Disney Blam!

Aggressively terrible.

The Weinstein Brothers Have To Be Tearing Their Hair Out

Disney just cannot get rid of Miramax. From Cinema Blend:

...the deal has hit a speed bump as the announcement came before the bulk of the financing had been established. Sold to construction magnate Ron Tutor for $660 million, it was expected that most of the money would come from Tutor himself, his partners, James Robinson of Morgan Creek Productions, and philanthropist Jerome Swartz. The rest of the money, somewhere between $250-275 million, would be made up by banks. As of now, however, it appears that both Robinson and Swartz have dropped out and the banks have not yet finalized the loan.

Tutor technically has until the end of the year to find new investors and complete the deal. Disney isn't commenting, but they have to be pissed.

Art From Pixar's Cancelled Film Newt

Posted on on the official Disney/Pixar Facebook page.

Strange for a film that's no longer in production to release art. Studios aren't usually transparent like this.

Warner's Tiny Toons Are Out of Toon With the 90s!

Terrific find at Cartoon Brew.

I always knew television syndication sales was a cut-throat business back then – and here’s a bit of proof.

Duffy the Disney Bear Debuts at WDW 18 September, Disneyland 19 September

Special events for Annual Passholders only ($$$), but it won't be long before he's out and about for everyone.

Japan is crazy for Duffy but can Disney expect that same level of devotion (and sales) in the States? 

Changes In Store for Kilimanjaro Safaris?

The article is a bit incomprehensible, but Stitch Kingdom is reporting that Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom is in for a big refurbishment. Planned changes include completely removing the poacher story and possibly making the attraction longer.

I know that some changes have to be made to accommodate the new personal savannah adventure announced in July on the Disney Parks Blog, but this is the first I've heard of expanding the standard ride.

Inside The Magic: Recording of the New Soundtrack at Walt Disney World's Space Mountain

The sound of the music fading in and out in the video above is not due to a poor recording. That is how it actually sounds as you ride through the updated Space Mountain. For a few seconds, you hear fast-paced, thumping dance music -- and then back to silence. Then the music returns, or perhaps a “whooshing” sound effect -- then back to silence. It repeats throughout the roughly 2-minute ride, culminating in a fun spiraling sound as you round the ride’s final turns.

Like I said, adding speakers along the track is a creative solution but the experience is mixed.

ElecTRONica Begins 08 October

Only weekends?

I liked GLOWFest for what it was, but this looks much improved.

Michael Riley Named President of ABC Family

Previously senior vice president and manager of Radio Disney.

He replaces Paul Lee who is now at ABC.

Rumor: ABC to Offer TV Show Rentals For 99 Cents on iTunes

Apple is holding their annual iPod event tomorrow.

Steve Jobs is, of course, the largest individual Disney stockholder.

Walt Disney Company Spent $780K Lobbying in Second Quarter

Down from $1.26 million in the year-ago period and $1.25 million in the first quarter.

Soundtrack Added to Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom

Really nice new attraction poster as well.

Last year's Space Mountain refurbishment was less than ambitious. TDO opted against spending the time and money necessary to rebuild the coaster to include an on-ride soundtrack like Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Installing speakers along the track is a clever solution, but limits the experience. It's a mix of music and sound effects.

But how awful is that score?

Raiponce

Disney and More:

What you see above is Tangled french poster, "Raiponce" being - i suppose - the french translation or the french title for "Rapunzel". The only problem is that "Raiponce" means probably nothing for the french audience as the tale is not known here, in France. Even worst, if you talk to someone in France and ask him what Raiponce means he will think that you're talking about the word "Réponse" which means "answer" in French.

Facts, Rumors and Speculation Involving Fantasmic's Dragon

Fact:

• Fantasmic! is still scheduled to be performed this evening at Disneyland, without the dragon. This version of the show involves Mickey battling the actor portraying Maleficent, who remains on her elevated platform in place of the dragon. This version is not wholly unusual and is used whenever there is a problem with the dragon.
• There are ill-informed voices suggesting that Disneyland's maintenance and technical folks failed their duties and if they had done their jobs properly this incident could have been avoided. Absolute nonsense.
• Others saying the entire debacle with the dragon could have been avoided if Disney had designed it in-house instead of contracting it out? They have no idea what they're talking about.

Rumor:

Disney isn't commenting on what caused the failure (and there's no reason they should), but word is leaking from unofficial sources that there was some sort of axle break on the lift mechanism.

Speculation: 

If that's the case, here is rough speculation on what might have caused the failure and possible fixes:

Somebody smuggle out some good pictures of what really happened in the pit, and I can tell you roughly how long it'll take a good welder to chop out the busted bits and replace them. If they were smart, it's a bolt-in repair, but you can't count on that.

When they say "axle snap" it's most likely the wheel spindle that snapped off at a machined edge - Google up "axle spindle Northern Tool" and you'll see what the deal is...

It's not that big a deal to cut out the weld holding the spindle to the main structure - where it gets tricky is getting the new part aligned when welding it in. On trailer axles the spindle stubs slide into the U-shaped channel (or inside the square or round tubing) for automatic self alignment, just have to get the wheelbase (hold-out) the same - but Disney (or Garner-Holt) might not have gotten that Memo.

How long will repairs take? Tonight is the last night of the Summer Nightastic promotion and the show was already scheduled to go dark Monday-Thursday, giving them time to work on any necessary fixes.

But there's every chance this isn't going to be a quick fix.

The Day The Dragon Died

Take a look at that picture.

From an eye witness:

To clarify what I saw, Murph [Murphy is a name given to the dragon by fans - ed.] was in an upright position, ready to make his grand entrance, when the head and neck fell forward with a thunk. I immediately knew it wasn't supposed to do that. 

Second shown was cancelled and he is still sitting out there shrouded by the mist shields.

Power failure or major mechanical failure? Hopefully we'll know more soon.

MousePlanet: California Adventure Construction Information

It sounds like they decided to begin work on Buena Vista Street in September after all:

The Sun Icon that gives the Sunshine Plaza its name will be removed starting sometime in early September, along with the fountain. This area will be the location of the Carthay Circle Theatre. 

Demolition of the tile/mosaic Main Entrance mural will begin on October 1, starting with the section outside the park gates. The palm trees outside DCA are also slated to be removed at this time.