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Category Archives: OC Register
Top Imagineer at Disneyland Retires
Tony Baxter, Senior VP of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, is stepping down from leading up the team that comes up with all of our favorite rides and attractions. Baxter has had a rich 47 year history with Disneyland from scooping ice cream to creating some of the park’s most famous rides like Big Thunder Mountain.
“It has been a wondrous 47 years,” Baxter said in a statement. “The Imagineers I have known and shared these times with have provided invaluable experiences not to be found anywhere else on Earth. The future of Imagineering and Disney Parks is incredibly bright.”
Baxter got to do and see it all in his tenure with the Walt Disney Company. At Disneyland, Baxter led the creation of some of Disneyland’s major rides, including Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Abroad, Baxter also was the foreman for the development of Disneyland Paris and worked on the creation of Walt Disney World.
Baxter does not want to be too far from Disney and has offered himself up as a mentor to current imagineers. He will be greatly missed and gets many thanks from all his friends at Disney.
“Like so many Imagineering greats before him, his creativity, passion and knowledge will have a remarkable impact on the next generations of (Disney) dreamers and doers,” said Bruce Vaughn, chief creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, in a statement. “We thank Tony for his immeasurable contributions to the Disney legacy so far, and look forward to the next chapter of his Disney story.”
Photo Credit: OC Register
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Disney Cancels Suzy Favor Hamilton Half Marathon Appearance After Escort Findings
Disney has cancelled an appearance by three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton for the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend in August after it was revealed that she was living a double life as a prostitute.
Hamilton, 44, is a competitive runner who has won seven U.S. titles. She admitted that she was a prostitute after the website the Smoking Gun revealed that she had been working for a Las Vegas escort service.
Disney had issued a news release stating that Hamilton was scheduled to speak at the Expo portion of the 2013 Disnneyland Half Marathon this August. Now, after the news went public about her double life the Disney website no longer includes Hamilton’s appearance.
In the past Hamilton had spoken at an August meet-up at the Disneyland Half Marathon events and this past February she appeared at the Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World.
No news yet from Disney as to if anyone is going to replace her appearance at the event.
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Disneyland Halloween Tickets a HOT Item To Get!
You would think getting tickets to the World Series Games (Yeah San Francisco!!!) or a 49er’s game would be tough to come by….but Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland???
That’s right, tickets for Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland are in huge demand this year as the event continues to grow in popularity. And now online ticket brokers have gotten into the mix trying to resell the tickets at up to 3X their face value. Tickets normally run $69 per person ($46 for AP holders) but are being sold online for up to $200+ per ticket.
Disney’s Halloween Party features Halloween fireworks, a parade and special “meet and greets” with of course your favorite Disney villains and trick or treat stations that are positioned throughout the park. The Halloween party is a good alternative to the extremely scary and most of the time very gross other “Haunted/Horror” events that other theme parks offer.
While Disney tried to keep up with the demand by adding an additional night this year for a total of 11 nights the demand still outweighed the amount of tickets offered – with party goers coming from all over the region and even out-of-state!
What would you do? Would you but a ticket to a Disney event that was not directly from Disney? How much more would you pay? Let us know!
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A Plunge Into the Water on The Jungle Cruise Causes Attraction Change
The Disneyland Jungle Cruise attraction has had to make some minor changes to its loading and unloading process after a 5-year-old girl had fallen into the water.
Disney added bumpers to the Jungle Cruise boats as well as reduced the gaps that exists between the boats and the dock – thus making it easier for guests to load and unload. The attraction closed for a week to make the necessary adaptations and reopened in early August.
This has not been the first time that someone has fallen into the waters of the Jungle Cruise. Over a five-year period two other people have fallen into the water and fifteen guests have had “part or other parts of their body” slip into the gaps, which before could reach 9″ wide. Disney has now has reduced the gaps to 3″ with its new fixes and the boats are tied and untied as they are loaded/unloaded.
After the Nov 5th incident where the girl fell the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health received a complaint and the state ordered Disney to reduce the gap. While the girl was not injured the state was concerned enough to investigate. But Disney was proactive and made the modifications to both the state and their satisfaction.
There is also a pending lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court from a couple who claim their were thrown from their seat when their boat hit an island.
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New show expected in Disneyland Fantasyland
According to the OC Register, Disneyland is making plans to produce a new show in Fantasyland after nearly seven years without a theatrical production.
The Princess Fantasy Faire, a meet-and-greet, is set move out of the Fantasyland Theater and re-open next year in a new location that is under construction.
The new faire will run where the Carnation Plaza Gardens used to be at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. near Sleeping Beauty Castle. Jon Storbeck, vice president of Disneyland, said that Disney officials plan to bring in a “brand new show” and that they were working on a “concept” for the theater.
Disney has yet to announce details of the replacement show.
