Emmy Award-winning talk show host and supermodel Tyra Banks (right), poses Nov. 20, 2009 with Disney’s newest princess, Tiana (left), and three girls dressed as Princess Tiana — (L-R): Kimani Smith, age 6, from Fredericksburg, Va.; McKenna Pope, age 10, from Lodi, N.J.; and Shadeh Belgrave, age 8, from Jamaica, N.Y. — in the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Earlier on her talk show, Banks surprised the three girls and their mothers with a vacation to Walt Disney World where they attended a tea party in their honor with Princess Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog.” The young girls’ first-time visit to Walt Disney World with their mothers and Banks will be featured Wednesday, Nov. 25 on “The Tyra Show.” The show will air nationwide at 4 p.m. on The CW Network. (Kent Phillips, photographer)
Win a Family Vacation from Pizza Hut and the Orlando Convention & Business Bureau
One Grand Prize winner will receive round-trip airfare to Orlando for a 5 day/4 night stay with hotel accommodations, a special Family Reunion VIP Party, a special behind-the-scenes experience at a major theme park, two one day passes to the winner’s choice of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando or Sea World and one day admission to two other area attractions.
Five runner-ups will receive a 4 day/3 night vacation for four in Orlando with hotel accommodations and car rental along with two one day passes to the winner’s choice of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando or Sea World.
Figment and Tink Holiday Releases at Epcot Signing with Disney Artist Randy Noble Dec 9
On December 9 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, the Art of Disney in Epcot will host a product release and signing event with Disney Design Group artist Randy Noble.
One of a kind framed originals will be available. Both measure 18″ x 24″ unframed. Santa Hat Figment ($2100) is oil on canvas and Tink’s Christmas ($1600) is in watercolor.
Both will be also be available in a 95 piece limited edition giclyee for $350 for Figment and $400 for Tink. Open edition petite prints will also be made available.
Park admission will be required to attend the event.
Disney Channel Launches New Year’s Eve Event Today; DC Stars to Compete in NYE Game Show
Disney Channel invites viewers to create their own New Year’s Eve programming event by voting for their favorite episodes, moments, music videos and more in online polls at DisneyChannel.com. Beginning FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, three new polls will roll out each Friday inviting viewers to vote in a total of 18 categories, including Favorite Episodes and Favorite Guest Star. Fans can also vote for their Top 10 favorite music videos of 2009, and the songs will air on Radio Disney. Voting will determine the New Year’s Eve programming lineup, entitled “New Year’s Star Showdown,” airing THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31 (6:00 p.m.–12:30 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel. Throughout the night, Disney Channel will air sneak peeks of upcoming Disney Channel and Disney XD series and original movies including the much-anticipated “Camp Rock 2 The Final Jam.”
Last year nearly 33.7 million online votes were cast during the “Totally New Year” programming event. This year, every time one of the online polls is completed, users will unlock that week’s digital prize and reveal a piece of the mystery puzzle. Prizes include a 2010 printable calendar, New Year’s Eve party decorations and games. Fans can also test their Disney Channel knowledge in new online trivia games every week.
During the “New Year’s Eve Star Showdown” programming lineup, favorite Disney Channel stars will compete in five Game Show challenges: “So Random,” “Last Star Standing,” “Sound Off,” “Quick Draw” and the “New Years Eve Countdown Game.”
Clorox Cleans Up with Disney Online and The Jim Henson Company
According to AdAge, Disney Online is poised to present a new web series titled The Possibility Shop which was produced with The Jim Henson Company and will be sponsored by Clorox. Although the online series was created to help showcase the Clorox family of cleaning products, the products won’t be mentioned by name during the show itself as the characters constantly clean up around the sets. Instead, Clorox-branded vignettes will accompany the episode demonstrating how Clorox could have helped the show’s cast out.
This represents the second time a promotion has created by Disney that’s specifically tailored to a sponsor’s needs, the first being the ‘Rock out Your Zone’ campaign with Walmart.
WDW Refurb Update: Old Key West Pool Closed for the Month of February
The feature pool at the Old Key West resort will be closed for the entire month of February 2010. Guests will continue to be able to use the leisure pools as well as as the feature pool at Saratoga Springs Resort. Shuttle service between the resorts will be provided.
Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be the first to know when changes that potentially affect your trip occur by signing up with ReSearch!
Is the University of Oregon Duck Swimming in Hot Water with The Walt Disney Company?
A trio of University of Oregon students: Brian McAndrew, Jamie Slade and Michael Bishon, also known as Supwitchugirl, have come into the limelight recently with a music video they produced and released on YouTube singing (and/or rapping) their praises of the school’s football team, the Oregon Ducks.
They’ve also produced a little bit of controversy and it may not be reasons that you’d immediately think of. The problem, some are finding, including the UO Athletic Department, is the prominent appearance in the video by the school’s mascot, the Duck (and often just the head of the Duck on someone’s body).
What this has to do with controversy (and — more importantly — Disney) is that the UO Duck, although not an identical twin by any stretch of the imagination, is a licensed version of Donald Duck. Donald was licensed to the University by Walt himself in a famous anecdote in which the deal was sealed with a simple handshake. Upon Walt’s death, when the question of the legitimacy of the claim came up, a photograph featuring Walt wearing a UO Letterman’s jacket featuring Donald was accepted as grounds for continuation of the deal, this time on paper.
What some are afraid of is that the unauthorized use of the mascot in the video may be subject to legal action by The Walt Disney Company as Disney would need to explicitly provide consent for anything beyond the already agreed upon use of Donald’s likeness. While the licensing contract details haven’t been revealed, some are concerned this may be the beginning of the end of the agreement altogether and have asked the students to remove the mascot from the video, a Herculean task which the students have respectfully declined.
First Look: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Logo on Basketball Court (Time Lapse Video)
It took eight workers about eight hours to re-brand the basketball court last used by the NCAA Women’s Final Four last year in honor of the Wide World of Sports Complex’s rebranding taking place in February. The court will next be used over Thanksgiving Weekend for the Old Spice Classic.
Below is a time-lapse video courtesy of Disney which shows the new logo being put into place.
Win ‘Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws’ on Disney Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Thanks to our friends at Walt Disney Home Entertainment, we have two copies of the newest Buddies movie, Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws on Disney Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (November 24) desperately in need of a good home with a couple of our readers.
ABC.com Debuts New ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Webisode Series Spin-off, ‘Seattle Grace: On Call’
Dedicated to expanding its network and channel brands across multiple platforms and connecting viewers with their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, Disney/ABC Television Group announced the debut of a new “Grey’s Anatomy” webisode series entitled “Seattle Grace: On Call.” Sponsored by Bertolli, the new online series consists of six individual webisodes, each four to five minutes in length, as well as a special behind-the-scenes episode which chronicles the making of “Seattle Grace: On Call.” The first webisode will be available online tonight, November 19, beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET, following the broadcast airing of the latest episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Our goal with the web series is to expand the ‘Grey’s’ universe by offering a unique perspective of the various happenings at Seattle Grace, while paralleling some of the same storylines seen on the show. The intent is to put everything fans love about Grey’s into these short, four-minute mini-episodes that have been designed solely for the Internet,” said “Grey’s Anatomy” creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes. “We hope our fans will enjoy a new take on the familiar ‘Grey’s’ world – which will appear exclusively on our website during the time our actual episodes repeat, from November through January.”
