Disney news (1)

On my January 21^st post, I posted about some Disney news. Now I thought I’d try a new feature on this blog where I regularly give you the low down on Disney news stories! I’ll aim to post this every week or two just so you can all keep up to speed with a company that doesn't like to stand still!

So what’s happened this past week?

• · Bob Iger’s pay rises 30% in 2010 (Full article)

Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, has been reported to have received a pay package of $28,000,000 (niiiiiice!) in 2010; up 30% from a year ago according to “Associated Press”. Disney has said this is due to Iger’s “excellent management in a tough economic environment”. Iger’s achievements last year included, hiring new managers for Disney’s money-losing movie studio, completing the sale of Miramax, and purchasing game developers Playdom and Tapulous in an aim to increase profit at Disney’s interactive unit. Disney’s shares have also increased; by 24% at the end of the year!

• · Disney’s newest addition to its Disney Cruise Line fleet – the Disney Dream.

Last week saw the christening ceremony and inaugural voyage of the Disney Dream – and what a spectacular event it was! A video can be found in a previous post (21^st Jan). Jennifer Hudson appears as the Dream’s fairy godmother, as it was on the Disney Cruise Line where she first started to perform (before being propelled to fame by American Idol). The ship boasts a 1500-strong crew on numerous decks sporting a Disney inspired (of course!) Art Deco decor. The new and exciting features of the Dream are endless, and will be revisited in a future post.

• · Disney schemer sentenced to prison (Full article)

Yonni Sebbag, who teamed up with his Disney employee girlfriend has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for leaking secrets about the company to investors. Sebbag, who was fed the company’s earnings by his girlfriend working for Disney’s head of corporate communications, proceeded to attempt to sell this information and other inside tips to over 30 investment companies. The couple were caught after the FBI posed as investors and offered to buy information from the pair. Lesson learnt I hope!

• · The launch of Disney Junior (Full article)

Walt Disney UK unveiled its new brand: Disney Junior. Disney Junior is aimed at children aged 2-7 years and will replace Disney’s Playhouse Disney TV channel. However, Disney Junior is not merely a new TV channel – it is being marketed as a “multi-platform brand”, and it’s offerings will include a Disney Junior Youtube channel, a Disney Junior website, and an on-demand service. The best of Playhouse Disney will still feature on Disney Junior, alongside new shows that are being developed for the age 6/7 group that currently fit inbetween Disney’s Playhouse and main TV channels. Premiers in the UK on May 7^th.

• · Details released about Fantasyland revamp

To take advantage of the press in town to report the Disney Dream’s christening, Walt Disney World held a press event to present some details of what is the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history. The park will double the size of its Fantasyland area, which is reported to house new places to meet the Disney’s princess and a new coaster. This coaster will sit somewhere between Goofy’s Barnstormer and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on the scaredy-cat ratings (so quite tame then!), and has been dubbed the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. The area will also contain a new Little Mermaid attraction, very similar to that in Disneyland, California. Fantasyland is scheduled to open in phases, beginning at the end of 2012.

• · Chilean miners visit Walt Disney World

Since the miners were rescued in October, they have inundated with offers of invitations to go on holidays hosted by major companies all over the world. On Thursday, the miners took Bob Iger up on his offer, and visited Walt Disney World with their families, totalling around 160 guests. The miners will be staying onsite at the Walt Disney World resort, and on Monday (January 31^st), they will be named as honorary marshals for a parade at the Magic Kingdom to honour their bravery in the face of disaster.

• · Disney Android phone unveiled (Full article)

It seems that Disney have jumped on the smartphone bandwagon, and have unveiled a device that will run a Disney-themed version of Google’s Android 2.2 on what appears to be a rebranded version of the Sharp Galapagos 003SH. Only in Japan ‘ey?

• · Thirteen Oscar nominations for Disney

That is: 5 nominations for Toy Story 3 (best picture, best animated feature, best adapted screenplay, best original song, and achievement in sound editing), 3 nominations for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (excellence in art direction, costume design and visual effects), 1 nomination for Tangled (best song: Alan Menken’s and Glen Slater’s “I see the light”), 1 nomination for Pixar’s “Day and Night” (best animated short), 1 nomination for Disney Marvel’s Iron Man 2 (outstanding visual effects), 1 nomination for Tron (achievement in sound editing), and 1 nomination for Touchstone Miramax’s The Tempest (costume design). Good luck to them all!

I'd love to know what you think about some of these stories, but that’s it from me for now. Thanks for reading, and good night!