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Blog Post:
Theme Park University website now offering insights about how the themed entertainment industry actually works
Jim Hill
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...
on
3 Mar 2013
Blog Post:
The Gaylord Palms' Christmassy DreamWorks Experience translates into lots of holiday face time with the "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" characters
Jim Hill
Francis T. sent me this e-mail yesterday: I know that you mostly write about Disney. But my eight year old has recently discovered the Dreamworks animation movies and is now completely obsessed with Shrek . We're headed to Orlando next month. So I was wondering if you had any recommendations about...
on
27 Nov 2012
Blog Post:
Looking back at the 2012 edition of IAAPA's Attractions Expo
Jim Hill
Over the past week or so, I've gotten a number of e-mails from JHM readers about this year's Attractions Expo . People wanting to know more about what it was like to wander the floor of the Orange County Convention Center after the International Association of Amusement Park & Attractions...
on
21 Nov 2012
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:
Monday Mouse Watch: Disney World uses coupons to promote off-peak dining & shopping
Jim Hill
Maybe you’ve heard about this coupon that Cast Members have been handing out at WDW ’s Magic Kingdom ? The one that gets Guests 20% off on all food that they purchase at Columbia Harbour House, Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, Pinocchio Village Haus and Tomorrowland Terrace...
on
19 Apr 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:
Florida’s frosts fail to stop Disney World’s annual Flower & Garden Festival
Leslie Navarro
By now, you’ve probably heard about the freakishly cold weather that the Sunshine State experienced back in January. Where temperatures actually dipped down into the 20s in the Central Florida area. Well, it wasn’t just the state’s fruit & vegetable crop that got whomped by these...
on
9 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:
NFFC Disney World Holiday Extravaganza places the emphasis on in-park fun
Jim Hill
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 …...
on
27 Nov 2009
Blog Post:
The Disneyland expansion plan that never happened
Jim Hill
Danni T writes in to say: You've been posting an awful lot of Disney World stories lately. Isn't it time that you wrote something about Disneyland again? Maybe do another one of those stories where you talk about rides, shows or attractions that never got built? Ask and ye shall receive. The history...
on
14 Nov 2008
Blog Post:
How "One Little Spark" nearly fried the Dreamfinder
Jim Hill
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...
on
15 Jul 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:
"We're rollin' on the Mickey's Birthdayland Express"
Jim Hill
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...
on
6 Mar 2008
Blog Post:
Patience and maintaining a proper attitude are the real keys to enjoying New Year's Eve at a Disney theme park
Jim Hill
Thinking about spending New Year's Eve at a Disney theme park? Then stop thinking and start moving. Trust me, folks. December 31st is not a day to dawdle, particularly if you plan on spending New Year's Eve inside of a Disney theme park. The key to having a fun time at this guaranteed-to-be-crowded event...
on
30 Dec 2007
Blog Post:
Remembering Bruce Gordon (1951 - 2007)
Jim Hill
Bruce Gordon was this great big bear of a guy. Ask anyone who was ever in a meeting with Bruce when he was fighting for an idea that he believed in. They'll tell you that this man was tenacious. Whether it was getting Disneyland's first flume ride built and/or preventing that theme park's "Submarine...
on
6 Nov 2007
Blog Post:
What was it like to be at Disneyland and/or Walt Disney World six years ago today?
Jim Hill
When people usually talk about what happened on 9/11, the focus (for obvious reasons) is on New York City, Washington D.C. and that field just outside of Shanksville, PA. But -- that said -- it's also important to remember what happened immediately after those four planes crashed. That sudden surge...
on
10 Sep 2007
Blog Post:
Another Kingdom That Never Came: Disneyland expansion plans circa 1976
Jim Hill
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...
on
6 Sep 2007
Blog Post:
Does "Graduation" actually bring Kim Possible's career to a close? Maybe
Jim Hill
When you're the creator of a popular television program, It's always a somewhat bittersweet experience to put the finishing touches on a series finale. Well, for Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle , working on "Graduation" (i.e. the two-part " Kim Possible " closer that airs on the Disney Channel tomorrow...
on
5 Sep 2007
Blog Post:
The Kingdom That Never Came : Disney World expansion plans circa June of 1982
Jim Hill
This is one of these stories that I'm sure is going to depress a certain portion of JHM readers. Mostly because it gives a glimpse of what might have been at Walt Disney World . Particularly if Ron Miller had remained in power at the Mouse House. Anyway ... The following is a transcript of an article...
on
30 Aug 2007
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