Review: A Walk in the Park with Rolly Crump
Disney Dreadful: The Bus Beast
Because I Stinkin' Love Disney World
Disney Travel Tips from Mouseketrips
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Disney journalism: reviews, interviews, commentaries, historical explorations, our famous DIZcoveries, and other long articles packed with pixie dust punch.
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SEP 10 Ted Topping discusses three ways in which Disney uses Coming Soon – normally a way of promoting movies – to create a sale, add value to that sale and then convert it into a long-term relationship.
SEP 5 Jeff Kober gives us some lessons from Tarzan's Treehouse.
AUG 14 Ted Topping spilled a half-full coffee cup while waiting for Disney's Electrical Parade, and began to learn a benchmarking lesson that links park Guests directly to "management by walking around" style of Walt Disney.
AUG 7 Everyone knows about the backside of water on the Jungle Cruise. It's an integral part of every skipper's script, and it's still good for a chuckle. For Walt, though, perfecting the back side as well as the front side was serious business.
JUL 31 Ted Topping visits Condor Flats in Disney California Adventure and discovers an area music loop so strong it can later invoke the entire customer experience, planting a tuneful seed to grow into the desire for a return trip.
JUL 24 Admiral Joe Fowler, one of Walt Disney's most trusted associates, had as his mantra two simple, one syllable words: "Can Do". Whatever Walt wanted: "Can Do". Jeff Kober provides examples in Disneyland of Joe Fowler's "Can Do" approach.
JUL 19 To net her true love, Ariel gave up voice, fin, and family. Dennis explores what else a person gives up when they surrender their voice, but Bob finds himself tongue-tied in a surf-side Socratic dialogue he can't hope to win.
JUL 7 Is it possible to be a Disney legend without being a Disney Legend? Well, yeah! And Robert Garner is one of them. Bob has written, directed, and produced some of Disney's seminal short films and featurettes. And so much more. Let's start at the beginning...
May 15 The middle of the month really isn't a magical time, except when Nancy Bobby makes the magic with her mash-up of Disney World planning tips. Nancy never disappoints, and her latest includes tips for staying in deluxe resorts on a dime.
APR 17 The middle of the month really isn't a magical time, except when Nancy Bobby makes the magic with her mash-up of Disney World planning tips. Nancy never disappoints, and her latest includes cheater books, split stays, quiet places, and more.
MAR 21 David Zanolla has returned with his students from their learning trip to Disney World, and now the class must end: no more lessons or lectures from David, but instead projects from each of his students, excerpts of which he requires them to publish here.
MAR 15 Every month, we invite Nancy Bobby of The Affordable Mouse to enter Disney Dispatch Manor and enlighten the masses with some affordable Disney World tips. Nancy's current batch of tips are about what you can do at Disney World ... for free!
MAR 14 We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and I'm just now getting time to sit down and write. So far, the first half of our trip has been a whirlwind. We've had a tour of the Disney University, met with an EPCOT executive, and toured EPCOT with Jeff Kober and Disney's Hollywood Studios with historian/author Jim Korkis. I also may... MORE
MAR 14 Chip Confer operates Chip and Co., a busy Disney site with lots of writers, lots of news, and lots of views. Here, Chip presents some of his own views and a taste of what you'll find on his site. When did Chip and Mickey first meet? How often do you guys get together in Disney World? Mickey and I grew up together. We had... MORE
MAR 9 In September 2010, Quirk Books released Lisa Finander's Disneystrology, a wonderful, full-color, illustrated guide in which you can discover your kindred Disney character based on the astrological and numerological implications of your birthday. Despite what you might think, it's not a mystical mash but rather a cool, clever... MORE
MAR 6 As the travel portion of our class approaches (we leave March 9), I'm racing to teach new content to the students. The last seven weeks have flown by, so it came down to me asking myself the question, "What are the key ideas and concepts that I want every student to know before we arrive in Orlando?" After thinking... MORE
MAR 4 Disney dining is not for the faint-hearted. I'm not talking about the food. I'm talking about the options! From speaking the language of the Disney Dining Plan; to making reservations far enough in advance; to comprehending the differences between table-service and quick-service (and whether you're... MORE
FEB 28 Disney at Dawn, the sequel to Ridley Pearson's wonderful first entry in the Kingdom Keepers series, Disney after Dark, is a dip in the same pool on a cloudier day. It features the same characters, the same primary villain, the same gimmicks. You have to expect the same characters in a sequel, but not the... MORE
FEB 27 With the travel portion of our class quickly approaching, the students are starting to get antsy (and so am I). I've been making it a point to expose them to other views on Walt Disney World and Disney design than simply those that toe the 'party line'. That said, while reading the transcript of a recent speech by... MORE
FEB 20 Our second item of discussion briefly focused on Jeff Kober's idea that some of Disney World's customer service practices become 'contagious', specifically the motto 'everyone picks up trash'. Fortunately, I was able to experience this firsthand at EPCOT during last year's class. A WDW executive was walking... MORE
FEB 19 Disney, of course, isn't spending a billion dollars just to make sure Mickey gives you a shout-out. Disney wants a return on its investment. It's gambling that people will perceive the new technology as fair and non-intrusive. But is it? To help frame the issue, I spoke with Scott Smith, a former Disney... MORE
FEB 16 Here's something you don't see everyday: on-line simulations of Disney thrill rides. Some of the best are on Themagical, a site run by Martijn Leseman and Randy Reighard. Didn't get your fill of Tower of Terror or Expedition Everest or Space Mountain at Disney World? Not a problem. Themagical has frighteningly... MORE
FEB 15 Nothing warms my heart more than thoughts of another Disney vacation... unless it is ways to get more for that Disney vacation dollar. Here are five of my favorite new ideas for your next Disney World vacation without breaking your Disney World vacation budget: Let's start with pre-trip. Want to... MORE
FEB 15 Maleficent is the book's main villain. In Pearson's hands, she is evil incarnate - yet with a certain cold beauty. He portrays her perfectly. Truth to tell, I was rooting for her. A little bit. But then I've always had a crush on Maleficent. (And yes, I'm seeking therapy for it.) The finale, set in... MORE
FEB 13 I've been to the top of the Tower of Terror and to the bottom of the Living Seas. I was at Disney's Animal Kingdom a year before it opened, and at the Magic Kingdom in the middle of the night hours before it opened for its 25th Anniversary celebration. Working for Disney was the greatest experience of my life. But... MORE
FEB 12 One of my favorite Disney stories about customer service has to do with the team that designed the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The lodge features a beautiful indoor waterfall that generates quite a bit of noise. Because the hallways leading to the guest rooms all open up to the lobby, they installed an extra... MORE
FEB 11 On Wednesday, lawyers representing the family of a four-year-old boy named Isaiah filed a civil suit against Disney claiming that injuries suffered recently by Isaiah at Walt Disney World from hot nacho sauce were the result of Disney selling the sauce to them at an unsafe temperature and with 'malice and... MORE
FEB 8 John Kao is one of the smartest guys I know. And one of the coolest, too. In his early years, he played keyboard for Frank Zappa, and now in his 'mature' years he is one of the world's leading authorities on innovation. He has an MD from Yale, an MBA from Harvard, and his books about innovation (especially... MORE
FEB 6 My class of seven students has met three times thus far, with the first meeting primarily covering details about the travel program to Orlando and, as one student keeps asking, "Will anyone be forced to go on the Tower of Terror?" (The answer: It will depend on my mood at the moment - a mood easily altered by... MORE
FEB 6 It all started with a phone call from my Disney Fairy Godmother, Laura Spencer, inviting me to attend the event. Laura is the Social Media Manager for Disney Parks and a huge Disneyphile! I could hardly contain my excitement as I told her I would most definitely be able to attend. Who in their right mind... MORE
FEB 3 Peggy Orenstein is a best-selling author but more importantly she's a mom with a daughter beset on all sides by dubious, potentially dangerous corporate influences - in particular, Disney, and even more in particular, Disney's marketing of its princesses as an ultimately unachievable feminine ideal. ... MORE
FEB 2 I'm reading the Dinky Disney Blog (there isn't such a thing, you know, but the domain name is available!) because I'm interested in what the guy who writes it has to say - not because I'm relying upon him to duplicate information from better sources. A good example of a blogger who 'gets it' is John... MORE
FEB 1 The Food Fondler, contrary to popular belief, is a delicate creature; its touch is gentle, and it often appears to caress items, especially rolls or cookies, before gently replacing them. But too late! The spoor of the Fondler now crawls microscopically on that roll, ready for transfer to the palate of... MORE
FEB 1 Certain pieces of art, all around the ship, come 'alive' right before your eyes if you stand in front of them. Scenes from movies play out, Walt's drawings animate, and in my personal favorite, pirates in one painting battle with a Spanish fort - in the adjacent painting! Truly amazing stuff! To make it... MORE
JAN 30 When I went to college, they had nothing like this: an advanced honors course called 'Communication Around the "World"' that culminates in a trip to Disney World itself where students will attend seminars hosted by Disney experts Jeff Kober and Jim Korkis, participate in Disney-run events, and... MORE
JAN 30 Disneystrology is a clever portmanteau of Disney and astrology. If you don't believe in astrology or numerology, it's not a problem; you just have to believe in Disney. The author, Lisa Finander, holds a degree in psychology and symbolism, and in her spare time enjoys such breezy hobbies as... MORE
JAN 27 We meet now our next fearsome foe: The Bus Beast. The Bus Beast comes in many guises, none of them pleasing. When I'm at Disney World, I use buses to get around. I like Disney buses. I even like the smell of the exhaust. Throw in a colorful bus driver and it's first class all the way, baby. You must, however, be vigilant... MORE
JAN 25 Next time you're in a Disney Park, look around - not at the characters or the rides or the architecture; look, instead, at the people. Most of those people are not Disney fans. They're Disney guests. Is the difference important? Vital. Think of Disney guests (all of them) as an orange. Squeeze the orange. Now... MORE
JAN 24 I first met Allen Varney, co-author with Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector of the game's original design document, back in the early 1980s. At the time, Allen was editing one of Steve Jackson's roleplaying magazines, The Space Gamer, and I was publishing my own magazine, Gaming Universal. Warren Spector also had... MORE
JAN 19 I have a hard time letting go. Books I'll never read, action figures I'll never pose, tools I've never wield. Most of all, though, I have a hard time letting go of classic Disney World attractions. I still remember how, as a kid, I was sure the plexiglass porthole on 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea would burst. Or how... MORE
JAN 18 Look no further for gravitas than Rolly Crump, a retired Imagineer, an official Disney Legend (class of 2004!), and a truly cool guy with great stories to share in a clear, confident, enthusiastic voice that evokes the competence, the friendliness, the camaraderie that was the hallmark of 'old school' Disney. Rolly... MORE
JAN 17 The turned-around tot is the kid who kneels on his seat - it's usually a booth - and faces backwards, toward you. He often needs a nose wipe. If he's eating, he's doing so with his mouth open. And he never stops staring. It's a perplexed stare, at first, but soon the kid gains courage, and that's when... MORE
JAN 16 If you had to think about what goes best with Disney pins, you might say binders to put them in or maybe a database to catalog them in - bet you wouldn't say pizza, though. But that's the right answer! Vicki Scott-Huerta knows. She organizes bi-monthly Disney pin trading events at the local Straw Hat Pizza... MORE
JAN 15 In the countless times I've been to Disney World, I've met famous people ... once. Probably, that's my fault. I'm terrible with faces. Friends tell me that I've seen famous people at Disney World numerous times. It's always from a distance, and they're always frantically pointing to someone, somewhere... MORE
JAN 13 I like to simplify things and I think I've simplified the types of Disney fan sites into a grand total of two. The audiences served by these sites are quite different, and the one type of site grows much faster and can become vastly larger than the other. That's bad news for me - and for most Disney... MORE
JAN 13 No matter how long I live, I'll never learn all there is to learn about Disney. I bet even Disney historian Jim Korkis hasn't heard of the handy-pandy contest that Disney ran in one of its comic books way back in 1940. A handy-pandy is a word pair consisting of an adjective that modifies a rhyming noun. Like... MORE
JAN 11 For Shakespeare, maybe, parting was 'sweet sorrow', but for Disney guests returning home, it's sorrow, period. People sometimes ask me about the 'worst part' of my Disney trips. I don't know why people have such fascination with the 'worst part' of things, and I don't know why so many of my friends... MORE
JAN 10 Arthur has been covering theme parks for About.com since 2002. He updates his section regularly (again just today, in fact!) and his content about the Disney Parks is substantial and growing. The information, as is typical for About.com, is well-organized but not flashy. Arthur puts no spin on what he writes, and his.... MORE
JAN 09 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu... MORE
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