Stan Lee Hypes Future Marvel Movies

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February 10, 2010

marvel movies ant man black panther dr strange

Great article from Screen Rant talking about Marvel & Stan Lee. In Stan’s tweets he throws out some exciting Movie News to all his fans. Then Screen Rant goes into more details about the upcoming Marvel Movie releases.

Stan Lee is seemingly trying to get fans excited today with some of his recent tweets. We’ve long heard the talk, hints and speculation about future Marvel Studios projects outside of and post-Avengers. Some of these include the long-gestating Ant-Man solo film which has had Edgar Wright’s name on it for quite some time.

That’s not all though as we’ve also heard talk of movies including a Heroes for Hire project that could bring Iron Fist and Luke cage to the big screen, Black Panther, Dr. Strange and much much more. These are just the ones that we haven’t met yet as there’s always talks of spin-offs and sequels to the current set of films in development

Here are a few tweets from Stan:

“To make up for my previous grievous error, here’s a little item that may have escaped you. Marvel is prepping a movie starring– Ant Man!”

“I had lunch with the cool , young director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and, as you’d imagine, we had fun discussing the tiny hero”

Click here to keep reading this article.

Disneyland Attendance Up – Disneyworld Attendance Down

By

Chip

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February 10, 2010

Disneyland Attendance Up - Disneyworld Attendance Down

You could have fooled me. When we were there a few weeks ago it was extremely busy for January. Not like spring break busy, or summer vacation busy, but still alot busier than I like it. Above is a picture of the crowds at Pixar Place in Hollywood Studios, forget getting on Toy Story Mania over a 70 minute wait with no fast passes available.

Here is the article from the Orange County Business Journal that talks about Park Attendance:

Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks in Anaheim and elsewhere saw better attendance in the recently ended quarter, the company said Tuesday.Burbank-based Disney said attendance rose 15% in the three months through Jan. 2 from a year earlier.

The company runs two Anaheim theme parks plus others in Florida, Europe and Asia.

The company doesn’t break out attendance by park but said Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim fared better than the company’s Florida parks, which saw a 1% drop in attendance.

Overall, U.S. parks attendance went up 9% from a year earlier.

Parks and resorts revenue for the quarter was flat at $2.7 billion.

Disney generates about half its revenue from its theme parks with the rest coming from movie studios and TV networks.

Click here to keep reading.

Photo from Chip and Co

Disney restructuring costs drag on quarterly profit

By

Chip

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February 10, 2010

Earnings slip to $844 million from $845 million a year earlier. But excluding one-time items, profit of 47 cents a share beats analysts’ average estimate of 38 cents. Revenue rises 1%.

Walt Disney Co., its bottom line dragged down by restructuring costs, reported a modest drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit.

The Burbank entertainment giant reported net income of $844 million, or 44 cents a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 2, compared with earnings of $845 million, or 45 cents, from the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 1% to $9.7 billion.

Excluding one-time items, earnings of 47 cents a share beat analysts’ average estimate of 38 cents.

The company’s flagship Media Networks group, which includes the ABC broadcast network and cable channels ESPN and Disney Channel, posted an 11% rise in operating income for the quarter to $724 million from $655 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to $4.2 billion from $3.9 billion.

Analysts had been expecting modest first-quarter results for Disney’s television group. However, worldwide growth of the Disney Channel and higher affiliate and advertising fees at ESPN helped drive a 5% gain in operating income for the cable networks, which rose to $544 million for the quarter, up from $517 million a year earlier.

The broadcasting group, which includes ABC and local TV stations, posted a 30% jump in operating income to $180 million, up from $138 million a year earlier. The previous year’s results included a bad-debt charge associated with the bankruptcy of Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times.

Theme parks reported a 2% drop in operating income to $375 million, from $382 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue remained essentially flat at $2.7 billion. The domestic parks saw a boost in attendance, benefiting in part from a shift of the New Year’s holiday from the fiscal second quarter to the first. But attendance was off at Disneyland Paris.

Click here to keep reading.

Photo Shizuo Kambayashi / Associated Press

Disney’s Celebrity Twin Contest

By

Chip

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February 10, 2010

Do you get stopped on the street because everyone tells you that you look like a “certain” celebrity? Upload your photo and tell Disney which star is your twin!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Our grand prize winner — selected editorially– will win the ultimate Movie Night, including:

One Year Subscription to Netflix featuring Three rentals at a time
12 Jumbo Cones of Popcornopolis Gourmet Popocorn

THE VOTER’S CHOICE PRIZE

Our Voter’s Choice Winner — who has accumulated the most votes, selected by you, our voters — Our Voter’s Choice Winner will receive a Flip Video Ultra Series II Camcorder that features state-of-the-art digital video recording in the palm of your hand!

Contest Rules

Enter Now

Jedi Training Academy – Everything Walt Disney World

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

You know I love Star Wars and have been on the Star Tours Ride tons of times but I have never really paid any attention to the show that goes on up front. Good thing Chris over at Everything Walt Disney World is taking notes. If you kids love Star Wars here is some information about the Jedi Training Academy you want to check out:

Is your kid a Star Wars fan? At Disney Hollywood Studios your little Padawan can confront Darth Vader and train to be a Jedi in Jedi Training Academy (JTA). Located in the back of the park right next to Star Tours, JTA is a 30-minute live show where kids learn lightsaber basics and then take turns confronting the big guy himself, Darth Vader.

The show, which loosely follows a script, is funny and moves quickly. While there are inside jokes for Star Wars fans, you don’t have to follow the movies to enjoy it. There’s no specific age range, but most kids are between 4 and 12 years old. Right now, show times are as follows: 9:55, 10:50 and 11:45am, 12:40, 1:30, 2:20, 4:00 and 4:45pm . This varies throughout the year, so check a website like Steve Soares’ for show times before you plan your day.

Click here to keep reading.

Photo from http://everythingwdw.blogspot.com/

The Muppets: Beaker’s Ballad – Dust in the Wind

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

I love when the Muppets remake classic songs. The Bohemian Rhapsody video was hilarious. This one is equally as funny. It features Beaker from Muppet Labs. Words can’t express how funny it is. Check it out below!

Smoke triggers evacuation at Disney World’s Space Ship Earth Ride

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

A spokesman with Reedy Creek Fire Rescue confirmed that a ride at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park was evacuated due to an electrical short that prompted a fire alarm.

Around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, attendants at the iconic Spaceship Earth saw smoke emanating from an area where riders exit the attraction’s continuous-loading track. Cast members stopped the ride and asked guests to leave the building. They also set off an extinguisher as a precaution.

Maintenance workers were already making repairs by the time firefighters arrived,m according to the Reedy Creek spokesman. There were no injuries to guests or employees and we are told the ride has resumed operations.

Source

Make your own customized Disney World Maps

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

Make your own customized Disney World Maps

It is a slow news day today so I thought I would head over to Disney’s website and play around and see if there is anything to do 🙂 Jon one of the writers here sent me a cool link I had to try out. Disney World Customized Maps

Here you can create a customized keepsake map of all 4 Disney World Parks that highlight your favorite places in Walt Disney World, or places you would like to visit on your next trip. The best part is that it is 100% free!

Then you can print them out and hang them on the wall with pictures from a recent trip, scrapbook, or even order them online and have them delivered to your door just in time for your next vacation. The possibilities are endless!

They have maps for Preschoolers, Teens, Adults to use, or create your own. Check it out.

I have been playing around with all afternoon and it’s a lot of fun. Makes me want to go back to Disneyworld and revisit some places I missed last month. Oh Well there will always be next year.

Well I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Click here for the jump

ABC Affiliates Raging Against ESPN For Stealing Sports Broadcasts

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

ABC Affiliates Raging Against ESPN For Stealing Sports Broadcasts

ABC affiliates are mad as h*ll at ESPN.

Disney’s Sports network has taken several live broadcasts from ABC and placed it onto the cable network. So far, they took eight NASCAR races and ABC had to give up the 2011 Rose Bowl and the 2010 British Open, according to MediaWeek.

Affiliate stations told MediaWeek that that losing live sports events costs them ad revenue, potential media buyers and a chance to promote other TV shows and programming to NASCAR fans. But ESPN can do as they please, for the most part, since the Disney-controlled ESPN took control of ABC Sports in 2006.

MediaWeek: A few station execs privately suspect that because ESPN is a big money maker for Disney, the parent company is letting it pull more live sports from ABC in order to justify hefty subscriber fees. ESPN charges cable operators $4.10 per household, according to SNL Kagan, and is said to be seeking a hike.

ESPN’s senior vice president of programming and acquisitions Len DeLuca noted that switching up the NASCAR broadcasts was for ratings reasons. Live Nascar races were airing on ABC on Sunday afternoons and going head-to-head with NFL games.

We’ll have to eye ESPN closely to see if they haggle with cable providers for higher fees.

Source

Suave Kids – Wash them Grow Sweepstakes

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

Enter Suave’s Kids Wash them Grow Sweepstakes for your chance to win a $10,000 trip for four to Orlando, Florida or weekly prizes of a family e-keepsake kit with a laptop, camcorder, and more.

Sweepstakes Links:

Sweepstakes Entry Form
Sweepstakes Rules

Eligibility:

USA, 18+

Start Date:

January 18, 2010

End Date:

February 22, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Entry Frequency:

1 x daily per person/email.

Sweepstakes Prizes:

Grand Prize: An 8-day trip for 4 to Orlando, Florida including airfare, hotel, theme park tickets, and $500 spending cash. (ARV: $10,000)Weekly Prizes (5 – 1 per week): A family e-Keepsake Kit, including a laptop, a mini digital camcorder and a Digital Camera. (ARV: $2,200)

Source

Keeping Disneyland’s window displays fresh all year

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

Having worked in retail for a long time I can relate with these guys. Merchandising is hard work but they do a phenomenal job! Here is the article & video from the OC Register:

As the last guest leaves the Disneyland Resort’s theme parks at night, a crew of 10 makes its way out and starts opening up the windows in front of the shops.

The 10 make up the window-decorating crew of the Resort Enhancement team and they’re responsible for keeping the displays in the windows fresh and updated in both theme parks, the hotels and Downtown Disney.

“We want the displays to fit in with the seasons,” said Dawn Keehne, a Resort Enhancement manager.

The team recently worked along Main Street in Disneyland, completely changing out many of the displays from a winter to a spring theme. With all the windows in the park, it can take a week to change them all.

Though the displays are unique, the tools they use are not.

We use all the same tools as most craft people,” said Mark Apepe, lead for the window-decorating team. “Basic tools from drills, hammers and screwdrivers to scissors and a sewing kit.”

Once the seasonal theme is installed, the crew members will add appropriate holiday overlays such as Valentine’s Day.

They will also incorporate the needs of a particular store’s merchandising line, and work with Walt Disney Imagineering and the studio’s animation department.

When they’re not working in the parks, the team is back in a warehouse building located off-property in Anaheim, where they design window displays for other seasons and holidays.

Some of the props used in the displays are antiques or purchased from unique vendors. Because of the unique nature of the displays, the team also manufactures many props and items, from models of the Disney characters to a genie’s lamp.

Source

Photo from OC Register

Mary J Blige coming to Disney’s Dreamers Academy

By

Chip

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February 9, 2010

Singer Mary J. Blige will be the keynote speaker as part of the third annual Disney’s Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey on Feb. 11-14 at Walt Disney World Resort.

Harvey, a syndicated radio personality, and Disney will host 100 high school students from across the nation at this year’s academy, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney World Resort as well as interactive seminars with topics ranging from the unseen jobs of entertainment to the business of sports.

Blige will speak at the academy’s commencement ceremony, a graduation of sorts for the students. Past keynote speakers include Judge Greg Mathis and BET founder Bob Johnson.

Other celebrities scheduled for this year’s academy include R&B star Cupid; actor Roshon Fagen; CNN correspondent Christopher Lawrence; actor Daniel Curtis Lee; singer Kimberley Locke; actors Chris and Kyle Massey; actress Tamara Mowry; producer Will Packer; singer Ruben Studdard; gospel group Trin-i-tee 5:7; and celebrity trainer Harvey Walden.

Source