Welcome to Jim Hill Media - Entertainment News : Theme Parks Movies Television
Join
Sign in
Home
FRONT PAGE
ANIMATION
ARTICLES
CONTACT US
MOVIES
PODCASTS
THEME PARKS
TRAVEL
WHY FOR
More ...
Browse By Tags
Home
»
All Tags
»
theme park
»
Imagineer
»
attractions
»
Walt Disney Imagineering
2010
Anaheim
attraction
Disney
Disney Parks & Resorts
Disney theme park
Disney World
Disneyland
Epcot
Harriet Burns
Imagineering
Imagineers
Magic Kingdom
ride
rides
show
shows
Star Tours
The Walt Disney Company
theme park attraction
theme parks
Tomorrowland
WDI
WDW
WED
Blog Post:
No foolin'. Here's a story about that Star Wars-themed dual track coaster which Imagineers thought about building back in the 1980s
Jim Hill
Given that April 1st is typically the day when a number of Disney news sites post these elaborate prank stories where they then try & convince a few poor April Fools that their obviously bogus article is legit, I thought that JHM should go the other way today. In that I'm going to post a story...
on
1 Apr 2013
Blog Post:
New book takes a behind-the-dreams look at the way Walt Disney Imagineering really works today
Jim Hill
Okay. Last week, JHM reviewed a new hardcover that would be the perfect graduation present for any artists and animators that are on your gift list. This time around, I'd like to talk up a book that would be a great selection for any would-be Imagineers you may have in your extended family. And that...
on
9 Jun 2010
Blog Post:
How a Toon Elevator helped Mickey Mouse learn how to talk
Jim Hill
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...
on
7 May 2010
Blog Post:
Would Disneyland’s Dixieland really have made a difference?
Jim Hill
Orange County Mountie writes in to say: I have just been loving these stories that you have been doing about Disneyland ’s expansion plans from the 1970s and 1980s. All of those rides, shows and attractions that the Imagineers wanted to build back then but never got around to. In your last article, you...
on
9 Apr 2010
Blog Post:
The Disneyland that You Almost Got: Big Town USA
Jim Hill
MonkFan wrote in to say: I really enjoyed that “ TRON attraction that Disneyland almost got ” you wrote earlier this month. So I was wondering if you have any more stories about rides & attractions that almost got built at the Parks that you could share. Maybe something about my favorite part of...
on
30 Mar 2010
Blog Post:
Monday Mouse Watch: Looking over the fence at Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Jim Hill
I'm sure -- by now -- you've seen photographs of those colorful construction fences that ring " The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure " work site. Photo by Angela Ragno Just as I'm sure that -- by now -- you've seen a concept painting or two of what the exterior of this currently-under-construction...
on
29 Mar 2010
Blog Post:
What happens when things actually do sort-of, kind-of go horribly wrong at a Disney theme park
Jim Hill
At the D23 EXPO back in September, I noted – with some amusement – that the new attractions that are now in the works for Hong Kong Disneyland follow the tried-and-true WDI formula. In that the critical event, the thing that sets everything in motion (Be it Albert the monkey opening an enchanted music...
on
9 Feb 2010
Blog Post:
Walt Disney Imagineering is very serious when it comes to play testing
Jim Hill
Did you hear about the play test that WDI ran at The Magic Kingdom last month? Where the Imagineers used Guests who were waiting in line for a character meet-n-greet right outside of Pooh’s Playful Spot to try out a new entertainment-based queuing system? Though the Imagineers are being pretty close...
on
19 Jan 2010
Blog Post:
Disney Legend Harriet Burns: A model (maker) of a mother
Todd James Pierce
If you ask Pam Burns-Clair to describe her mother, she’ll tell you that Disney Legend Harriet Burns was not your typical 1950s housewife. “When I was a girl, the shows on TV were Ozzie & Harriet , Leave It to Beaver and I Love Lucy . These women were very much stay-at-home moms with the chocolate...
on
14 Jan 2010
Blog Post:
Blaine Gibson remembers Harriet Burns, the First Lady of Imagineering
Todd James Pierce
Last year, after Disney Legend Harriet Burns passed away, Pam Burns-Clair decided to put together a book about her mother. Mind you, what Ms. Burns-Clair had in mind wasn't a traditional biography. But -- rather -- a gathering of memories. Which is why -- in partnership with noted Disney historian Don...
on
12 Jan 2010
Blog Post:
Remembering Harriet Burns (1928 - 2008)
Todd James Pierce
This past Friday, the Disney community lost one of its celebrities. Harriet Burns passed on at the age of 79. She was the first woman hired by WED as an artist. She was born in San Antonio and remained in Texas for most of her young life, venturing only to Dallas to pursue a college degree in art in...
on
28 Jul 2008
Blog Post:
Monday Mouse Watch : Has WDI solved all of "Toy Story Mania" 's problems? Not Yeti
Jim Hill
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...
on
27 Apr 2008
Blog Post:
Monday Mouse Watch : It's lights out for DAK's "Rivers of Light" parade, while Beastly Kingdomme makes a character-based comeback
Jim Hill
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 ...
on
23 Mar 2008
Blog Post:
Get ready for Central Florida's coming coaster war
Jim Hill
As you enter SeaWorld Orlando , it's really hard to miss the thing. Photo by Robert Bish That enormous construction wall that's been erected around the front of this theme park. Photo by Robert Bish Not to mention the rumble of heavy equipment, as that behind-the-scenes construction team clears brush...
on
5 Mar 2008