It's been awhile since I've posted over here.

Anyone from Mouse Planet attending The Walt Disney Company Annual Shareholders Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana March 8, 2007, 10 am Central, at the Ernest Morial Convention Center downtown?

My husband Rich Koster and I live in the area, are shareholders, and will be going.

We've always listened to the webcasts of the meeting, now it's amazing that we can actually get to go and not by flight, not by car, but because it's in our town!

Bless Disney for putting the positive spotlight on New Orleans businesses and convention-tourism business by holding their annual meeting here. Means a lot to us in a post-Katrina world.

In the past we've joined some MousePlanet.com members online in IRC to listen to the meeting's audio together and type out our comments and witticisms to each other, those times were fun.

Now we might actually be there to see "Evelyn" in person, a regular stockholder meeting attendee who annually tries to make a lot of points to the CEO during Questions and Answers.

Now we actually get to see and hear the presentations in entirety, rather than the maddening interval cut-aways to Lumiere singing "Be Our Guest!" as proprietary stuff is talked about.

Anyone from Mouse Planet.com gonna be there?

If you can't be there, you can listen to the webcast online live and repeated for a few days thereafter at the Shareholder part of Disney.go.com. You can tune into CNBC on cable/satellite to view reports starting early morning and into the afternoon and evening, and Bloomberg Television is doing a show about it Thursday, March 8 at Noon Eastern, 11 am Central, 9 am Pacific, 5 pm London. Check your cable/satellite provider to learn what these channels are and consider recording. Check business press online such as at Marketwatch.com and MotleyFools.com or your favorite online financial news source, or publications Friday such as the business sections of newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, and other business publications.

Looking forward to it, and hoping it stays at about two hours in length.

If you've been to these before, could you please post and let us know what to expect? We've heard there is a store there (?) as well as at the Anaheim Annual Meeting last year they gave out free theme park tickets. What can we expect of actually attending vs. listening in online?

Thanks in advance, hope to see a lot of fellow Disney fans able to attend this year.

Welcome to New Orleans!

Hi Carol. I'll be there, though I'll be in the press area through most of the meeting. I'm about to do an interview for the podcast, so I'll post with the answer to some of your questions and drop you a PM later on tonight. Maybe we can touch base before or after the event.

Now we might actually be there to see "Evelyn" in person, a regular stockholder meeting attendee who annually tries to make a lot of points to the CEO during Questions and Answers.
Evelyn Davis is an interesting person. I was able to chat with her for a couple of minutes before the Minneapolis meeting.

If you can't be there, you can listen to the webcast online live and repeated for a few days thereafter at the Shareholder part of Disney.go.com. You can tune into CNBC on cable/satellite to view reports starting early morning and into the afternoon and evening, and Bloomberg Television is doing a show about it Thursday, March 8 at Noon Eastern, 11 am Central, 9 am Pacific, 5 pm London. Check your cable/satellite provider to learn what these channels are and consider recording. Check business press online such as at Marketwatch.com and MotleyFools.com or your favorite online financial news source, or publications Friday such as the business sections of newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, and other business publications.
We'll also wrap it up the following week on the MouseStation and MousePlanetWatch podcasts (http://www.mouseplanet.com/podcast).

Looking forward to it, and hoping it stays at about two hours in length.
If they're not expecting much rancor, they should keep it under 2-2.5 hours.

If you've been to these before, could you please post and let us know what to expect? We've heard there is a store there (?) as well as at the Anaheim Annual Meeting last year they gave out free theme park tickets. What can we expect of actually attending vs. listening in online?
The store at the Anaheim meeting was the first time that I had seen that, going back to my first meeting in Philadelphia. No idea if they're going to repeat that in NOLA. You CAN expect characters to be out and about doing photos and autographs, tables with representatives from DisneyHand, Environmentality and other programs, as well as some of the commercial stuff. Last year, they had a signup special for ESPN Mobile. No idea what they're actually going to do this year, but it should still be fun.

Welcome to New Orleans!
I'm looking forward to it!

Hi Carol. I'll be there

If any of you have the time and are so inclined:

And when in the real New Orleans, be sure to visit the very popular and GREAT Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (http://www.atneworleans.com/body/blacksmith.htm), which is really a fantastic hole-in-the-wall bar. :)

Walt and Lilly hung out here at the piano on many a night, including their many trips to New Orleans to purchase antiques for Club 33 from the many and famous antique shops on Royal Street (which is where the street the Club resides got it's name).

Another favorite bar of Walt's in NOLA was the Famous Door (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/N25388.html), which was known for placing the names of all the famous personalities that ever visited it, on it's front door (of course Walt's was added after his first visit). [Though it looks like his name has been removed from the door now to make room for others]

A third bar you could find Walt and the gang hanging out at on his very last trips to New Orleans, was the famous Carousel Bar (http://www.hotelmonteleone.com/leisure/carouselbar.html) at the old Hotel Monteleone. I wonder why he liked that one so much? ;)

Anyway, you can still visit all 3 today. Well...talk about wander off subject. I'll shut up now. :)

Have Fun!

If any of you have the time and are so inclined:



Have Fun!

Thanks, Ken! I had forgotten about that post.

My husband and I are driving in from an outlying suburb as soon as we drop our son off at school (they start early, at 7:30 am!) and we'll head straight for the parking area Disney said will be free of charge near the Convention Center.

I suppose we could carry a sign like they do at airports "Kosters of Disney Echo (Rich's fan site)"! That way perhaps we can find each other. ;)

We have some issues about getting back to our outlying suburb 'cause son's school's dismissal is at 2:15 pm.

But we could meet up....

So cool to be able to attend one of these things!

Thanks, Ken! I had forgotten about that post.

FYI...if you have to skip one of the three bars...skip the Famous Door. It's changed the most since Walt visited, and sometimes the music in there can be pretty different than what Walt would have ever heard! ;)

But the other two...Blacksmith Shop and Monteleone's Carousal Bar...are still almost exactly as Walt would have experienced and enjoyed them. They haven't changed a bit. You can hit the Monteleone anytime...but suggest the Blacksmith Shop later in the evening when there's someone at the piano. You'd almost think you were back in 1965. And I'd bet a few of the characters sitting around the piano were actually there in 1965!

Only they probably had more of their own teeth back then. :)

My husband and I are driving in from an outlying suburb as soon as we drop our son off at school (they start early, at 7:30 am!) and we'll head straight for the parking area Disney said will be free of charge near the Convention Center.

I suppose we could carry a sign like they do at airports "Kosters of Disney Echo (Rich's fan site)"! That way perhaps we can find each other. ;)

We have some issues about getting back to our outlying suburb 'cause son's school's dismissal is at 2:15 pm.

But we could meet up....

So cool to be able to attend one of these things!
After the meeting ends, I'll probably first be heading back to the press room (room 277 on the second level). If you wait there, I'll be wearing a blue suit with a Disney tie. I look pretty much like my photo on the site. Short, fat, bespectacled and bearded. I'll be better dressed than the similarly-described Jim Hill, though. ;)

I'll keep an eye out for anyone looking like they're searching for me as I head back, and if I don't see you I'll try to check back outside every once in a while. I'll probably also be wandering around the queuing area before the meeting starts with my camera and notepad, and possibly with my microphone for the podcast, as well.

FYI...if you have to skip one of the three bars...skip the Famous Door. It's changed the most since Walt visited, and sometimes the music in there can be pretty different than what Walt would have ever heard! ;)

But the other two...Blacksmith Shop and Monteleone's Carousal Bar...are still almost exactly as Walt would have experienced and enjoyed them. They haven't changed a bit. You can hit the Monteleone anytime...but suggest the Blacksmith Shop later in the evening when there's someone at the piano. You'd almost think you were back in 1965. And I'd bet a few of the characters sitting around the piano were actually there in 1965!

Only they probably had more of their own teeth back then. :)
Thanks! I'll put that into the hopper for a possible visit. I'm meeting up with Drince88 and Jim Hill for dinner tonight, and we're not sure where we're going yet. Of course, it'll have to be an early night tonight because I've got to get the podcast published and then get some sleep before the meeting tomorrow. Of course, there's tomorrow night, too....

Such rich Disney history in New Orleans.

Perhaps the most significant influence occurred in 1946, during a trip to New Orleans. While visiting an antique shop in the old French Quarter, Walt bought a mechanical, musical "wind-up" bird. He brought it back to his machine shop and asked his machinist Roger Broggie to figure out how it worked. Walt was already starting to think about transforming his two dimensional animation into a brand new three dimensional art form.

And then there's the story of Walt visiting a brothel in New Orleans that would have you in stitches...but perhaps best to leave that one for later.

And to think...it was all started by a Beignet.

;)

Been SO busy this week, it's the same week I finally gathered up papers to give over to our income tax preparer and also had some business out of state, son's Cub Scout camp registration form has three pages to it... Arrgh!

Husband Rich Koster suggests that we will be inside the meeting hall, and one of us will parade around (In New Orleans you do that, parade, heh! It's coming up on Irish-Italian parade season this weekend and next, for St. patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day!) with a sign saying "We're Rich & Carol Koster!" to locate anyone else. Some members of MousePlanet might remember us from old days of posting on rec.arts.disney and alt.disney.disneyland in the 1990s. Since seating is limited to 800 dear husband suggests getting inside the meeting hall and finding a seat, then locating fellow online fans.

Years ago the New Orleans Times Picayune published a photo of Walt here in New Orleans. He was in town to publicize "Song of the South" and was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel, which is now the Fairmont Hotel.

If you're doing a Disney tour of the city, two stops other than the Fairmont and the bars you mentioned you should take: Long Vue House and Gardens on Metairie Road (on the border of New Orleans and Metairie/Jefferson Parish) has or had some Disney Courvosier cels on the last part of their tour of the Stein's house. And across the road, in Metairie Cemetary, ask where to see Louis Prima's grave, he was the voice of King Louie in "The Jungle Book".

Mark, if you see someone parading with a sign, that's probably Rich or I, we operate a site called Disney Echo. Hope to see you there! If not, and you're still wondering where to dine out, try this website of local food critic Tom Fitzmorris, New Orleans Menu at

http://www.nomenu.com

He has a list of the restaurants that have reopened since Hurricane Katrina, sectioned by either neighborhood or by cuisine type, take your pick. Any marks you see next to restaurants that look like >> >> >> are his ratings, the more >> there are, the better he likes them. The Convention Center is on the edges of Central Business District, French Quarter, and the Warehouse District. Or if you go up St. Charles Avenue you are heading to Garden District first, then Uptown.

For lunch an awesome restaurant to try is called Cafe' Reconcile. It is operated by the Campaign for Human Development, a Catholic charity. It employs at risk youth and teaches them the dining and hospitality industry, and is supervised by a professional chef. The food is absolutely top notch and is cheap. It's getting a lot of press for the innovative way it teaches at risk youth to steer away from crime and drugs and provides them career training to be chefs and operate restaurants. You find the directions via MapQuest once you locate it in Tom Fitzmorris listings or Google the name.

Any locally owned restaurant you visit is an act of charity. We're trying to rebound the tourism industry since the storm, the archival footage of teh flooded city makes people think that is still going on more than 18 months after Katrina, when in fact it's not. We've hosted major conventions here, such as National Association of Realtors and all have gone well and the folks have a great time. So find a local eatery to dine out at, it helps! Wander in the Quarter, buy some real beignets (not the ones at Port Orleans French Quarter Resort at WDW) and some real pralines to take home.

At night be very streetwise and go along well-lit well traveled streets. The crime problem is a real deal, so like on Hill Street Blues "Let's be careful out there."

Have a wonderful visit to our city and have a Disney Day at the Shareholders' Meeting! And tell Jim Hill Carol Koster said, "Yoo Hoo!" ;)

darn. so wanted to hear the randy newman song from Frog Princess online. thos darn corp policies! ;-)

We've listened to the webcasts before, and when they blank out the proprietary stuff, it's really maddening!

So Rich and I are back home now.

We met up with Mark! What a nice guy, Mouse Planet is lucky to have Mark to report here. We met up with Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media, too. Also a nice fellow, both know a lot about Disney. We had a great time.

I've got writing to do. But yes, that "Frog Princess" song was great, thrilled Randy Newman was there and joined up by New Orleans' own Dirty Dozen Brass Band, one of the premiere nouveau-traditional jazz bands of the city. The 12-minute clip of "Ratatouille" is awesome! The dining scene depicted is so very New Orleans, a city that lives to eat and not just eat to live. Noteworthy is that "Ratatouille" got more response than "Meet the Robinsons" did. But "The Frog Princess" will be wonderful! Thrilled it takes place in N.O.!

More later!

I've got writing to do. But yes, that "Frog Princess" song was great, thrilled Randy Newman was there and joined up by New Orleans' own Dirty Dozen Brass Band, one of the premiere nouveau-traditional jazz bands of the city.
Cool (well, about all of it -but especially the music!) - I REALLY wish work wasn't so hectic right now!
Is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band going to be in the movie, too - or was that just for local flavor at the meeting?

Drince 88, I would hope to high heaven that Randy Newman who knows the city and perhaps also it's music scene would hire the Dirty Dozen as musicians for the film. They are superb!

You can listen to the webcast any time you want, BTW. Disney will leave it up for a few days. Thumbs up!

We met up with Mark! What a nice guy, Mouse Planet is lucky to have Mark to report here. We met up with Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media, too. Also a nice fellow, both know a lot about Disney. We had a great time.
You're too kind. It was great meeting you, as well.

By the way, for those who didn't listen to the webcast, both Carol and Rich were able to get to the microphones during the Q&A session, and both received positive reponses to their questions. We've got pre- and post-meeting conversations with them that we'll run on next week's podcast. :)

You can listen to the webcast any time you want, BTW. Disney will leave it up for a few days. Thumbs up!
It's available here (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=129198&eventID=1482051). It'll be available untli 4 p.m. PDT on March 19.

Carol, I'm back at the hotel finishing my story for tomorrow. Give me a call a little later and we'll talk about dinner.

Mark,

You prefer Brannan's? Or Palace Cafe' owned by the Brennans? Synergy is the Brennans own a restaurant at Disneyland's Downtown Disney.

Now, about the replay of the shareholders meeting, I put on our Disney Echo site a blurb from Disney Shareholder Relations the webcast would stay up 'til March 22. Did Disney change their minds to make it earlier they'd take it down?

Any hoo, folks, if indeed they take it down March 19th, "hurry" and listen to it. Even if a lot of it gets blanked out, there's a lot to hear that doesn't get blanked out.

You can hear for yourselves the highly stimulating shareholder Evelyn Davis literally taking over the microphone at a podium near the stage and literally putting new meaning to the phrase "living it up". She definitely "made her views known" to the gathering and the executives present, whether you agree (it can happen!) or disagree (listen for yourselves if the audio picks it up of her getting jeered more than once in the room by fellow shareholders). Say no more, say no more, like in Monty Python's Flying Circus, a wink's as good as a nudge. But, oh brother!

You can hear for yourselves the highly stimulating shareholder Evelyn Davis literally taking over the microphone at a podium near the stage and literally putting new meaning to the phrase "living it up". She definitely "made her views known" to the gathering and the executives present, whether you agree (it can happen!) or disagree (listen for yourselves if the audio picks it up of her getting jeered more than once in the room by fellow shareholders). Say no more, say no more, like in Monty Python's Flying Circus, a wink's as good as a nudge. But, oh brother!


I have mixed feelings about her outburts. While I applaud her for challenging the "status quo"; the fact that she kept referring to how important SHE was and who SHE knows, etc., left a foul taste in my mouth. It was more about her speaking than what she was saying. Also, for heaven's sake, it's a media company. Of course the 1st part of the presentation will be about the success of the company and what's new. And - I believe she was very rude to the business MC (was that the COB? if so, then he had every right to run the meeting OVER Iger, despite her objections).

Kudos to you Carol for bringing up Song of the South and the need to re-evaluate again. I guess you could say that you will find equal numbers who want it released (like me) and those that don't - but you stated it correctly that it should be up to the consumer public to make their choice. I know Iger won't say it publicly but I believe they are more concerned about other media outlets focusing on the public outcry then the actual content...

Mark,

You prefer Brannan's? Or Palace Cafe' owned by the Brennans? Synergy is the Brennans own a restaurant at Disneyland's Downtown Disney.
I'll call Hill when I finish writing my story, then I'll call you.

Now, about the replay of the shareholders meeting, I put on our Disney Echo site a blurb from Disney Shareholder Relations the webcast would stay up 'til March 22. Did Disney change their minds to make it earlier they'd take it down?
The link says March 19. It must've changed recently, though, since I also have it as March 22 in the podcast show notes.

You can hear for yourselves the highly stimulating shareholder Evelyn Davis literally taking over the microphone at a podium near the stage and literally putting new meaning to the phrase "living it up". She definitely "made her views known" to the gathering and the executives present, whether you agree (it can happen!) or disagree (listen for yourselves if the audio picks it up of her getting jeered more than once in the room by fellow shareholders). Say no more, say no more, like in Monty Python's Flying Circus, a wink's as good as a nudge. But, oh brother!
She's a hoot, isn't she? Of course, she didn't win points with the crowd when she interrupted John Lasseter during his "lecture on animation." ;)

The link says March 19. It must've changed recently, though, since I also have it as March 22 in the podcast show notes.
Ah, I've figured it out. I was rushing so much, I grabbed the link for Monday's Bear Stearns Media Conference audio. The shareholder meeting audio hasn't been posted yet.

You prefer Brannan's? Or Palace Cafe' owned by the Brennans? Synergy is the Brennans own a restaurant at Disneyland's Downtown Disney.

Well, that's kind of a very distant "synergy" with Downtown Disney in ways other than just geographical distance. ;)

Many, many, years ago the various branches of the Brennan family had one of those nasty family breakups, and most went their separate ways and pretty much disowned each other. Most of them don't even speak. There were lawsuits and much other nasty stuff. But all wanted to capitalize on the famous name.

- The famous "Brennan's" in the French Quarter is one part of the old family and that resturant is their only location. The one and only, as it were.

- Then there is Dickie Brennan's group of restaurants. Totally separte operation. He's the one that owns Palace Cafe and his steakhouse in the French Quarter.

- Next is Brennan's Houston, owned by another off-shoot of the original family.

- Then we come to Ralph Brennan's group of restaurants, and that's what is in Downtown Disney...Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen.

So for that true synergy with Downtown Disney, you'd have to pick one of these Ralph Brennan restaurants:

http://www.neworleans-food.com/

...of which Bacco is my personal favorite. :)

As it turns out (without having seen this post beforehand), we ended up at Bacco. Excellent food, fun company. Unfortunately, Jim had a family emergency and had to try to get out of town ASAP. Haven't heard an update from him yet.

Here's the link to listen to the Annual Shareholders Meeting of The Walt Disney Company, March 8, 2007, New Orleans, Louisiana HERE. (http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/presentations.html) But note: It will only stay up 'til March 22, 2007, after which it will be removed. Length: Two hours and 15-minutes. Simply click on that option where indicated (more than one audio choice is given, you want the Shareholders' Meeting) and enjoy!

Hear: Evelyn Davis for yourself! It's stunning! Hear: What news and info you can from Disney! Hear: The proprietary parts get blanked out and replaced by Disney music and sound like a pirate and go "Arrrrrgh!" in frustration, but you still hear news and info about Disney, and you'll hear the Questions and Answers part get through. Wish: This meeting comes to your city or region and that you can go sometime, it's fun, interesting, you learn a lot, and you can hear and see the presentations and not have them blanked out. And for as long as she lives and is ambulatory, you can "experience" the "experience" that is Evelyn Davis! ;)

Orlando Sentinel blog entry where you can see a couple of photos of "The Frog Princess", link might not always stay up, however. Click on photos to see them larger. (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2007/03/disney_makes_ha.html)

He's scooping us!

Report by online writer "Reporter’s Notebook: Road to the Big Easy—The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting" By C. W. Oberleitner, March 8, 2007 at HERE at O-meon.com (http://www.o-meon.com/pages/news&features/n&f_2007/n&f_03-07_RPRTRS_NTBK.htm)