This past weekend, Daniel R. wrote in to say:
Hi Jim!
I am an annual passholder, been studying Disney my whole life, have read all the books, met with Disney execs., am a walking Disney encyclopedia, have many cast member friends, and STILL can’t acquire the information that you have here! I am reading your amazing articles on “Remembering Light Magic”, and am wondering –
WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR INFORMATION FROM?! WHO DO YOU KNOW?!
Were you ever a cast member?
Just curious! Thanks!
Magically Always,
Daniel
Dear Daniel —
First of all, thanks for your kind note. And — no — I was never an official Disney cast member. As to where I get the info that I use in my articles … Let’s just say that I have some very generous friends who — on occassion — will drop an incredibly juicy story right in my lap.
Take — for example — Ken from Ohio. Ken’s this very articulate guy who probably knows more about the WDW theme parks than anyone else on the planet. Given that he and I share the same sort of warped sense of humor (Particularly when it comes to the Mouse), we struck up a friendship a year or so back. Which is why Ken and I now exchange e-mails once or twice a week.
Anyway … A few months back, Ken began talking about this website that he’d just discovered: www. DailyChanges.com. This site provides up-to-date listings of all the domain names that various corporations have recently registered. And among the firms that regularly have their new domain names listed there are (you guessed it) the Walt Disney Company.
So — at Ken’s urging — I began checking out DailyChanges.com every day. And I have to tell you, folks, that this website has been a real eye opener. At least to when it comes to the Mouse’s maneuvers.
Oh, sure. Some of the stuff listed at DailyChanges.com isn’t all that startling. I mean, given how heavily Disney has been promoting “Jake in Progress” lately, is it really all that big a surprise to learn that the Mouse also registered a domain name for this new John Stamos sitcom (which — FYI — debuts on ABC on Sunday night, March 13th)?
JAKEINPROGRESS.COM
Likewise, given how much importance the Walt Disney Company is placing on the next two installments of its “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise, is it really all that big a shock to learn that the Mouse has pre-emptively snagged these two domain names?
PIRATESOFTHECARIBBEANDEADMANSCHEST.COM
POTC3.COM
Or — given the positive response that “Herbie: Fully Loaded” reportedly got at test screenings earlier this month — is any wonder that Mickey would then want to nail down this domain name as well:
ILOVEHERBIE.COM
But you want to know what I found really fascinating, Daniel? The domain names that Disney registered because it wanted to make sure that no one else could ever get their hands on them. I mean, take a gander at these:
DISNEYLABOURSTANDARDS.COM
DISNEYLABOURSTANDARDS.NET
DISNEYLABOURSTANDARDS.ORG
DISNEYSWEATSHOP.COM
DISNEYSWEATSHOP.NET
DISNEYSWEATSHOP.ORG
DISNEYSWEATSHOPS.COM
DISNEYSWEATSHOPS.NET
MICKEYSSWEATSHOP.COM
MICKEYSSWEATSHOPS.COM
As well as:
DISNEYHUMANRIGHTS.COM
DISNEYINTERNATIONALLABORSTANDARDS.COM
DISNEYLABORRIGHTS.COM
DISNEYLABORSTANDARDS.COM
Which I guess I can understand. Given that — by taking these particular domain names off the market — the Walt Disney Company then prevents its critics from ever being able to use them against the corporation.
And then there are the domain names that Disney just felt compelled to grab because … Well … Let’s face it: There are some pretty strange characters out there. People who will say and/or do anything in order to get a little attention. Which is why (I’m guessing here) Mickey felt compelled to take this particular gem off the market.
(I apologize in advance for the somewhat adult language. I substituted an asterick in an attempt to clean things up a bit. But — that said — this domain name still has be seen to believed):
MUPPETF*CKER.ORG
Seriously, folks. “MuppetF*cker.org.” Can you believe that the Walt Disney Company actually had to put down cash money in order to take that domain name off the market? Is that bizarre or what?
Then there are those domain names that Disney has snagged that — all by themselves — don’t quite make sense. But — at the same time — still sound rather intriguing. Take — for example:
LUAUNOW.COM
PAJAMA-PLACE.COM
Well, I don’t know about you folks. But — after a long, hard New England winter — I’m actually ready for a luau now. And if I had to go to a pajama place in order to get myself a mai-tai and a little poi … Well, that wouldn’t be so bad.
Or — better yet — how about this series of domain names? Which seem to suggest that the Imagineers may actually be revisiting their “Live the Dream” concept of the early 1990s (Which involved letting guests stay overnight inside the Disney theme parks):
LIVETHEKINGDOM.COM
LIVETHEKINGDOM.NET
LIVETHEKINGDOM.ORG
RULETHEKINGDOM.COM
RULETHEKINGDOM.NET
RULETHEKINGDOM.ORG
Speaking of the Imagineers: Look at how hard WDI works at trying to protect all the Internet-related aspects of the attractions that this arm of the Mouse House creates. I mean, take a gander at all the variations on “Expedition Everest” -related domain names that Disney decided to register last December:
DISNEYEVEREST.COM
DISNEYEVEREST.NET
DISNEYEXPEDITION.COM
DISNEYEXPEDITION.NET
EVEREST-THERIDE.COM
EVEREST-THERIDE.NET
EVERESTRIDE.COM
EVERESTRIDE.NET
EXPEDITIONEVEREST.NET
WDWEVEREST.COM
WDWEVEREST.NET
This is really the tip of the iceberg, folks. It seems like — virtually every week — the Mouse snags another pile of domain names. Some of these hint at projects that Mickey may have waiting in the wings. While still others reveal subjects that Disney hopes will never, ever see the light of day.
I mean, you really gotta wonder about the projects that would necessitate Disney registering domain names like:
YOURENOTINVITED.COM
AUTHORIZEDPERSONNELONLY.COM
APPROVEDPERSONNELONLY.COM
But me personally? I prefer the more upbeat domain names that the Walt Disney Company has registered over the past 8 months. Projects like:
DISNEYLANDFRIENDFREE.COM
I mean, who wouldn’t want to take a friend along on a trip to Disneyland for free? I’d love to hear more about that particular project. Certainly more than I’d prefer to hear about:
WIFEINMELTDOWN.COM
Anywho … That’s a brief look at some of the domain names that the Walt Disney Company has registered over the past few eight months. I hope that this article kind-of, sort-of answered your question, Daniel.
Now a quick question for all of you folks: Is this the sort of story that JHM readers would be interested in hearing more about?
If so, let me know, okay? And then (maybe) we can make a “Disney Domain Name Update” a regular feature here at JimHillMedia.com.
Your thoughts?