Mousekingdom Blog

A Swiss company called Center-Tainment wants to takeover Euro Disney S.C.A.

Euro Disney S.C.A.’s Management is aware that a company recently listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and based in Zug, Switzerland, has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow (30 November) to announce its intention to launch an “unfriendly takeover offer for Euro Disney”. Despite our attempts to obtain information from them, we have been unable to secure material information on this company. (Euro Disney S.C.A. press release via DLP.info)

DLP info will keep you informed on the news. Also on Reuters you can find some extra information. Personally I don’t know what to think of this. Even if they would succeed, the will have no control over the park as management is under control by the Walt Disney Company via their unlisted company EuroDisney SA. What would the benefit be in owning a company without any rights to change anything in it?

Now here is something I would like as me and my son, who is 7 at the time, will be starting to play guitar together as from next year august… (at least that is the plan at this time).

But there are more Disney guitars! Including Princesses (Via Broke Hoedown)

Disney is doing very well, more visitors in the parks, big hit movies, Great TV show and so on. Good times for shareholders. If you’re not a shareholder yet this is a good time to buy say the analysts:

Analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities reiterate their “buy” rating on The Walt Disney Company (DIS.NYS). The target price is set to $41. (NEW YORK, November 28 newratings.com)

While buying stock involves a big investment maybe, as a Disney fan, you would rather have just one Disney share as a decoration on the wall. Something that could be bought online via OneShare.

The Pirates plundering DVD record in the UK as the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest already sold 1.5 million copies in a week’s time. Disney even placed an extra order of 1 million to get to the UK.

The DVD started selling on the 20th November in the UK and some other European countries. The US release is for 5th December.

Disney is convinced Pirates would sell 3 million copies in the UK by the end of the year.

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There is a nice 1.23 minute video of the new Finding Nemo Musical show at Animal Kingdom on YouTube.

The “Go with the Flow” song out of the show looks great. Beware; this is a spoiler, in case you want it to be a surprise, don’t watch the video.

Can’t wait until your next Walt Disney World visit (like me), have fun watching the video…

We all love Disney and its movies and Theme Parks (we would not be on this site otherwise) and make the Disney Dream a little (or big) part of our daily live. With Disney being a big player others also like to use Disney to spoof and joke with to enhance their product or story. And let’s be honest, the best jokes and spoofs you can laugh with are from a product you know or love yourself. It is the part that makes you understand the joke and that makes you laugh. Just imagine there would be no Disney… how many other movies (and parks or products) would not exist.

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The Tokyo Disney Resort has lost some of its sponsors…

Just recently, the resort lost a daisy chain of lucrative contracts with Nissan Motor Co., Takara-Tomy, Morinaga, Nihon Suisan, Nihon Hills and Colgate when agreements it had with these top firms all reached their end at the same time.

But the Oriental Land Co., operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort, isn’t too worried about it, even with a potential loss of 2 billion yen in revenue a year if no new sponsor contracts would be signed for two of the bigger attractions; Splash Mountain and the Western River Railroad…

“We see the current situation as nothing more than a coincidence that all the contracts ended at around the same time, Visitor numbers for the first half of this year were 3.3 percent up on the same period for the previous year, so we think things are now moving in the right direction.” (Source: Mainichi-msn.co.jp)

(Picture from Chris’s Tokyo Disney Resort Fan Site)

When the Disney Imagineers get the chance to create something they sure do it right…

The Themed Entertainment Association named Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain of Disney’s Animal Kingdom winner of the 2006 THEA Award for Outstanding Attraction. The prestigious award goes to Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative design organization that created and developed the attraction. (From LaughingPlace via The Disney Blog)

TEA website and Picture from The Magic in Pixels

About a good month ago we already witnessed a very positive article about Robert Iger, the Disney CEO that took over from Michael Eisner. Here is another article, this time from the Guardian, that puts the man in charge of daily Disney business into a very good spotlight.

A one-time weatherman with an instinct for American family values has brought back the good times at Walt Disney, the sprawling entertainment empire that is enjoying a renaissance on Wall Street and in cinema box offices.

And it looks like he can’t do anything wrong when reading the rest of this positive article…

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What do you do when you’re a Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion fan? You collect everything related to the attraction and give it its own room. I have been dreaming of this myself but Ricky Brigante made this dream come true for him by creating a room dedicated to the Haunted Mansion.

Make sure to have a look at the Inside the Magic Blog for more amazing and fun (but not to spooky) pictures…

Could this be the new “Ying and Yak” restaurant for Animal Kingdom that will open in 2007?

(Source: Mousetunes)

Podcasts keep me sane on a Monday at work. I already mentioned the Inside the Magic a couple of times on this blog but there is another one I listen to every Monday. The one I am talking about is the MouseTunes podcast by Lou and Nathan. This week they have a special guest on their show; Dave Smith, Disney Archivist and author. Dave talks about his work as archivist and the A-Z of Disney Book (3rd edition) he wrote among many other things. A real treat you should not miss if Disney History is something you like and enjoy. Other things they talk about is Theme Park news and Disney information. There is also a lot of babbling going on during the show (as they say themselves) making this show a lot of fun to listen to. So if you’re not listening to this show make sure to add it to your list. It will make you’re Monday’s a little more bearable while at the office. If you can’t wait till Monday you can already start listening to it on Sunday, when the podcast goes live.

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We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public. (Walt Disney)

I really like this quote and there is a lot of truth in it too. While critics have a big influence (we all read papers, watch news, etc) at the end of the day it is the public that can make something or break something.

The critic can be good but if the public stays away it was no success, and if the critic is bad, the public might still like it and go for it. As an example; I am sure we can all name a title of a movie bashed by the critics but we love so much.

More Walt Disney Quotes can be found on Brainyquote

Things like this are sad!

The first workers to greet many tourists at Walt Disney World will soon be some other company’s employees. Disney World plans to turn over at least 167 bell, valet and baggage service jobs to an outside company in January.

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If you like your Disneyland History you might want to visit the Davelandblog. The blog shows some real nice vintage picture giving the viewer a feel of the Disneyland Past. Especially the Arial Views are a nice addition to the blog. You’ll see a 1966 view of the Disneyland park and will have the option to zoom in on the picture to have a closer look.

Make sure to look at the Haunted Mansion construction close up, making this entry extra special.

Another aerial picture comes from 1962 showing an (empty) Fantasyland.

Are you planning a trip to Disneyland Resort Paris? Then here is a tip from me to start the day before the rest of the park guests.

Get an Annual Dream Pass, it is worth getting the pass from the moment you stay 3 days or more. Not only will you have unlimited access for a year but also get a 20% Discount voucher for 1 meal and a 20% discount voucher good for a whole day of shopping. But the one thing so many forget about is the early entry option.

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The Orlando Sentinel has some details and information on the Cinderella suite inside the castle at the Magic Kingdom that will welcome lucky winners of the “Year of a Million Dreams” celebration at Walt Disney World for a sleep over. The burning questions for some was what would there be to do while staying at the Castle.

“Do they have television? I mean, what is there to do up there, for kids?” she asked. “Especially overnight. That’s going to be a long night, you know.”

Yes, there will be TV. Yes, it looks as if the family will be shut in after the theme park closes for the night. And yes, a butler (known as a comte du cierge in old French), will be at their call.

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Considering Finding Nemo is Disney/Pixar’s biggest animated hit to date (and is second only to Shrek in animation terms on the all-time worldwide box office list), it is only natural the film should provide the inspiration for a new generation of Disney attractions, of which The Seas with Nemo and Friends at the Epcot park is the latest example.

Glossing over for a minute the subject of whether The Living Seas pavilion deserved to be renamed after a film, this latest use of the Nemo brand to enliven Disney attractions - following on from Turtle Talk with Crush, also in the same pavilion last year, the soon-to-open Finding Nemo: The Musical show at the Animal Kingdom, and the under-construction Crush’s Turtle Twister at Disneyland Paris - is a fascinating development.

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[Studio Tram Tour at Walt Disney Studios, Disneyland Resort Paris]

Live can go into mysterious ways sometimes as can be seen in this story from Scotland: One day you pitch a great idea to Disney…

… Her tenure started as a success after she came up with the idea of tartan-clad McMickey and McMinnie dolls. Putting the world-famous cartoon characters in matching kilts was later hailed as ‘inspired’ by senior managers at Disney, as the dolls rang up sales of several thousand for the entertainment giant.

And the next time you’re in trouble…

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