The Biggest Disney Headlines

Last week there were two big pieces of Disney news announced: the director for the first “Star Wars” sequel, and more information on concerns over privacy relating to the MyMagic+ wristbands. Let’s look at them both. In a move that is both surprising and not, Lucasfilm has chosen J.J. Abrams to direct the next “Star Wars” film. The director/producer is best known for television shows like “Lost” and “Alias,” and for famously rebooting the “Star Trek” film franchise. J.J. Abrams was rumored as a director for “Star Wars” early on, but he denied it; or really, he claimed he had … Continue reading →

Disney’s Recent Racial Controversies

Disney might be considered a family-friendly company, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from all controversy. When it comes to its own properties, Disney is far from perfect, and there have been some big examples in the past year. The first has to do with “Princess Sofia,” and it’s not over whether or not she’s teaching princess obsession to toddlers. I didn’t comment on the story for a while because the details kept changing, but things have seemed to settle down. In the fall, promotional images of the film were released. They revealed that Sofia’s mother had darker skin, eyes, … Continue reading →

Stomach Virus Spread at Disney’s Wild Africa Trek

The provided snack In the past couple of years the spate of food poisoning cases on cruise ships put a big “health alert” smirch on the often laid-back and envied vacation. This year, however, Disney World might be taking that dubious crown. At least, the Wild Africa Trek at the Animal Kingdom could. NBC News reports that several dozen people became sick at the beginning of June, and the primary link between them was that they’d all gone on the Wild Africa Trek right around the same time. The safari-style tour, that takes guests to parts of the park usually … Continue reading →

Another Santa Reprimanded at Disney World

An official Disney Santa at Epcot We’ve learned that adults are banned from wearing Disney costumes to a Disney park. We also know that any kids old enough (the cutoff is 9 or 10) also can’t do so, at least not if their costumes are too realistic. Now we have another look to add to the list of things not allowed at Disney: Santa Claus. Official Disney-sanctioned Santa Claus’s still make seasonal appearances at Disney World. What’s going to get you kicked out, or at least reprimanded, is if you too closely resemble Kris Kringle. The Huffington Post reports. Atlantan … Continue reading →

Girl Removed from Disney World for Dressing as Tinker Bell

Disney loves to encourage devotion or obsession among its fans. That makes it mind-boggling, then, that last week a girl was kicked out of Disney World for wearing a Tinker Bell costume. The justification park execs gave? Her costume was too good. Tampa Bay Online has the details. Fifteen-year-old April Spielman worked and saved for over a year in order to afford tickets herself to Disney World. She also put a lot of dedication into creating her own rather realistic Tinker Bell costume. The plan was for her and her boyfriend to go to Disney World on their own money … Continue reading →

Rapunzel Inducted into the Disney Princess Royal Court

I hadn’t realized the Disney Princess craze went just this far, but apparently it has, with the Disney Princess Royal Court. At first glance the phrase is just a title under which Disney’s many princesses fall. However, it’s used in a much more specific way: to identify the 10 princesses – Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Tiana – whom have been officially welcomed into the royal court. Disney holds an actual ceremony in real life, using the cast members who play the princesses at the parks, to add new members to the royal court. … Continue reading →

Dreamers Academy Applications and King of the Elves

Today I have two very different news stories to share; the one is brief, but important, so I just matched it up with the other story I planned on running. For the first one: wdwinfo.com has the scoop that applications are now being accepted for the 2012 class of the Disney Dreamers Academy. A quick refresher into the Disney Dreamers Academy: it’s a joint venture by Disney World, actor/writer/comedian Steve Harvey, and Essence Magazine to promote youth education. Around 100 youth are chosen every year to visit Disney World for four days free of charge. While there they’ll of course … Continue reading →

Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children

Disney has a history of helping in hospitals Going to the hospital can be a scary time for anyone, but especially for children. If it’s the child being taken for a hospital visit, and not just accompanying others to visit someone else, the experience becomes even more frightening. Kids can sense how upset the parents must be at the situation, which might only double their own fears. Anything that might help lessen those fears and distract children from their upsetting time at a hospital, then, is fantastic. Kudos to Walt Disney Imagineering and Florida Hospital for Children for their recent … Continue reading →

Club Penguin

In 2007 Disney bought out a website called Club Penguin. The site had been gaining popularity as a popular online destination for kids, so of course Disney couldn’t resist that siren’s call. Club Penguin is a MMORG, or “massive multiplayer online role-playing game,” for children. Users play online with others from around the world, controlling characters they design themselves. Because Club Penguin is meant for children between the ages of 6 and 14, large emphasis has been placed on keeping the game safe. The creators of Club Penguin have taken several measures to keep children safe in an online community … Continue reading →

Disney Watches Recall; Dapper Day at Disneyland

Today’s article, like my pets blog post yesterday, is going to be a bit of a mixed bag. I’m doing this because an important news item broke yesterday morning that I need to share. Because the story isn’t very long, however, I’ll then go over the details of an unrelated event at Disneyland. First things first: The Disney Blog reports that yesterday the Walt Disney Corporation issued a recall on hundreds of watches that were sold at the park. The children’s watches, which light up when a button is pressed, could potentially burn the skin of the wearer. All of … Continue reading →