Since it opened on May 1, 1989 as the third major theme park at Walt Disney World(r) Resort, Disney-MGM Studios has celebrated the golden age of Hollywood with such classic attractions as The Great Movie Ride, Magic of Disney Animation and the fascinating Backlot Tour. However, starting in January 2008, Disney plans to change the theme park’s name to “Disney’s Hollywood Studios,” which reflects “how the park has grown . . . to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer – in music, television, movies and theater,” according to Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton (August 9, 2007, press release).

Along with the name change to “Disney’s Hollywood Studios,” the 135-acre theme park will launch a slew of new attractions, live shows and special events in 2008 to complement such classics as Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show; Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Major attractions and live entertainment venues to be added for 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios include the following:

Block Party Bash
An all-new Disney-Pixar inspired parade, Block Party Bash, will enable guests to sing and dance along with their favorite characters from such hit Disney animated films as A Bug’s Life, Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille and Toy Story. The Block Party Bash also features high-flying acrobatics and is a must-see for guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios starting in the spring of 2008 (replacing the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade). .

High School Musical 2: School’s Out!
The interactive High School Musical 2: School’s Out show makes it debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a lively cast that dances and sings to hit songs from the wildly successful Disney Channel original film, “High School Musical 2: School’s Out!” Catch “Wildcat fever” at the High School Musical 2: School’s Out show, which will be presented multiple times daily at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Jedi Training Academy
Based on the incredibly popular Star Wars films, the Jedi Training Academy at Star Tours features an intergalactic entertainment experience that gives young Jedi students the opportunity to learn the “ways of the force” in order to battle and defeat the evil Darth Vader and his minions. The Jedi Training Academy will take place multiple times daily at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Play House Disney-Live on Stage!
A whole new Play House Disney show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will include a host of new Disney Channel characters from such programs as “Handy Manny,” “Little Einsteins” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” Designed for preschoolers, the live Play House Disney show will last approximately 20 minutes and take place multiple times daily at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Playhouse Disney is located on Soundstage 5 in the Animation Courtyard, directly across from The Magic of Disney Animation.

Toy Story Mania!
Toy Story Mania! takes the interactive ride-game experience to infinity . . . and beyond! Inspired by the classic Disney-Pixar animated movie, Toy Story, Toy Story Mania! will make its debut in the summer of 2008 as the newest attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. With state-of-the-art, 3-D technology, this thrilling interactive ride will take guests on a wild adventure through a video game where they use spring-action shooters to toss rings at aliens, throw eggs at barnyard targets and launch darts at balloons (scoring points in the process just like at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin). Toy Story Mania! will feature all your favorite Toy Story characters such as Woody, Hamm, Rex and much more.

In addition, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be an integral part of Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams celebration, which has been extended throughout 2008. Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams celebration will feature the Disney Dreams Giveaway, which boasts “more dreams that only Disney can make true” such as a night’s stay inside Cinderella Castle Suite at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, a star-studded trip to the “High School Musical 3″ film premiere, a flight in a hot air balloon high above a Disney World theme park or a private day at Disney’s tropical island paradise, Castaway Cay.

Special events such as ABC Super Soap Weekend (November), the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (November-January), ESPN the Weekend (late February) and Star Wars Weekends (June) will continue to take place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008. In addition, Night of Joy at Walt Disney World will be hosted for the first time by Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Held in early September (September 5 and 6 for 2008), Night of Joy features some of the most talented singers in contemporary Christian music for a magical celebration full of joy and inspiration. Four popular acts have already confirmed for the 2008 Night of Joy: MercyMe, tobyMac, Chris Tomlin and Rush of Fools.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008 will also continue to feature opportunities for kids of all ages to meet and greet their favorite characters such as the Power Rangers, JoJo and Goliath and Little Einsteins as well as Lightning McQueen and Mater from Disney-Pixar’s animated movies, Cars.

“Make plans to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008 and experience all of the new entertainment options that this dynamic Disney World theme park has to offer,” said Kyle Collins, Director of Interactive Marketing at HotelsCorp.com. “And by booking your Disney World vacation online today, you can enjoy unbeatable savings on discount Disney tickets, hotels near Disney and Disney World vacation packages.”

Orlando, Florida Guide, the best guide to Orlando, offers discount Disney World tickets, discount Universal Orlando tickets and discount Sea World Orlando tickets, as well as discount Orlando hotels and individually tailored Orlando vacation packages.

Models International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hollywood Studios International announces the signing of acclaimed international model Rachele Schank.

More Fashion Models News – USA

Between Heaven and Hell There’s Always Hollywood!

how do you talk about a movie like Barton Fink?

depends.

if you are familiar with the development of the studio system in Hollywood, 1930’s American writers and playwrights, East Coast v. West Coast, ‘Jewish intellectuals’, the blacklist

you are likely to read it as a (barely) veiled recounting of those times with easily recognized characters

if you are really into Fight Club

you’ll have a different read

could also be a tale of good v. evil, justice and punishment, a vision of Hell, a stay in Purgatory, a glimpse of Heaven.

all of the above can be argued for; none fit exactly.  and there is enough leftover symbolism to fill a few boxes

it is, without a doubt, the finest movie the Coen Brothers have made.  so far.

trailer

Barton Fink – Original Theatrical Trailer

welcome to Hollywood, Barton Fink!

Baton Fink – Welcome to Hollywood

I’ll show you the life of the mind!

Barton Fink – I’ll show you the life of the mind!

confused yet?  excellent.  now go watch (or rewatch).

a nice little thing found out in the ether: teh script

Nablopomo 2009 badge

Oh, how convenient that Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” just started playing on my Pandora Radio Christmas list. Boooo. No, I wont be home for Christmas, and yes, this is my first time ever being away from my family and home for Christmas. I can deal with this no problems, but every time this song plays I get a little bit sad, just a teeny weeny bit because…

• I have no Christmas tree to set up and no stocking to hang.
• There will be no Cookie glaring up at the shiny Christmas ornaments with his little brain ticking away and wanting nothing more than to jump into the tree and attack the ornaments.
• There will be none of Mum’s amazing roast pork and Nana’s delicious turkey.
• There will be no big family gathering over Christmas Day lunch while Bing Crosby’s Christmas CD is playing in the background.
• And the biggest disappointment of them all, (not that I’m materialistic or anything) is that I will have no Christmas presents waiting under the tree for me when I wake up on Christmas morning <insert sad face here>.

A typical Christmas at my home back in Australia

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights @ Hollywood Studios

So, feeling a bit down about this, a few Cirque mates (who are also spending their first Christmas away from their families) and I were feeling rather Christmasy on Monday night. We decided to head down to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and check out the ‘Spectacle of Dancing Lights’. I’d heard about this from other Disney Cast Members and the hype surrounding it, so I was extremely excited to get down there and check it out,  especially since Australia doesn’t really go all out with the Christmas lights… and besides, I’m a sucker for Christmas!

OH. MY. GOD. is all that comes to mind. I could not believe my eyes! The set up was INSANE! Sooooo pretty. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so amazing before in my life! Not one single wall went to waste, there were lights absolutely every where. I stood there kind of dumbfounded for the first few minutes. I’m pretty sure Mike has a video of me running around with my mouth wide open and all you can hear me saying is “Woahhhh!” I was like a five year old let loose in a candy store. I felt so happy at that exact moment in time… until “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” started playing over the sound system haha.

You’re probably wondering where the ‘dancing’ part comes into all of this, right? Right. Well, every 10 to 15 minutes, a Christmas carol comes blasting over the sound system and the lights start dancing to the beat of the song. As if the non-dancing lights weren’t already good enough, the dancing lights come along and kick the non-dancing lights right in the butt! Ouch. This is just all too much for me. I must look like the biggest tool ever to grace this planet as I walk around in awe with my mouth hanging open. Again, I feel like a six year old allowed to stay up all night and watch TV instead of going to bed at 8pm. So, so pretty. Nothing tops this. I start to feel a little bit OK about missing Christmas in Australia; just a little bit.

I could post a plethora of photos and videos from this event, but not a single one will do this spectacle justice. Do yourself a favour and get your butt down to Hollywood Studios from now until July 4, 2010 to check this out. You will not be disappointed!

Hollywood Studios closed at 8pm so we had to get moving. We were all still in a very Christmasy mood so we headed over to the AMC at Downtown Disney and went to see Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol‘ in 3D. Two thumbs up. Amazinggggg. I’m so glad we picked the 3D session and not the regular viewing because this movie just looked so phenomenal in 3D. I found it rather amusing how much they made Colin Firth’s character look like him and Jim Carrey did a sensational job voicing many of the characters. Although this may seem like a children’s movie, I think it was rather creepy at parts, enough to scare little kids!

What a great start to the holiday season

I am going to be writing about a few of the attractions I feel many people overlook when visiting Walt Disney World® Resort.  These attractions may not be the fastest, flashiest, or the most exciting at the park, but if you take time to visit these, it will make your trip to Disney even more magical. 

In my opinion, the most overlooked attraction in all of WDW is the “One Man’s Dream” on Mickey Avenue at Disney’s Hollywood Studios^TM.  I believe if it were not for Walt himself, the many things that make my life a little brighter would never have happened.  There would be no Happiest or Magical places for one to go and just leave the rest of the world behind.

 “One Man’s Dream”, now sponsored by D23 (the Official Community of Disney Fans), opened October 1, 2009 and displays over 400 items from the Disney Company Archives.  When visiting this little corner of the Studios, I usually spend a quite 30 – 40 minutes checking out the displays such as the Disneyland Castle model, the camera stand used to film “Steamboat Willie”, plans for Project-X (the Florida Resort), and many other little pieces of Disney History.

 At the end of this self-guided tour, there is a small theater that shows a short 15 minute film about Walt Disney.  This is a must-see for any true fan of Walt Disney. 

So, on your next trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, make sure you contact Ears of Experience to help you get the most out of your trip. And when you visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios^TM, be sure to take some time to visit “One Man’s Dream”.  I know I will be visiting it again during my December trip.

Discover the magic of Walt Disney World® Resorts and parks on a Walt Disney World® family vacation, and share the joy of Mickey Mouse and company with your kids. Let Ears of Experience plan the perfect Disney trip for you and your loved ones. Contact us today at 1-877-80MOUSE. We look forward to sending you on the magical vacation of a lifetime.

www.themouseexperts.com

When you live in Florida it is one of the things you definitely end up doing at some  point in time. The beaches? Daytona Speedway? YES. All of those are also true but i am speaking of Disney World.

Over the weekend it was my birthday so I decided to take the day and go to Disney. We went to Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM). The weather was warm but not hot. The crowds were moderate. This was nice since waiting for attractions  you can sometimes wait up to an hour or more if the parks are over populated. Our wait time for each ride was around 30 minutes or less.  We walked around and decided what rides and shows we wanted to see. Sara enjoyed the Playhouse Disney show as well as Beauty and the Beast. Daddy enjoyed the Extreme Car Stunt show. I enjoyed the Toy Story Mania game and American Idol Experience. So there was something for everyone.

Of course the best thing for me was being there with my family. Sharing yet another experience with Sara. She is growing so very quickly. Her seventh birthday is just around the corner. So after Christmas I have a birthday celebration to plan. She loves her birthday. As soon as her birthday party ends for the year she is already deciding what she wants to do for next year. So now you are asking ..What does  going to Disney have to do with Sara’s birthday for next year? Well, once we left Disney she decided she wants us all to go to the Magic Kingdom for her birthday!  We will have to see about that one, Sara!

It was just a great day. There are a lot of details i could write about our trip. About the PrimeTime cafe where we at lunch and had terrific food. Also the entire restaurant sang happy birthday to  me which was very special. I could talk about the green soldier men and various characters we saw walking around the park. I could tell you about the awesome Christmas Osbourne lights they had. Illuminating an entire street and having the lights dance to music. While you are walking or standing watching this amazing show you have snow fall from the sky. It was truely spectacular. However, Disney is one of those places that you have to go and experience for yourself. We are lucky enough to live very close we can do it in a day. Saving hotel room costs. We just have a blast.

In reality though it isn’t the attractions or Mickey that makes Disney such a great place for us. The most magical place on Earth is so special to us because we get to experience it as a family. Family is what makes it magical.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt

Echo Lake

50´s Prime Time cafe – restaurante ambientado no estilo da decoração dos anos 50 – preciiiiiisa de reseeeeeerva – sem reserva não rola!!!

Hollywood Boulevard

The Great Movie Ride – passeio de barco por cenas dos filmes clássicos do cinema antigo e moderno (O mágico de Oz, Esther Williams, Casablanca, Alien) – meia hora de puro deleite…

cena de Singing in the Rain (Cantando na chuva)

cena de o Mágico de Oz

cena de Casabalanca

AM

6:30 Woke up, took meds, drank water, stretched.

7:00 Exercise. 60 minute walk/jog. 2 laps around the resort lake. Approximately 3 miles. Woohoo!

Exercising on vacation!

8:00 Breakfast. 1 EAS Myoplex banana cream nutrition shake, 1 apple.

11:30 Lunch. Hollywood Studios, Pizza Planet. 1 side salad with balsamic vinaigrette, 4oz albacore tuna, tiny wedge of pizza (3 bites).

PM

12:30 Snack. 1/4 personal pizza. This is a tiny bit of pizza.

4:00 Snack. 1 apple, 3 bites of chicken curry at the Commissary.

9:00 Dinner. 1 side salad with balsamic vinaigrette, 4oz albacore tuna.

Muitas pessoas me perguntam: “Qual o melhor parque da Disney?”; “Tenho apenas 3 dias, qual parque devo deixar de visitar?”; “É possível fazer dois parques no mesmo dia?”… e por ai vai… Sempre tomo muito cuidado ao responder, pois a resposta depende muito do perfil dos visitantes.

Cada parque oferece um conjunto de atrações para atender Crianças, Jovens e Adultos… e em todos eles é possível encontrar brinquedos radicais, lúdicos e/ou artísticos… além dos encontros com personagens Disney. Na minha opinião, um dia em cada parque é insuficiente, por isso, indico a meus amigos para que estendam sua viagem a fim de desfrutarem melhor de tudo que os parques podem oferecer.

Para ajudar aqueles que viajam com crianças, disponibilizo um Mapa/Guia com melhores dicas para quem viaja com crianças de 5 anos e que também serve para quem viaja com vovós e vovôs ou não curte as atrações radicais. Peço desculpas pela qualidade da digitalização, pois meu Guia foi molhado e está bem difícil encontrar um novo.

Clique aqui para ver as Dicas Disney para Crianças

Espero que aproveitem… BOA VIAGEM!

Magic Kingdom (Inglês)	Epcot Center (Português)	Animal Kingdom (Inglês)	Hollywood Studios (Português)

Como muita gente tem me solicitado mapas da Disney, estou disponibilizando no Blog as versões de Outubro/09. Lembre que é sempre bom estudar o mapa dos parques antes de iniciar sua visita, pois assim você pode criar uma agenda em função dos interesses do seu grupo.

Dica Importante: Uma vez dentro do Parque, evite grandes deslocamentos constantes. Elabore uma agenda sequencial em função de horários de shows, paradas, seções de autógrafo e, principalmente, horários dos Fast-Pass… BOA VIAGEM!

The beauty of my temporary relocation to Canada is that Orlando is in the same time zone.  Sure, it’s a few hours flying away, but there’s no time difference and no jetlag.  I headed to Orlando last week to catch up with friends from the UK.  Had a great time lazing by the pool (I was smothered in SPF30), going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and Hollywood Studios (Disney movie park).  Below are a selection of pictures taken with iPhone 3GS

Row 1, L-R: Mel’s Die-In, Souvenir Cup and Lighted pumpkin, all from Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Studios

Row 2, Lit pumpkins at Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Stuidos

Row 3, Krusty the Clown slippers, Pizza Planet souvenir cup from Hollywood Studio’s, Hot air balloon blocking the sun at Downtown Disney

Row 4, Lego Loch Ness Monster at Downtown Disney

We began the day with another light breakfast, then headed over to Hollywood Studios, where I was looking forward to riding the Aerosmith roller coaster since we had missed it the last time. We arrived and headed right over to Fastpass it (we didn’t want to wait 30 minutes in line). This park is all about Hollywood and film and is probably my least favorite of them all but I was looking forward to 3 things: the Aerosmith coaster, the Narnia ride and the Toy Story Mania ride.

We headed over to the Narnia ride which was such a disappointment. We stood and watched a really long trailer for a movie we had already seen. Bummer.

Headed back to Aerosmith coaster and boy, this made up for it. That initial pull as you shoot down the track in your “limo” is awesome. And this one goes upside down, loops, all that fun stuff. In the dark! No big drops but that’s OK. You zoom past glow in the dark signs while you ride. I don’t know about you but signs on a roller coaster ride always make me nervous because I’m really tall (5′11″) and they always seem really close to my head… I know there are people taller than me and these things are heavily tested, but I still duck when I see signs zooming by me. No way do I put my hands up in the air on these things either. That’s how accidents happen.

After Aerosmith, we headed over to see what time the American Idol show was playing at. We had just missed it by 5 minutes. We figured we’d catch the next one. Went over to Toy Story Mania and the waiting line area must be the coolest thing ever. It’s like you’re shrunk down to toy size and you’re surrounded by all these huge toys.

This was the ceiling (part Scrabble, part Snakes and Ladders, part checkers)

Mr. Potato Head was our guide. He was actually pretty funny too.

The ride itself was a bunch of games where you use your cannon to shoot at targets. They move you along in a car and you have to wear these special glasses and it keeps track of your score. I was in the lead until the last game!!! Then Chris beat me by a mere 2000 points: 145,000 to my 143,000. This was one of our favorites and worth the wait, although seeing all those huge toys in the waiting area was really fun as well.

We headed over to the Star Tours gift shop to check that out. We missed the American Idol show again by a few minutes. We stopped to eat at the 50’s Prime Time cafe and this was a HOOT! The theme is “mama’s kitchen” set in the 50s where the staff refer to everyone as “kids”. We got to wait in the livingroom while they prepared our kitchen table:

Chris watching 50s TV while we wait. It had started to drizzle right before lunch (hence his shirt).

We were seated and told the rules of the house (no whining, no elbows on the table, etc.). It was really cute. The decor was awesome too. Formica tables, 50s TVs everywhere, real kitchen items (old cookie jars, curtains, plants, knick knacks…). It was really fun. I had the char-grilled chicken sandwich and a coke float, Chris had the turkey sandwich and a root beer float. At the end they brought us the “grocery bill”. Fun.

After lunch, we realized that we missed yet another American Idol show (not meant to be!), and the stunt show only had 2 times (1:20 and 4:30) and we missed the first one and weren’t going to wait around for the next one. This will go on the list for the next Disney trip.

We checked out the Great Movie Ride just to say we did it – neither of us had ever seen it and there were a couple of good moments there but nothing extraordinary.

We headed back to the lodge to rest for a bit since tonight was the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba in Downtown Disney. I was super excited for this one. It’s beyond me how we lived in Montreal for 30+ years, the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil, and never saw a show before now. Anyhoo. Our giraffe buddies were out again:

We took the Disney bus to downtown Disney and got off at the Marketplace to do some shopping before dinner. The show was at 9pm. I wanted to check out the huge Disney store and boy, is it huge. You can find everything in the parks’ gift shops here, all in one place. Impressive store. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood (T-Rex was too packed) which made this our Hollywood day (Hollywood Studios + Planet Hollywood) - haha get it? Dinner was good (lasagna + mojito for Chris, NY steak and red wine for me). They played some awesome songs from when we were in high school (i.e. Groove is in the heart by Delite, C+C Music Factory, …). Nice.

Next. La Nouba. Oh my lord – what an awesome show it was. You know all your preconceived notions about what a circus is? Well, throw those out of the window - the only thing that comes close to that is the cotton candy they sell in the lobby. This was art/circus/theater. There’s so much going on at the same time, each character has their own special personality and skill set – it was fantastic. Anyone who hasn’t seen a Cirque show yet, go. A definite must-do. And now I can cross it off my Life List - woohoo!

Tomorrow is Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival with Angie and Scott.

Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney 

foi produtor cinematográfico, cineasta, diretor, roteirista, dublador e co-fundador da The Walt Disney Company.

Foi o criador dos parques temáticos Disneylândia e DisneyWorld, além de ser o fundador da corporação de entretenimento, Walt Disney Company.

O lema de Disney sempre foi “Keep moving forward” (Continue seguindo em frente).

Aos 16 anos, começou a estudar arte, na “Kansas City Arts School”.  Em seguida, trabalhou em algumas agências publicitárias. A seguir, entrou para uma companhia cinematográfica, na qual ajudava a fazer os cartazes de propaganda dos filmes.

Com o irmão Roy, criou a pequena produtora “Laugh-O-Gram”, que animava contos de fadas. Esses desenhos animados eram exibidos no cinema local antes dos filmes.  Em Hollywood, Walt Disney contatou a distribuidora de filmes M. J. Wrinkler, dizendo que o seu estúdio de animação tinha diversos filmes para vender. Wrinkler aceitou pagar 1.500 dólares por cada filme.

Depois de angariar dinheiro, adquirir material e contratar pessoal, Walt começa a fazer planos: Alice, uma série em que uma moça convivia com personagens e cenário animado.

Depois veio Oswald, o coelho sortudo, um grande sucesso que levou à reavaliação dos valores dos contratos quanto aos preços dos filmes.

Foi para Nova Iorque, onde foi apanhado de surpresa. O patrão para quem Walt desenhou Alice e Oswald, roubou-lhe os personagens, a equipe de desenhistas e as encomendas, porque as mesmas não foram assinadas em seu nome.

Para superar a fase difícil e contornar os prejuízos, Walt Disney criou Mickey Mouse em 1928 para competir com o sucesso do Gato Félix. O camundongo, desenhado a partir de uma série de círculos, provou ser ideal para o desenho animado e se tornaria o personagem de maior sucesso dos estúdios Disney. Detalhe: O nome Mickey Mouse não seria Mickey Mouse, seria Mortimer. Mas a mulher de Disney, Lilian, insistiu e conseguiu batizá-lo assim.

Em 1927, já se havia inventado o filme sonoro. Poucos anos depois, inventou-se o filme colorido. Disney e seus assistentes utilizaram as novas técnicas com muita imaginação.

Pato Donald, Pateta e Mickey

O primeiro desenho sonorizado foi Steamboat Willie, de 1928. No início, o próprio Walt dublava o Mickey. Surgiram, em seguida, outros personagens para contracenar com o famoso camundongo:Minnie, Pato Donald, Pateta e Pluto.

De 1929 a 1939, Disney produziu uma série de desenhos chamada “Silly Symphonies“(Sinfonias Tolas), a primeira colorida. Mickey estrelava esses filmes ao lado dos novos personagens. O desenho “Flowers and Trees“, dessa série, recebeu o primeiro Oscar para um desenho animado.

Walt Disney no trailer de Branca de Neve

Walt Disney pretendia fazer um longa-metragem da clássica estória de Branca de Neve.  Após três anos de produção, Branca de Neve gerou fundos necessários para a construção de um novo estúdio e foram criados novos longas-metragens: Pinóquio, Fantasia e Bambi.

Com a entrada dos Estados Unidos na 2ª Guerra Mundial, Disney foi convidado pelas Forças Armadas para produzir desenhos animados de treinamento para os soldados. Em seguida, começou a fazer filmes de propaganda militar, nos quais utilizava principalmente seus personagens mais conhecidos.

Cinderela

Depois da guerra, Walt Disney viu a sua empresa arruinada, pois alguns dos seus filmes tiveram pouco lucro. Decidiu, assim, a fazer o filme Cinderela, pois tal como Cinderela, Walt Disney foi da pobreza a riqueza.

Mas Walt Disney não trabalhou apenas com desenhos animados. Seu primeiro longa-metragem com atores foi “A Ilha do Tesouro” (1950). Em 1954, fez “20.000 Léguas Submarinas“, baseado na obra do escritor francês Júlio Verne.

Dez anos depois, produziu “Mary Poppins“, uma mistura de desenho animado com personagens humanos. O filme concorreu ao Oscar em 14 categorias, levando cinco prêmios, incluindo o de melhor atriz, para Julie Andrews, e o de melhor canção, por “Chim Chim Cher-ee“.

Disney obteve um de seus maiores êxitos em 1955 ao inaugurar a Disneylândia, um superparque de diversões situado em Anaheim, na Califórnia.

O chamado Walt Disney World, perto de Orlando, na Flórida, foi inaugurado em 1971, após a morte de Disney.

O cineasta, porém, não viveu para ver as atrações da Disneyworld, como o Epcot, o Magic Kingdom, os estúdios MGM (atual “Hollywood Studios”) e o Disney Animal Kingdom, além dos parques aquáticos. Walt Disney faleceu no dia 15 de dezembro de 1966, aos 65 anos, em Los Angeles, na Califórnia, vítima de câncer.

Com a ajuda de Lillian Bounds e das filhas Diane Marie e Sharon Mae, seu irmão Roy continuou comandando os negócios por mais algum tempo, vindo a falecer um mês após o término da construção do “Magic Kingdom” e a correspondente inauguração do “Walt Disney World”.

Em 2006 o cargo de CEO foi ocupado para o então presidente da Disney, Robert (Bob) Iger.  Bob iniciou um novo ciclo de expansão da companhia, cujo marco inicial é a compra dos estúdios Pixar, o que fez com que Steve Jobs, CEO da Apple e dono da Pixar se tornasse o maior acionista pessoa física da Walt Disney Company.

Em 2001, ano do centenário de nascimento de Disney, o desenho animado “Branca de Neve e os Sete Anões” foi relançado em vídeo e DVD com várias novidades, como um “making of” do desenho, um videoclipe da canção Some Day My Prince Will Come, cantada por Barbara Streisand, e um jogo. Para além de estúdios cinematográficos, o vasto império criado por Walt Disney inclui diversos parques temáticos (“Disneylândia”, “Disneyland Paris”, “Disney Japan” etc.), inúmeros canais de televisão e elevados rendimentos originados na venda direta de filmes e livros, e nos direitos de utilização por outras entidades das imagens dos personagens.

Walt Disney é a pessoa que mais prêmios Oscar ganhou em todos os tempos. 

estátua no Magic Kingdom

O Walt Disney World Resort é o maior e mais visitado resort em todo o mundo, contendo quatro parques temáticos, dois parques aquáticos, vinte e três hotéis temáticos; e inúmeras lojas, restaurantes e locais de entretenimento e lazer. Operado e controlado pela Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, segmento da Walt Disney Company, está localizado em Orlando, Flórida, Estados Unidos.

Idealizado por Walter Elias Disney e inaugurado em 1 de outubro de 1971 com o parque temático Magic Kingdom, o Walt Disney World Resort foi ampliado com a inauguração do Epcot (em 1 de outubro de 1982), Hollywood Studios (em 1 de maio de 1989) e Animal Kingdom (em 22 de abril de 1998).

My friend and former co-worker, Pam, contacted me last week about their upcoming trip to Orlando.  Her daughter turns the big 5 on October 21st so they headed down here from West Virginia to celebrate.  Luckily, we had a clear schedule on Sunday and were able to drive over to meet them at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The weather finally cooled off here which made the day very enjoyable.  The kids and I were completely comfortable in jeans all day long.  Hooray for fall weather!  J opted for shorts because he’s crazy like that.

It was so nice to see old friends and hang out at the park.  Wildman’s favorite ride was Star Tours.  Cutie Pie enjoyed Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Toy Story Mania.  I must admit that Toy Story Mania was my favorite as well.  J thoroughly enjoyed the live action stunt show.

We stayed to watch the Fantasmic light and firework show then headed home.  Both boys were out like a light on the way home.  Now I’m facing a week without J.  He’ll be in DC all week for work.

I hope this week goes by fast!

Acabo de receber uma mensagem da Kenia com um monte de perguntas super relevantes pra quem está indo à Disney.

A primeira pergunta que ela fez foi sobre fazer dois parques no mesmo dia. Eu conheço pessoas que fazem isso, mas eu não recomendo. Acho que o dia fica muito corrido e você tem que ter um planejamento mto bom do que quer fazer, para priorizar certas atrações. Além disso as crianças ficam muito cansadas com a “correria” que a gente acaba impondo a elas – isso aconteceu conosco nos primeiros dias, e o primeiro (e mais potente) sinal do cansaço é a malcriação…. Mas mesmo com um super planejamento, acho que você acaba abrindo mão de curtir a atmosfera do parque ou de ter tempo para tirar fotos com os personagens ou parar para ver um daqueles shows que acontecem sem você estar esperando. Mas, se for pra fazer dois parques no mesmo dia, acho que o melhor seria fazer com os parques da Universal em função da proximidade – vc não perde tempo de locomoção.

Outra pergunta da Kenia foi em relação aos horários dos parques. Ela quer saber se dá pra ir em outlets depois. Bom, nessa viagem acabamos fazendo isso mesmo. Como não tinhamos um dia para as compras fomos ao outlet depois do Islands of Adventures (e vai ser o tema do próximo post, pois as meninas foram às compras e os meninos foram à luta!). Tem alguns parques que fecham cedo como o Animal Kingdom, ou os da Universal. Pra verificar os horários dos parques é só ir no calendário do site da disney. Os oulets mais famosos – o Premium e o Prime – costumam fechar às 11h., mas em datas comemorativas eles mudam os horários – é preciso checar no site deles. Mas geralmente dá fácil pra sair às 18h de um parque menor  e aproveitar o fim do dia nas compras. Mas não recomendo que isso seja feito depois de um parque grande (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc) e nem de um parque mais longe como o Sea World.Além disso dá pra aproveitar esse parques que fecham mais cedo tb, para ir ao Boardwalk, Downtown Disney e outros shows fora do complexo.

Kenia também me perguntou sobre o carrinho de bebê. Os parques alugam sim carrinhos, mas são um pouco caros e não sei se tem limite de peso ou idade para aluga-los. Mas se você precisa de um vale mais à pena comprar no WalMart pois custam cerca de 20/30 dólares – quase o preço da diária de um carrinho nos parques. Além disso já ouvi dizer que alguns hotéis têm pra emprestar.

Éla também gostaria de saber mais sobre a mochilinha/coleira do macaquinho que foi essencial na viagem. Minha cunhada ganhou as mochilinhas de uma amiga, entao não precisamos comprar lá, mas já vi que tem no walmart. Olha aqui!

Bom, acho que é isso Kenia. Espero ter ajudado.

Although I have been to Disney World probably about 75 times in the past 30-ish years, I can honestly say I never get tired of it.  Just driving up to the entrance brings such feelings of excitment, I feel like a kid all over again!

This time, though, I wanted to do something different.  I have heard about the various tours that are offered, and have always been especially intrigued by the one that takes you into the legendary “underground tunnels”.  So I found it.  It’s called the Backstage Magic tour, and I am going to attempt to describe it in a nutshell, for anyone who might be interested.  I am not going to go into great detail, but if you plan on taking the tour and don’t want to ruin any of the surprises, stop reading now!

The tour is one of the priciest, because it takes you to 3 parks,  lasts about 7 and a half hours, and includes lunch.  (Tip:  if you pay for the tour using the Dsney Visa, you get a 20% discount!)

Your day begins at a clearly-marked meeting point in front of EPCOT at 8:45 in the morning.  You are given a name tag and an assisted listening device (which was comfortable enough to wear all day, and allowed us to hear everything over the noise of all that was going on around us).  If you are not there by 9, you will be left behind.  Although, this is Disney, so apparently if you are late they will get you to where you need to be, like the honeymooners in our group who “overslept”. 

I was instructed when I booked the tour to not bring bags, phones, or cameras, but all were allowed;  however, you may only take photos when you are “on-stage” (in areas open to the public), and our bags were checked a total of 4 times, for WMD’s (weapons of MOUSE destruction).

Our tour was led by 2 Disney veterans who kept us interested and entertained the entire day.  We rode around on an air-conditioned Disney Cruise Line bus, and cold water bottles (as well as bathroom breaks) were made available to us throughout the day.

The tour began with a drive through the back of EPCOT, stopping at the American Experience, one of my favorite attractions.  Backstage, we got to see how everything works, (I won’t tell exactly what we saw, or how it worked), and I have to say it was really interesting.  The best part, though, may have been learning about the visual tricks (“forced perspective”) Disney uses to get guests to see and feel certain things.

After EPCOT we headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where we were taken to the back of one of the most popular thrill-rides.  We learned a lot about how it was created, and how it works, and it is not at all how I thought.  Very cool stuff.  (Then we took a bathroom break inside the park, where we got strange looks from guests who were trying to figure out who the big herd of people with name tags and earpieces were–pretty funny!)

Then, it was off to the Disney Tree Farm.  We learned about how all of the character-shaped topiaries are made, and got to see many of them in various stages of growth.  Quite beautiful.

Lunch was served up family-style at the Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.  It was all-you-can-eat bbq.  It was delicious, and gave us a chance to get to know the other people in our group (mostly older couples, but also a family of 4, the honeymoon couple mentioned earlier, and one lone ranger–this is definitely a tour you can do solo).

After lunch we headed to a few more locations.  Some of these places were more fascinating than others (each tour may vary, and the tours also evolve with time).  We felt that we spent a little too long behind the scenes of Disney laundry, although it was interesting, because it’s not something most people ever think about.  We did, however, get to see how costumes go from ideas all the way to completion, and also got to see where ideas for attractions come to fruition. 

In the area where components of attractions are inspected, maintained, and repaired, we saw the cars from Space Mountain, inside and out (not a spoiler, because Space Mountain is curently closed;  if you go in the future, you will likely see other things being worked on).

Finally, we found ourselves at Magic Kingdom.  We snuck in from a hidden entrance (just as we did at EPCOT and Hollywood Studios), and ended up right on Main Street.  We followed the enticing scent of freshly-baked cookies (which I was later shocked to discover does NOT really come from the cookies!), and stopped on Main Street where we had an amazing view of the afternoon parade. 

Of course, by this time, we were all wondering the same thing–do those underground tunnels really exist???  I had always heard rumors of a tunnel system running under the Magic Kingdom, but never knew whether to believe it.  They do indeed exist (again, not a spoiler, because this is listed on the tour description on the Disney website). 

While the tunnels (called “utilidors”) were probably the most top-secret and highly-anticipated element of the tour, the tidbits of history and trivia passed on from our guides really made the tour worth the time and money spent.  They really conveyed their knowledge of the Disney philosophy, and gave all of us the chance to catch a small glimpse into the heart of Walt Disney himself, and the “magic” that he believed to be the “real” world.

I would definitely recommend taking this tour if you are a lover of all that is Disney World.  Even if you consider yourself to be a bit of a Disney know-it-all, I believe you will find some surprises along the way….

***If you would like more info on anything regarding the tour, just ask.

We just got back from a quick trip down to the Walt Disney World® Resort. It was supposed to be a relaxing, cool October visit, but it turned out to be just the opposite. Orlando had a heat wave last week and we heard the record-breaking temperatures were the hottest it’s been there in October in 150 Years. It was brutal! And….add Columbus Day weekend and the Food and Wine Festival and it all added up to a hot, crowded place. Still, we managed to have a lot of fun and we tried to stay cool wherever we could.

This visit, we stayed at the Boardwalk Resort for the first time and it was beautiful. The decor is of a turn-of-the-century boardwalk, complete with restaurants, bars, carnival games, and all of the little touches that made you feel like you were really at an old boardwalk. Our room was large and had a balcony overlooking the boardwalk. We had heard of people not liking this resort because of the noise from the boardwalk, and although we could hear a little at night, it wasn’t too bad.

The resort is split into two halves, with one side for DVC members and the other for regular guests. There are two quiet pools for those who want to relax and one larger pool with a bar, water slide, music, and games. The water slide is set up to look like a classic wooden roller coaster along the boardwalk and my daughter said it was fun. There was an activities member at the pool each day playing music and pool games for the kids. My daughter even surprised us by singing kareoke in front of everyone!

From this resort, you can either walk or ride the boat shuttle to either Hollywood Studios or EPCOT.  EPCOT was a five minute walk and Hollywood Studios was about 15-20. 

Overall, we loved this resort and would definitely stay here again. If you have a favorite resort, let us know about it. We would love to pass on any tips you may have.

Discover the magic of Walt Disney World® Resorts and parks on a Walt Disney World® family vacation, and share the joy of Mickey Mouse and company with your kids. Let Ears of Experience plan the perfect Disney trip for you and your loved ones. Contact us today at 1-877-80MOUSE. We look forward to sending you on the magical vacation of a lifetime.

http://www.themouseexperts.com/

Toy Story Mania

5 – The magic of Disney animation

4 – The Great Movie Ride

3 – Toy story, Midway Mania

2 – Studio Backlot tour

1 – Star Tours

It was awesome!

We had a wonderful time, with wonderful friends, and any doubts that I had about going to Disney World as an adult were silenced after the first couple hours.

Of course, that might be because I am such a child in some ways (some might say immature, or juvenile) – but it was just plain fun.

We rented a house in Kissimmee, which is just south of Orlando proper, and it was only about 15 minutes from Disney World. It had a pool, and a pool table – really much nicer in some ways than a hotel – much quieter, and since we shared it with our friends Peter and Nanette, it was a lot more affordable than a hotel. The worst thing I can say about it is that we had to buy toilet paper (one roll per bathroom provided – 4 people for a week? Not!).

Brian and I arrived on the Saturday evening, and got settled in – we’d thought about going to Universal Studios theme park on Sunday, but ended up lazing around floating in the pool and just goofing off. Peter and Nanette drove down from Atlanta on Sunday, and arrived in the late afternoon. We had dinner and then went grocery shopping for breakfast and miscellaneous stuff.

We spent one day each at four parks – Epcot, the Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. They each had their own charms, and each day we spent pretty much the whole day at one of the parks.

My favorite part of Epcot was the Mission: Space ride, and even though we were there from 9:00 am until after the fireworks at 9:00 pm, we didn’t get to see everything.

The Animal Kingdom was my favorite park overall – we started with the Kali River Rapids ride, walked a couple of trails, had lunch, ran to the Dinosaur ride (this is in the high heat/humidity, and Brian with a knee that is due to have surgery a week-and-a-half later), walked more trails, rode on the Safari ride, watched the parade, took in the Bug’s Life 3D movie, and shopped. The Expedition Everest ride was out of service, so we didn’t get to ride it, but there was so much else to do, it was not missed. This park closes at 5:00 pm, so we actually had an early day – went back to the house and cooled off in the pool, went to dinner, played games. Stayed up way too late, but having fun doing it.

The next morning I woke up with a migraine – Brian, Peter, and Nanette went on to the Magic Kingdom without me, but Brian came back in the afternoon and picked me up. We hit a lot of rides and shows, and stayed for the parade and fireworks – the fireworks here were incredible – there were some things I’ve never seen before. Getting out of the park was bad – I was actually surprised, because based on our experience with the other two parks, Disney really knows how to move people. We never had to wait for a tram or had any delay getting out of the parking lots at Epcot or Animal Kingdom – the Magic Kingdom, however, failed to magically whisk everyone out and there was a major wait just to get onto the monorail. We opted to take the ferry, and it was only a little better. When it’s still sweltering hot and your feet hurt, there’s the potential for a major meltdown (surprisingly, we saw very few children going through that, and no adults ;-} ).

The next day was my absolute favorite day of the whole trip. We went to the Kennedy Space Center, and took a tour of NASA. We got to see the shuttle launch pads, the Assembly building (where they put the shuttle together with the rocket boosters), see a refurbished Saturn V rocket, one of their space museums, and walk in a retired shuttle. I grew up reading science fiction, and hearing and watching rocket launches – the only thing that would have been better (besides getting to go into space, of course) would have been seeing an actual launch. Someday!

Afterward we went to the beach – it was great walking in water that was warmer than the pool at our rental house, and I picked up a few shells, and we all tracked sand back to the car.

Our last day we spent at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Great stunt shows, lots of other fun shows, and the most awesome rides I’ve ever been on. We rode on the Star Wars Star Tours ride, and I thought it was really great. Then we went on the Tower of Terror, and I thought it couldn’t get any better (free fall? yeah!). Then we went on the Rock’n Roller Coaster, and wow! I was blown away. Best roller coaster I’ve ever been on. Going on the Star Tours ride again was incredibly tame after that.

The weather was not cooperative at all. We’d chosen October because normal temps are around the mid-80s, and I don’t really do very well with heat above that range – it brings on migraines.  And since we were going to be outside most of the time, we wanted to try and hit weather that wouldn’t be overwhelming for me. So what happens? Orlando has a heatwave the week we’re there – mid-90s, 70-90% humidity. I was amazed (and extremely pleased) that in spite of being uncomfortably hot and sweaty, I handled the heat just fine. All in all, one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on.

jkm

(p.s. Robin spent the week at the “Daisy Hill Puppy Farm” – the breeder we got him from puts him in with her dogs, and he gets to enjoy being a pack dog again – but he was very happy to see me when I picked him up, and then we had other sheltie adventures on the way home – that’s another catch-up post).