Author: Mr. Daps

For 10 years, Walt Disney Co. and McDonald’s appeared to have the perfect marriage. Happy Meals bore little figurines of Nemo, Mr. Incredible and 101 Dalmatians. But no more. This is one relationship that’s ending in part because of the children. Disney is not renewing its cross-promotional pact with the fast-food giant, ending the arrangement…

NEW YORK (AP) — Walt Disney Co. reports earnings for its second fiscal quarter on Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. OVERVIEW: Disney officially took over Pixar Animation Studios Inc. last week, after Pixar shareholders voted to approve the company’s $7.4 billion acquisition. The vote…

Come this July, Hollywood hunk Johnny Depp is yet again all set to step into the shoes of Captain Jack Sparrow in the first ever sequel to the 2003 Blockbuster, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Of course, Depp won’t be alone in his next big adventure, as his Pirate co-stars…

LOS ANGELES, May 5 (AP)

Disney parks in Florida and California have launched a new program called “Magical Beginnings” aimed at families with children age 5 and under. The programs were developed in response to research from the Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell firm showing that 80 percent of families believe the ideal age for their first major vacation is…

DIANE Disney Miller doesn’t like it when people suggest that her father, Walt Disney, was a cold, aloof workaholic. “He may have been all business at the office, but at home he was a hugger,” Miller said earlier this week at the Oakland Museum of California. “He was a warm, affectionate man.” The occasion for…

For 10 years Disney and McDonald’s appeared to have a beautiful billion-dollar marriage. Happy Meals bore little figurines of Nemo, Mr. Incredible, and Peter Pan. But no more. This is one relationship that’s ending because of the children. Disney is not renewing its billon-dollar, cross-promotional pact with the fast-food giant, which ends with this summer’s…

ANAHEIM, May 5, 2006

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Media giant Walt Disney Co. said Friday it plans to withdraw listing of its shares on the online stock exchange NYSE Arca.Disney said the move will lower costs. The withdrawal will happen within the next two weeks, the company said, adding that it will keep its listing on the New York…

LAKE BUENA VISTA — A tourist from Colorado has drowned at a Walt Disney World resort. Nancy Heizer, 58, of Colorado Springs, was pronounced dead Thursday night after another guest noticed her floating motionless in a swimming pool at the Coronado Springs Resort, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Guests, including a registered nurse from…

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The board of Pixar Animation approved its 7.4-billion-dollar acquisition by US entertainment behemoth Walt Disney Co., sealing a deal that reshapes the animated movie industry. The much-touted deal, aimed at restoring Disney’s lustre as a leader in the animated film business, was completed just over three months after it was unveiled…

LOS ANGELES, May 5 (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Shareholders of Pixar Animation Studios Inc. Friday voted to approve the company’s acquisition by The Walt Disney Co. for $7.4 billion in stock. The vote makes Pixar a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney and makes former Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs Disney’s single largest shareholder with about a 7 percent stake. The…

The “Behind the Magic — 50 Years of Disneyland” exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum is going on tour and the first stop is the Oakland Museum of California. The exhibit opens on Saturday and runs through Aug. 20. The 7,500-square-foot attraction features a wide variety of conceptional drawings from Disneyland’s planning and construction stages,…

After the death last month of a second visitor who had ridden its Mission: Space attraction, Walt Disney World in Orlando has announced it will create a less intense version of the thrill ride. The current attraction, which simulates a space launch and landing, has four separate 40-passenger ride systems, each with its own centrifuge…

The wondrous thing about the wonderful world of Disney is that at the moment it seems easier to see news shows featuring Michael D. Eisner on television than Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse’s most recent series, “House of Mouse,” ended in 2003. There is an entire generation of preschool viewers who know the Disney mascot as…

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Disneyland is hoping that giving class credit to college students will make them the happiest interns on earth. In the 1960s and 1970s, Disneyland didn’t even advertise summer jobs because applications flooded in from teens and college students. But with about four-thousand jobs to fill for its upcoming summer season and…

The bubbly, blue-eyed college freshman wasn’t sure how a Disneyland internship would fit in with her primary field of study, psychology. But then, the Cinderella wannabe attending a recent Cal State Fullerton job fair didn’t much care. “It’s been a lifelong dream to work at Disneyland,” said Chelsea Rook, 18, who was seeking a seasonal…

Members of the Showoffs Baton and Dance team competed at Twirlmania 2006 in Orlando, Fla., at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex on Feb. 17-19. They also marched in Disney’s Spectro Magic night parade down Main Street. The Showoffs placed first in tiny tot dance twirl, second in tiny tot dance team, third in juvenile…

Disney characters are showing up on MPIO FY700 digital music players, where the kid-oriented products are available in five versions festooned with Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse. And hey, looky here, there

Choir students from McKinney High School recently traveled to Orlando, Fla. to compete in the Festival Disney Contest and returned with a Superior, Class 1 rating. The 25-voice choral ensemble, comprised of members from four different McKinney High School choirs, earned the highest rating possible for their performance at the festival. The Festival Disney Contest…

Drew Rashbaum is promoted to VP of sales and marketing at Radio Disney. He will oversee the sales and marketing efforts of all 42 Radio Disney stations across the U.S. Rashbaum joined Radio Disney in June 1999 as GM of affiliate WWMI Tampa, rising to regional director for the Southeast region in 2000. He has…

Florida’s Walt Disney World is creating a gentler version of its popular Mission: Space thrill ride at the Epcot Center, it was reported Wednesday. The ride simulates a spaceship launch, flight and landing with four separate centrifuge systems, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel noted. Disney announced Tuesday it would turn off one of the centrifuge systems…

The prize includes a family ticket for the winner and three members of their family to attend an advanced screening of Disney’s The Wild (movie and game) at the in-house cinema of Disney’s London headquarters. The prize also includes train and tube travel for all mainland UK entrants, as well as food, drink and entertainment…