MouseStation 90 – MousePlanetWatch news
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Walt Disney World News
- The Disney Dining Experience Team sent
out an email last week that raised a great deal of concern unnecessarily. - A new lighting ceremony
triggers the new lighting package for Cinderella Castle. - Three disabled individuals from two states sued
Disney over the policy of not allowing personal Segways into the park. - SeaWorld Orlando raised prices,
but still charges less than Disney or Universal. - The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund named 9 new “conservation
heroes,” awarding each $1,000 to split with their cause. - MousePlanet’s Stephanie Wien is running the Walt Disney World to
raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please
consider giving to support her efforts. - Construction Updates:
- Damaged concrete and caulking in the sidewalks around all of the
Pop Century and Caribbean Beach Resorts will be repaired or replaced. - Storm drains and sanitary lines at the lodge and pool buildings at
the Caribbean Beach Resort will get a video inspection as part of the
major refurbishment. - Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a permit for the Siemens Spaceship
Earth Post Show Globe, likely for the special post-ride imaging that
we’ve been hearing about. - Imagineering has also filed a permit for the ceiling grid system portion
of the ABC Theater refresh over at the Studios. - The third and final Imagineering permit application this week is for
the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show sign.
- Damaged concrete and caulking in the sidewalks around all of the
- Quick takes:
- The Yak and Yeti restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is now open,
though there will be no Advance Dining Reservations for a while. - Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a surprise new feature: straws
for drinks. - Spectrum Brands Inc., maker of Rayovac batteries, has signed a three-year
agreement with Disney making it the exclusive supplier of batteries
at all Disney parks. - MousePlanet contributing writer Maggie Parr has a
new series of six original oil paintings and limited-edition giclees
being released at Walt Disney World on December 15. - The Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground have
both been designated as members of the Florida Green Lodging Program. - Great Irish Pubs Ltd. announced last week that it would open a second
Raglan Road Irish Pub next spring in Kansas City. - Former chairman of Walt Disney Attractions (now Walt Disney Parks
& Resorts) Dick Nunis will be inducted into the Central Florida Hospitality
Hall of Fame on March 29. - The “Backstage Pass” section of the Walt Disney World Web site features
a story about the refurbishment of Spaceship Earth. - The giant mouse ears for the new shop at the Contemporary Resort are
finally up, and work seems to be just about finished.
- The Yak and Yeti restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is now open,
This and other news can be found in this week’s Walt
Disney World Park Update.
Disneyland News
- The Disneyland Resort is offering Southern California firefighters, law
enforcement and rescue workers a complimentary three-day Park Hopper ticket
valid as part of the Disney’s Wildfire Heroes Salute. Complete program details,
including residency requirements and purchasing limits, are available at
the Disneyland
Web site. - As we mentioned in a quick drop-in at the end of the news, former Disney
Imagineer Bruce Gordon passed away suddenly last weekend. MousePlanet will
have more coverage of Gordon soon. - We ran a lot of great photos of the holiday decorations in Disney’s
California Adventure and Disneyland,
as well as some night-time shots,
in this week’s Park Update. - This and That
- The Anaheim Hilton is
scheduled for a $60 million makeover. - Tickets for the 2007 Candlelight Ceremony and Procession go
on sale next Monday, November 19 at 10am. You can purchase tickets
here. - The LA Times had articles about some of the future attractions being
added to DCA. The most recent are Voyage
of the Little Mermaid and Radiator
Springs Racers. - Disneyland executives are testing
Apple iPhones for corporate communications.
- The Anaheim Hilton is
This and other news can be found in this week’s Disneyland
Park Update.
The Walt Disney Company News
- The Walt Disney Company reported
strong earnings for the fiscal year ended September 1. - The writers’ strike will affect Disney fairly soon, as some shows do not
have enough episodes in the can to go beyond the end of the November sweeps. - Former Disney chairman and CEO Michael
Eisner weighed in on the writers’ strike, placing blame for everything
at the door of Steve Jobs. Big surprise there. - Current Disney CEO Bob Iger has said that he regards videogames as “another
promising creative engine” for the company. - Euro Disney S.C.A. reported annual
results for fiscal year 2007 (not 2008 Q1, as reported on the podcast).
They have also initiated a 1:100 reverse
split of stock. - Hong Kong Disneyland is continuing to have financial issues. Last
week, lenders removed covenants from loans and Disney suspended royalty
payments from the park until it gets onto sounder financial footing. - Disney has sent
in auditors and investigators in to check on the allegations of unfair
labor practices at Chinese factories making Disney-licensed merchandise. - Disney is starting a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) operation
in
Japan, despite the failure of MVNO Disney Mobile here in the U.S. - The 10th anniversary celebration for the Broadway production of The Lion
King was disrupted by the stagehand
strike which shut down just about every production on Broadway. Mary
Poppins was unaffected due to an independent labor agreement, but the previews
of The Little Mermaid are also affected. - Over 2 million units of video games inspired by High School Musical have
now been shipped. - StubHub.com and ESPN have made
a deal to integrate StubHub links throughout the ESPN site, allowing
visitors to buy tickets for games as they read about them. - The Disney Cruise Line has introduced a series
of podcasts to help guests plan their Disney cruise. - Disney and Miramax have two movies in the top 10, four in the top 15 and
five in the top 20 in this
week’s box office.
Administrative stuff
You can send us feedback via email
or by calling our toll-free feedback line at 1-866-939-2278. Don’t forget
that we love voicemails because then we can put your voice on the show!
We also wanted to remind you that we have now scheduled our MouseFest meet
for the podcasts. The MouseStation Hustle-tini Meet will begin at 5:30 p.m.
at Classic Concoctions in the Everything Pop food court at Disney’s Pop Century
Resort for Bluetinis to get our nerve up to get up and boogie. We’ll make
sure that we’re in the lobby before 6 p.m. so that we can do The Hustle, then
return to Classic Concoctions or elsewhere to record some more for the podcast.
For more information on the Hustle-tini or any other MousePlanet-sponsored
meet at MouseFest, check out our MouseFest
information page.
Wrapping up
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Thanks to our West Coast correspondent Andrew Rich, and audio engineer and
sound editor Steven Ng.
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