It’s once again time for one of my photo reports from the Disneyland Resort, let’s see what’s going on at the parks:
The Year of a Million Dreams decorations have been removed from the security tents.
The CALIFORNIA letters are back to their original gold color scheme.
Celebrate Today! banners are being put up through-out DCA.
According to the LA Times:
Brandon Zucker, a boy who was trapped under the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin ride at Disneyland in a 2000 accident, died early this morning. He was 13.
Zucker, who was 4 at the time of the September 2000 accident, died at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, with his mother at his bedside.
The accident received widespread coverage when Brandon tumbled from the spinning “taxi cab” and was trapped underneath the following car. The vehicle rolled over him, folding his 45-pound body in half. He was stuck for 10 minutes before being freed.
Brandon suffered severe brain damage and never recovered from his injuries. The accident led to the first major investigation under a law that regulates amusement parks.
The state Department of Occupational Safety and Health found that Disneyland employees had improperly placed Brandon, his mother and brother into the ride and failed to lower the lap bar. It also ordered significant safety changes to the ride, including a sensor-equipped guard around the bottom of each car.
Updated, 12:56 p.m: Brandon’s father called 911 about 9:30 a.m. Sunday after finding him nonresponsive at their home in Anaheim, officials said. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Orange, where he died at 1:13 a.m. today, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
It was a dark, rainy day yesterday, but fun still ensues at the Disneyland Resort! Let’s get to my latest photo report:
It was quite an empty day yesterday, probably due to the rain.
New Celebrate Today! decorations on the security tents.
This side of the Emporium has been re-painted and looks as great as ever.
The re-paving of Main Street looks to be pretty much complete.
Read More about DLR Photo Report – 2/13/09 :: Featuring It’s a Small World Ride Video!
BURBANK, Calif. – February 18, 2009 – Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, today announced organization changes to deliver a “one-Disney” experience by simplifying the Parks and Resorts operating structure, streamlining decision-making and eliminating redundancy.
“We know that our Guests want a ‘one-Disney’ experience and we must organize around that expectation,” said Rasulo. “The long-term success of Parks and Resorts depends upon our ability to adapt and innovate and respond to Guest preferences. These changes are essential to maintaining our leadership position in family tourism and reflect today’s economic realities.”
Today’s announcement accelerates the evolution of the Parks and Resorts management structure by creating seamless behind-the-scenes operations across domestic Parks and Resorts, while preserving the uniqueness, character and culture of our individual destinations.
In a memo to employees Rasulo explained: “In 2005, we announced a new Walt Disney Parks and Resorts operating structure. We transformed our organization to match consumers’ expectations: ‘one-Disney,’ regardless of how or where they experience our products. We put in place a new leadership team, integrated key business functions and implemented a consistent set of best practices. This allowed us to more rapidly and efficiently roll out new creative projects and better anticipate changes in travel trends.
“We’ve already seen innumerable benefits. Prime examples of our successes are the establishment of many maintenance and safety practices, holiday castle lighting that began in Paris and expanded into our other theme parks, the speed with which we integrated the High School Musical shows into our parks around the world, and the simultaneous openings of Toy Story Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s California Adventure.
“We have made significant progress. However, the long-term success of Parks and Resorts depends upon our ability to continue to adapt and innovate, to respond to ever-changing Guest preferences, and to implement an organization and cost structure that meet today’s economic realities. We must accelerate the evolution of our business and further refine our structure to work in a more integrated and effective manner.
“We know that our Guests want a ‘one-Disney’ experience and we must organize around that expectation. Our new structure will enhance our ability to Identify and Develop the next great Disney experience, Create and Build Disney destinations that incorporate our rich storytelling heritage and Operate them in a way that delivers a unique, memorable experience that transcends geography. Economic realities require that we do this in a simplified and streamlined manner that eliminates redundancies.”
Organization Changes Announced Today
A new Global Business Development team led by Executive Vice President Nick Franklin will combine the existing development functions of business and real estate development. The team will be responsible for driving growth by working with existing businesses on their development strategies, while also exploring new business opportunities around the globe.
Walt Disney Imagineering under the leadership of Bruce Vaughn, EVP, Chief Creative Executive and Craig Russell, EVP, Chief Design and Project Delivery Executive, will be reorganized into a single practice merging resort development with attractions and entertainment development to bring the creativity of Disney storytelling to the design and delivery of products at all Disney destinations.
Al Weiss, President, Worldwide Operations, will lead the work of merging the operating infrastructure at Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort to create a single domestic organization and “back-of-house” operation.
In the coming weeks, other functions will review their organizations and make appropriate changes.
In his memo Rasulo acknowledged the challenges inherent in a large-scale reorganization: “Organization changes require difficult decisions, including the elimination of some roles. These decisions were not made lightly and we know this will be a challenging transition. The people affected are our friends and colleagues, and they have made valuable contributions.”
The changes announced today are effective immediately.
While we provided you with Disney’s side of the story yesterday, the Orlando Sentinel is offering a fresh perspective into the entire shake-up going on throughout the domestic “Disney Parks” in both Anaheim and Orlando:
The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said it will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a sweeping corporate overhaul at its domestic resorts, which includes plans to combine back-office operations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Disney would not say how many jobs it intends to cut or how much money it expects to save through the moves. The company employs about 80,000 people at its U.S. resorts, including 62,000 in Central Florida.
With the shake-up, Disney will consolidate East and West Coast “operating infrastructure” — responsibilities ranging from procurement to menu-planning to merchandise — under Al Weiss, the president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The plans also call for uniting disparate creative engineering and business-development units under single executives.
In a statement, Disney said it was forced to speed up corporate streamlining plans by the worsening global recession, which has eroded revenue at its theme parks and elsewhere across the Burbank, Calif.-company’s media and entertainment empire.
“These changes are essential to maintaining our leadership position in family tourism and reflect today’s economic realities,” Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo said in the statement. In a separate memo to employees Wednesday, Rasulo wrote that “organization changes require difficult decisions, including the elimination of some roles.”
“These decisions were not made lightly and we know this will be a challenging transition. The people affected are our friends and colleagues, and they have made valuable contributions,” Rasulo added in the memo. The announcement comes the same month Disney revealed that its first-quarter profits fell 32 percent. Operating profit in the parks-and-resorts division fell 24 percent during the three-month period, which ended Dec. 27. It also follows Disney’s decision last month to offer buyouts to more than 600 executives at its domestic resorts. A spokesman said Disney received “a satisfactory response” to the offer, though Disney would not say how many executives took the buyouts.
The risk of over-cutting
John Gerner, managing director of Leisure Business Advisors, a Richmond, Va., consultant firm, said Disney likely will be able to make deep cost cuts by consolidating operations.
“I think it definitely has quite a lot of potential for savings. . . . As far as the theme parks go, there’s definitely economies of scale in being able to merge all those operations together to the extent that they can and centralize them,” Gerner said.
But Gerner said Disney, which relies on a constant infusion of fresh content to fuel everything from park attendance to DVD sales, must not cut too deeply in creative areas.
“They’ve got to be careful because there are so many very specialized people that work for Disney, especially on the creative side, that would be very difficult to replace once things turn around,” Gerner said. “That’s what a lot of creative companies, not only Disney, have to rely on.”
In addition to steering “operating infrastructure” at the Orlando and Anaheim, Calif., parks through Weiss, Disney said that its Walt Disney Imagineering unit would be reorganized into a single practice reporting to Bruce Vaughn, executive vice president and chief creative executive, and Craig Russell, executive vice president and chief design and project-delivery executive.
A new ‘global’ team
The company also said it would establish a new “Global Business Development team” headed by Executive Vice President Nick Franklin, which will be charged with combining existing business and real-estate development functions. The unit will be responsible for focusing growth strategies at existing parks-and-resorts businesses and identifying new opportunities around the globe. Vaughn, Russell and Franklin all are based in California.
Disney said other departments will make “appropriate changes” in the coming weeks.
As an example of what it hopes to achieve through the streamlining, Disney pointed to the simultaneous development of Toy Story Mania! attractions at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando and Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim, which helped hold down design costs.
The corporate overhaul means fewer employees will now report directly to Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World, and Ed Grier, president of Disneyland.
Thanks to Tom Corless over at our sister site, WDW News Today, for originally posting this news.
Times are hard over at Disneyland’s neighboring mall, the Anaheim GardenWalk. It seems it has failed to attract any interest since its opening last year. The OC Register’s Around Disney blog has more:
One family ate at a single table in an otherwise empty food court on a recent weekday afternoon at the Anaheim GardenWalk mall. Some stores had made no sales by 2 p.m. And only a few browsers sauntered by clothing boutiques and empty storefronts.
But on the Saturday night of Valentine’s Day, one large restaurant was booked by 8 p.m. Others had more than two hour waits. The bowling alley’s wait was almost as long. And patrons bustled through the main mall corridor in the chilly air.
Eight months after its grand opening, the Anaheim GardenWalk is finding mixed success in luring customers to the long-awaited outdoor mall and entertainment destination near Disneyland.
Nightspots, especially major chain restaurants and a nightclub at opposite ends, fill up regularly on weekends.
But the businesses in between – clothing stores, fast-food joints, sweets shops – are struggling to bring in patrons, particularly on weekdays. Just 70 percent of about 80 spaces are occupied.
Read the Rest of Register Reporter Sarah Tully’s story and take a GardenWalk poll here.
According to the OC Register:
The ticket booths at Disneyland Resort were temporarily shut down this morning but have reopened after authorities determined that a suspicious white powder found on the park’s ticket booths was harmless, authorities said.
Cleaning crews reported early this morning that they had spotted an unusual white substance at the windows of several ticket booths. Police were called in at 7:30 a.m.
Some guests entered Disneyland and California Adventure when the parks opened at 8 a.m., Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. But when the powder was found on more ticket booths, park officials decided to temporarily hold back all guests from the ticketing area until police could investigate the powder. The booths were shuttered at 8:45 a.m.
The parks were never closed, as some guests were allowed into them. The ticket areas were closed down for a while, though, keeping other guests out.
“We thought it would be best to close off all ticket booths until we could make sure there was nothing hazardous,” Brown said.
Anaheim police called in a hazardous-materials unit from the Anaheim Fire Department. Samples were tested and soon determined to be nothing more than a fine, nonhazardous sand, said police Sgt. Rick Martinez.
Guests and employees who were held back for more than an hour were allowed to enter the ticket area and the amusement parks at 9:45 a.m. Martinez said.
“The safetey of our guests and our cast members is our top priority,” Brown said. “The measures that were taken today were done so in an abundance of caution.”
Investigators were working with park officials to review surveillance video, looking for who might have deposited the substance on the ticket booths. No arrests had been made.
“We’re not sure if it was a prank or a deliberate attempt to disrupt park operations,” Martinez said. “Either way, this is serious business. And we will be following up.”
Well, it certainly does look like Shawn Hutchinson is a great addition to our team of photographers, as this will be his 3rd photo report in 6 days! Here’s his report from February 24th:
An old parking tram from the pre-DCA days parked in the Pinocchio parking lot.
The Frying Pan Sun!
Grizzly Peak.
I hope those fish aren’t real…
The Pacific Wharf bridge under refurbishment.
Myrna spent 2 fun-filled days at the Disneyland Resort and comes to us with a great photo report:
“Celebrate Today!” decorations on the Timon parking lot entrance.
Balloons galore on the Harbor Blvd. entrance.
The security tents.
Now into DCA for a look at construction, construction, and more construction!
Lots of work in the Paradise Pier lagoon. The holes they are digging are for the lighting towers.
It seems that Distant Creations has uncovered the following information about “D23″ or “Disney 23″ in a magazine put out early by accident at a book store:
The mystery behind Disney’s “Are you 23?” viral question is quickly unraveling leading up to the March 10 reveal date.
At least one Barnes & Noble store has put out the new quarterly “Disney Twenty Three” magazine a few days earlier than they were supposed to and DC blog reader Joseph has sent me the details about it.
A membership to the new D23 fan club includes:
- A membership card with a personalized charter member certificate with characters drawn by David Pacheco
- A surprise collectible gift for D23 members from the new Walt Disney Archives collection
- Exclusive special events and merchandise opportunities
- Discounted admission to the D23 Expo on 9/10-9/13/09 in Anaheim, CA
That’s right, an official Disney convention for fans will be taking place in or near Disneyland from Sept. 10-13, 2009, one day after the 40th Anniversary event for The Haunted Mansion. Note that being a member of D23 only grants you discounted admission, which means the event will be open to anyone willing to pay to attend.
The new magazine costs $15.95 and comes out four times a year. The premiere issue’s cover contains a photo of Walt Disney looking through the camera and the back cover is black with a quote from Walt that reads, “It seems to me that we have a lot of story yet to tell”.
Articles inside the photo filled 12″x12″ glossy magazine include:
- The Disney Archives
- The Anne Liebovitz photo’s article
- Through Tim Burtons Looking Glass
- The Suite Story – Disney Gallery & Castle Suite
- On top of the World – cooking article
- Finding Pixar
- UP
- Sleeping Beauty Reawakens in the castle
- Writing the Next Chapter- Book article
- Little Mermaid on Broadway
- Spirit of 23- About Walt & company history
I just checked my local Barnes & Noble and there was no sign of the magazine yet, as it’s not supposed to be placed on newsstands until March 10 when the official D23 announcement is made at the Disney shareholder’s meeting.
Now not only do we finally have an official Disney fan club, another official Disney magazine, and exclusive merchandise; we also have confirmation that there will be an annual fan convention and explanation as to why the annual pin event at Epcot in Walt Disney World was moved away from its typical September weekend. Noticeably, the report does not note how much annual membership in the club or attending the D23 Expo will cost, but we will know that information for sure March 10 when all of this information is made public by Disney. Be sure to stay tuned to Disneyland News Today as we gather more information on the exciting “D23″ club.
