That's right. This month, workers are busy converting three historic buildings in San Francisco's Presidio, a National Park, for the future Walt Disney Family Museum.
"People are very surprised," says Carolyn Kiernat, principal at Page & Turnbull, the San Francisco firm overseeing the project. "Their first question tends to be 'Why in the Presidio?'"
Two years ago, Walt Disney's daughter, Diane Miller, and her husband, Ron, asked Jay Turnbull to design a museum near their home in Northern California about her father's life and work.
The family found the site ideal, Kiernat says. "Walt Disney was a huge fan of the military and Gen. Pershing [who commanded the Presidio] in particular." In addition, she says, the museum building "recalls the Main Street USA in Disney World."
Construction began in May on the 1897 barracks, which, along with a glass-and-steel addition, will serve as the exhibit hall. A 1904 gym will become offices and archives, and a 1940s munitions shed will house the complex's mechanical systems.
All three buildings, and many others that make up the National Historic Landmark, have been abandoned since 1994. Last year the museum signed a 40-year lease for the federal property.
"We're working very closely with the Presidio Trust to make sure we don't damage or remove any historic fabric," says Lada Kocherovsky of Page & Turnbull.
Enclosed by a courtyard, the new addition will have views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.
"We were trying to take some cues from the historic building as far as height, but really our approach was one of subtle contrast," Kiernat says.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2009.
Source: wdwinfo
Disney Museum Takes Shape in San Francisco's Presidio
Disney takes a look at building Hawaii spot
Disney representatives have told the Star-Bulletin that Hawaii is on the list of places the company's Parks and Resorts unit is scouting for potential new hotels.
"We've got nothing to announce today, but clearly Hawaii as well as other geographies are attractive markets for us as we look for ways to grow our business," said Disney spokeswoman Lisa Haines.
A local broker who asked not to be identified said the 52-year-old theme park and resort operator is close to signing a deal with the Ko Olina Resort & Marina. Ko Olina developer Jeff Stone could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Disney has previously said that it would not be building another theme park in any of the domestic states. However, the company is looking at a number of different areas worldwide to build new stand-alone hotels.
Domestically, the company owns and operates Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., which have their own on-site hotels.
The company has historically built and operated its domestic operations, while it has partnered to develop the Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Resort Paris. Tokyo Disneyland is owned and operated separately under license.
Source: wdwinfo
Disney immobilizes Disney Mobile
First it killed Bambi's mother. And now it's decided to kill a fourteen-month-old wireless service.
Today, the Walt Disney Company said it will soon shut down Disney Mobile, the US-based wireless service it offers on bandwidth rented from Sprint Nextel. Unhappy with life as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), the company has already put the kibosh on sales of Disney Mobile, and those already using the service will get the boot on December 31.
Basically, the let's-rent-some-bandwidth model didn't pan out the way the company expected. "The MVNO model has proven, as we’ve seen with other companies this past year, to be a difficult proposition in the hyper-competitive US mobile phone market," said Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney's internet group. "In assessing our business model, we decided that changing strategies was a better alternative to pursue profitable growth in the mobile services area."
What's the new strategy? The company still believes in Disney Mobile's Family Center suite - which lets parents keep close tabs on their kids - and it hopes to move the suite onto someone else's mobile service via a licensing deal.
According to a company spokesman, recent changes in the mobile market made licensing far more attractive than MVNO. With the major carriers signing exclusive deals with big-name retailers, he told us, it became more and more difficult for Disney to compete. Verizon, for instance, has teamed up with Circuit City.
"A lot changed while we were ramping up the service in terms of the distribution landscape. We came to the conclusions that given all the changes in the retail model of the major carriers, it didn't make sense for us to undergo the investment needed to overcome the obstacles that cropped up."
This is hardly new territory for Disney. In February last year, the company launched ESPN Mobile, an MVNO service that dovetailed with its popular cable TV sports network/hype machine. This rental network was shutdown after just 11 months, and Disney stomached $30m in losses. Today, the company offers ESPN Mobile applications over the Verizon Wireless network.
As it seeks a similar licensing deal for Family Center, Disney will throw some dough at current users and help them transition to other services. "We will be communicating directly with customers about reimbursement for their handsets and their accessories," the company told us. "We'll also assist them find a new service and port their content over - if they like."
What's the financial damage this time around? Disney won't say. But it's fiscal year ends over the weekend, and an earning statement is just around the corner.Source: theregister
Disney is killing MVNO business
In shuttering its second mobile resale business in a year, the Walt Disney Company has cast doubt on the viability of a market that has taken its share of body blows in the last year.
But one analyst believes the damage inflicted by Disney was not fatal and the next generation of mobile virtual network operators will learn from Disney’s mistakes.
“Disney has done damage to the image of the MVNO business, but its failure will serve as a lesson to the next generation of MVNOs,” Besen Group analyst Alex Besen said.
Disney late Thursday announced it plans to shut down its family-friendly Disney Mobile at the end of the year.
Source: redherring
In September 2006, Disney shut down its Mobile ESPN, one of its first experiments with the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model, its sports-oriented cell phone service.
Disney lost an estimated $135 million on Mobile ESPN, and its decision to kill Disney Mobile raises further questions about the the MVNO market.
Mobile ESPN was designed to pull in the millions of sports fans, while Disney Mobile was supposed to appeal to soccer moms.
The company decided that the best solution would be to change strategy to pursue profitability in mobile services.
That’s exactly what Disney did with Mobile ESPN. In February it began offering its sports content on Verizon V CAST mobile video service and V CAST Mobile TV.
SALSA at Disney
This December, athletes from over 40 countries will convene at Walt Disney World to dance-off for the title of World Salsa Champion. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, located at Walt Disney World Resort©, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will be the host site for the Third World Salsa Championships from December 12 through 16. The competition will be broadcast by ESPN International and Transworld International, under the direction of noted producer Rob Beiner, winner of 12 EMMY awards.
“We are thrilled to be hosting an international event of this magnitude that also delivers world-class entertainment,” said Nancy Gidusko, director of Walt Disney World Minority Business Development. “Not to mention, our alliances with international organizations allow us to showcase Central Florida to multicultural businesses that will impact the region’s economy.”
Hailed as the Olympics of Salsa dancing, the World Salsa Championship gathers the winning couples and groups from different salsa competitions from Australia, Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Holland, Hong-Kong, Italy, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Peru, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, UAE, United States, Puerto Rico and Venezuela to defend their titles in their respective divisions.
The four main divisions dominating this enclave of professional athletic-dancers are those of the LA style “On 1” emphasizing the first beat of the music; the NY style “On 2” emphasizing the second beat of the music; “Cabaret” which combines Salsa dancing with tricks, cartwheels, and flips; and “Team” where 6 or more dancers, up to 20 at once, perform at the same time.
Cultivating this worldwide Salsa dance movement is Salsa connoisseur Albert Torres who has managed to create a world dance championship with a culminating event for professional and amateurs alike.
The Third Annual World Salsa Championship will pay tribute to the legendary Palladium Days including rhythms and music of The Big Three Orchestras in three consecutive evenings (playing Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito) and culminating with a tribute to the FANIA All Star. The Grand Opening will feature music by the legendary group El Gran Combo, nominated to the 2007 Latin Grammy edition.
Attached please find a clip showing the caliber of the championship dancers.
About the World Salsa Championship and Salsa Seven
Salsa Championship was organized by a group of salsa lovers under the leadership of salsa celebrity Albert Torres. The "Salsa Seven" group is committed to producing the most memorable music and dance event in the history of salsa. Salsa Seven is deeply committed to educating the public about this wonderful Latin rhythm we call salsa. Other members of the Salsa Seven Inc. include salsa promoters Leo Tizol and Willie Torres.
About Rob Beiner
Beiner has produced or directed more than 2,000 live, cable or pay-per-view sports and entertainment broadcasts in leading television networks, such as ABC Sports, CBS, NBC Sports, USA Network and ESPN. His successful career as producer and director includes broadcasts of seven Olympic Games, important boxing championships such as the Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield match, NCAA basketball and football games, Comedy Central and the Kentucky Derby.
Source: pr.com
A trip to Disneyland
Students at Highland Pacific Elementary have been working together creating patches for quilts in hopes of raising enough money for a well deserved trip to the "Magical Kingdom."
This year, Gladys Lyman had an idea that would help students exercise their creative minds and receive a special reward in the process.
Lyman decided to have students create blocks of fabric that would be interconnected to form a quilt. Her project spread throughout other 5th and 6th grade classes throughout the school.
"It's kind of exciting for the kids," said Lyman.
The quilts created by the students, with some help from Lyman and other administrators will be raffled off next year. The money gathered from the sale of raffle tickets will go towards a trip to Disneyland for the 6th graders at Highland Pacific Elementary.
A group of students, in their respective classes, put their minds together and created fabric pieces that displayed their artistic talents.
Some students chose to create drawings of their favorite animals and original artistic designs.
Other blocks show the student's excitement for their upcoming trip to Disneyland, displaying drawings of the "Happiest Place on Earth."
"I think the quilts ended up being absolutely adorable and I think we're going to raise a lot of money," said Lyman.
Raffle tickets for a chance to win one of the quilts will start being sold Oct 10. Tickets can be obtained at Highland Pacific Elementary, or by contacting Lyman at (909) 862-4463.
Is Mickey really getting ready to take on Chuck E. Cheese?
It's been said that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well, in the Walt Disney Company's case, imitation is also often a great way to start a lucrative new business line.
Take, for example, that Tote a Tail line of plush that the Mouse introduced at the parks 8 months back. Which -- obviously drawing its inspiration from both Paris Hilton's pets as well as the Build-a-Bear franchise -- allows theme park guests to first purchase a miniature version of their favorite Disney animal (ex: Marie from "The Arisocats," Lady from "Lady and the Tramp," Pegasus from "Hercules") for $13.00. They can then buy a $6.00 purse to place their new plush pal in as well as a $2.00 crown, visor or bandana to dress this "Tail" in. And -- Presto ! -- through the magic of accessorizing, a $13.00 purchase quickly becomes a $25 purchase.
Or, better yet, that new Disney Dreams organizer that just appeared on property a few weeks back. Which -- what with its collection of plastic sleeves & zipper pockets to hold your theme tickets, maps, brochures and even pressed pennies -- is going to look awfully familiar to you fans of the PassPorter line of books.
And then there's that Disney-themed Starbucks knock-off that's expected to open at WDW's Downtown Disney in the coming year. With the Mouse then hopes to use as the prototype for a series of coffee bars that will open at Disney parks & resorts worldwide over the next five years.
But when it comes to Mickey playing copycat to put a few more coins in the corporate coffers, the company's most ambitious imitation may be lie just over the horizon. Word is now coming out of Walt Disney World that the Mouse is looking to take on the Rat. As in: The biggest rodent in themed dining. Chuck E. Cheese.
Act fast: tickets for Disney hit won't last
The hottest show this side of the Van Halen reunion isn't coming to Virginia, but if you have a 10-year-old, get ready to drive to D.C.
The Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Tour will hit the Verizon Center in Washington on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets, priced at $26 to $66, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com and (804) 262-8100.
A word of warning: Tickets for the concert in every other market have disappeared the instant they went on sale, and there is a limit of four tickets per person.
During the show, Cyrus, the popular Disney star, performs as her character, Hannah Montana, and as herself.
Disney Tickets Available for Military Families Over the Phone
Military families who are unable to travel to a base to buy specially priced Walt Disney World Theme Park tickets have a new option. Retired, Active, National Guard, Reservist and DoD personnel are now able to purchase these specially priced tickets over the phone.
“Many military families don’t live near a base. We wanted to make sure they were able to take advantage of the savings on
This year is a special time to visit as the Disney Parks celebrate the “Year of a Million Dreams”. Randomly awarded, these dreams include such "money can't buy" experiences as a Dream FASTPASS badge with unique access to some of Disney's most popular attractions; private meetings with favorite Disney characters; shopping sprees; and a variety of unique Disney vacation experiences, including the chance to spend the night in a special suite inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.
Disney Ducktales: Volume 3
Highschool Musical 2 released
All the stars return from the first hit movie to participate in a summer extravaganza at a posh country club. Troy (Zac Efron) lands a job at the Albuquerque club and then maneuvers a lifeguard position for Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) to join him, little knowing that diva Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) wants to keep them apart.
The Emmy Award-winning Kenny Ortega returns as director.
GOOOOOOO DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"VMK" is a free online game where kids can log on from home and experience Disney theme parks with other kids from all over the world!
Upgradations in Disneyland
2003
- January 5
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US.
- A child says the family gets to go to Florida. The days asks if they're going to Disney World.
- A scene shows the marquee of "EFCOT CENTER" with a sign under reading "WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS BOOKED".
- When flying a plane over the site, the dad says "It's even boring to fly over it.".
- Disney theme park references:
- The Future Sphere (Spaceship Earth),
- Transportation Pavilion (World of Motion Pavilion),
- Honey, I Squirted Goo on the Audience! (Honey, I Shrunk the Audience),
- Great Moments with Mr. Eisner (Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln),
- The Home of Tomorrow (Monsanto House of the Future),
- a restaurant with menu items from around the world,
- fireworks and laser light show over a lake (Illuminations, World Showcase).
- At the end, a character jumps over a wall into what he calls "Disney World", in which a Disney-style castle can be seen.
- He frets that a churro costs $14, but pays anyway.
- [995]
- April 13
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A child seeks to repress an unwanted memory by saying "I am at Disneyland. Disneyland!". [999]
- October
- Matt Ouimet is the new president of the Disneyland Resort. [757.31]
- December 7
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US.
- A fat man has a teacup from Disneyland's Mad Tea Party attraction stuck on his bottom.
- He comments that one should never go on the ride "after eating at Beauty and the Beast's Fried Dough Chateau".
- A character hosting a live show says "Thank you, cast of The Lion King".
- [1021]
2004
- (month unknown)
- Zagat releases its Survey of U.S. Family Travel Guide: Sites & Attractions, Restaurants, Lodging. Rated fourth is Disneyland. [1100.96]
- October
- An Olympic full-length 21-foot wide pool is completed on Main Street in Disneyland. [939.42]
- (month unknown)
- Ape Pen Publishing releases the Disneyland ... The Beginning, by Carlene Thie. Price is US$55. [755.73]
2005
- January 30
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. An amusement park, Itchy and Scratchy land, includes a log ride vaguely similar to Disneyland's Splash Mountain. [1059]
- May 1
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. When German youth are kicked out of a house, one asks another where they will go now. The reply is "To Disneyland, where we will heap the scorn on Goofy.". [1062]
- May 5
- Disneyland begins an 18-month-long anniversary celebration of its 50th birthday. [665.19] [754.17] [756.20] [914.69]
- May
- Walt Disney Records releases A Musical History of Disneyland box set of CDs, book, and vinyl record. The package is a limited edition only available at Disneyland. Price is US$124.98. [757.76]
- Walt Disney Records releases A Musical History of Disneyland box set of CDs, book, and vinyl record. The package is a limited edition only available at Disneyland. Price is US$124.98. [757.76]
- July 14
- The Hollywood Historic Trust honors Disneyland part with an Award of Excellence. A brass plaque is placed adjacent to the Disneyland star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [914.6]
- July 15
- At Disneyland, Space Mountain re-opens following a rehabilitation. The opening is attended by former astronaut Neil Armstrong. [757.20] [914.6]
- Bosnia & Herzegovina issue two postage stamps marking the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. [1091.68]
- Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, announces plans for a Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland Park. [914.8]
- July 17
- A ceremony is held re-dedicating Disneyland. Some attending are California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Disney CEO Michael Eisner, Disney president Robert Iger, Art Linkletter, and Diane Disney Miller. [914.7]
- October 3
- In Disneyland, in the forecourt of Sleeping Beauty Castle, about 1000 people part of display of "Mouseketeer Ears", to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, The Mickey Mouse Club TV show, and the Mouseketeers. Ten of the original Mouseketeers are present at the resort for the celebration. [914.4]
Disneyland
