A Disney Dry Spell

In Walt Disney World it is already the most wonderful time of the year and has been for a couple of weeks. The entire resort is decked out with boughs of holly, gingerbread houses, and thousands of colored lights. There is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the Candlelight Processional, and the Osborn Lights. The entire resort is in the middle of looking a lot like Christmas.

While Walt Disney World is only a day’s drive from where I live at this point it might as well be on another planet. With no plans or means to go back any time soon, I’ll only be visiting Orlando vicariously through Disney World podcasts and websites. For the first time in a long time I find myself with only a peripheral interest in Disney.

Now that The Muppets movie has been released there’s not anything else to look forward to from Disney this holiday season. Disney Pictures has a pair of December releases scheduled. The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secret of the Unicorn, a Steven Spielberg film, gets released on December 21 and War Horse opens on Christmas Day. I’m not very interested in either of them.

For the first in a few years there will not be a major Disney or Pixar animated release in theaters for the Holidays. Disney is putting all its eggs in “The Muppets” basket.

Of course that should come as no surprise. The Muppets and their co-stars, Jason Segal and Amy Adams, were all over the place for these past few months. I have already seen the movie but I plan on seeing it again before I review it.

But with no Disney animated feature this Christmas season, unless there’s another movie we really want to see, Paula and I will have to find something different to do on Christmas Eve.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that, for me, there’s nothing really very interesting going on in the world of Disney right now. Perhaps that’s because there are other things in my life that require more attention and are more exciting than anything I’m getting from Disney.

But then again, by focusing on those other things I’m following my dreams. That’s the number one Walt Disney’s philosophy. So I guess I really am still under the influence of Disney even though I’m pursuing “other dreams”.

I’ll be back again soon with my review of “The Muppets”

A Birthday & A Good-bye

Today is a significant day in the Disney universe. It is a day to both celebrate and lament.

The occasion for celebration is the 93^rd birthday of Mickey Mouse. The date of his “birth” is based on the release of his first cartoon short, on November 18, 1928; Steamboat Willie. I celebrated the day by wearing a new Mickey t-shirt to work.

I may be a “Goofy Guy” but I have to admit I have a real soft spot for “the mouse.” He represents all that is Disney. As I heard a Disney creative artist say in an interview recently, Mickey is Walt Disney. He’s an immortal extension of the man who started all that has become Disney, with just his dreams. While for the first two decades Walt was Mickey’s voice. Mickey continues to be Walt’s voice. Happy Birthday Mickey.

The lamenting I mentioned comes for those fans of the nationally syndicated morning talk show, Live with Regis and Kelly. A show that’s distributed by the ABC TV network, which, as you probably know, is a Disney owned company.

Today was the last appearance for co-host Regis Philbin. The 80 year old TV legend, who holds the world record for number of hours on television, over 17,000, is leaving the program. Philbin is emphatic about the fact that he’s not retiring, He insists that he’s just “moving on”.

During his last show, Regis was given a honor direct from Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger.The CEO appeared on the final minutes of the show to announce that a plaque commemorating Regis and his career at the ABC TV studios would be permanently displayed in the doorway of the building of ABC's building on Lincoln Square in New York City. 

I can’t say I’m really a fan of Regis but I have enjoyed the 15 minutes of “host talk” between co-host Kelly Ripa and him at the beginning of the each show. The chemistry between the two of them is so unique that in the past when I turned on the show and one of them was not there I didn’t’ watch. I don’t know how I’m going to feel about the show now that Regis is gone for good.

As I thought about these two cultural icons today I remembed that today isn't  the first time these two giants in the Disney in the universe have shared the spotlight together. For 17 years (1991-2008) Regis co-hosted the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade. And of course, no parade in Walt Disney World would be complete without an appearance by the head mouse. (see picture below) In addition of the "Live" program broadcast on location from the Magic Kingdom several times over the years. 

I personally have seen something rather unique that also brings Mickey and Regis together. I saw it during my first trip to Walt Disney World in 2004. Here’s a picture of it.

It’s a statue commemorating Mickey’s 75^th birthday customized by Kelly Ripa (notice the “Live” show logo on the mug Mickey’s holding). There were 75 of these statues made that year by each designed by a different celebrity or athlete or otherwise "famous" person. I took this picture along with shots of the others I saw outside the gates at the end of our wonderful first day ever in the Magic Kingdom. The lights around the top of the train station in the back ground really give this picture a special Disney World look to it. I'd like to say I staged this picture to be that way but it was just a "magical" coincidence.

It’s just an interesting thing that in 2004 Mickey & Regis were together on a statue and today, nearly 12 years later, they’re together again because of special occasions on the same day.

Once again, Happy 93^rd Mickey and many more.  Congratulations on a great run with “Live” Regis. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

An Unexpected Goofy Discovery

When song writer and Disney Legend, Robert Sherman came up with the lyric “It’s a small world after all”, he was talking about all citizens of the world and common sharing of the human condition. But the phrase can also be used in a different context. It’s extremely applicable to the Disney merchandise marketing machine.

Almost anywhere you go in the country, where commercial products are available; you’re bound to find something that has a Disney character on it. I’m talking almost anywhere.

There’s also more than likely a significant presence of Disney merchandise in many “after market” venues, like flea markets, as well. But this past Friday I found something Disney in a place I never would have expected.

My sister-in-law invited Paula; our friends Patty & Mark; and me to go to dinner at the Porky Pig restaurant in Pig, Kentucky.  It's only a few miles away from our house. This is a very popular place for both locals and tourists visiting the Mammoth Cave National Park area to eat. The place specializes in pulled pork dinners with homemade side dishes such as coleslaw and baked beans. However this is not a restaurant review so enough about that.

As we sat down at a table I noticed a small room off the other side of the dining area with the lights off. Over the door way was hung a wooden sign.  Carved out of the wood and painted black were the words "Grandma's Store." 

I could see that it was set up like an indoor yard sale with a variety of items fanned out on several long tables. At first glance I caught a glimpse of something that made me determined to take the time to go over and check things out before we left. That’s just what I did.

That first thing I had seen turned out to be a Christmas decoration. It was just any decoration. It was a Disney Christmas decoration. It was a Goofy Christmas decoration. It was a moving Diseny Goofy Christmas decoration. Check out the picture below.

The thing plugged in and when it was switched on Goofy started rolling the snowball forward as though he was making it bigger. I was excited because it was very cute and very Goofy. It wasn’t in perfect condition and had some discoloration on the front of the base and on Goofy’s gloves but overall it was in decent shape.

Using the bargaining technics I’ve learned from watching the TV reality show “American Pickers” I asked the lady in charge of the “store” how much she wanted for the decoration. She said $5. I responded with a quick “I’ll take it”. I was ready to go as high as $10 but $5 was good enough for me.

So now I have a new addition to my Goofy collection and it’s a Christmas decoration I can display in our living room in a few weeks.

I really like my “Goofy making a snowball” decoration. I’m glad my sister in law took us out for dinner. It helped me realize that the merchandise “footprint” of Disney is a lot larger than I ever realized.  The night turned into a real “Goofy off world Disney” experience.