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Did you need a distraction from all of the sad news coming out of Boston tonight? I know that I do. Which is why -- rather than watch that footage of the explosion at the marathon's line yet again -- I picked up a copy of Doug Lipp 's terrific tome, " Disney U: How Disney University develops...

The Internet is really a wondrous place. Especially if you're a young person who's considering a career in animation. If you've ever considered becoming a character designer someday, you can always swing by Tom Bancroft 's Character Mentor Studio or Stephen Silver's blog and then...

Last Monday afternoon, I was at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and overheard a pretty funny exchange between two of the docents who'd been assigned to work the " D23 presents Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives " exhibit. Photo by Alice Hill It seems that one of these...

It was supposed to be Disneyland 's first thrill ride: Monstro the Whale ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which - in much the same way that Dumbo the Flying Elephant ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... was just a Disneyified version of that amusement...

“Mommy and Daddy, take my hand, Take me out to Freedomland ” I know, I know. That radio jingle may not be familiar to all you Disneyland and Walt Disney World fans. But for kids who grew up in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the early 1960s, that was the sweet siren song of “The Disneyland of...

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...

Like most old guys, I tend to get my brain stuck in a certain time frame. So I didn't immediately recognize the man sitting in the limo. For some odd reason, I expected to see the guy I remembered. The slender, dark haired young man with the horn rimmed glasses. However, this older gentleman didn't exactly...

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...

Hey, folks -- Jim Hill here. Before this month's Floyd Norman column officially gets underway, I thought that I'd take a moment to let JHM readers know that Mr. Fun recently launched his very own blog. Appropriately titled Mr. Fun's Blog . So if you want more than just the usually once-a-month dose of...

Last month, theme park fans the world over rejoiced at the news that the Walt Disney Company would be spending more than a billion dollars to redo DCA . With a large chunk of this cash being committed toward the retheming of the entrance portion of this troubled theme park . Which will soon be turned...

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...

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...

Julie L. writes in to say: All of the other Disney sites have been running stories this week about Disneyland 's " Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ". So what's your take on this classic Tomorrowland attraction coming back to life after being shut down for almost nine years now ? Dear Julie -- To be honest...

Matt H. writes in to say: I just finished reading Charlie Ridgway 's " Spinning Disney's World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent ." And my favorite part of that book has to be all of his stories about WDW's pre-opening phase, where Ridgway kept having to take reporters through the half-finished...