Breaking news and opinions from MousePlanet writer, editor and podcaster Mark Goldhaber.
I've received a response from Walt Disney World spokeswoman Jacquee Polak regarding the civil rights discrimination lawsuit that I reported in today's Park Update: Mr. Channa never sought re-employment for the 2006 Holiday season. His claim that he did, and was denied employment, is without merit. We value and respect diversity in our Cast Members and treat each request individually. The type of accommodation varies with the particular request, ...
Don't have time to go to Walt Disney World but need that park fix? Now you can go to the parks without leaving your house. Disney and Google have teamed up to present Walt Disney World in 3-D on Google Earth. You can "walk" through stunningly realistic recreations of the Disney parks & resorts, and click on handy links to get more information, see attraction videos and more. Go to http://www.disneyworld.com/3dparks to download the required version 4.3 of Google Earth. ...
Well, they had hoped to have Toy Story Midway Mania in soft-opening status today. In fact, when I spoke with Imagineers Kevin Rafferty yesterday, they both seemed to be pretty confident that they would be open to the public today. However, the nature of Test-and-Adjust on a Disney attraction is such that it's a sure thing that there are no sure things. The official grand opening is May 31, and they're still hoping to get the attraction open before that, but there remain ...
Updated 05-17-2008 at 09:31 PM by Mark Goldhaber (Fixed typo on Kevin Rafferty's name (posting from the Treo can be difficult sometimes))
I just heard from my media contact at the Disney Vacation Club. DVC President Jim Lewis has been called into a meeting and will be unavailable for today's interview, which -- in turn -- had been postponed from yesterday. I'll be able to interview my media contact about most of the topics that I was going to interview Jim about, but it's still disappointing. Star Wars Weekends interview coming up shortly. More later.
Updated 05-19-2008 at 05:37 AM by Mark Goldhaber (Removed from front page)
What a day! After getting in to the Orlando, I raced to get my car, check in, and head to the Studios. Once there, I was taken behind the shrub barrier, met Imagineers Kevin Rafferty and Sue Bryan and then got to try out Toy Story Midway Mania! (apparently, the official name of the attraction on both coasts is Toy Story Midway Mania!, but the marketing department uses Toy Story Mania! because it's shorter and easier to spoon-feed to the public) in between Imagineering taking shots ...