I had barely set foot on Disney World property when I learned of this morning's fatal Monorail crash. The pilot, just 21, trapped in a stationary Monorail as a second vehicle backed into his cockpit. Attractions like the Monorail (in fact, ESPECIALLY the Monorail) are loaded with safety devices and procedures to ensure such mishaps are rare. In fact, WDW hasn't suffered a major multi-train collision for 35 years. And today's was the first WDW ride operator to be killed on site. (In 2007, an Animal...

Every so often I’m emailed by an aggrieved reader who feels they’ve been ripped off by Disney and is looking for (a) legal advice or (b) a little publicity to garner public sympathy and hopefully grease a settlement out of the Mouse. There’s the guy who’s convinced Phil Collins stole his song ideas for "Tarzan." Countless cast members who feel they’ve been terminated unfairly or illegally. And, of course, the fellow who says Disney stole his designs for bayou fireflies.

Since I’m...

We just got our first look behind the construction walls at Disneyland's revamped Peter Pan's Flight, and the attraction is all ready to fly in time for its official reopening Monday June 8.

Although they decided against installing a "split" at the exit to better accommodate special-assistance groups (see http://www.mouseplanet.com/8852/Weig...n_vs_Wait_Loss), there's now a transfer-accessible vehicle, in which the side comes down so it's easier for a wheelchair-bound guest to slide in....

The world has lost another original Disneylander, with the passing of Frank Martinez.

Martinez, who died yesterday at the age of 88, began his park career as a ride operator on Main Street, working his way to assistant supervisor in Operations. He was transferred out of attractions in 1966 when, according to fellow "Club 55er" Bob Penfield, Operations chief "Dick Nunis decided to spread his cadre of people out into other divisions to eventually gain control over the whole park. Good...

Looks like I can finally tone down the hissing that slips out every time I dejectedly walk past Knott's Berry Farm's long-shuttered Bird Cage Theater.

I just received word that the All American Melodrama Theater & Music Hall at Shoreline Village in Long Beach, Ca., is reviving two productions from Knott's Berry Farm's Bird Cage Theater, with the blessings of Knott's.

The theater has actually been doing these and similar melodramas for nearly a year, but recently received...