Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2023 Edition

[wabbott]

Walt Disney's childhood home opens doors to public for first time
ABC 7 Chicago

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Walt Disney's childhood home opens doors to public for first time
ABC 7 Chicago

I get the significance of this but not to be kinda the debbie downer but he only lived there til he was like 4 years old. The vast majority of his life and the influence of what made him the Walt people know occurred elsewhere.

 

[Sweettears]

I get the significance of this but not to be kinda the debbie downer but he only lived there til he was like 4 years old. The vast majority of his life and the influence of what made him the Walt people know occurred elsewhere.

True but while in Chicago Walt’s dad worked on the Worlds Fair the was held on the south side. Possibly it had a bit of influence on a young Walt

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I feel like we need to add a GREEN WITH ENVY "like" emoji.

We're supposed to go to Tokyo Disneyland (and other places in Japan) next fall and I completely agree. Some of these international parks get amazing stuff!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

True but while in Chicago Walt’s dad worked on the Worlds Fair the was held on the south side. Possibly it had a bit of influence on a young Walt

Eh..that's a stretch. It doesn't have to do with the house. Most of us don't have memories before age 5 or 6 either. I'm not saying that it can't be labeled as the "birthplace" of Walt Disney but if someone is looking for historical places about Walt himself in the way that most would (as in his how did he get to animation for example) a house he lived in til he was 4 where he then moved completely away from that area to another state isn't quite going to get you that. Plus calling it his childhood home when he lived in it when he was so young and wouldn't have the high likelihood of memories of it is also kinda a stretch. I don't call the house I lived in til I was 6 my childhood home, it was a home I lived in as a child but not my childhood home. That belongs to the house I lived in from age 6 on. (that last part is semantics on my part but not when it comes to publicity IMO).

If you want the bulk of life that Walt lived when he was in his youth visit Marceline, MO and then Kansas City, MO.

I realize this may come off nitpicky

 

[Douglas Dubh]

If you want the bulk of life that Walt lived when he was in his youth visit Marceline, MO and then Kansas City, MO.

I realize this may come off nitpicky

Maybe they should call it the Disney childhood home. After all Roy lived there too and he had a lot of influence on Walt.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe they should call it the Disney childhood home. After all Roy lived there too and he had a lot of influence on Walt.

Yeah that probably would be better. I'd go there if for no other reason than to see the lifestyle if you will of his parents or older siblings but it wouldn't be the best representation of the life of Walt in particular.

 

[Sweettears]

Eh..that's a stretch. It doesn't have to do with the house. Most of us don't have memories before age 5 or 6 either. I'm not saying that it can't be labeled as the "birthplace" of Walt Disney but if someone is looking for historical places about Walt himself in the way that most would (as in his how did he get to animation for example) a house he lived in til he was 4 where he then moved completely away from that area to another state isn't quite going to get you that. Plus calling it his childhood home when he lived in it when he was so young and wouldn't have the high likelihood of memories of it is also kinda a stretch. I don't call the house I lived in til I was 6 my childhood home, it was a home I lived in as a child but not my childhood home. That belongs to the house I lived in from age 6 on. (that last part is semantics on my part but not when it comes to publicity IMO).

If you want the bulk of life that Walt lived when he was in his youth visit Marceline, MO and then Kansas City, MO.

I realize this may come off nitpicky

My possibly was admitting it was a stretch. I live in Chicago and doubt that I will ever visit.

Been to Marceline. Will mildly entertaining it’s not worth a separate trip.

 

[Sweettears]

Yeah that probably would be better. I'd go there if for no other reason than to see the lifestyle if you will of his parents or older siblings but it wouldn't be the best representation of the life of Walt in particular.

The neighborhood is completely different than when the Disney’s lived there so it wouldn’t be representative of much. One interesting point might be that Walt’s father built the house

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I live in Chicago and doubt that I will ever visit.

Yeah that's really what I was coming from. Promoting it the way they are is just trying to make it a tourist attraction but one that doesn't do the information justice.

Been to Marceline. Will mildly entertaining it’s not worth a separate trip.

I don't live too too far from Marceline and we've been there (actually with our DISer group) but I wonder when you went? We went in spring of 2018 and by then they had added new videos and audios to the Hometown Museum which they didn't have before and that really added to the overall experience especially as people pass away you have these archival footage of people remembering interactions with Disney and his family. Hours and hours of time we spent there with a lot of relics to be seen. We also added our own signatures in the barn.

I could see how if you live in Chicago you wouldn't see the point in driving to rural MO but if you were actually interested in seeing rich history about Walt and seeing how he lived for most of his youth as well as artifacts of Disneyland it would be worth it. A separate trip to Marceline doesn't net someone much, but someone who is really interested in Walt it totally would be. TBH KC, MO doesn't have a huge amount of stuff to see for Walt Disney other than really the Laugh-O-Gram studio (in the process of being hopefully getting grant money to renovate it) but if you drove to Marceline you might as well drive the 2-ish hours to KC. But I wouldn't make a trip just to KC thinking you'll see what you would in Marceline.

 

[Brian Noble]

knowing we will never go to Hong Kong.

Never say never!

 

[LKing]

OCTOBER 11, 2023

The Touching Story of How Richard Sherman Revisits Walt Disney’s Favorite Song in ‘Once Upon a Studio’​

When Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new short Once Upon a Studio makes its broadcast debut Sunday, October 15, at 8 p.m. ET/PT as part of ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration!, it will feature a newly recorded version of the classic Mary Poppins lullaby “Feed the Birds” by Academy Award-winning composer, songwriter, and Disney Legend Richard Sherman—who, at age 94 in 2022, returned to Walt Disney’s office to play piano for the new short.

“It’s hard to talk about without making ourselves cry,” director Dan Abraham says of Richard returning to the same place where he and his brother, the late Disney Legend Robert Sherman, would regularly perform the song for Walt on Friday afternoons. According to director Trent Correy, “Those sentimental moments can be really tough onscreen, and usually they need to get worked a lot. Dan pitched me the idea, and then he went off to board it. We both knew ‘Feed the Birds’ would be an important part of this.”

Correy continues, “We watched it play for the first time and it brought tears to our eyes. A couple of days later, we bumped into our head of music, Matt Walker, and he asked us, ‘Why don’t you just get Richard Sherman to play it for your short?’ We said, ‘Is that possible?’ Matt said, ‘Oh, yeah!’ Matt followed that up by suggesting, ‘Why don’t we do it in Walt’s office where he originally played it for Walt?’ We said, ‘OK… but don’t lie to us, Matt! This is a very big deal for us.'”

Walker wasn’t the only one who had a hand in bringing Richard onboard. Howard Green, Legacy Communications Executive for Disney Animation, had mentioned earlier to producers Yvett Merino and Bradford Simonsen that he would be having a birthday lunch with Richard. “Howard asked, ‘Would you would you guys want to show him the short?'” Simonsen recalls. “That was when it was in storyboards. So, we all went over and showed him that. It was an amazing experience and he asked great questions. At the end of that, he asked, ‘When are you guys done? I want to see it.’ Trent said, ‘We’ll be done in a year. We’ll show it to you for your birthday next year!'”

Richard was touched by what he saw, and with Walker’s help, filmmakers set up a time to rerecord “Feed the Birds.” On a Friday afternoon in August 2022, the directors put on their sport coats and joined the producers in Walt’s office. “It looks exactly like how Walt left it, including with the piano the Sherman Brothers played for him back in the day,” Abraham explains. “And there was Richard Sherman! He sat down and played ‘A Spoonful of Sugar,’ and he was just going to town on this piano. Then, when he went into ‘Feed the Birds,’ it was just… I can’t even talk about it without getting chills. I will never, ever forget that day.”

Merino echoes that sentiment, saying, “It was a magical day. It truly was a ‘pinch-me’ moment, because he just came in and sat down at the piano and was so natural. He started playing ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’ It was a very special day.” Credit goes to the Walt Disney Archives staff for tuning the piano, Simonsen adds.

For Richard, getting involved with Once Upon a Studio represented a chance to celebrate 100 years of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt’s dream in a touching, magical way. “I think Walt had a very deep-rooted feeling about this song; he could understand what we were saying. It doesn’t take much to give love, to give kindness, to give thought to people,” Richard explains. “Giving a little something of yourself… it doesn’t take much to do that.”

 

[HopperFan]

We're supposed to go to Tokyo Disneyland (and other places in Japan) next fall and I completely agree. Some of these international parks get amazing stuff!

DH and DD went to Tokyo Disneyland, and DH only goes to Disney with us about every 6 years or so. Not really his thing. They said Disneyland park was much like Magic Kingdom so no fawning over it but that Tokyo Sea was impressive. The higher level quality on the attractions, queues etc. He was very impressed.

Alas DS#1 and I could never handle the plane ride there so all those parks are not on our radar.

DS#2 went to DLP and as a Disney person was so impressed, and LOVED it! He can't wait to go back. Said if Disney does the third park there it will be a destination. That was on our 2021 travel schedule (DL in 2020) but COVID knocked them out. Hopefully we get to those two.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

DH and DD went to Tokyo Disneyland, and DH only goes to Disney with us about every 6 years or so. Not really his thing. They said Disneyland park was much like Magic Kingdom so no fawning over it but that Tokyo Sea was impressive. The higher level quality on the attractions, queues etc. He was very impressed.

Alas DS#1 and I could never handle the plane ride there so all those parks are no on our radar.

DS#2 went to DLP and as a Disney person was so impressed, and LOVED it! He can't wait to go back. Said if Disney does the third park there it will be a destination. That was on our 2021 travel schedule (DL in 2020) but COVID knocked them out. Hopefully we get to those two.

Oh yeah I'm really excited for DisneySea. Multiple of my DISer friends have gone to DLP last year. They spoke highly of it so I hope you can . I think it's cool to be able to compare attractions between the various parks (domestic and international) for ones you like more or you think the effects are better. Those pics from Hong Kong were just stunning! If we did a cruise that ended or started in Hong Kong (and I've looked at some that do) I would totally try to fit in that park.

I hear you on the plane ride. We plan on flying first to the west coast, stay overnight, then to Japan but even a LAX to Toyko is about 12 hours itself so even if we do the 3 1/2 hour flight to LAX we still have a very long flight ahead of us. Our Japan trip is mostly because my husband has been wanting to go back there since 2014 when he was there on a work trip and I've wanted to go there myself. I told him we can't miss DL if we're going to go all the way to Japan

 

[HopperFan]

Our Japan trip is mostly because my husband has been wanting to go back there since 2014 when he was there on a work trip and I've wanted to go there myself. I told him we can't miss DL if we're going to go all the way to Japan

Kids each got international college trip of choice with Dad. DD chose Japan and while DH was disappointed to not go somewhere new, he was happy to know his way. He went several times a year, for years for work. Disney was a small part of their trip (2 days), her choice especially as she had just finished her DCP. They had a wonderful week in and around Tokyo, one adventuring out with a co-worker who toured them.

 

[soniam]

We're supposed to go to Tokyo Disneyland (and other places in Japan) next fall and I completely agree. Some of these international parks get amazing stuff!

We are going to Japan next summer and to TDR and Universal Japan, as well as other parts of Japan. We’ve been trying to go for years. Can’t wait!!

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney Vacation Club Applies For Timeshare License to Sell New Fort Wilderness Cabins

The license application currently shows as being “under review” and the application calls for 18,876 timeshare weeks, which breaks down to 363 units. The initial application filing was made to the state of Florida by Disney Vacation Club on October 12th. There is no additional information related to a timeline to offer sales.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We are going to Japan next summer and to TDR and Universal Japan, as well as other parts of Japan. We’ve been trying to go for years. Can’t wait!!

We're skipping Universal but I saw how neat the food was for Super Nintendo World there, wish it had made its way here (saw pics of Hollywood's versions). We do plan on going to Universal Orlando's version but the food won't be like it is in Japan.

We haven't actually planned a huge amount for Japan yet as we've been concentrating on our May Europe trip but I do have places listed for where we probably will be visiting and I've been learning tidbits along the way from DISer friends and paying attention to some threads. I'm very excited as well

 

[CarolynFH]

Yeah that's really what I was coming from. Promoting it the way they are is just trying to make it a tourist attraction but one that doesn't do the information justice.


I don't live too too far from Marceline and we've been there (actually with our DISer group) but I wonder when you went? We went in spring of 2018 and by then they had added new videos and audios to the Hometown Museum which they didn't have before and that really added to the overall experience especially as people pass away you have these archival footage of people remembering interactions with Disney and his family. Hours and hours of time we spent there with a lot of relics to be seen. We also added our own signatures in the barn.

I could see how if you live in Chicago you wouldn't see the point in driving to rural MO but if you were actually interested in seeing rich history about Walt and seeing how he lived for most of his youth as well as artifacts of Disneyland it would be worth it. A separate trip to Marceline doesn't net someone much, but someone who is really interested in Walt it totally would be. TBH KC, MO doesn't have a huge amount of stuff to see for Walt Disney other than really the Laugh-O-Gram studio (in the process of being hopefully getting grant money to renovate it) but if you drove to Marceline you might as well drive the 2-ish hours to KC. But I wouldn't make a trip just to KC thinking you'll see what you would in Marceline.

We visited Marceline with D23 in 2018 and really enjoyed it. I'd love to go back to see what they've added. We got to sign our names to the barn, too, and we also helped plant some apple trees.

 

[KayMichigan]

Character Encounters​

Not only can you meet Anna and Elsa at Playhouse in the Woods, more Frozen friends can be found throughout the land. Say “hoo hoo” to Oaken or ask Kristoff for his best ice advice — they’re excited to celebrate Summer Snow Day with you!

All that work to make it look exactly right - and they get Elsa's wig wrong. Elsa DOES NOT HAVE WHITE HAIR. She is a platinum blonde. I have no idea why they can never get this right. You would think Disney would know what color hair she has, she's only one of their most popular characters.