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Miley Cyrus Filming Final Season of Hannah Montana
The best of both worlds is coming to an end as Miley Cyrus and the rest of the Hannah Montana cast began filming the fourth — and final — season of the Disney Channel hit.
E! Online reports that the third season, which is currently airing, ends with a two-part cliffhanger called “Miley Says Goodbye?†on March 7 and March 14.
Disney bosses say the finale sets up, “exciting, pivotal story arcs and event episodes†delivered in the series’ last year.
“This fourth season is an expression of Miley Cyrus’ personal commitment to ensuring that Hannah will live forever in the hearts and minds of kids everywhere,†Disney’s Chief Creative exec Gary Marsh says in a statement.
Photo Source: WENN.com
Hong Kong Disneyland lifts lid on financial losses
HK Disneyland loses $169 million in 2009
Disney’s troubled Hong Kong Disneyland theme park made a net loss of HK$1.315 billion ($169.4 million last year while attracting 4.6 million visitors, in its first major admission of its financial performance since its opening in 2005.
Since opening to great fanfare, Disney’s first magic kingdom in China has struggled to attract the expected flood of visitors from mainland China, although its performance had been difficult to gauge given Disney’s initial refusal to fully disclose key results and attendance figures.
A paper by Hong Kong’s Tourism Commission for local lawmakers, however, said Hong Kong Disneyland made the net loss in 2009 partly because of the “unfavourable impact” of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak and the global financial crisis.
The paper, released on Tuesday, added that the park made a net loss of HK$1.574 billion in 2008, while hotel occupancy rates stood at 70 percent in 2009, a drop of eight percent from 2008.
“We would like to point out that (Hong Kong Disneyland) is a long-term asset that grows over time and it is still in its early years of development,” the paper said, while noting the park’s continued cost containment efforts.
The Hong Kong government, however, which has a 52 percent stake in the park — the Walt Disney Company (DIS.N) holds the other 48 percent — expressed disappointment with the park’s results, calling on it to improve.
“We are concerned about the situation and are dissatisfied with the financial performance (of Hong Kong Disneyland),” said Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau.
The park saw 4.6 million visitors in 2009, 2 percent more than 2008, generating revenues of HK$2.541 billion.
Last year’s attendance was lower than Disney’s first-year attendance target of 5.6 million, which it just missed. After the park’s expansion, however, the number of visitors is expected to swell to between 5.2 million-8 million visitors by 2015.
The park initially said it hoped to attract 10 million visitors per year after 15 years. With attendance falling short of targets, the government has been seeking ways to boost the number of visitors in the long term.
The theme park, Disney’s smallest, is now undergoing a $468 million expansion aimed at bolstering its competitiveness with a rival Disneyland that is scheduled to open in Shanghai in the next five or six years.
As part of the expansion deal, partly financed by the Hong Kong government, Disney pledged to boost the transparency of its operations by releasing annual operating and financial results. (Reporting by James Pomfret; editing by Ken Wills and Rupert Winchester)
Tim Burton to Remake Disney’s Sleeping Beauty?
AICN set alight the touchpaper when they posted the rumour that Tim Burton is developing another remake of a Disney classic following his work on the much anticipated Alice In Wonderland.
This time Burton is lining up Sleeping Beauty, but as always with Burton there is a twist. The story would be told from the point of view of Maleficent, the glorious antagonist of the classic Disney film.
The hand of Tim Burton is evident in every image and trailer we have seen so far of the forthcoming Alice in Wonderland adaptation. The familiar black and white stripes abound along with a decidedly playful take on the inhabitants of Wonderland and all point to Burton’s honing of his own particular take on the much loved tale. The opportunity to see Burton examine the dark heart of Sleeping Beauty is one too good to miss, even if it means production on Dark Shadows takes its place on the Burton back burner.
Disneyland Construction & Park Photos – from MiceChat
The guys over at MiceChat have landed some great construction photos and information from the Disneyland Resort. In this weeks post they cover:
- Stoller rental shop
- 55th Anniversary merchandise is now up around the park
- Capt EO Moving in, Honey I shrunk the kids moving out
- Rivers of America Construction
- World of Color with Bonus video!
- The Little Mermaid and Cars Land is underway
- Silly Symphony Swings
- Construction at Disneyland Hotel
- and much more
I am not going to go into detail here just suggest you check out all the great Project Tracker construction photos here.
An Entertaining Look at Disneyland’s “World of Color†Construction
The World of Color construction is well under way at Disney’s California Adventure park. Guests are in for a real treat when the spectacular nighttime water show debuts later this year. In the meantime, take a look at this video. The construction and testing are surprisingly entertaining. The platform you see is longer than a football field and it’s covered with more than 1,200 fountains. The idea for this show began in 2004. That’s six years ago! We’re in the home stretch!
