So far...

Baby Disney!

So Disney is set to open a baby store at the Americana in Glendale, California. Disney Consumer Products Chairman Andy Mooney says, it's among "a number of key initiatives to build Disney Baby as brand and business."

I don't about you, but one thing that I've always wanted to see is a Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet onesie. I've yet to see such a product. :)

Oyster Boy!

I just wanted to share that there's currently a Tim Burton exhibit at the LACMA between May 29, 2011 and October 31, 2011 (how appropriate). As you probably well know, this collaboration of maestros Tim Burton and Danny Elfman was the principal creative force for The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was actually originally distributed by Touchstone Pictures as opposed to Walt Disney Pictures (this was often the case for for movies considered "too dark" to be directly distributed by Disney).

Here's some additional trivia: did you know that Tim Burton was classmates with Brad Bird, director of the Incredibles (and Iron Giant), and John Lassiter, current Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios and Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) located in Valencia, California. CalArts was founded in part due to efforts by Walt Disney and his efforts to train his staff. There are also many Easter eggs in the Pixar films in reference to CalArts.

In remembrance... at the Golden Horseshoe

June saw the passing of two Disneyland legends: Mr. Wally Boag (September 13, 1920 – June 3, 2011) and Ms. Betty Taylor (October 7, 1919 – June 4, 2011).

There have been many a' moments when I've strolled into the Golden Horseshoe Saloon and glanced up at the balcony, wonder'n how it must've looked in its hay-day of performances and activities. I reckon it must've been great to see Wally Boag as Pecos Bill and Ms. Betty Taylor as Sluefoot Sue perform the Golden Horseshoe Revue, a performance that helped inspire a very young Steve Martin.

“I memorized every line,” Mr. Martin said a statement on Monday, adding, “I kept waiting for the day when Wally would have a cold, stub his toe or blow a tire and the stage manager would pull me from the audience and whisper, ‘Wally can’t make it; can you go on?’”

We regret to inform you...

We are quickly reminded that the magic stays within the kingdom with news of another anticipated Walt Disney Company round of layoffs by as much as 5% of its global workforce. The Burbank work force will likely be impacted the most. This is in part due to restructuring efforts to address a changing business landscape of decreasing DVD revenues. However, the Walt Disney Company isn't alone in this challenge as harsh economic realities and increasing pressures across the entire industry have similarly led to layoffs at many other big Hollywood studios.

Stay "Kinected" to Disneyland

Microsoft just announced at E3, Electronic Entertainment Expo, ever more possibilities to stay "kinected" to the grid via its Disneyland Adventures title. The title has a projected holiday release date, and it promises an ability to navigate a virtual Disneyland in addition to an array of mini-games. According to joystiq, there's no immediately available reports on whether players will be able to enjoy virtual attractions.

via

The Force unleashed

Love the Storm Troopers in their Mickey hats.

Deedunununu, Star Tours now ready for departure

It's no doubt that guests have long wondered when Star Tours would meet the advancements and offerings of 3-D and high-definition resolution technology available today (I most certainly have), and after a much long awaited renovation, the new Star Tours ride answered that question when it launched today on June 3rd (inaugural flight 6311) to much fanfare at Disneyland Resort in California.* (It tickles me that the grand opening ceremony would include a likeness of the spokesperson from the original ride, rocking her 80s futuristic hair-do or should I say "don't"--oh ho ho ho!)

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman, Tom Staggs, at
the ribbon sabering for the re-launched Star Tours ride

Fanfare much-ado and many hands and cameras in the air

Gone is the jittery screen and single journey option. Instead, the new ride promises some 54 combinations of adventures to ensure an enduring excitement for the ride with journeys to Hoth, Kashyyyk, Naboo, Tatooine, Coruscant, and the unfinished Death Star. Along the way, there will be the familiar and adored faces of Admiral Ackbar, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Yoda. Although this renovation sees the arrival of a new pilot droid, AC-38, it should comfort some that "Rex," the original RX-24 pilot droid, is not fully retired, and makes a cameo in the ride queue.

Vader confronts the Speeder in one of many possible
appearances and locations for the re-launched ride

Personally, this fulfills a dream I've had since I was a child. Of my earliest memories of Disneyland, I recall exclaiming to my brother, "Next time, let's go to Endor!" only to learn--much to my chagrin--that the commercial packages were simply a prop and backstory for the ride. However, after 14 years in the making and much teasing along the way, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues finally makes this dream come true as it flies its way into our hearts with a finish that is--as the Los Angeles Times puts it--"lightyears better than the original."

2011 Summer will witness not just the relaunch of the Star Tours ride but also a debut of so many other attractions. This is an exciting time for Disney fans!

Deedunununu, Star Tours announces the boarding of the Endor Express. All passengers, please prepare for immediate boarding.

*The updated Star Tours ride opened on May 20 at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Away from keyboard

Firstly, I should explain the reason for my long hiatus. Life. Life often gets in the way, but in addition to that, I have a big project planned that was conceived early on with the creation of this blog. I hope it doesn't draw the ire of Disney. That's all I want to say for now. Unfortunately, this hiatus has caused me to miss out on reporting so much Disney-related news. Stuff that has since happened: World of Color, Disney purchases Marvel, Tron Legacy, Shanghai Disneyland, Summer Nightastic, and so much more. :(

Another book about Walt

In a recent LA Times article, Charles Solomon reviews the latest of many Walt Disney biographies, Walt before Mickey by Timothy S. Susanin. Solomon has little to say about Susanin's animation expertise but also makes it clear that Susanin is an attorney, which undoubtedly affects the narrative.

I initially wondered where such a biography could find a receptive audience after Walt's early endeavors were already so thoroughly documented in Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination and Bob Thomas's Walt Disney: An American Original; however, Solomon quickly notes the different narrative Susanin offers, which may be very much of interest for entrepreneurial minds.

Due to the subject matter, this account of Walt's successes and failures should expectedly stop shortly after Walt's famous Santa Fe Railroad trip from New York after the last of a string of managerial frustrations with Charles Mintz. Still, closing the story at this point likely fails to acknowledge the full extent of the incessant entrepreneurial betrayals that Walt encounters again and again with the likes of RCA's Pat Powers and the hardships that define most of his early life. At 384 pages, this surely is not an abridged account of Walt's early creative efforts but presents a facet of an otherwise lengthy subject.

With a foreword by Diane Miller Disney, readers can at least be assured of a somewhat authorized/approved portrayal of Walt that other attempts like Gabler's did not win. I'll likely pick up a copy at some point but probably be in no hurry to do so. Walt's life is already so very well documented in so many ways.