rights Reserved Was there ever a Pocahontas ride in development? Pavement Chaser Dear Pavement Chaser – Whenever Walt Disney Animation Studios has a new project in development, you can pretty much...
  • Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Inside "The American Idol Experience"

    Now that " Toy Story Mania " has finally officially opened on both coasts , Disney Parks & Resorts turns its attention to the next high profile project on the horizon. Which is that " American Idol Experience " attraction which is due to open at Disney's Hollywood Studios sometime in January of 2009...
  • Blog Post: Mist Direction or How DAK Operations just slipped Joe Rohde a Mickey

    Folks who visited Disney's Animal Kingdom late last month got something of a treat. In that -- for a while there, anyway -- most of " Expedition Everest " 's effects were actually working. The scenic mist that's supposed to drift off of Forbidden Mountain top actually did that. The fog bank that your...
  • Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : Has WDI solved all of "Toy Story Mania" 's problems? Not Yeti

    By now, you've probably heard about the Mr. Potato Head that's been installed in the queue area of " Toy Story Mania ." How this 5 foot, 2 inch AA figure (Which reportedly cost a million dollars to build) will actually address individual quests as they stand there, waiting in the attraction's queue area...
  • Blog Post: Monday Mouse Watch : It's lights out for DAK's "Rivers of Light" parade, while Beastly Kingdomme makes a character-based comeback

    For Disney's Animal Kingdom fans ... It's one of those bad news / good news kind of day. The bad news is ... Plans for DAK's long-in-development nighttime parade -- "Rivers of Lights" -- have been tabled. Not because Animal Kingdom management lost confidence in Steve Davison's original concept. But ...
  • Blog Post: What a doll ! Remembering Joyce Carlson (1923 - 2008)

    The world got a little smaller this past Tuesday with the passing of Disney Legend Joyce Carlson . And -- no -- I'm not just saying that because this veteran Imagineer worked on six different versions of "it's a small world." With Joyce not only helping to create the original version of this much beloved...
  • Blog Post: WDI's X-Scream Makeover of WDW's Haunted Mansion: Part 3

    Picking up where we left off on Tuesday ... I know that this is going to sound a bit bizarre. Particularly given that -- back in 1955 -- Walt Disney built an entire theme park for just $17 million . But $30 million doesn't go as far as you might think these days. Which is why WDI really had to pick...
  • Blog Post: WDI's X-Scream Makeover of WDW's Haunted Mansion: Part 2

    Picking up where we left off yesterday ... Audio is obviously an important component of the Haunted Mansion . Yet how many times have you been on this Magic Kingdom favorite and had your ride-thru ruined because the attraction's soundtrack was playing intermittently? Where one moment you'd hear Paul...