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New domain names offer peek into Disney’s future

Jim Hill Jim Hill

It’s that time again, kids.

Time to peer into the misty future (with the help of the nice folks over at DailyChanges.com. This snazzy little website that actively keeps track of which corporations register what domain names) and find out what Mickey has up his sleeve.

If you’re a “Pirates of the Caribbean” fan, you’ll be pleased to hear that something’s clearly up on this front. More than a year before the first of two sequels to “The Curse of the Black Pearl” actually sails into theaters, Disney has been registering a slew of “Pirates”-related domain names. These include:

Wondering what was up with all this “Become a Pirate” & “Pirates Online Game” stuff, I made a few phone calls and … So far, these domain names don’t appear to be linked to Disney’s soon-to-be-going-live Virtual Magic Kingdom . Which (at least in the “Pirates” portion on this online gaming / interactive area) will allow you to rain cannon balls down on your enemies as you go off in search of buried treasure.

(FYI: Disney’s VMK — even though it won’t be fully operational ’til sometime later this summer — will begin offering limited public access sometime next month as part of its beta testing phase. So — if you want to be among the first to experience this new form of online fun — Well … You might want to make a point of regularly checking out that URL.)

A few folks that I spoke with yesterday at Walt Disney Studios seem to think that at least some of these new domain names may be tied in with this huge contest that the Mouse is planning on holding as part of the company’s promotional effort for the first “POTC” sequel, “Dead Man’s Chest.” Before I spill any additional info about this proposed contest (Which sounds like it will have some really neat prizes) … Let me make a few more phone calls. Just so I can be sure that this information is legit.

Next up, I know that a lot of you Muppet fans out there have been worried that — if next month’s “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” movie doesn’t do all that well in the ratings — that the Walt Disney Company may pull back on its once-ambitious plans for Miss Piggy & pals. Well, I’m here to say that even though a lot is clearly riding on this ABC TV movie (Which airs on Friday, May 20th at 8 p.m.), Mickey still obviously has something in the works for Kermit & Co.

If not … Then why would Disney’s legal department go to all the trouble of registering domain names like:

“What — pray tell — is a Muppets Mobile?,” you ask. As of this moment, I honestly haven’t a clue. A quick poke-around over at the Muppets.com website revealed absolutely nothing there. Though — that said — I guess I should mention that they’re still accepting entries to the “Muppets Take Tribeca” sweepstakes. Which could win you & three friends a trip to NYC. Where you could walk down the red carpet before attending the world premiere of “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Another couple of phone calls later … And I’m obviously an idiot. Because “TheMuppetsMobile.com” & its sister site will eventually be the place where you can download Muppets-related images & ring tones to use on your mobile phone. You know? Something similar to what you can already find at this website.

Anyway, fans of ABC’s two hot hit dramas — “Desperate Housewives” & “Lost” — will be pleased to hear that full season sets of both of these popular programs will be coming out on DVD later this year. To keep tabs on those upcoming Buena Vista Home Entertainment releases, I suggest you bookmark these two URLs:

And then … There are the mystery URLs. The domain names that the Walt Disney Company made a point of registering that make you go “Hmmn. I wonder why the Mouse did that?” Take — for example:

Is this the title of a new Disney movie or TV show? Some sort of virtual snack bar for the Web. Or is Mickey actually thinking about getting into the old fasioned soda fountain business?

UPDATE: As it turns out: Yes, Mickey IS getting into the old fashioned soda fountain business. As loyal JHM reader Mike just reminded me, the Walt Disney Company recently shut down the Disney Store that was located right off of the lobby of Hollywood’s famous El Capitan Theater.
 
“So what’s going in in its place?,” you ask. The Disney Soda Fountain, a new Hollywood Boulevard eatry that will attempt to echo the style & mystic of Schwabs (You know? The legendary Tinsel Town pharmacy where Lana Turner was supposedly “discovered” at its soda fountain?).

I’m told that this new Disney dining experience will serve mostly ice cream specialties & soft drinks. More importantly, this deliberately retro eatry is intended to cater to the crowds waiting to get into the El Cap and/or the folks who have just finished watching the latest Disney release at this beautiful old theater and would like a light nosh before heading home for the night.

Also a “heads up” to all you Disneyana collectors out there: The Disney Soda Fountain will reportedly feature an exclusive line of merchandise. Baseball hats, polo shirts, coffee mugs, buttons, pins & magnets all emblazoned with the newly designed DSF logo.

So if you’re one of those folks who has to have one of everything that has a Mouse on it … Well, you might want to plan on making a special trip into Hollywood the next time you’re out in Southern California. Just so you can have the Disney Soda Fountain shopping & dining experience.

Okay. So that’s one mystery solved. But what about:

Is this an early indication that Disney’s thinking of remaining its popular (and surprisingly profitable) cable channel, SoapNet? Or perhaps the Mouse is giving some semi-serious thought to selling merchandise based on its trio of ABC soaps, “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.”

Now where this gets interesting that there’s already an SoapNet online store. So one wonders: Could the SoapPlanet name somehow be tied to that popular annual event at Disney-MGM Studio theme park, “Super Soap Weekend”? Or could the Mouse be giving some semi-serious thought to reviving that defunct DCA eatry, “Soap Opera Bistro”?

Then there are the multiple domain name registeration. Where Disney attempts to grab up every single permeation of a particular website name. Which seems to suggests that something significant is waiting in the wings. For example, what do you folks make of this:

My sources at the company suggest that this might be a new program for the theme parks. Something similar to the “Disney’s Magic Music Days” program. Which is how so many high school bands are able to make arrangements to march through Disneyland, WDW’s Magic Kingdom or around Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon.

And then there are the domain names that — at least at first glance — just appear to be gibberish. Seemingly random collections of letters & numbers like:

Well, as it turns out, AOSBALG3D are actually the initials for Robert Rodriguez’s next kid-friendly flick, “The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3D.” Disney clearly thinks highly of this Dimension Films’ release (Which is due to arrive in theaters on June 10th). Otherwise, why would they have grabbed all of these “Shark Boy”-related domain names:

By the way … Friends at the studio who’ve already seen footage from “Shark Boy” say that it’s a lot of fun. Another “SpyKids 3D”-like family film that your children are sure to enjoy.

Anyway … That’s a look at some of the domain names that the Walt Disney Company has registered over the past two months. Me? I just can’t get enough of this stuff. I just love these brief glimpses over the horizon. When you can see what the Mouse has got planned for later this month and/or later this year.

Speaking of which: Here’s a quick “heads up” for all you CS Lewis fans out there:

Disney’s obviously already getting ready for the December 9th release of its first “Chronicles of Narnia” film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” So — if you’re anxious to meet Aslan — you might want to file the two URLs listed above away.

Your thoughts?

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