MousePlanetWatch Disney News

October 25, 2007 by MouseStation Crew

MouseStation 78 – MousePlanetWatch news

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Walt Disney World News

Walt Disney World has announced the lineup
of events for New Year’s Eve.
Once again, Walt Disney World will be holding
a promotion to let you have Mickey himself give your family the good

news that they’re going to Walt Disney World with a phone call on Christmas

Day when you book a Walt Disney World vacation between November 23 and December

23.
We editorialized a bit
on the Old Key West DVC lease extension deal, based on the response that

we received from DVC.
The final conviction was just obtained in a child
molestation case first publicly reported nearly three years ago, and

which took place at Walt Disney World six years ago.
Construction Updates:
- Construction permits have been filed for The Wave, the 40,000-plus
  square foot restaurant at the Contemporary Resort.
- The rear-projection screen at the American Adventure.
- Toy Story Mania work continues with the installation of Graphics Package
  I
- Several changes have been filed for Typhoon Lagoon.
Quick takes:
- The manufacturer has recalled all bags of Minnie’s Bake Shop Chocolate
  Chunk Cookies that were sold at the resort due to the fact that the
  
  packages had macadamia nuts in them when they weren’t labeled as such..
  
  The packages have been pulled from the shelves. However, if you think
  
  that you have bought these cookies, look for UPC number 400136148117.
  
  Please call 1-800-435-4499 for more information.
- Chocolate Chunk Cookies that were sold at the resort. Apparently,
  the cookies contain macadamia nuts. The cookies were available between
  
  September 18 and October 2. The packages have been pulled from the shelves.
  
  However, if you think that you have bought these cookies, look for UPC
  
  number 400136148117. Please call 1-800-435-4499 for more information.
- Val Bunting will be the replacement for Dr. Beth Stevens as Vice President
  for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Jackie Ogden, head of animal programs,
  
  is also getting a step up to a resort-wide position.
- Walt Disney Imagineering has hired Scott Trowbridge, the creative
  head of development for Universal Studios. Trowbridge will report directly
  
  to Bruce Vaughn and be in charge of Imaingeering R&D.
- The Fort Wilderness Segway tour has now been made public.
- Unsold copies of Thomas Kinkade’s release of his painting of Cinderella
  Castle willl be available at Art of Disney locations.

This and other news can be found in this week’s Walt

Disney World Park Update.

Disneyland News

Lots of details were presented
on the major reworking of the troubled Disney’s California Adventure park.

The complete Disney press release is here.

The Orange County Register has a nice

overview map of the areas to be rebuilt.
Rumors are flying regarding possible Candlelight Processional dining
packages being offered tyhrough Tickets.com.
The SunCal-backed Committee to Protect and Defend Anaheim is
collecting signatures to place their Anaheim Voter Empowerment initiative

on the ballot this year.
Disneyland’s Holiday Time
tour begins November 17 this year.
Disneyland’s new purchase-with-purchase
offer features four holiday-inspired retro tin places. Photos of the

plates are on the Disney Gallery web

site.
Much of MousePlanet’s California-based contingent will be at Walt Disney
World for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 6.5K and 13K races this weekend,

weather

permitting. If you’ll be there, be sure to stop by our post-race

meet to say hi.

This and other news can be found in this week’s Disneyland

Park Update.

The Walt Disney Company News

Disney is using the “World’s
Biggest Treasure Hunt” to promote the December 21 release of National

Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.
If you can’t afford to go see the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert tour
in person, Disney will

be releasing it as a Disney Digital 3-D movie.
Touring with Hannah/Miley are the Jonas Brothers, who will be releasing
a “Bonus

Jonas Edition” of their debut

Hollywood Records album next Tuesday, including two additional songs

on the CD, plus an additional DVD with videos and concert footage.
There’s a bit of controversy being generated by the
conservative media over asking Promenade Pictures to remove the words

“chosen by God” from an ad for the movie “The Ten Commandments.”

While the media was up in arms about “removing God from a Bible story,”

it seems that the request was made because ad’s wording was a bit confusing

over who exactly was chosen by God, whether it was the voice actors or a

character in the movie.
Game pieces sold at Target stores earlier this year along with Cars-themed
backpacks have

been recalled due to magnets becoming detached and posing a hazard to

small children.
The Los
Angeles Chapter of the American Jewish Committee honored

Disney Studios chair Dick Cook with the Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin

Human Relations Award for his professional and civic endeavors to help promote

tolerance, understanding and cooperation.
Firefly Mobile
is now offering a free phone to Disney Mobile subscribers who switch to

the service.
A group of major media players released guidelines
for protecting copyrights on user-generated content on sites such as MySpace.

This is in conflict with the site-filtering technology recently announced

by Google’s YouTube

subsidiary. Multiple standards rarely work, so we’ll have to wait to see

if this is an exception.
Disney is celebrating the one-year anniversary of their Healthy
Kids food initiative with spots on the Disney Channel and other venues.
The Kirstie Kelley Disney
bridal line has expanded again with the “Blossoms” line for

flower girls.
Roy Disney’s latest
activist-shareholder move comes against tax-preparer Jackson Hewitt.
The New York Times is
reporting that France is starting to warm to The Walt Disney Company,

partly on the heels of Ratatouille.
Disney has produced a
new film for the U.S. State Department to show at Customs for all arriving

international tourists. It includes a remixed/rearranged version of the

Illuminations soundtrack.
Disney has placed three movies in the top ten at the box office this
past weekend, with The Game Plan holding on in third place, Miramax’s

Gone Baby Gone opening in sixth place and the rerelease of Tim Burton’s

The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D coming in at number

eight.