This week, we jump into the WTTM Time Machine and journey back 20 years. Ricky announces some exciting news at my sister’s house. And Lou has another big announcement? All this and more;

THIS WEEK ON THE BIG 3

This week on WTTM #157; while Paul is enjoying himself at the NFFC Convention and Disneyland, we get another episode from the Window to the Magic Dream Team. I was a bit concerned this might be the Dichter episode but thankfully, no. This week we’re treated to a blast from the past. Magic Joe from the WTTM forums takes us on a trip back in time in the Window to the Magic Time Machine to celebrate Disneyland’s 30th Anniversary. It’s the summer of 1985; this princess was only 11 at the time and had never heard of Disneyland. Magic Joe has some great recordings of attractions long gone and those we can still enjoy. We even get to enjoy some cool ‘80’s tunes. If you remember the summer of ’85 or want to experience some stuff from the olden days, this week’s Window to the Magic is great. Now, when is Dichter showing up on WTTM?

This week on Inside the Magic, in Ricky’s “News Around the World” he reminds us that we could win an iPod Touch, want to know how? Check out this week’s show. During the July 15th rededication ceremony at Disneyland my dear sweet sister, Sleeping Beauty, announced the re-opening of the Castle walk-thru attraction. It should be opening in time for the holidays. Why do I hear family news second hand? Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have a new schedule when American Idol Experience opens in January. Check out the show for details. And speaking of American Idol, auditions are now going on for a Seacrest-like host, judges and a warm-up act. If you think you’ve got the chops listen to this week’s show to find out more.

Ricky interviews Jody Daily about designing floats for the Pixar Play Parade. Forum member, Mr. Shiny, shares some audio from Disneyland Paris in his “Welcome Home” segment and Skipper Ben fills us in on his trip to The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. What does that have to do with Disney? Listen to this week’s Inside the Magic for the scoop.

We wrap up this post with WDWRadio #76. Due to Lou’s trip to MagicMeets this past weekend there’s no news or rumors this week. Lou interviews Kristi Breen, Director of Segment College and International Programs Recruitment, and Katherine Farmer, a recent graduate, to talk about the WDW College Program. We learn what it takes to get into the program and what it’s like to participate. If you think you might be interested or secretly hope your child might have a chance (Hello, my kids are being groomed as we speak) then this week’s show is for you. And now the big announcement, Lou and Tim Foster are launching Celebrations Magazine. I heard about this at MagicMeets ’08 and it looks like an awesome addition to the Disney Fan world. To hear all the details tune into this week’s WDWRadio show. You can also go to www.celebrationspress.com for all the info and to subscribe. Hmmm, I wonder how I can score a writing gig.

Well, that’s it for This Week on the BIG 3! Stay tuned for another new weekly blog post coming at the end of the week.

Links:

Originally posted on The Disney Blog.

This week on the Big 3 - Disney Fan Podcast Review

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Walt Disney and Shirley Temple dedicate the Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama

Disneyland gave itself a wonderful present yesterday for its 53rd Anniversary when it was announced that by late this year the Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama would re-open with a new show.

When the attraction is unveiled later this year, the “show” will differ from the dioramas of the 1980s and ‘90s, returning to the unique style of the original 1957 show and motion picture. Enhanced with new scenes and special effects magic, the re-Imagineered attraction will employ technology not available in the 1950s to represent scenes from the story of Sleeping Beauty, including the magic of good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, and the more sinister spells of the evil Maleficent.

This is a most magnificent development and as along as Maleficent keeps her evil fingers out of the development, Sleeping Beauty Castle should return to entertain new generations of Disneyland visitors.

The full press release is below the cut.

(Above photo: . Photo courtesy and copyright Disney)


DISNEYLAND PREPARES TO OPEN SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE WALKTHROUGH
July 17, 2008 - Anaheim, CA - The interior of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland will open in time for the December holiday season, offering guests a “reawakened” version of its classic walkthrough presentation kissed with vibrant scenes of Aurora, her charming prince, the evil Maleficent and other characters from the beloved fairy tale film.

“It is fitting that we are announcing the return of a classic on the 53rd anniversary of Disneyland,” said Tony Baxter, Senior Vice President of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, who unveiled a model of the castle on July 17, the birthday of Disneyland park.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and the excitement generated by the anniversary of the motion picture spurred interest in the return of the Disneyland attraction.

Also celebrating the milestone 50th Anniversary of “Sleeping Beauty” is Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, which will release a two-disc Platinum Blu-ray™ Hi-Def disc, making “Sleeping Beauty” the first Walt Disney animated classic title to be released in high definition, as well as on two-disc Platinum DVD. A bonus feature on the new release will be “The Original Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Attraction With Walt Disney Imagineering,” an immersive experience recreating the original castle walkthrough.

On April 29, 1957, nearly two years before the premiere of Walt Disney’s animated feature “Sleeping Beauty,” the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough opened with an in-park ceremony featuring Walt Disney and actress Shirley Temple who, some 20 years earlier, had presented Disney with his special Academy Award – one Oscar and seven little ones – for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

The crafting of the 1957 walkthrough show fell to Walt Disney Imagineer Ken Anderson and animation art director and color stylist Eyvind Earle, credited with giving the motion picture “Sleeping Beauty” the distinctive and colorful look of storybook illustrations in medieval style. An entirely new look appeared in 1977 when the attraction’s redesign featured miniature dioramas, including moving figurines similar to the window displays in the shops on Main Street, U.S.A.

When the attraction is unveiled later this year, the “show” will differ from the dioramas of the 1980s and ‘90s, returning to the unique style of the original 1957 show and motion picture. Enhanced with new scenes and special effects magic, the re-Imagineered attraction will employ technology not available in the 1950s to represent scenes from the story of Sleeping Beauty, including the magic of good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, and the more sinister spells of the evil Maleficent.

For the first time, guests who are unable to climb stairs or navigate the passageways of the Castle will be able to experience the walkthrough “virtually” in a special room on the ground floor of the Castle.

Originally posted on The Disney Blog.

Sleeping Beauty Castle - A Present for Disneyland on its Birthday

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In this weeks show Will Perry and Walter Echols give their report on fishing excursions at Walt Disney World. We'll continue our Christmas in July series with a look at holiday events around the Walt Disney World resorts, and we'll look at some holiday happenings at Universal Orlando as well. All that plus this weeks news and Roundtable Rapidfire on this weeks edition of the DIS UNplugged.

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Over at the Magic Kingdom a month long refurbishment has been announced for the Country Bear Jamboree. That’s good news because the attraction has been neglected as of late. And with the refurbishment ending so close to the holidays there is hope that we might see the return of the holiday show, gone for two years now.

At the Passport to Dreams blog FoxxFur has posted a timely reminder about the importance of the CBJ to Disney’s legacy, and how its designers even snuck in a little American History education to the famed attraction:

Even more importantly, the show uses many of the performers who were actually there for the roots of that kind of music, including Ernest Van Stoneman, Dallas McKennon and Tex Ritter. And although the songs in the second half of the show are mostly from the decade surrounding the opening of the attraction, their vocalization and arrangement is clearly meant to insist on their status not as “Country Music”, which even back then tended to be garish and over processed, but as a continuation of the longer legacy of truly American music, folk music and cowboy music. When Bertino wrote in the introduction to the show that it would be “…songs from Americana”, he wasn’t kidding. To those who recognize that’s going on in the show in terms of instruction through entertainment, it is a remarkable panorama of American music.

FoxxFur has also included a recording of Tex Ritter talking about recording Blood On The Saddle and even better a YouTube video of him singing it. Amazing how close Marc Davis came with his “Big Al”.

So, let’s make a date and I’ll see you in November at the Country Bear Jamboree!

Originally posted on The Disney Blog.

A Country Bear History Lesson

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Microsoft Arc Mouse
Microsoft has had its share hits and misses as far as product design goes, but this Arc Mouse due this winter looks to be a slick little input device. Wireless and collapsible, the Arc Mouse promises to combine both portability and style for those of you on the "fashion edge" (their words, not ours). Hyperboles aside, this $59.95 optical jobby seems to be the real thing, and comes in both red and black. Look for it for the holiday season littering holiday gift guides.
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savvyauntie logo

I had the pleasure of becoming a godmother at the age of 17, an aunt three years later, and now I have five beautiful godchildren and nieces that I get to spoil–and then send back home. So when I learned about SavvyAuntie, a new beta site that launched today dedicated to godmothers, aunties and all women that love children, it was a welcome surprise.

And in terms of resources, SavvyAuntie is far more than what you’d expect. There’s not just gift and activity ideas, but articles on gaining children’s trust and saving for college. It’s practically a parenting site, with the aunt in mind. And searching through all the resourceful content SavvyAuntie has to offer, the filters are quite useful as well.

savvyauntie-screen

There’s also a community involved on SavvyAuntie, featuring editorials, blogs, discussion boards, and more. The content found across the site will soon have the option of being added to your favorites and subscriptions, so you can keep up with any new items that have been added.

Connecting directly with other members isn’t yet an easy task, so the community features are stopped short at this point. But in viewing some of the options on SavvyAuntie that have not yet been activated, it’s clear that the site will soon become a more feature-rich community. Other upcoming features include a scrapbook tool that lets you chronicle your activities with the little ones in your life.


I think the SavvyAuntie platform is a great network for the integration of wishlist sites, affiliate retail programs, and even an associated community where the godchildren, nieces and nephews (and their parents) can have an online environment for connecting with their super cool aunties.

savvyauntie gifts


Tags: Mashable!

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In this weeks show we'll talk to author and Disney blogger Kevin Yee from MiceAge.com as he shares his entertaining and unique perspective on all things Disney. In this weeks Christmas in July series John Magi takes us thru all the major events that take place at Walt Disney World during the holiday season. All that plus this weeks news, roundtable rapidfire and a lot of prize give-away's!

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Editor’s Note: I’d like to welcome Jenn (aka Sleeping Beauty’s Sister (@SBSister)) to The Disney Blog. She’s kicking off a new column that will cover the ever growing world of Disney Fan Podcasts. We look forward to your feedback.

This Week on the BIG 3!!

Lou makes his BIG announcement on WDWRadio. Ricky shows his dark side on Inside the Magic. And Paul gets quick, wet and bare- err bear on A Window to the Magic. All this and more on This Week on the Big 3!

This week we re-join our intrepid adventurer, Lou Mongello, for another trip around the WDWRadio dial. George Taylor from ImagiNERDing.com joins Lou to discuss 3 more books for the Disney geek library. The underlying theme of the books is Disney Theme Park architecture. Designing Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance is a compilation of various articles put together by Carol Ann Marlin. Designing Disney was written by the venerable John Hench. Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture was written by Beth Dunlop. For a complete run down check out Lou and George’s discussion this week on the show.

In keeping with the Adventure theme, Lou is joined by the Disney fan communities answer to Indiana Jones, Steve Barrett from HiddenMickeysGuide.com. Steve and Lou discuss some fun Hidden Mickeys in Adventureland, including two very intriguing ones on Pirates. To hear all the details be sure to check out this week’s episode. Here’s a fun one Steve mentioned from Toy Story Mania (yeah, I know, not in Adventureland but you’ve gotta listen to the show for those), in the queue on the wall down by the floor look for our pal Mickey in purple paint.

And finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Lou’s BIG announcement. In honor of the release of Lou’s newest Audio Guide to WDW, Lou is launching the Adventureland Challenge on July 21st. For all the dirty details be sure to check out this week’s episode but here’s a sneak peek. There will be three rounds of play, each more challenging than the one before. Only 25 will advance too Round 2 with three from those 25 going on to Round 3. The Ultimate Adventurer will win a Grand Prize that you have to hear to believe! I can definitely say that I was amazed at all the goodies involved.

Be sure to check out WDWRadio # 74 for more on these great topics.

Next we turn to Inside the Magic. It’s apparent to me that Ricky may have had a bad holiday weekend. If there could be a Grinch of the 4th of July, Ricky may have taken the title with this week’s show.

We jump right into the News from Around the World. Florida has decided that it’s OK for you to keep your pistol locked in your car while you’re at work. Hmm, a gun in a vehicle out at the employee parking lot. A long hot walk to the employee lot, Is that going to stop a disgruntled Pooh from getting his gun and sending people on many adventures to the ER? I don’t think so. Personally, I’m glad Walt Disney World found a loophole to get around it. Monorail Red has started its regular service. Monorail Blue is in testing. I say, what about Monorail Fuchsia? Let’s give the girls something fun.

Now, what about the dark side you may be asking? Well, here goes. Ricky delights us with his review of the new Disney-Pixar movie Wall-E. To say that he didn’t like it is a HUGE understatement. I get the impression he may have left his heart at home. How could anyone not love Wall-E in some way? He wanted to love it but according to Ricky; “It was a fantasy-romance movie disguised as a sci-fi movie. Where’s the movie the trailers were advertising?” Uh, on the screen in front of you. He found the characters, animation, plot and love story were totally lost on him. On a positive note, the end credits and the musical score were the best. He made no mention of the short before the movie. I guess little Presto escaped the boiling pot. To hear more of Ricky’s review check out this week’s show.

The biggest controversy on ITM this week would have to be Ricky’s discussion about the closing of Pleasure Island with Paul Barrie from Window to the Magic. In a nutshell, Ricky says “Good Riddance” and Paul screams “NO!!” Paul made a valiant attempt to persuade Ricky that the Adventurer’s Club should be saved. Ricky did agree to go see it before it closed, but didn’t sound too serious about it. I personally have not been to the Adventurer’s Club myself but it’s quite obvious how much fun this place is. Paul’s ideas for saving it are good ones. Of course, I won’t give them away. You know where to find them.

This week’s ITM ends with a short interview with the guys from Backstage Pass and an even shorter Cruisin’ the World, some listener feedback and a quick discussion about the video of the week. I usually find Inside the Magic enjoyable, Backstage Pass and Cruisin’ the World are my favorite segments. This week it seems someone may have dosed Ricky’s holiday beverage with an ugly pill.

And last but most definitely not least, WTTM 1-5-5. (I love when Paul says that.)

In true Window to the Magic fashion we start our audio adventure at Magic Kingdom on the Hillbilly Hill Climb Meet at MouseFest ‘07. We join Paul, Tairy and the LTAD crew on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. There’s no need to wonder if Jana is having a good time. Do you get the impression Paul is not to terribly thrilled to be on Splash Mountain? Needless to say a lot of hilarity ensues. Does Paul escape the deluge? Tune into the show to find out.

After a brief intermission we re-join Paul at The Great Grizzly Hunt, the meet Window to the Magic hosted at MouseFest ‘07. We get to enjoy a sweet moment between Paul and his best girl Tairy, aww. Then it’s on to the show. Did the cast member say what I think she said? Does Paul realize he’s repeating the show verbatim? Who won the trivia challenge? (Ok, that question isn’t answered but I needed a third.) His enthusiasm for his favorite attraction enhances the audio piece and proves yet again how much Paul loves those darn Bears. Listening to the audio from The Country Bears reminds me of the last time I saw it. What a sad state of disrepair that attraction is in. I truly hope Disney rehabs it soon.

And then, just as the audio ends and you expect the soothing sounds of Nature’s Wonderland, your ears are assaulted by the overacting of Jonathan Dichter as he plugs the latest All About the Mouse. Yikes!! I don’t enjoy Surrounding Myself with His Theatrics. All in all Paul’s show is exactly what you expect from him; lots of great park audio, put together by someone who loves his craft. It’s the main reason Window to the Magic is one of my favorite shows.

And so this first edition of This Week on the BIG 3 comes to an end. Have questions or comments feel free to contact me. Tune to The Disney Blog to see what the BIG 3 have in store for us next week. Until then, See Ya Real Soon!

Links:

Originally posted on The Disney Blog.

The Disney Fan Podcast Review

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Might Squirrel noted a perfectly mediocre story to chat about on a boring post holiday weekend monday. This one is a look at 5 ways microsoft could change After Gates. From accepting Open Source to serious interoperability work, there are definitely 5 things on that list there. Nothing about my solid gold rocket car.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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One NY Times columnist, in his opinion piece “WALL-E For President“, believes the film should be required viewing for all, especially for Presidential Candidates:

Mr. McCain should be required to see “Wall-E” to learn just how far adrift he is from an America whose economic fears cannot be remedied by his flip-flop embrace of the Bush tax cuts (for the wealthy) and his sham gas-tax holiday (for everyone else). Mr. Obama should see it to be reminded of just how bold his vision of change had been before he settled into a front-runner’s complacency. Americans should see it to appreciate just how much things are out of joint on an Independence Day when a cartoon robot evokes America’s patriotic ideals with more conviction than either of the men who would be president.

Ouch. But if the shoe fits.

Btw, WALL-E rolled into second place at the box office this weekend with an additional $33.5 million. That brings his domestic box office total to $128 million and well on the path to a $200 million domestic total and $400 million overseas, which is just above average for a Pixar flick these days.

Way to go WALL-E!

(via CartoonBrew)

Originally posted on The Disney Blog.

How Important Is WALL-E?

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