Category: Disney

When 13-year-old Karli Hintz learned the Waukesha County Deputy Sheriff's Association and the Make-A-Wish Foundation were working to grant her wish to meet "tween" idol Miley Cyrus – pop star "Hannah Montana" on the popular Disney Channel program – she could hardly contain her excitement. "Her spirits are so high right now," said her mother,…

The sharks are circling around the Ellie Caulkins Opera House – and my e-mail inbox. "Disney apologist!" they cry, the most cutting barb one could ever launch at a critic. Apparently I wasn't condemning enough in my review of "The Little Mermaid," Disney's new stage spectacle that's getting a sneak peek in Denver before bowing…

Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) will begin service from the Anaheim Amtrak station to The Disneyland® Resort and Anaheim Resort(TM) hotels beginning Oct. 1, 2007. The shuttle service will be provided hourly meeting all southbound and northbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains. A schedule will be posted on the ART website www.rideart.org starting early September. The service…

Following last year's successful event, which attracted nearly 30,000 gays and lesbians from California and all over the country, fans of Mickey and Minnie Mouse are once again preparing for the popular “gay days” event at Disneyland, set for Oct. 5-7 in Anaheim, Calif. Modeled after the gay days at Walt Disney World in Orlando,…

Four off-ramps closed down during park's Labor Day half-marathon. ANAHEIM – Freeway off-ramps on the I-5 near Disneyland will be closed Monday morning as the park's half-marathon race gets under way, authorities said. The Harbor Boulevard and Disney Way exits on the southbound side of the I-5 will be closed Monday morning, as well as…

Miley Cyrus and her Disney Channel alter ego, Hannah Montana, likely will be playing to packed houses when the 14-year-old singer/actress hits the road this fall. She already has sold out the first 17 dates of a 54-city tour that begins Oct. 18 in St. Louis and ends Jan. 9 in Albany, N.Y.; another 17…

Videogames can be a force for good, uniting families in a single activity, according to Disney vice president Thierry Braille. Speaking in an exclusive interview withGamesIndustry.biz, Braille talked about the vision of the Disney brand, and that although more mature games such as Turok are published under the Touchstone label, there's still something for everybody.…

In the wake of NBC's announcement that it plans to pull its content from theiTunes Store and Apple's subsequent announcement that it would cancel the broadcaster's contract, other providers of for-purchase content available through iTunes have lined up to express their continued support and media availability. Disney Channel executives, for instance, say that not only will…

The Disney Magic returns to Port Canaveral today after more than three months in Europe, and resumes its Caribbean itinerary. The Disney Magic left in May for Europe, where it ferried passengers from ports of call in Italy, Spain and France. Later today, the Magic will resume its seven-night Eastern and Western trips through the…

A little more than two years after its launch, Walt Disney World's first-of-its-kind, free airport shuttle has proved wildly popular with customers, ferrying 150,000 tourists a month between Orlando International Airport and hotels within the sprawling resort.But fewer than half of those riders check their bags with Disney before leaving the resort for their flight…

A strong performance from Walt Disney World and other Disney theme parks helped the company reach another profitable quarter last winter. The company reported Tuesday that while total sales were up just 1 percent to $8.07 billion, profit reached $931 million for the second quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, 27 percent better than profits…

Disney CEO Robert Iger threw cold water Tuesday on the disclosure by Comcast COO Steve Burke earlier in the week that he was in discussions with studios to make movies available on pay-per-view cable on the same day they were released in theaters for $30-50. Iger insisted that Disney was "not in discussions to sell…

Disney's quarterly earnings announcement and subsequent analyst call paint a picture of a company that's on top of its game when it comes to taking advantage of both the Internet and digital media. First, the numbers: Disney earned $931 million during the first quarter of 2007 (the second quarter of its fiscal year) on revenues…

Chinese Delegation to Buy Billions of Dollars of U.S. Goods in Attempt to Ease U.S. Anger BEIJING (AP) — That round-eared mouse dancing with kids? Not a copy of Disney's Mickey Mouse, the Shijingshan Amusement Park insists. And that raven-haired woman with seven men in elf suits? Not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the…

Looking to profit directly from the growing market for music downloads, Disney (DIS) has launched an online store for kid-focused singles, albums and music videos. "This is the first direct-download service (Disney) has done," says Chris Heatherly, the consumer products unit's head of electronics. Disney Mix Central (disneymixcentral.com) initially will offer about 1,500 songs and…

LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. exceeded second-quarter profit expectations, but its performance for the rest of the year is largely up to a pirate captain named Jack Sparrow and a gourmet animated rat named Remy. The Burbank-based media conglomerate said Tuesday that net profit rose 27 percent in the quarter that ended March…

S&P says the media and entertainment giant has several catalysts for growth and a solid balance sheet, and rates the shares a strong buy With a collection of strong media and entertainment brands, we expect Walt Disney (DIS; recent price, $36) to further benefit from continued underlying momentum in its core businesses. In our view,…

The Walt Disney Company said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it will resolve issues with employee stock options in a similar fashion to Apple. The amendments involve options on 15.47 million shares and US$31.1 million in payments to employees and are based on a Disney internal investigation that found evidence of [option] backdating…

*A rep for Disney has reportedly released a statement clearing up some rumors about the studio’s upcoming animated feature, “The Princess and the Frog,” formerly known as “The Frog Princess.”           As previously reported, the 2009 release is to be Disney’s first fairytale featuring an African American princess. Although no contracts have been…

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Councilwoman Lorri Galloway wants the city to stop paying $205,000 a year to the Chamber of Commerce because the business group has taken a lead role in helping Disney fight a zoning decision allowing low-income housing near Disneyland. "The chamber is supposed to be promoting businesses, not pitting them against each…

National Raisin Co. in Fowler is hoping to take advantage of a new emphasis by Walt Disney Co. on healthier foods and will soon sell snack packs that showcase such characters as Mickey Mouse, Lilo & Stitch, Nemo and the Pirates of the Caribbean. The specially packaged fruit will be sold in grocery stores nationwide,…

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Wall Street expects second- quarter profits at The Walt Disney Co. to be about even with a year earlier, driven by movies such as "Wild Hogs" and strong ABC television advertising sales. Total earnings are expected to rise, but the infusion of new shares from Disney's $7.4 billion all-stock acquisition of…

It's so easy to get Lost these days. No, I'm not telling you to go away. I'm just pointing out the growing number of alternatives to gluing yourself to the television on Wednesday nights to catch the latest episode of ABC's hit series Lost. In a deal between ABC parent Disney (NYSE: DIS) and cable…

Eating at the Walt Disney World restaurants is part of what makes a trip to Orlando memorable. But for some families, a couple of meals a day in the Disney parks might become so expensive they feel they can't afford the experience.For a limited time, however, United Vacations has an offer that throws in the…