“Boy Meets World” Sequel to Air on Disney Channel

Heads up, children of the 90s: according to Entertainment Weekly, the Disney Channel is planning a “Boy Meets World” sequel. The teen sitcom, which aired in the 1990s as part of ABC’S “TGIF” Friday night lineup, starred Ben Savage as Cory Matthews, a kid growing up in suburban Philadelphia. I was a kid growing up in suburban Philadelphia, just a bit younger than Cory. Of all the childhood shows that had a strong influence on my development, “Boy Meets World” wasn’t one of them. But it’s a show that I enjoyed and watched faithfully from beginning to end, so the … Continue reading

Lodging at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom has lodging at just about any level: from deluxe villas to discount resorts. If you want something themed around the Animal Kingdom you’ll have to go for the pricier places: the deluxe villas Jambo House or Kidani Village, or the deluxe Animal Kingdom Lodge. The two former are actually just specific floors/areas within the latter, which is an African-style lodge spread out over 43 acres. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has two of its own restaurants, which weren’t covered when I looked at the dining at the Animal Kingdom. They’re Jiko – The Cooking Place and Boma – … Continue reading

New Disney Animation Resort Opens

It’s finally here: this Thursday the first phase of the Walt Disney World Art of Animation Resort opens. That means that starting in two days you can only stay in rooms in the “Finding Nemo” wing. But have no fear: by the fall the themed rooms for all of the movies will be open. The “Cars” family suites will be unveiled on June 18, August 10 sees the opening of suites from “The Lion King,” and on September 15 “The Little Mermaid” standard rooms will open for business. You can book reservations for all of these rooms right now. The … Continue reading

Honoring Alice Davis: Legendary Disney Costume Designer

Costumes designed by Alice Davis This year I missed out on my annual tradition of profiling important women in Disney history for Women’s History Month. My March was very busy this year so I just didn’t have time to do the necessary research. Luckily, the perfect profile has fallen into my lap. This month costume designer Alice Davis was honored on Disneyland’s Main Street, USA, as a new window in her honor was unveiled. Alice Davis isn’t a name you’ll hear much when talking about the movies; she only had involvement in a couple, including, “Sleeping Beauty.” Her stamp is … Continue reading

Relax this Holiday Weekend with Disney Games

A holiday like Thanksgiving is the perfect time for a family to get together and play some games. Disney fanatics have many games from which they can choose to play that relate to the Mouse House. The official Disney Parks blog has a post on some of the possibilities. Many of these are pre-existing popular board games that have released Disney editions. My mind immediately went to Monopoly, special versions of which you can find for just about anything, from “Star Wars” to college football. And of course there’s a Disney Monopoly. I wonder if in addition to purchasing Disney … Continue reading

Disney at E3 and Other Video Games Update

A Kinect demo booth at this year’s E3 The E3 Video Game exhibition might be over now, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop talking about all we learned about upcoming video games. Put E3 up there for me with other conventions, like Comic Con and the D23 Expo, that I’d love to attend one day. Disney didn’t dominate E3, as the company isn’t really known for putting out much more than thrown-together movie tie-in games. Titles like “Epic Mickey” and “Kingdom Hearts” are the exceptions to the rule, though the latter doesn’t quite count because it was a … Continue reading

New Disney Cruise Destinations

The debut of the Dream seems to have kicked off a wave of Disney cruise news. Last week Disney website Stitch Kingdom announced that three brand new ports of departure have been added to the Disney cruise lineup for 2012: New York, Seattle, and Galveston, TX. Bookings for cruises launching from these new locations started on April 8. This news comes on the heels of the announcement of yet another cruise ship: the Disney Fantasy. Setting off on its maiden voyage in March 2012, the Disney Fantasy is the sister ship to the Dream. I haven’t posted a preview of … Continue reading

“Suite” Star to Helm New Series

Say what you might about the Disney Channel, but it’s excellent at renewing its popular properties. As its stars grow up and want to move on to other material, it often manages to spin new shows out of the ones coming to an end. It also usually gets a movie or two, sometimes even for the big screen, out of its shows. Many times the Disney Channel creates spin-offs of its already existing shows. Even if it doesn’t manage that, it will take a popular secondary character and base a new program around that actor or actress. Popular program “The … Continue reading

Potential Expansion for Disneyland Paris

After remaining quiet for half a decade or so, construction vehicles on Disney parks are really revving up again. We have the major Fantasyland expansion currently underway in Disney World, a new Disney park planned for Shanghai, and now, a potential new theme park for Disneyland Paris. The U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper reports that Euro Disney – the European corporate branch of the conglomerate – has reached a deal with the French government allowing it another 20 years during which to build on the lands surrounding the park. The government owns all of the land around Disneyland Paris and previously only … Continue reading

New Disney Music Website

Fans of Disney’s teen musical acts, often teenagers themselves, now have yet another destination at which to spend time on the Disney Go website: Disney Music. Given that Disney’s been in the pop music business for years now, releases from their animated movie soundtracks notwithstanding, the only surprise is that the company hadn’t launched a music site this sophisticated until now. Disney Music brings the Mouse Company’s extensive catalog all into one place, but the focus is clearly on the Disney Channel’s recent teen sensations. Currently on the main page of the site visitors are greeted with Selena Gomez’s brand … Continue reading