Mousekingdom Blog

One of my favorite characters you’ll find in my personal top three is Tigger. Not only do I love Tigger, I am very fond of Pooh himself too. Can you imagine the faces of the people visiting us when they saw 4 pooh bears sitting in our sofa but no children in the house? Pooh is still there, but now, with my son running around in the house, people see it as normal. With pooh being close to my heart it hurts too see him being used abusively on a cover from a Belgium magazine. The magazine Humo is using him for an article related to “near death experiences”. Unfortunately Pooh is being portrait with a hammer in his hand pounding on Piglet. Including in the cartoon you see the blood flowing because of the impact of the blows given to piglet by his “friend”.

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Here is your chance to be part of the next High School Musical movie; send your resume with a good picture to the following address. Good luck to everybody!

Jason LaPadura
LaPadura/Hart Casting
100 Universal City Plaza
MT 6149
Universal City CA 91608

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If doing a job well, you get compensation! However I do have a little mixed feelings when I see what one person gets for his job, even if he did it well, even if he is the CEO…

27.7 million is what Robert Iger gets for his work in 2007. Not a bad paycheck I would say, but is it really necessary. Isn’t this a little over the top…

calculations of total compensation include salary, bonus, incentives, perks, any above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. (Palm Beach Post)

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What would be your dream job? Would it be something involving Disney? I know I would change my present job for any job at Disney (actually I would pretty much change my current job for any other job, but that is a whole other story I will not bore you with). My dream job would be something behind scenes; either Imagineer (I guess I am not alone), or something in the Stage production department (as I have been on stage as of the age of 8 and never lost the love for the theatre, this might sound very logical).

But if for some reason you would not be able to change your day job but still would love to be a little part of it; what about becoming the very first “Chief Magical Official”? This job sounds great, not only will you be working for the mouse (Although calling this work isn’t right), but you’ll be enjoying the magic both in Walt Disney World as well as in Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. You’ll get all travel expenses paid, deluxe accommodation, some extra spending allowance, Disney Park admission and even an hourly  rate of compensation (I would do this for free).

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Read the title again!… One more time!… Did you see what is different? No it’s not the Walt Disney Company that is going to build a park in Argentina, it is Walt Disney Mundo SA inc., the “Other” Disney company. They have nothing in common with the first Walt Disney Company. This is what they have to say about their company name

In light of the public events, we inform the media and general public that Walt Disney Mundo SA, Inc has never stated that we have any relationship with the other Walt Disney, Inc. We cannot be held responsible for any inaccurate or wrong material that is spread in the media based on misleading or dubious sources and lack of rigorous research and fact-checking. (Walt Disney Mundo website)

Are they serious? Are they trying to blame the media for giving incorrect information? Or are they trying to hide the fact that they are trying to get a lot of media attention by using the same name!

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If you’re in for some Disney history and future check out this interview with Walt Disney Pictures Chairman Dick Cook (The People at the Disney Studios know him as Dick and not Richard Cook). He talks about a fire in 1970 on the Disneyland monorail, how he got the best ice cream in El Capitan and about the new Jungle Cruise movie we can expect in the near future.

There will be a family involved. The skipper will play a very important role. He’ll be more of an Indiana Jones kind of guy, with a little Jack Sparrow in him, who’s going to be able to take this family on an adventure that they never dreamed they were going to be on when they first got on board. In true Disney fashion, it will definitely have the adventure and the intensity—but also the heart and the fun. We hope we have a good outline of where we want to go and what we want to do with it in the next year. (BoxOfficeMojo)

That’s not all as this is a very long interview filled with great information we Disney fans love to hear about. Other items you’ll read about are the Pirates, Peter Pan, Narnia, Star Wars, and the movie Song of the South

It’s a great movie, a great piece of art. It’s a part of our history and our heritage. I’m sure at some point in time it will find its way—we’re just trying to think of the right and proper way of getting it out there. We’ll find the right balance of being respectful and honoring the work that has been done. (BoxOfficeMojo)

Read the whole interview here.

Life for some of us can be just work, and for others can be just play! If you are a Disney fan (and I have the feeling that if you are reading this you are  you will probably find yourself spending much of your hard owned cash on Disney. Things like Disney trips, books, movies, DVD’s, that absolutely necessary winnie the pooh honey flavoured toothpaste for your kid  (yes right “kid” now put it down and so on to infinity and beyond.

Yet for some people on this planet life can actually be hard, that might not have the chance to ever see a Disney themepark, nor a movie…actually some kids on this planet might not even have the chance for a regular meal everyday! Well Disneyland Resort Paris has actually done something really deserving praise; they have created a charity auction over on ebay where people (like me and you folks) and actually bid on some very fancy, and dremish, pieces of haut couture.

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Numbers are everything! Especially those on the bank accounts of the shareholders. However, with many shareholders happy on the latest Disney reports, I now would like to have a look at some other numbers. Did you guess them already? It’s the numbers fans like to see…

It has been a while, but since Disney’s financial numbers are that good, I wanted to have a look at possible new gates again. Not only the financial numbers make me do this, but also the fact that others seem to believe building new theme parks is a good investment at the moment. Again, I am looking at Dubai, but also at the Hard Rock park in Myrtle Beach. A park they say to be the first of what might be a world wide adventure. Several cities already approached them, including Santa Ana, just around the corner of Disneyland where a deserted golf course might well become their second adventure.

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When DreamWorks came alive and started to put out their animation Disney got a new rival they had to take in account. Shrek being one of their top productions, but proven with other top titles that they are on top of the industry; Shark Tales, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, to name a few.

A little rivalry between two top companies is always good, especially for us, the audience. With DreamWork bringing top quality out there, Disney will have to stay sharp to make sure they also bring either top quality or better product on the market. Something they are (in my opinion) succeeding in.

This time however Dreamworks is one step ahead of Disney and signed a super deal with the IMAX cooperation.

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For those interested in numbers check out the Walt Disney Company Report for Fiscal year 2007. You’ll see that numbers have gone up (again) and that the theme parks (except for Hong Kong) are doing extremely well.

I am not going to try and analyze the report but I think owning Disney Shares is a good thing right now (I should really get some myself but I just spend my money on a WDW trip)

If the following information is indeed correct Malaysia would be the next to get a Disney Theme park.

Walt Disney Co is looking to build a theme park on a 500-acre (202-hectare) site in southern Malaysia, a business weekly reported on Saturday. Citing unnamed sources, the Edge said the theme park, to be located in Bardar Nusajaya in the Iskandar development zone, would be ready six years after a deal was signed, according to early proposals. (Reuters)

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Disney has announced plans that they will open a new 800 room hotel, including Disney Vacation Club villas, in Hawaii. Contstruction is already to start next year with a planned opening for 2011.

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In August the Disney Gallery was closed down in Disneyland. Yesterday Disney announced their plans for the location. In 2008, as part of the expanded Year of a Million Dreams, lucky guest will be  able to stay there for a sleep over. Of course the rooms will be fully transformed into Disney magic.

“We don’t just want them to be beautiful rooms – we want there to be Disney Magic in them,” Kim Irvine, the head of the Disney Imagineering Anaheim office who’s overseeing the project, said today (OC register)

Sounds nice doesn’t it. How about this…

Decorations will include a full-size carousel horse, mechanical songbird and original wall paintings of European castles. (NC Times)

The new residence will be hidden away in the New Orleans Square and will include 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and will have an open air terrace. Sounds very nice to me…

You can see the picture of the suite in the Year of a Million Dreams catalog I talked about yesterday.

Picture copyrights; Disney

Disney has added a catalog online presenting their 2008 Year of a Million Dreams give aways. The dreams presented in this catalogue will be given away as from 1st January until 31 December 2008.

And there are some nice dreams in their. How about a cruise with one of the Disney ships, or become an honorary Imagineer. What about a Hot Air Balloon flight over the parks, and not just any hot air balloon but one in the shape of Spaceship Earth. (Looks awesome to me)

Can you think about anything more magical? How about staying in the Cinderella Castle suite… During New Years Eve. I love that idea and wish I would be there for that one. Staying at the castle sounds awesome enough, but during the New Years celebration sounds pretty much perfect to me.

You find the amazing catalog here including many more dreams

Picture copyright: Disney

Today I was thinking about the countries represented in the pavilions at Epcot and while doing some research I tumbled on this site; Lionsgate international. They talk about  new countries to be added at Epcot and how they will be involved choosing and building them, including negotiating with the countries that would be represented as new additions.

They are showing some artwork on Australia, the first new country they would add to the existing, and according to the website, expanding list. Also included in future projects would be Brazil, Greece, Russia, Sweden, New Zealand and Chile. The Disney company already had negotiations with other countries to be added, like Australia, but so far without results. One of the things coming to my mind was; why would Disney ask an outside company to do the negotiation for them and why would they ask another company to build these pavilions while they have the imagineers who do all the magic for them?…

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I have always appreciated the first (and only) feature length movie featuring our favorite trio of cartoon characters;
Mickey, Donald and Goofy star in a little gem called “the three Musketters”.

This movie, which was only released on the home video market and never at cinemas, took the classic Alexandre Dumas novel about the politics and fights at the French court and twisted them in a pure “disney way” by injecting humor, romance, magic and a little bit of “goofy” (which never hurts ) in it.

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There is not going to be a 5th gate at Walt Disney World and there is not going to be a 3rd park for Disneyland Resort, at least not for the foreseeable future as mentioned during the Merrill Lynch Media Fall Conference by Thomas Staggs (CFO of the Walt Disney Company). Sad news of course, although not really surprising, but us Disney Theme Park fans would just love to get into the “new gate” mood. It’s so much fun talking about a new gate or park, but I guess we will not be talking about it very soon.  

We’ve already talked about the fifth gate on several occasions here on the blog. In the past I was always convinced that we will get a fifth gate, only not knowing when to expect it. Now it  really looks like another gate is very far away… way in the future. Obviously for the fans it is a shame but from Disney’s point of view very understandable.

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Andy already talked about the positive news that Bob Iger spread at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference as far as the success of the recent investments into the Disney parks and resorts is concerned - and basically there isn’t much too add to that, besides that the incredible year that Disneyland Resort Paris is having right now (which could become DLRP’s most successful year ever) is another proof  that investments into entertainment and new rides pays off. So with these facts (with excerption of the DLRP point) being discussed throughout the internet and in the classic media, it seems a safe bet, that it was the most exciting thing Bob Iger said about the parks and resorts during his presentations … right? NO!

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If you invest, you’ll make money. Most of the time, it can of course go wrong too. But that is something the Disney Company doesn’t have to worry about. The new attractions at Walt Disney World and Disney California Adventure have proven that the right investment will bring in the green. It is expected that, when Disney will release their next numbers, another growth in Disney Theme Parks attendance will be a fact.

Attendance in fiscal 2007, which ends in two weeks, may exceed the record number of tickets sold in 2006, when all Disney’s parks celebrated the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, the company’s first theme park, Iger told a Goldman, Sachs & Co. conference in New York. (Orlando Sentinel)

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Disney has revealed its plans for the First Disney Vacation Club on the West Coast. The rooms are planned to be ready for 2009.

The lucrative Disney Vacation Club time-share business already has 350,000 members, but 86% of them live on the East Coast. The addition of 50 two-bedroom units in Anaheim marks a push to expand the business in California. (LATimes)

Great news for the DVC members as many have waited for a long time for this. But with only 50 rooms we can expect them to be fully booked for most, if not all, the time once they are completed. I guess it will not be easy to get a room booked but I might be looking into this and see if the possibility is there for me to visit Disneyland in 2009 when those rooms are available. A Disneyland visit is long overdue and while I was looking at a possible 2008 trip, I might now just hang on for one more extra year before I go. While the DVC option helps me in making this decision I still think it will be hard to get one of the rooms, waiting might not be such a good idea. Tuff decisions; No DVC Disneyland visit in 2008 or DVC Disneyland visit 2009? What would you do?

Picture Copyrights Disney