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Kristin T. sent me an e-mail earlier this week offering her thoughts about Disney Parks ' new Limited Time Magic promotion. To be specific ... ... I can't help but think that this money could be better spent in other ways. Wouldn't it have made more sense in the long run if the Imagineers...

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...

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...

I don’t know how many of you got to see Jason Garcia ’s great story about the Space Mountain redo at WDW ’s Magic Kingdom (It was featured on the Orlando Sentinel ’s new Daily Disney blog . Which is well worth adding to your Favorites list, by the way). Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved Anywho …...

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...

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...

Bradley R. writes in to ask: Jim -- I was just down at Disney World and I have to admit that the Magic Kingdom's "Celebrate America! -- A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky" show was pretty spectacular. But as good as those fireworks were, they got me thinking. Has Disney World ever staged a bigger display...

As a kid I'd tune in the Wonderful World of Color every Sunday night. Most of the time Walt would introduce some western or historic feature - or some story like "Melvin, the Manic Marmoset" - and I'd switch over to watch Ed Sullivan . He had ventriloquists ! On a good week, there'd be an animated feature...

Picking up where we left off yesterday ... Despite the two MCA lawsuits, Disney continued to develop plans for the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot in Burbank . At the helm of the Disney project were two Imagineers: a young Joe Rohde (then 32-years-old) and Rick Rothschild . Their mission was to seamlessly...

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...

It's as predictable as the tides. First a new attraction soft-opens at one of the Disney theme parks. And then someone online declares this new ride or show is " ... the worst thing that Imagineering has ever designed." Which is why -- on the heels of "Spaceship Earth" 's torturous test-and-adjust period...

Now THAT'S Dedication... Shortly after Disneyland opened in 1955, someone found an unpaid bill in a desk drawer amounting to thousands of dollars. When Walt heard about it, he is supposed to have said, “Well, when you do big things, you make big mistakes.“ Here's another example of this phenomenon, from...

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 ...

Today's lesson: Sometimes our Disney fan obsessions do pay off. When EPCOT Center opened in 1982, Steve Hansen was already an accomplished puppeteer and performer, working as the PuppetMan in World Showcase. Someone as talented & versatile as Steve was bound to go far in the Walt Disney world. In...

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...

Forget about "Grim Grinning Ghosts." Get ready for "Prim, we-don't-mean-to-offend-anyone Ghosts." That's the word coming out of Glendale these days. Reportedly in response to guest complaints about goofy but ghoulish lines like "Drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room," the Imagineers...

Okay. It's time to talk turkey. As in: Is it really a smart idea to try & spend Thanksgiving Day at a Disney theme park? Well, if we were talking about Disneyland … Then I'd have to say "No." I was actually at the Happiest Place on Earth last year on Turkey Day. And the tens of thousands of people...