Guess who popped up at Magic Kingdom Park today? It was “American Idol” season nine champion Lee DeWyze (right), and his girlfriend, actress Jonna Walsh (left), pictured here with Minnie Mouse.
Of course, guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios can see DeWyze anytime at The American Idol Experience, as he’s featured in video elements within the attraction.
Everyone remembers this classic Disney tale.
The Diamond Edition debut of BAMBI, Walt’s fifth full-length animated classic, is an endearing tale about a young prince of the forest who learns valuable life-lessons about friendship, love, and the miracle of life. The movie is a must-own coming-of-age story that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has especially packaged with families in mind – providing the ultimate, interactive hi-def home entertainment experience with a newly enhanced digital restoration, enhanced picture and sound, games, activities and more.
We are giving away a copy of Bambi Bluray 2 Disc Combo Pack! It includes both a Bluray and DVD copy of the movie. Our good friend Kristin at Couponing to Disney is hooking us up with 3 copies of this movie to 3 lucky fans!
Before you enter you must:
Once you have added both of our pages as a friend then you can enter:
For an additional entry:
Contest ends Wednesday Morning July 20th at 10am. Kristin will go through all the comments on our articles and pick 3 lucky people and notify them that they won. That person will have 24 hours to respond back or she will pick another. So please use a valid way for her to contact you.
Good Luck!
Today marks day 18th day of our month long GIVEAWAY celebration on Chip and Company. We are pushing to get 5000 Facebook Fans by July 31st. I have a whole month of surprises and HUGE giveaways planned. So please help us spread the word about Chip and Co on Facebook.
Our good friends over at Passporter was nice enough to donate to one lucky fan another of their great guidebooks.
Passporters Walt Disney World Guidebook!
Here is whats inside:
Design magical vacations with this FULL COLOR travel guide and planning system for everyone’s favorite playground … fully updated for 2011! Fourteen built-in organizer pockets keep plans, maps, and memories all in one place, and the full-color travel guide includes everything you need to plan the perfect vacation. All Disney parks and resort hotels are described in depth, with ratings, floor plans, and maps. Comprehensive information for planning, traveling, and dining is also included, along with an entire section devoted to extra-special Disney magic. Design your vacation with the help of six planning worksheets, write your itinerary on the front of each organizer pocket before you go, store guidemaps, brochures, tickets, and receipts inside the pockets while you’re there, and record expenses and memories to review and share when you return. This is the ultimate traveling companion for Walt Disney World!
More information is available in our Guidebook Information Center, including 39 sample pages.
Before you enter you must:
Once you have added both of our pages as a friend then you can enter:
Please note:
For an additional entry:
Contest ends Wednesday Morning July 20th at 10am. I will pick one lucky person and notify them that they won. That person will have 24 hours to respond back or I will pick another. So please use a valid way for me to contact you.
If you don’t win this book it will be ok. We are giving away next week a copy of the unreleased all new PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line 9th Edition!
In case you cant wait – Reserve your copy of the next edition of PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line due out in August, or get a copy of the current edition today!
Good Luck
Listen to this weeks Mouse Chat Podcast
We have a creepy and crazy show for you all about the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. Special Guest Ron, a past Disney World Cast Member from the Magic Kingdom joins us this week to discuss his role as the butler at the Haunted Mansion. Ron was fortunate enough to work in several attractions in the Magic Kingdom and his insider perspective on the rides and attractions is wonderful.
If you like our show, please let your friends know.
Please join us by listening to our show at MouseChat.net or by downloading and subscribing to Mouse Chat on
iTunes.
Now you can relive the enchantment Belle and the Beast felt in the timeless classic as it is recaptured by Thomas Kinkade in the 6th installment of his Disney Dreams Collection:”Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love“. World-Wide-Art.com is proud to remember the magic of their romance as it is captured on canvas as only the “painter of light” can. “In my painting, I memorialize that magic moment when they first begin to discover their love for each other,” says the artist of his work.
World-Wide-Art.com specializes in limited edition works by renowned artists, and custom conservation framing. “Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love” is among the new arrivals to our gallery, and is a must have piece for anyone who loved the movie, art collector or not. As with the previous five pieces in the series – “Snow White Discovers the Cottage”, “Pinocchio Wishes Upon a Star”, “Tinkerbell and Peter Pan Fly to Neverland”, “Cinderella Wishes Upon a Dream”, and “Bambi’s First Year” – Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love” is a collage of scenes that tell the story in one glance.
Thomas Kinkade is the most collected living artist in the world, and he uses his mastery of creation to bring these beautiful panoramic scenes to life. Perhaps best known for breathtaking seascapes, illuminating lighthouses and cozy cottages, Thomas Kinkade set out to create the 12 piece Disney Dreams Collection with the specific hope that his works would “make dreams come true for all those that see.”
Kinkade skillfully depicts each film in the Disney Dreams Collection, representing them with a scene that encompasses each film as a whole, capturing the essence of the story. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love” truly captures the romance of these two beloved characters while incorporating other treasured characters and elements from the story. “Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love” is an exquisite tribute to this classic Disney film.
“Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love” tells the timeless love story on canvas all over again, and is now available to order online from World-Wide-Art.com or at our gallery in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. The staff at World-Wide-Art.com is made up of true art lovers, committed to providing our clients excellent customer service and the highest quality art and framing. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love,” along with the rest of Thomas Kinkade’s Disney Dreams Collection, are available in various sizes and framing options. Whether you are decorating a child’s room, or looking to add an enchanting piece to your collection, World-Wide-Art.com looks forward to helping make your dreams come true.
Welcome to another edition of the Chip & Company Week in Review! I hope you have had a great week, but if you have missed some of your Disney news stories, feel free to take a look at these!
Of course, not all of our writing is news information. We have a ton of great Disney views to share with you, so here are three of them to whet your whistle!
As always, have a wonderful week, and remember – if you are not at the parks to get your Disney fix, fill that craving here at Chip & Company! Don’t forget that we are running giveaways and contests all month long! Check out the site often for more details!
Fans attending Disney’s D23 Expo August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center will have the chance to experience “a great big beautiful tomorrow” as they immerse themselves in the future of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which is currently in the biggest period of global expansion in its history.
Drawing inspiration from a classic attraction that debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and has made stops at Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts invites attendees to hop aboard the “Carousel of Projects” for a sneak peek at concepts, designs, models, storytelling tools, and technologies currently being developed at Walt Disney Imagineering for Disney parks around the world.
Throughout the weekend, exclusively at the D23 Expo, fans will get a look at the latest details for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ 11 parks and five resorts around the world, as well as Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Disney Vacation Club, including:
In addition to the pavilion, D23 Expo attendees will also have the chance to attend numerous presentations and panel discussions. On Friday, August 19, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs will give guests in the 4,000-seat main arena an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest projects currently underway at Disney parks, featuring a few surprises along the way.
Imagineers and cast members who create and operate Disney’s parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other vacation experiences will take fans behind-the-magic with nine exciting presentations including:
In addition, and for the first time, the Parks and Resorts pavilion will also feature Mickey’s of Glendale, an outlet of Walt Disney Imagineering’s employee-only store, where—for just three days– guests can shop for “Carousel of Projects” souvenirs and collectibles and Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise not available anywhere else.
Tickets to the D23 Expo are available at http://www.D23Expo.com. Admission includes access to all experiences and entertainment at the D23 Expo, including the Disney Legends Ceremony, and can be purchased for single days or for the full three days of festivities. Admission is $47 for a one-day adult ticket and $37 for children 3-12. Three-day passes are $136 for adults and $106 for children. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club will receive a discount for up to four admissions, as well as early entry to each day of the D23 Expo for themselves and their guests.
New life is found on the internet for two ABC canceled soap operas. Walt Disney Company-owned ABC announced it had licensed “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” to Prospect Park, a production company founded by a former Disney executive. To the applause of many ardent fans, Prospect Park plans to market these, soon to be removed from the airways, soap operas on the web and internet-connected televisions. Millions of dollars will be paid Disney in royalties and exclusive rights to these shows, according to those near the details of the agreement.
Soap operas predate television with popularity on the radio in earlier times. With audiences shrinking on television an after life for these icons now exist. CBS had recently ended two other of its long running.”soaps”, the “Guiding Light’ and “As the World Turns”. There are a few examples of long- running “soaps” still on television such as the Young and the Restless, but, their numbers are shrinking. More and more viewers are also opting to watch soaps on their computers.
Prospect Park plans are to continue with production of the hour long shows five days a week just as they are formatted now. The payment of royalties will necessitate an adjustment in the budget for these episodes. Meetings have begun between Prospect Park and those directly involved with these programs to work out negotiations with them if they are interested.
The 16th International Food and Wine Festival will feature the favorites you’ve come to love as well as some new additions. Here are a few highlights to look forward
International Marketplace-Booths around the world showcase offer small portions of international cuisine with complimentary beverages including wine, beer and mixed drinks.
New Marketplace Booths-In addition to all your favorites, Portugal, the Caribbean and Hawaii will also have a place at the festival this year featuring the flavors of Calamari Salad, Kona beer, tuna sashimi, Kalua pork sliders, and Jerk-spiced chicken drumsticks; just to name a few.
French Flair-Coq Au Vin will be featured in France, the French Regional Lunches will continue and a new experience will feature The Best of Bocuse (the famous French chef who developed the restaurants in the French pavillion).
Beer-Eight craft beers from around North America will be an addition to the international beers that are generally available. Brews from Canada, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Colorado will be available.
Expanded Experience-The Food and Wine Festival is extending its reach beyond Epcot and will include experiences in resorts, Downtown Disney and on the BoardWalk. Bongo’s Cuban Cafe, Wolfgang Puck, the Wave, Victoria and Alberts, California Grill and Cat Cora’s Kouzzina will all have special events, and Cat Cora will be appearing at her restaurant.
Celebrities-If your foodie frenzy extends into network television you’re in luck. Alan Wong, Robert Irvine, Art Smith, Suvir Saran, Jamie Deen, Keegan Gerhard, Buddy Valastro, Andrew Zimmern, Brian Voltaggio and Chris Cosentio will make appearances.
Celebrities, seminars, tastings, book signings…how do you know where to be and when? The official schedule of events is expected to be finalized in early August.
If this line up has peaked your palate, contact Pixie Vacations for exclusive promotional rates for the Food and Wine Festival, availability is limited!
There are even more changes coming for Disney California Adventure park over the next year – especially toward the front of the park. Now guests can see the first bit of this exciting makeover as Disney just unveiled the brand-new turnstiles that will welcome them each day.
Inspired by the iconic Pan Pacific Auditorium, the turnstiles will set the stage for the new Disney California Adventure park entrance. Buena Vista Street will transport guests to Los Angeles as Walt Disney found it when he first arrived in California, with buildings inspired by structures that existed during the 1920s and ‘30s – including the Pan Pacific Auditorium. A landmark structure in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, the auditorium was the premiere location for indoor public events until it closed after almost 40 years in 1972.
Designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm Wurdeman and Becket, the auditorium itself was a modest wooden structure with seating for only 6,000 people; however, the building’s façade was hailed as one of the finest examples of Streamline Moderne architecture in the United States. The four stylized towers and flagpoles were meant to evoke upswept aircraft fins.
One of the principal architects on the Pan Pacific Auditorium, Welton Becket, was a neighbor of Walt Disney’s and went on to become very influential in future Disney projects. It was Becket who suggested to Walt that he use his own artists – not an architectural firm – to design, plan and build Disneyland, and it was this advice that led to the creation of WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering). Later, Welton Becket Associates (formed in 1949 after Walter Wurdeman’s death) designed Disney’s Contemporary Hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort, though Becket himself did not live to see it completed.
On May 1, 1989, a nearly full-size replica of the Pan Pacific Auditorium façade opened as the main entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Sadly, little more than three weeks later on May 24, the original building was destroyed in a fire.
As Buena Vista Street continues to take shape at Disney California Adventure park, there are more exciting transformations that will be taking place. On Sunday, the Golden Gate Bridge, which guests now pass underneath when entering the park, will begin to make way for a re-creation of the historic Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. We’ll have more details on this project next week on the Disney Parks Blog, so be sure to check back!
Source Disney Parks Blog
Today Disneyland celebrates its 56th anniversary on July 17. It’s a very special day for cast members as well as guests, and the resort has commemorated it over the years with a variety of slogans and salutes, with celebrations big and small. Here’s a brief look back:
1965: “Tencennial Re-Dedication Day” featured the “Disneyland Tencennial Celebration Parade.”
1980: “I Was There!” birthday buttons were given to guests who attended the 25-hour anniversary party. (Those buttons are now collector’s items.)
1985: “Thirty years of Magic… the Best Has Just Begun” was the theme of a new parade. A theme song thanked Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck for “30 Happy Years.”
1990: Disneyland turned 35, “proof that the good things in life get only better.”
2005: “The Happiest Homecoming on Earth” paid tribute to the 50th anniversary, and the park handed out nearly 100,000 cupcakes during the huge celebration.
One of my favorite anniversary stories is from the park’s 10th Anniversary. Guests of an employee party said that Walt Disney congratulated them and offered this perspective: the first 10 years were a “dress rehearsal,” and anyone thinking about resting on their laurels could “just forget it.”
This year on July 17, a celebratory moment will be held at 2:30 p.m. to commemorate the 56th anniversary of opening day. An audio recording of Walt Disney’s original dedication speech will be heard throughout Disneyland park. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and a cast of characters will gather in Town Square to sing “Happy Birthday” to Disneyland with guests and cast members.
Were you here for any of the anniversary parties? What’s your favorite Disneyland anniversary memory?
Source Disney Parks Blog
Those of us who love fairy tales know the form is infinitely adaptable, a genre ripe for adaptations and parodies. It is in this spirit that Bob McLain offers his version of ‘Snow White,” presenting the fairy tale as a zombie horror story that pokes a bit of fun at the 1937 Disney film.
“Snow White and the Seven Dead Dwarves” is part literary mashup in the style of Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and part George Romero gore fest. It is less interested in zombies as social commentary than in sending up Disney’s film. With that in mind, the story is bloody good fun if not always in good taste – although the story’s zombies should probably be the judge of good taste.
Because the novella is short, and the only spoilers I like are the undead’s rotting flesh, I’ll try to keep details to a minimum.
Oh, the Horror! Zombies Meet Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”
Although it looks somewhat back to the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, McLain’s version is organized to skewer the Disney film. Rather than a blow-by-blow re-telling, the story quickly establishes its interest in scenes of zombie-induced danger and mayhem.
The Queen’s intentions toward Snow White quickly take an insatiable turn. Becoming a zombie just confirms she is a wicked stepmother, rather than causes it. But the transformation, as with her disguise as a Hag in other versions, underscores she is rotten to the core.
Zombification here is relatively unexplained, much like magic in fairy tales. Since this novella is part of a longer, soon-to-be-published work on the larger Disney universe, the full version will hopefully explain the zombies’ origins.
But The Queen’s not the sole, or even primary, baddie. McLain quickly turns readers’ expectations for a “good triumphs over evil” tale into an all-out action story in which characters’ primary motivation is survival. And blood. And brains.
McLain’s “Snow White” Zombie Fairy Tale – Beauty Meets Brains?
After The Queen’s transformation, zombies are created the usual way – by zombies not finishing their meals. The Huntsman, Snow White and the Prince soon join the undead party and they’re in the mood for a little snack. What better meal, then, than the seven bite-sized dwarfs?
It doesn’t take long for the carnage to get underway. The dwarfs are the tale’s reluctant protagonists: some might call them heroes; some might call them bait. McLain provides each dwarf with a bit of back story (as he does, to some degree, with other characters). With such detailed histories, it almost seems a pity the story is so focused on their fight for survival.
But such are the genre’s demands. There’s just enough of the dwarfs’ lives that we root for their survival. So much for us wanting Snow White to live happily ever after, at least not with her appetite for changed from blood-red apples to red-blooded dwarfs.
Well, that’s not entirely true. What zombie-genre fans also hope for is clever scenes of mayhem and munchies. That’s what McLain offers when the dwarfs are pursued by the others in a style halfway between the classic, slow-moving zombies and quicker-paced versions.
Snow White’s behavior is particularly fun. Zombiefication transfers her strong desires for the love of a good man into a love for a good man’s flesh, and she demonstrates a voracious appetite for the role.
Readers will recognize the many references to the Disney film, from re-named dwarfs to familiar scenes. Those with an appreciation for the fairy tale’s subtext may also chuckle at McLain’s nods to intersections between horror, humor and various hungers of the flesh.
Sampling the Brain Behind “Snow White and the Seven Dead Dwarves”
As a fan of fairy-tale retellings, Disney parodies and the zombie genre, I recommend sampling “Snow White and the Seven Dead Dwarves” as an appetizer for Bob McLain’s future work. It’s a quick, pulpy read on the Kindle, at a budget-friendly $2.99. You can check out some of McLain’s other work at Disney Dispatch, a fan site that he owns and operates.
A word of warning, though, for those with vivid imaginations and sensitive stomachs. McLain does not spare the blood-and-guts sequences. The story might be a tad too much for some readers, especially younger ones.
Disclosure: I received a copy of “Snow White and the Seven Dead Dwarfs” from the author for purposes of writing this review. The opinions expressed are my own, and no financial compensation was received or offered in exchange for this review.
