Category Archives: Disney

A Disney Dilemma: What will autistic children like Ben Miles do without the Snow White attraction?

By web gangsta | Published: January 27, 2011


Snow White's Scary Adventures
Snow White’s Scary Adventures

SNOW WHITE’S SCARY ADVENTURES is a classic Disney dark ride in Fantasyland, one of the original rides at both Disneyland in California and at Walt Disney World.

Go out and ride the Walt Disney World version of the ride while you can, because it is going the way of Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.  That is, Disney is ripping the ride out to make way for a Disney Princess meet-and-greet.

What?

Web Watch will break this down for you, summing up what other websites have already said:  Walt Disney World is currently in the middle of a long-awaited (and much needed) multi-million dollar expansion of Fantasyland, originally with the following changes:

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Muppets with Human Eyes will creep you out

By web gangsta | Published: January 9, 2011


Muppet Animal on DrumsAnimal on Drums

Wanna see something weird?

Somebody took the beloved Muppets and Photoshopped human eyes onto their heads.

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Disney star Miley Cyrus is making gambling fun

By web gangsta | Published: December 11, 2010


Hannah Montana - Miley Cyrus Movie
Hannah Montana – The Movie

Miley Cyrus is making gambling fun.

More specifically, gambling websites is making fun of Miley Cyrus and her recent exploits.

By now, you’ve probably seen celebrity gossip site TMZ reporting that a VIDEO OF MILEY CYRUS SMOKING A BONG (albeit a bong containing salvia, a natural herb that is not considered illegal) has been making the rounds.

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Visualizations of Winnie the Pooh neurological disorders

By web gangsta | Published: December 2, 2010



Tigger on the Couch: The Neuroses, Psychoses, Disorders and Maladies of Our Favourite Children's Characters
Tigger on the Couch: The Neuroses, Psychoses, Disorders and Maladies of Our Favourite Children’s Characters

Earlier this year, Web Watch mentioned a study called PATHOLOGY IN THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD: A NEURODEVELOPENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON A.A. MILNE that discussed which various mental and psychological illnesses the Pooh characters suffered from.  Let’s recap, shall we?

  • Winnie the Pooh has ADHD and OCD, has very little brain, and suffers from obesity and binge eating
  • Piglet has a generalized anxiety disorder
  • Eeyore has dysthymic disorder, housing problems, and suffers from a traumatic tail amputation
  • Rabbit, it should come as no surprise, is narcissistic
  • Tigger also suffers from ADHD and hyperactive-impulsive tendencies
  • Kanga and Roo have to deal with Kanga being a single, unemployed parent while Roo hangs out with a bunch of undesirables – like Tigger

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Pixar’s Toy Story is the #1 movie to make men cry

By web gangsta | Published: November 28, 2010


It's Enough to Make a Grown Man Cry
It’s Enough to Make a Grown Man Cry

PLAY.COM has released their list of the TOP TEN FILMS THAT MAKE MEN CRY. 

Number one on that list is the original TOY STORY from Pixar.  The full list is below the cut:

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Moms are online over 20 hours a week. Doing what?

By web gangsta | Published: November 5, 2010



Cooking Mama
Cooking Mama

According to a study released from Disney Online, MOMs SPEND 24 HOURS A WEEK ONLINE.

The study, entitled M.O.M. – Moms On A Mission, was focused on showing how much today’s parents relied on using the Internet and other electronics to make parenting easier.

According to the study, Moms use the following technology most often:

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Johnson & Johnson, Disney top the Corporate Social Responsibilty Index

By web gangsta | Published: October 19, 2010



Ashoka's Social Entrepreneurship Series presents Architect of Corporate Responsibility: The Story of Alice Tepper Marlin and Social Accountability International
Ashoka’s Social Entrepreneurship Series presents Architect of Corporate Responsibility: The Story of Alice Tepper Marlin and Social Accountability International

Being corporately responsibile is not necessarily an easy thing to do, let along doing so and being recognized for it.

Harder still, is coming out on top of such a list of recognition.

Yet, that’s exactly what JOHNSON & JOHNSON  and THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY have done this year in this year’s CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INDEX. 

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Disney theme park-related TV listings – Still waiting on Finding Kraftland

By web gangsta | Published: October 4, 2010



Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World
Modern Marvels – Walt Disney World

You shouldn’t have to guess that Web Watch has “Disney” coded as a search term on one of our TiVos, in order to record the latest television program about any of the Disney-theme parks.

With it, TiVo automatically records anything and everything that it thinks we might be interested in.  We’ve seen any number of Food Network-related programming, and practically every airing of  The History Channel’s MODERN MARVELS that seems to air about once every two weeks. 

And that episode where Full House visits Walt Disney World?  Yup – seen that more times than we care to, thanks to TiVo.

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One family’s quest to go one year without Disney

By web gangsta | Published: September 1, 2010



Mousetrapped: a Year and a Bit in Orlando
Mousetrapped: A Year and a Bit in Orlando

Web Watch has to admire people like Lisa Ray.

Lisa has strong convictions and a big stick-to-it attitude that isn’t often seen elsewhere.  She really does mean what she says, and says what she means.  Good for her.

Lisa, the founder of PARENTS FOR ETHICAL MARKETING, was upset at how the Disney corporation handled a refund request for the Baby Einstein line of early-learning DVDs.  Her reaction to those events (already documented elsewhere) led her to comment to her family, “I wish we could boycott Disney. But I don’t think we can. They’re too big.”

This got her 12-year-old daughter thinking, and she suggested that maybe they could go a year without Disney.

Lisa liked this idea so much, she decided that was exactly what she and her family were going to do: go A YEAR WITHOUT DISNEY.

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Read “Cast Member Confidential” for behind-the-scenes Disney fun

By web gangsta | Published: August 20, 2010



Cast Member Confidential
Cast Member Confidential -a Disney Employee Memoir

If you’re a Disney park fan, then one thing that you’re probably interested in is some of the behind-the-scenes stories about what it’s REALLY like to work at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Sure, you could read KEVIN YEE’s book MOUSETRAP: MEMOIR OF A DISNEYLAND CAST MEMBER, or maybe even Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World, The Project on Disney, based on interviews with former Disney employees.  Both are excellent books for what they cover, and Web Watch recommends them highly.

But sometimes works like those can offer some views of life at Walt Disney World or Disneyland that are a bit more whitewashed than how things actually were.  Looking at working at the Mouse with rose-colored glasses, if you will.

Sometimes we want to see a truth that’s a bit more unadulterated and unfiltered.

Sometimes we want to really pull back the curtain and see what life really is like to work as a cast member at one of the World’s Busiest Theme Parks.

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How to take a photograph of a popular location without any people in it

By web gangsta | Published: August 5, 2010



Photobomb!
Photobomb!

The Photobomb.  It was a great picture… until somebody walked into the shot.

When it comes to vacation pictures at popular tourist destinations, a photobomb is inevitable.  Someone always will get in your way as you try to take that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Web Watch’s friend Chip recently posted an article entitled HOW TO GET THOSE EMPTY DISNEY PARK PHOTOS where he goes on to describe an elaborate process that many people do in order to get that classic “nobody is in front of the Castle” shot down Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom.   

While Web Watch was able to get our own photo of the Castle without any people in it by running down Main Street immediately after the rope-drop and taking the picture before the throngs of madly-rushing people behind us got in our way (it’s a great picture, in case you were wondering)  – Chip’s solution is to make an early-morning breakfast reservation in the park, and take your picture while you’re heading over to the restaurant before the park opens for the day.

While Chip’s answer offers a more leisurely method of getting the photo compared to our rope-drop version, there’s still an infinitely easier way to get that same “ghost town” effect on any photo that you want to have of a big, popular tourist destination.

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Video Fun: Disney Character FAILs

By web gangsta | Published: July 31, 2010



Mickey Never Fails
Mickey Never Fails

As the book says, MICKEY MOUSE NEVER FAILS.

Supposedly.

But sometimes Mickey does have a bit of a bad day.  As do many of Mickey’s Disney pals around Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the other Disney theme parks.

Because being a walkaround character (sometimes called ”rubberheads” or “FUR CHARACTERS” by some) is not always the best job to have in the theme park. 

Your vision is hindered, if you can see at all.  The costumes are heavy, unbearably hot, awkward to manuever in, and not often cleaned to smell as fresh as they should be.  You’re often kicked, poked, prodded, propositioned, and occasionally abused by children young and old-enough-to-know-better.

Yes, being a Disney Costumed Character has been called ONE OF THE WORST JOBS AT DISNEY specifically because of the high accident/injury rate associated with it according to INSIDE THE MOUSE, a book based on interviews with former park employees.

And with all that, the employees who act as “friends of” each character continue to do so in order to bring smiles to the faces of every park visitor.  And for putting up with all that, and doing their job well — we at Web Watch salute you.

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Can you name the top merchandised film of the past 18 months?

By web gangsta | Published: June 28, 2010



Profit from your Idea via Smart Licensing
Profit from your Idea via Smart Licensing

Web Watch has previously covered HOW MUCH MONEY THE DISNEY CORPORATION MAKES ON POOH AND MICKEY MERCHANDISE, and it should come as no surprise that licensing of film characters — whether it be from any of the Disney-Pixar canon, to action heros, to Harry Potter, or to those appearing in the Twilight series – is all big, big business and massive money makers for those who hold the character licensing rights.

But can you name which are the TOP TEN FILMS WITH FILM MERCHANDISE over the past 18 months, based solely on the amout of imported licensed products that have been coming through customs (in other words, not counting anything made in the USA)?  

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Movie Review: Toy Story 3

By web gangsta | Published: June 27, 2010



Toy Story 3 Poster
Toy Story 3 poster

Rated G for being appropriate for all ages, and a must-see for everyone.  Remember, a “G” rating or that the film is animated does not mean that the film is intended to be seen only by children.
Rating: A+

TOY STORY 3 is the latest film from Disney-Pixar, and completes the Toy Story trilogy that had releases in 1995 and 1999.  While the first two Toy Story films were made four years apart, Web Watch will estimate that only 2 years of movie-time passed for the characters in the film.  On the other hand, Toy Story 3 was released 11 years after Toy Story 2, and the filmmakers decided to run the movie clock those eleven years as well – which means that it’s time for the toy’s owner, Andy, to head off to college.

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Improving Disney Shopping, Part 5: Tigger Watch 2011 revisited

By web gangsta | Published: June 4, 2010



Tigger
Tigger

Web Watch last had a TIGGER WATCH article almost a year ago, which is plenty of time to have passed to see if Disney has been paying attention and improved the Disney Shopping Experience.

We were prompted to revisit TIGGER WATCH 2011 due to popular Disney blogger JIM HILL’s recent column entitled DISNEY’S GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH WINNIE the POOH.   Why?  Because there are some things in Jim Hill’s article that just didn’t seem to add up.

Jim Hill quotes  Andy Mooney, Chairman of Disney Consumer Products, as saying that Disney has “done a lot of research” regarding the Pooh characters and marketing franchise.  Mr Mooney states, ““We talked with a lot of mothers. Who do most of the buying when it comes to Winnie the Pooh merchandise.”  He continues, “What we’re really looking to do here is return these characters to their roots. Try and recapture what made them so popular, so desirable in the first place.”

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