.jpg)
Roundtable
Contributors: Estelle
Hallick (This
Happy Place), Alan Mize, Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley (Mouse on the
Mind), Blake Taylor (BlakeOnline.com), Andrew (Disney Hipsters
Blog), and yours truly.
Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley (Mouse on the Mind)
.png)
Here I am, talking about a nice, hot cup of joe … again.
After all of the Starbucks chatter over the past few months, you'd think we'd
be all coffee'd out, but you'd be wrong. This week, it was revealed that
Joffrey's Coffee will be replacing Nescafe throughout Walt Disney World and
Disneyland. My response: YIPPEE! I know that NesCrape has its supporters, but I
couldn't be happier to see it go the way of The Skyway. I've enjoyed Joffrey's
several times from the espresso stations in Epcot and at the TTA (you probably
have, too, without realizing it), and it's a nice, strong cup of warm,
delicious energy. Word on the street is that they grind all of the coffee fresh
in Orlando, which sounds just right to me.
Andrew (Disney Hipsters Blog)
Another week,
another Limited Time Magic. It seems like lately I've been focusing a lot of
time trying to understand this promotion, which in theory I love. But the
problem with theories? They're often proved wrong...
So far each
week has been very hit or miss. When I saw that "True Love Week"
(Feb. 11 - Feb. 17) would include special prix fixe meals at several signature
dining restaurants I thought this week would be a definite hit. Then I got a
glimpse of the special menus...which include not one vegan option. Each of these restaurants tout wonderful
vegan options on their normal menus, so whats the harm in throwing us lowly
vegetarians a scrap or two? I'm not asking for much, just ONE SOLID vegan prix
fixe menu for this Limited Magic. Or, better yet an entire week where the whole
resort is vegetarian. Hey I can dream, right?
Blake Taylor (BlakeOnline.com)
Another round of Long-Lost Friends graced the Magic
Kingdom this week, but their visit had nothing to do with Limited Time Magic.
On Monday, February 4, guests found rarely seen characters dispersed throughout
the park: two penguins with Mary Poppins in Town Square, Rabbit with Pooh and
Tigger in Fantasyland, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum near Mad Tea Party. The
appearances were unannounced and not part of any promotion or special event.
They do not reflect a permanent change in the park's entertainment schedule,
but rather a surprise treat for those who happened to be in the Magic Kingdom
that day.
This kind of character greeting—spontaneous, unannounced, not drawing a
lot of attention to itself, and existing for no other reason than "just
because"—is exciting and commendable. There's something fun in the idea of
exploring the parks without knowing who you might run into, and I hope the
practice is put to use more often.
Estelle
Hallick (This Happy Place)
Last November,
Amid Amidi posted an article on Cartoon Brew about his yet-to-be published
biography of Disney animator, Ward Kimball. The release date continued to be
pushed back because the Disney Company had decided they didn’t like how a
genuine look at the life at one of their artist’s made their company look.
It’s truly
disheartening that Disney would use its power to exercise such censorship,
gypping their fans the opportunity to learn about an important figure in the
company’s history.
Sadly, last week
Amidi announced on his Twitter page that Disney had indeed blocked Ward’s
biography from hitting bookshelves as a publication of Chronicle Books. Despite
setbacks, the fight to get this book published is not over yet, Amidi promises
in his tweets.
We can only
hope that Disney and art fans alike will one day get the opportunity to learn
more about Kimball through this biography, without interference from a company
that strives too hard to perfect an image that is more like a fairy tale than
real life.
Alan Mize
The Disney Company is good at a lot of things. They've built fantastic theme parks around
the world. They've built numerous themed resort hotels. They've got top notch cruise ships and
they've managed to be very successful in the timeshare business. All of that,
however, pales in comparison to Disney's true calling...squeezing every last
penny out of a franchise.
For those that haven't heard, Disney CEO Bob Iger
announced that Disney plans to not only release Episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the
Star Wars film franchise, but they also plan to release spin-off films that are
based on specific characters. While part of me is excited about the possibility
of a film about Yoda or Boba Fett, another part of me is very aware that you
can get too much of a good thing. Maybe I'm being a little pessimistic here,
but let's be honest; Disney has a tendency to beat a dead horse sometimes.
Perhaps you recall such cinematic gems as The Lion King 1 1/2, Beauty and the
Beast: Belle's Magical World, or Cinderella II. Those are just a few examples
of Disney taking beloved characters and cashing in on them with reckless
abandon. Maybe my concerns will be all for naught. Maybe I'll be wrong and
these films will be fantastic. But for now, let's just say that I've got a very
bad feeling about this.
Ryan P.
Wilson (Main Street
Gazette)
There are
plenty of stories in the Disney family of a small-time nobody making good and
becoming royalty. No, I’m not talking about Tiana and Aladdin, I’m talking
about individuals that started out as Cast Members selling magic tricks and ice
cream bars or sailing down the rivers of the Jungle Cruise who rise to become
big wigs in the company, famous actors, directors, and Imagineers. One such
individual, Tony Baxter, hung up his ears at the end of last week.
.jpg)
In an open
letter to Imagineering, you can see Tony Baxter wandering through decades of
hard work and lessons learned. Mentoring to Baxter went both ways, whether he
was working alongside Claude Coates or Imagineers who are up and comers but
whose names are not yet recognizable. You learn from one another, the latest
and greatest and time tested strategies. In his parting words, Baxter sought to
show the qualities that were for so long instilled in the blood of not just WED
and Imagineering, but the Disney organization as a whole. He had spent years
attempting to bridge the earliest of Disney creators with whatever the current
mindset was of the company, in his letter you can see how he has not given up
this lifelong work to legacy, but instead will continue to be a voice of wisdom
around the halls of Imagineering and hopefully will be picked up and carried on
by the younger generation.
It is no secret
that Big Thunder Mountain has been a favorite attraction of my since my
earliest visits to the Magic Kingdom, and regardless of how it came into being,
Tony Baxter had a hand in its creation. For that, he shall always occupy a
special place in my heart. He came up through the Disney ranks to become the
voice of imagination, ingenuity, and storytelling, a path a fear is all but
locked off today. Then again, if there is magic in the world, and if we can
dream it, then maybe we can make a difference, just as Tony did.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment