Progress City, U.S.A.

Good evening.

I apologize that things have been ever so hush-hush here for several days. Rest assured, there are lots of new stories waiting in the wings. And a new podcast should be just a dream away…

But I did want to drop by tonight to make a comment about the news that was reported today in an L.A. Times blog that Disney will not be holding the D23 Expo this year, opting instead to hold the shows on a biennial basis. Other Disney gossip sites are jumping in to say that they’ve heard this too, but Disney is yet to make any statement on the issue.

I was taken off-guard by this, personally. A month ago, I was told by someone who most definitely would know that the Expo would in fact be held this year, and it was strongly implied in the most obvious of ways that the dates for the event would be announced on March 10th – the first anniversary of D23’s original announcement. This would, of course, coincide with not only this year’s Disney shareholder meeting but also the D23 anniversary event at Disneyland.

So, what to believe? I certainly believe that the L.A. Times blogger has his sources. But how firm is this decision? Could this be – and this is the height of wishful thinking on my part – a trial balloon to see what fans would say if they skipped a year?

Well if so, and if they’re looking for input, allow me to say this: don’t cancel the event.

As everyone and their grandma knows by now, we went to the Expo last year, and we had a blast. I’m not much of a joiner or a convention-goer, so I was highly dubious at first; in fact, I was basically using it to justify a trip to Disneyland, and also wanted to be there in the off chance that something interesting happened at the Expo. Well, to say that it far exceeded my expectations would still remain an understatement. I learned so much, and saw so many fascinating people and heard so many fascinating stories, that this grizzled and hardened Disney fan actually got really excited about where the company was going. Mr. Cynic himself bought the company line for the first time in years, because I saw the company honoring its own past and could see the excitement for the future in the faces of all the Imagineers and back-of-house staff that were there.

To use the most worn out and trite of catchphrases, I bought the Kool-Aid.

And this is Disney’s biggest mistake in not holding this event. The D23 Expo was, by far and away, their greatest success in generating fan goodwill in years. Let’s face it, Disney will always have a pixie dust brigade ready and willing to do their bidding no matter what, but after a decade of Pressler and Rasulo and everything else, fandom was starting to get a little shaggy around the edges. To engage the fans in such a positive way felt like at least an overture to some sort of rapprochement, and at the very least it provided a very public forum in which Disney executives were forced to face the music for their choices (I’m thinking here of the extremely tepid reception to Toy Story Playland at Rasulo’s presentation, which still amuses me).

Now, I’m not insane, and I realize that this was just an enormous PR event. But so what? If people had fun – and from the reaction to the cancellation rumors, it sounds like they did – I have no problem with such a symbiotic relationship. Speaking for myself, it was the most fun I had all year – no one is more surprised about that than I! – and I was really, really looking forward to going back.

And not just because of Monte Cristos.

So, dear Disney – snap out of it. Just for once, can we stick to the plan and commit to something? You’re like the worst girlfriend I never had. You start something, then you run fleeing from it. If they don’t do it this year, what are the odds that we’ll ever hear of it again? Or will it become one of those things that people ask Iger about occasionally until he becomes more and more irritated at the question? Will the Expo be buried with Hoffa and Song of the South?

Again, this is still unconfirmed. And we know that they were planning on doing it at some point. So let’s all politely say… Hey there, Disney. How’s about doing this so we can all come spend ridiculously irresponsible amounts of money on you? Why do you hate our money, Disney? Because I was going to come give all my money to you in September, but if you cancel the Expo I won’t! Don’t you want my money? It’s perfectly good, I assure you! My money not good enough for you, buddy? Huh? You got a problem??

Anyway.

Hold the Expo, or I will be sad. Can your conscience bear my sadness, Mr. Robert Iger??

Beacon Joe has returned from his shanty on the Rivers of America to continue a series started in OCTOBER 2008!  Though much has changed since this article was written, you should read the first part of this series before continuing further….

Yes, I know.  My blog posting frequency or (lack thereof) is absurd.  Yet I feel that this series about nightlife at Walt Disney World is just as valid as it was when WDW execs decided to shutter Pleasure Island in late 2008.

Much has changed on the Island since last we spoke, most notably the additions of Ragalin Road (very popular) and right next door the monstrous T Rex (completing the bookend volcano look for Marketplace that goes so well with craftsmen architecture).

Good news is, no awful plan has come into place for Pleasure Island yet – we’ve got a giant balloon which seems rather unoffensive, and West Side is changing various third party forces – yet Pleasure Island seems more or less untouched at the moment.

So great!  Let’s continue where we left off, shall we?  In the first article I explained my opinion that the blandness of the Pleasure Island experience most likely lead to its downfall, but it provides an interesting template and supplies a necessary need for the Walt Disney World experience – nightlife! Walt Disney World seems to die off fairly early in the evening, and it’s fairly hard to find something to do into the wee hours of the evening, and I’d love to see that change.  I’d love to see the unique Disney experience extend to adults who want to stay up and maybe enjoy a cocktail or two.

So instead of a sweeping armchair quarterback idea of a new themed nighttime district, I came up with a few essentials to what I think would work (and has already worked) to address this problem.

Back In Walt’s Day…. there was Disneyland

DISNEYLAND!  Disneyland?  Oh yes, there are Date Night at Disneyland and Disneyland After Dark specials I love, which show a hoppin theme park, with Louis Armstrong on the Mark Twain, and…. this….

Okay, so Bobby Rydell might not be the answer anymore, but perhaps keeping the parks open till a decent time might help.  E Ticket nights were popular, as are the current extra magical hours.  But even more intriguing about these specials is….

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Live entertainment works at Disneyland, and it hasn’t been working too great, or just as much, at Walt Disney World.  Michael and I were shocked to see how many viable musical ensembles exist in Disneyland, most likely due to the difference in crowd perhaps (more local Annual Passholder folk).  Even so, live entertainment – good, unique live entertainment, has been a Disney staple leading back to its formative days in Anaheim, where some of the first contractors were the Marching Band.

Frankie and the West End Boys covered Smashmouth,  I’m more interested in these guys -

… and here’s a shiny example to show you I’m not all grumps.  YeHaa Bob at the River Roost Lounge at Dixie Landings, or umm Riverside – is a glimpse into what I’m talking about.  A more unique experience than listening to poor covers of Barenaked Ladies.  There’s nothing too unique about that.  To boot, at Disneyland, local or otherwise unknown bands often played and made waves on the national scene – including The Osmonds and No Doubt.   Could there be a venue other than House of Blues for up and comers to play at Walt Disney World?

Story continues below the fold…

(more…)

There’s a question that I’ve seen pop up often over the years in the search results by which people are redirected to this site. With all the hubbub leading up to yesterday’s return of Captain EO to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, I’ve seen a new explosion of people asking this question:

What does Captain “EO” stand for?

I’m assuming they mean as an abbreviation, not what does he stand for philosophically. Because you do not want to know.

Anyway, to answer that question I’ll quote myself – a citation from my old, old, old original Disney website, WEBCOT:

The name ‘Captain EO’ comes from Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn. Yes, Imagineers sometimes take drugs.

So there you go. Officially, EO doesn’t stand for anything. Not even Earl Owensby. It’s just a shout-out to all those ancient Greeks who happen to be Jacko fans.

And now, because it’s apropos, I repost this video:

While I’m no EO fan, doesn’t the fact that we’re still saddled with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience seem like another instance of Walt Disney World getting a swift kick to the batch while Disneyland points and laughs? Let’s see how John Lasseter would like it if he could only ever see Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management in perpetuity.

I’ll keep reminding myself – we have the WEDway, we have the WEDway…

Hello folks, it’s Beacon Joe here again.  First off, I’d like to thank everyone for listening and commenting on the podcast, and hope you all enjoy it.   The reason I’m writing is to obtain a little information on a ditty Michael and I overheard at the D23 convention last September.

We had the pleasure of being around for the presentation “Lost Chords – Never Heard Music from Disney Animation” hosted by Russell Schroeder, in which a song “This is Home” was presented from the ill fated never-to-be-released film “Tale of a Mouse”.   While we recorded it, our recording quality was poor and I can’t quite decipher the lyrics.

This is where you come in.  Should you have any more information on this song, whether it be history, lyrics, or even a recording – I would love to hear from you.  You can email it here, and I will thank you with an undying gratitude.

Hope to hear from you soon…

Until next time, this is Beacon Joe, signing off.

A couple of days ago, as you might recall, we took a look at Dick Nunis’s bright idea for managerial fashion at Walt Disney World in 1991:

Fashion!

Well, that very day, sharp-eyed Progress Citizen and real-world chum Kate pointed out the following, which nearly killed me. Above you see fashion from Walt Disney World in 1991; below is some fashion from the 1990 Touchstone release Pretty Woman:

Self-employed businesswoman (right) demonstrates the Disney Summer Look

So, again I ask, what did they think the managers were doing in their spare time?!