Disney World PF Gathering and Tips for Disney Mania!

[ZapperZ]

[cont. from previous post]

We staked a place to view Disney Dreams Come True parade. The parade content is certainly better than the old parade, but the music isn't as memorable, certainly not to me. Here are a few pictures of the parade.

We then had dinner at Crystal Palace, which we made a reservation that day when we walked into MK. So again, there was not any problems in getting dining reservations. Crytal Palace may have, outside of Boma, the best buffet anywhere (I haven't tried Cape May's buffet yet, so that may change). Their baked salmon was out of this world! Of course, Pooh and friends were there to help us enjoy the dinner even more. Here are Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore when they stopped by our table.

We then did a lot of other attractions while Cinderelabration was going on. We did Snow White, Pooh, Teacups, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and finallly, Jungle Cruise. A big tip of the hat to Luisa, our Jungle Cruise skipper. She was wonderful. Not only did she do the standard spiel, but she ad libbed enough to make it interesting. It was one of the most enjoyable Jungle Cruise in a while (after having 2 bad ones the last two times given by the SAME cast member who had as much enthusiasm for it as a pet rock).

We then stayed for Wishes (no spectromagic that night). Since we had already videotaped Wishes (you may check my video collection in my Signature), I used the tripod to take a few pictures (OK, so it wasn't a few). Here are a few snap shots of Wishes.

We had a wonderful day, one of the most memorable ones in recent memories. Just when you think things can't get any better, a day like this happens. This is what makes this place so magical, that even "jaded" frequent visitors like us can still be surprised by new, unexpected events that made it new and exciting again.

Tomorrow, we will go back to Animal Kingdom.

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Is the Buzz Lightyear ride reopened? Remember, that was closed for renovations when I was there with you last year. I don't know if they were just renovating, or replacing it with something different. I hope it was just renovations, because I liked that ride and was disappointed it was closed the last time I was there.

Edit: Nevermind, I was too busy looking at pictures and missed the part where you said you went on Buzz Lightyear, so that means it's open again. Did they change anything, or just do repairs?

 

[Pythagorean]

Yeah, you must have not been there in a while, because they no longer call it "Epcot Center", just Epcot.

:)

Zz.

Hrm, sounds like it's time to start replacing my girlfriend's birth control with candies so I have an excuse to go to disneyland in six years.

 

[ZapperZ]

Is the Buzz Lightyear ride reopened? Remember, that was closed for renovations when I was there with you last year. I don't know if they were just renovating, or replacing it with something different. I hope it was just renovations, because I liked that ride and was disappointed it was closed the last time I was there.

Edit: Nevermind, I was too busy looking at pictures and missed the part where you said you went on Buzz Lightyear, so that means it's open again. Did they change anything, or just do repairs?

I'm not exactly sure what they did because I can't come up with what's new there. In any case, the one at Disneyland is a lot more exciting since you can actually lift the gun off its socket. So you have a larger range of motion and angle.

And oh, Chuck beat me on Buzz for the first time ever yesterday! Lucky stiff!

:)

BTW, Moonbie, you went with us early this year. Does it feel as if it has been that long ago?

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Looks like your haveing a great time!

 

[ZapperZ]

A fun morning at Animal Kingdom. Again, it wasn't busy at all, and Expedition Everest only had barely a 5-minute wait, which is almost unthinkable. So we rode it twice! :)

We then went on the Safari ride. Our guide, again, was terrific and he was really enthusiastic about it. Wish I remembered his name.

We then did Primeval Whirl (again), and the Dinosaur ride. We did a little bit of shopping, and a lot of pin trading (of course). I also want to make a correction. Expedition Everest ride pictures are NOT available on PhotoPass. For some reason, I thought it was EE that had this. Oh well. In any case, we got our 2nd free 5x7 pictures from a second voucher we got for playing the Yeti Vision game. Again, love those freebies!

Anyway, we didn't take a lot of pictures today (we did videotape EE again, and the safari). So here are more pictures from yesterday.

When we walked into the Magic Kingdom, the Dapper Dans were serenading us. They sound as wonderful as ever.

This was the neatest part of Pirates of the Caribbean ride - the projection of Davy Jones onto a screen of mist that you ride through.

Haven't done Snow White in quite a while, so we did it this time while the lines was almost non-existent.

Of course, we did It's A Small World. It's a must on every trip.

While we were waiting for Wishes, I took this shot. I am very fond of this. Never took it from this location before.

And of course, another shot of Wishes.

We're back at Old Key West, resting for the afternoon. We're meeting up with a few friends this evening in Downtown Disney for dinner. So today will be just a relaxing day at our resort and hanging around the pool.

Zz.

 

[Mattara]

How often do you visit Disneyland?

:)

Those are some truly amazing images

 

[ZapperZ]

How often do you visit Disneyland?

I think you meant to ask me about "Disney World". :) I have been to Disneyland in California only once, and it was this past May/June "Mini Grand Tour" trip.

I go to Disney World in Orlando about 2 times a year. However, this year has been unusual because, including this trip, we will have been there 4 times. We don't think this will happen again anytime soon. We will probably go back to twice a year next year.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

As expected, we had a very relaxing afternoon at OKW. At around 5:00 pm, we made our way to Downtown Disney's West Side on the water shuttle. It was a very pleasent, slow ride, with a lovely view. This first one is the view of the water way leaving the loading dock area at OKW.

This is the view from the water way of one of the buildings/villas of OKW.

This is the water shuttle and our captain.

The water shuttle made a stop at Saratoga Springs before heading out to the West Side, and finally to the loading area right next to Cap'n Jack's at Marketplace. This was where we took the shuttle back after a lovely evening in Downtown Disney. This is the front of Disney Quest, which, if rumor about its fate is correct, will soon be gone and be replaced with ESPN Zone.

And just for the heck of it, here's another picture from last night of the castle, taken at the top of the Hub.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

I mentioned earlier that when we were at Disney/MGM Studios, we did the Animation Studios and got to learn how to draw Mickey Mouse. This is the second time we did this, and both times we got to draw Mickey. So I think I'm getting a bit better and doing it. Here is my sketch of Mickey that I did in that Animation Studio class.

When we sat in the pilot's cabin of the Monorail going towards the Magic Kingdom, the pilot gave us these co-pilot cards. So these things come with a wonderful memory of riding in the front of the monorail for the very first time for us.

I usually don't ask to do this since we usually do not travel with any kids. But since it wasn't that busy, and no one was asking to ride it up front, I decided to ask. I'm glad I did!

Today, we're going back to the Magic Kingdom. Meeting up with a few friends there, and then see how it goes. Our pin event starts tomorrow afternoon, with registration starting around 2:00 pm at the Contemporary.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Oops! I just looked at the calendar,and the pin even registration is this afternoon! Phew, glad I double-checked!

So we will spend part of the afternoon at MK, and then do our pin event registration at the Contemporary after that. It goes from 12:00 noon till 7:00 pm.

We'll take plenty of pictures. :)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

We had a lot of fun at the Magic Kingdom today, mainly because it wasn't busy at all! I mean, just LOOK at this:

This was taken at 10:00 am in Frontierland as we're walking towards Splash Mountain. It was like that most of the morning. We went on Splash Mountain twice, and Thunder Mountain Railroad twice. There were almost ZERO wait time for all of them.

We then went to Pirates and did that twice also. They now have a frequent show right in the plaza where a cast member did a very good acting job as Cap'n Jack.

We then did Jungle Cruise again, and as with the last one, our Jungle Cruise skipper, Pete, was also quite good. So that's 2 jungle cruises in a row that we had very good skippers! Again, hats off to these cast members who, I'm sure, worked like mad to make it fun, interesting, and punny, especially to those of us who are seasoned Jungle Cruisers.

[continue in the next post]

 

[ZapperZ]

[continue from previous post]

We then headed on over to the Convention Center at the Contemporary to register for our pin event and to pick up the merchandize that we have ordered. Strangely enough, it was the zoo that we encountered last year, where we were in line for almost 1 1/2 hours! This time, it was more manageable and pleasent. This is a snapshot of the queue line to pick up the merchandize and registration package.

Several pin box sets and framed sets were on display. These were some of the merchandize that were available to the attendees to try to get via the Random Selection Process. Of course, the big framed set can go as high as $800! So these things are not cheap, to say the least. I noticed many attendees walking out with boxes and boxes of stuff. We only have two small bags, with our pins and a few jumbo pins released for this event. Didn't go overboard this time.

Tonight, we're having dinner at our favorite South Indian restaurant that is not on Disney property. It is at the Crossroad strip mall right at the end of Hotel Plaza Blvd. Tomorrow, we'll be spending most of the day at Epcot since the official first day of the pin event moves to the World Showplace. We don't want to miss the pin games and getting our stamps from the pin partners to receive free gifts/pins. There are more freebies to be had.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

More pictures from today.

We took a tour of the inside of Exposition Hall. I don't mean the front part where you pick up your photos, but all the way to the back where there's plenty of exhibitions on Walt and Disney's history. These two pictures below are some of the stuff we found there.

In early afternoon, we went on the Dumbo ride, which had only a 5-minute wait - typically unheard of during other times of the year.

Lastly, more pictures from the pin event registration. This is the artists signing session where several of the Disney artists responsible for the pins released during this event are present to sign their work. Throughout the pin event, several different sessions of Disney artists signing session will occur. I'm hoping to get a few of the jumbo pins that I got signed by the artists.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

More reports from the pin event.

One of the pin sets that we bought was the mystery pin set. It is a decorative tin that has 4 randomly selected pin out of a set of 10.

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/Item52.jpg

Between the 2 of us, we bought a total of 6 tins. After we took care of our registration and merchandize pick-up, we sat at one of the many tables available in the registration area and started going through the pins we got. As we got to our mystery pin set and started to open them, several people began to "hover" around our table. A couple of them told us that they are all looking to see what we got since they didn't get the complete set of 10 from the tins that they got. We we kinda felt a bit uncomfortable, but also amused, at the attention that we were getting. It was almost like Christmas morning, as we tore through the tins, not knowing what's inside.

It turned out that, while we got several duplicates, all 6 tins combined gave us a complete set of all 10 pins. The most difficult one, which was Pluto, we got only one, and that was the pin that most of the people around us were looking for. So unfortunately we couldn't trade that with them. A girl did come over wanting to trade Daisy, which we did since we had a duplicate. We have several Donald, several Stitch, and several Tink.

We're hoping to see if we can buy more of the tin set tomorrow, but someone told us that they are all sold out. We shall see. If the frenzy over this pin set is any indication, having them might be a good thing to use for pin trading with other pin traders.

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

ummm you have a extra Tink pin? What you want for it?

 

[ZapperZ]

ummm you have a extra Tink pin? What you want for it?

We'll talk about this after I get back, hypatia. Right now, I have the Tink pins on my lanyard for trading. If they survive the next two days without being traded, then we can make a deal. Now you sure you don't have any Disney pins for trading with me?

:)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

We spent the whole day, and most of the evening, at Epcot, even stayed for the Extra Magic Hour. However, since most of the time was spent at the pin event, this part of the report will focus solely on that. I'll report on our activities at Epcot on this day later.

We arrived at Epcot this morning just as the pin event was opened at the World Showplace at 9:30 am. There's a sign just after the Canadian pavilion indicating that the event will be opened to the public on Sunday.

Just beyond the gate is the entrance to the World Showplace where the pin event is held.

Inside the main entrance, you're greeted by gates leading into the building and the rest of the event.

They have decorated it VERY well. The theming is well done all around. This is just one example, the kids area being themed to the Mickey Mouse Club.

At another location, another set of decorations of various well-known Disney characters.

A snap shot of some of the attendees at the event in line to do various pin event games to get some sought-after pins.

What makes it a lot of fun is that everyone is there to do pin trading. The queue lines to do various pin games are seldom boring, because people are doing pin trading while they're in line. People wear lanyards, carry their pin bags, or even cover themselves with pins from head to toe so that people can see the pins they're willing to trade. Everyone has pins that they're seeking for, and inevitably, someone will have something that they want. It is a great way to meet people, and share a common interest. Stories are told on how such-and-such pin were obtained, or how rare one pin is, etc. You make wonderful friends at such an event, which just adds to the Magic of WDW.

[continue in next post]

 

[ZapperZ]

[continue from previous post]

There were many upcoming pins to be released that were on display. Most of us can only drool at the pins we probably could not get. These are the ones to be released on the Disney Cruise Line.

More great decorations surrounding various pin games.

This is the pin trading area for various pin traders. Rows and rows of tables were filled with serious pin traders, displaying suitcases after suitcases of pins. If you can't find the pin that you want here, chances are, that pin doesn't exist.

DisneyShopping.com had a lifesize display of Jack Skellington. It stood 7 feet tall, and it is DAMN IMPRESSIVE. If you have $599 to spend, it will be available at the end of Sept.

At the pin event, there is a fictitious family called the Pin family (their last names are Pin). They're hysterical. They're loud, obnoxious, and can never win any games when competing against a real family. But we all love them, because when they come out, they wore lanyards with lots of sought-after pins. So the crowd made a bee-line towards them and do pin trading.

In the end, it was an event to remember Walt, and that this was all started by a man with a vision and who dare to dream.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

We did more than just attend the pin event yesterday. In between the event, we managed to go on Soarin' again (this is like the 6th time already on this trip), with no wait! I think I'm getting to be a bit spoiled by all this almost no wait lines at all of these attractions.

After the pin event closed for the day at 6:00 pm, we had dinner at Marakesh, and then went to the Norway pavilion to ride Maelstorm.

This is where a momentous occasion occurred - after looking for it for what seems like forever, we finally found the hidden Mickey in the mural at the loading area of Maelstorm! :)

After Maelstorm, we made our way to our favorite place to the plaza at the entrance to World Showcase lagoon to stake our place for Illuminations. While waiting for Illuminations to start, when went around and took evening pictures. Here are a few of them. This is the view from where we staked our place looking across the lagoon at the American pavilion.

This is Mouse Gear at night.

This is of course, Spaceship Earth taken from the fountain leading to the World Showcase.

We stayed for the Extra Magic Hours, and for the first time ever since we started attending one of these, it wasn't crowded (which seems to be the theme of this whole trip). We went on Test Track, which we have never done at night, did Spaceship Earth, and also the Character Greetings. Pinnochio was there to greet us, along with Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald.

The one thing we missed before, mainly because we never walked in that direction at night when we were leaving Epcot, is that right in front of Innoventions West, there were these lighted patterns on the ground that kept coming in and out. There were pretty cool, so I took pictures of them.

Today, our second to last day here at the Happiest Place on Earth, we'll go back to Epcot for the pin event. Today, we pick up several event gifts, watch the live pin auction where unbelievably big buck will be spent for one-of-a-kind pin sets, and the cake-cutting ceremony.

I can't believe my vacation is almost over. :(

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

SPOILER ALERT! At the end of this post, I'm going to post a picture of a hidden Mickey that we finally found at the Norway pavilion. So if you don't want to know, don't read the final part and look at the last 2 pictures.

We had a lovely, leisurely day today at the Pin event. We collected our commemorative gifts and spent the most of the morning and afternoon doing pin trading, playing the pin games, and basically just yakking it up with other attendees. Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable time, with many promises to keep in touch and to call up on each other when in town. Here are more pictures from the event.

Just outside of World Showplace where the event was held, I saw this sign that was cute enough to deserve a snap shot.

We had lunch at the cafe in front of the Mexican pavilion. It was hot and humid, but it didn't mind it due to the lovely view.

OK, now here comes the hidden Mickey alert. If you don't want to know and would like to find it yourself, skip the rest of this post.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Look at the occupants of the ship very closely.

See it? Right behind the large Viking, there's a boat full of other vikings. One of them is wearing a Mickey ears hat! Still don't see it? Here's a closer look.

We check out of our "home" tomorrow morning. I'll post some parting thoughts (maybe a picture or two) tomorrow morning before we check out. That will be my final transmission from the Happiest Place on Earth. I will report a bit more after we get back home. Expect more pictures AND, once I get to edit them, a few videos from this trip that will be uploaded to Google Video.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

This is my final report from the Happiest Place on Earth. I'll post more after I get back.

Today will be spent at Epcot again, especially in the morning, at the pin event. We have a few pins left for the pin games, and maybe try to hunt for a couple more pins that we have been looking for. If we have time, we'll try to make a quick hop to the Magic Kingdom before leaving for the airport early afternoon.

It has been a wonderful trip. We're sad that, after visiting WDW 4 times this year, that next year we will cut it down back to 2. So it will be a long time before we come back here again (tentatively set for June 2007).

Here are some parting pictures. The first is a view of part of our resort where we like to sit and have breakfast in the morning.

The rooms on OKW on the upper floors have railings that have Mickey ears in them! Do these qualify as hidden Mickeys? :)

We had a great time at Epcot with the pin event.

We spent a lovely, magical day at the Magic Kingdom, and it continued into the night with Wishes.

One of the major highlights of this trip was certainly our 2-hour Segway tour that we took. It was so much fun. I highly recommend it!

Of course, the other highlight was the pin event. If you are not already a Disney pin collector, don't start! It's a very slippery slope. But if you are already, then you should try attending one of the pin events. It can be intimidating at first, but after you get the hang of it, it is also a lot of fun, and you meet many wonderful people.

That is all for now. Have a Magical Day, and see you after I get back!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Anyway, we are back home after battling rather nasty airport traffic here in Chicago last night. We spent the morning at Epcot, doing some last pin trading, and then hopped over to the Magic Kingdom to do, of all things, Donald Duck rubber ducky hunting (don't ask... I'll tell all about it later). Magic Kingdom was busy, but not as busy as would expect on a Sunday. If we get a day like this in June, people would say that MK wasn't busy at all.

The one thing I did notice on this trip, and especially today, was that the gold decorations on the castle was slowly being stripped away. When we got here early in the week, you still see figures of Wendy etc. flying around the top of the castle. Today, there were gone. A few other decorations were also missing. So certainly, the Happiest Celebration of Earth is clearly winding down to make way for Million Dreams.

Will report more, and pictures, after I recover.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

What is the best place to launch a career?

Business Week named the Walt Disney Co. as #1.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_38/b4001601.htm

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, you'd think after I came back from a huge pin event, that I would be sick of them already. Not so!

This pin is an absolute winner, and is being released at Disneyland. It celebrates the Disneyland railroad. The train on the pin is a spinner and it goes around on the track. Absolutely gorgeous!

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/10903498.jpg

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

This is the report from our final day at WDW.

We started out at Epcot, doing last minute pin games and pin trading. We left by the time they opened the event to the general public at 11:00 am. We hopped onto the monorail to to the Transportation Center and then off to the Magic Kingdom. This is the main vehicle entrance into the Magic Kingdom as seen from the Epcot monorail.

We got a chance to see them performing the "trolley song" right on Main Street, USA.

This is a closer view of the top of the Castle on that day. Notice that there are no more flying "people". :)

I have never noticed this before, but outside of Exposition Hall, there is this ... er ... "thing" that calls itself Goofy "Dose-A-Matic Device".

We then made our way back to Epcot (since we parked there, and we had time to go in and do one trip on Spaceship Earth). On the monorail from MK to the Transportation Center, we AGAIN got to sit in front with the monorail pilot. So this is the picture as we're about to pull out of the MK monorail station heading towards the Grand Floridian.

Now, we don't ride the Epcot monorail that often, so we never noticed this before either. But as the monorail pass Spaceship Earth, makes it way across the entrance to World Showcase and about to pull into the station, on your right side, you get a rather elaborate glimps of a backstage area! In fact, depending on how fast your monorail is going, you get a rather extensive and good look at the backstage. This is so unlike Disney. You'd think they would have either put more trees or build a tall wall at this point. But not, there it is, for all the guests to see.

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Dose-A-Matic Device! I love it!

 

[Moonbear]

Um...I think it's Pose-a-matic device.

 

[ZapperZ]

Um...I think it's Pose-a-matic device.

You're right. But what exactly is a "Pose-a-matic device"? Something that does nothing but pose? Is the device doing a Vogue?

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

You're right. But what exactly is a "Pose-a-matic device"? Something that does nothing but pose? Is the device doing a Vogue?

Zz.

I guess it's for taking pictures. His belly is a camera. He seems to be holding Mickey ears at the right height for a kid to stand under them for a photo too, I suppose. Was it anywhere near the place where you pick up your photos?

 

[ZapperZ]

I guess it's for taking pictures. His belly is a camera. He seems to be holding Mickey ears at the right height for a kid to stand under them for a photo too, I suppose. Was it anywhere near the place where you pick up your photos?

Oooh.. you may be on to something.

Yes, it is outside the place where you pick up your pictures. So this thing can easily be a "posing" figure for people to take pictures of, or with.

Oy.. all these years, and I've never noticed it till now. Like I said, there's always something new to do and see no matter how many times one has been there. :)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Even at the Happiest Place on Earth, the events from 5 years ago are not forgotten. Pictures and videos of the flag retreat ceremony at the Magic Kingdom today to makre the 5th Anniversary of Sept. 11.

http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-270.asp

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest is making a boatload of money for Disney. From the Disney press release:

Walt Disney Pictures' 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' Joins The Billion Dollar Club; Third Film in Industry History to Reach This Extraordinary Milestone
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the swashbuckling summer blockbuster from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, added a new milestone on Friday, September 8, 2006 when it officially crossed the $1 billion mark ($1,002.6 billion) at the global box office, and became only the third film in history (behind "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King") to achieve this extraordinary feat, it was announced today, Saturday, September 09, 2006, by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

The film, which continues to break records around the world*, has topped the international box office for nine consecutive weeks. Thus far, "Pirates" has grossed an astonishing $415.1 million at the domestic box office, making it the #1 film of the year. Internationally, its cumulative tally now stands at $587.5 million, also making it the number #1 film of the year. "Pirates" is scheduled to open in Italy on September 13, 2006.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, "To say we are excited is an understatement. This is truly an historical time for The Walt Disney Studios and a time to celebrate. 'Pirates' continues to perform on all cylinders and this is a real tribute to the remarkable team of Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and writers Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio. The film's phenomenal success all over the world proves once again that audiences will vote to come back again and again when presented with great entertainment."

Cook continued, "I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how proud we are of our other summer successes including 'CARS,' 'Step Up,' and 'Invincible.' It's a summer that you dream about and it came together with amazing talent and diverse stories that everyone could relate to."

*SOME SEAWORTHY BOX OFFICE RECORDS AND STATISTICS FOR "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

Crossed the $1 billion mark in record time (reaching that milestone in an unprecedented nine weeks compared to ten weeks for previous record holder, "Lord of the Rings 3").

Domestic

-- Highest three-day opening in box-office history ($135.6 million)
-- First film in box office history to pass $100 million in only two days
-- Tied as fastest film in history to reach $200 million (8 days)
-- Fastest film in box office history to pass $300 million (16 days)
-- Passed the $305.4 million final gross of its predecessor (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL) in the same 16 days as above
-- Opening day gross ($55.8 million) is highest single-day gross in box- office history
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the 51st film in Buena Vista history to pass $100 million in gross, the most of any studio
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the 13th film in Buena Vista history to pass $200 million in gross, the most of any studio
-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the highest grossing film in Buena Vista history and the sixth highest grossing film of all time ($414.0 million through 9/4/06 and still counting!)

International

-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST is the biggest international release of 2006.
-- It is the sixth biggest film ever released internationally.
-- The film is the most popular international release in the history of The Walt Disney Studios.
-- Since its initial weekend of release overseas, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST has ranked #1 for nine consecutive weekends in a row. This is the longest consecutive weekend reign of any film this century (and surpasses the previous record of seven weekends held by PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL back in 2003.
-- Biggest BVI opening of all-time: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Czech, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, So. Africa, Malaysia, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela
-- Biggest BVI film of all time: Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, UAE, UK
-- Biggest industry opening of All Time: Greece, Russia, Spain
-- Biggest US film of all time: Russia
-- 52nd in BVI history to pass $100M in gross, the most of any studio
-- 19th in BVI history to pass $200M in gross, the most of any studio

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Hong Kong Disneyland celebrates its one-year anniversary today. However, it isn't a happy anniversary considering the turmoil it has gone through the past 12 months. Unfortunately, it appears that its problems are still not over.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8K303602.htm

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Walt Disney World lands a spot on the new Monopoly: Here and Now game!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-bk-monopoly091206,0,7003404.story

Zz.