Fabulous Fan Site: MyDisneyCollection.com

MyDisneyCollection.com is a fan site that features Tom Chivers' personal collection of Disney books, postcards and trading cards. Although some of the content is similar to FindDisney.com the site feeling is very different. It's kind of like a fun Disney web page museum. The design is sleek and no frills and the scans make you want to read the books and wish you had collected the trading and post cards. Tom was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions.

What made you start collecting?

I guess on some level, I've always been a collector. Even as a kid, I was a collector. I started collecting Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I still have all my original 1967 Hot Wheels (the first year they were produced). And, lucky me, they're worth a bunch! But, for everything I've kept, there was something I threw away. I regret getting rid of my complete collection of Apollo 11 trading cards. The first Disney item I collected was the Disneyland wall map. My family purchased one during our first trip in 1969. It hung on the wall of my room for years. Luckily, I still have it.

and why postcards, books and trading cards?

-these three categories all happened by accident. At first, my Disney collection was an assortment of random stuff - just anything I thought was cool or unique. I remember going into an antique store and I saw a very early Disneyland postcard. I thought it was very interesting, but I didn't buy it. In that same week, I received my copy of The Nickel Tour in the mail. After I found out that the card I saw was the #1 Disneyland postcard, I ran back to the store and picked it up. I've been collecting postcards ever since. The nice thing about collecting postcards is that there's such variety. I can pick up a brand new postcard when I visit Disneyland or buy a 1955 card when I'm on eBay. And, when money is tight, there's always inexpensive cards available. Plus, postcards are easy to store. They don't take up a lot of room. Once eBay came around, my book collection exploded. And trading cards just kinda happened by accident too. I was searching for postcards on eBay and I came across a complete set of the 1965 Donruss trading cards. The price was right, so I picked it up. Then, once I had one series of trading cards, I had to get the other two.

I love how you organized the site. Tell us about how you decided to set things up the way that you did.

-My web site has been growing and changing since the first day it was set-up (May 2003). I primarily set it up just to keep track of my collection. Quite often I'd be surfing eBay at work; buy an item, then get home to only discover I already had it. My site has kept me from buying dupes numerous times.

What made you add a blog to your site?

-At first, the "What's New" section of my web site just included images. Then, I started adding a little bit of text. As blogging started becoming more and more popular, I found numerous other Disney blogs in which the owners talked about their Disney collections. Adding a blog just seemed like a natural progression of my site.

Do you have any favorites in your collection?

-I do have favorites, but they're not the pieces you'd think. As I mentioned, my 1968 map is one of my favorites. I also have the "I Was There" pin from July 17, 2005 (from the 50th anniversary), and I had the opportunity to assist on the photo shoot for Indiana Jones before it was open to the public. I have a few left-over items from that day.

Any special tips on how to obtain a copy of Nickel Tour?

-Patience. Considering the list price for the book was $75, you're probably not going to get one for less than $100. I have seen them sell on eBay in the $100-$125 range. I've also seen them sold at postcard shows, but I don't recall what they sold for.

Are you involved in any other Online communities or activities?

-Not really. I'm a pretty avid reader of about 10-12 different Disney web sites per day, but I rarely post in Message Boards.

Do you have a site/blog/community that has inspired you?

-Oh yeah. A really good friend of mine, Mike, created the site http://www.disneylandpostcards.com/ . Mike no longer owns this site, but he was the inspiration for creating mine. Mike and I worked together for years and quite often we bid against each other on eBay. We often go to postcard shows together too.

What sites do you read each day?

http://thedisneyblog.com/

http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/

http://www.mouseplanet.com/

http://disneylandcompendium.blogspot.com/

http://www.disneygeek.com/

http://www.imaginerding.com/

http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/

http://matterhorn1959.blogspot.com/

http://davelandblog.blogspot.com/

http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/

http://miceage.micechat.com/

http://www.mousetimes.com/

What impact has My Disney Collection had on your life?

-I'm always surprised when I get email to my web site. The majority of the questions are really fun to read. Quite often I've sparked some one's imagination to relive a portion of their childhood. Or, in some cases, I've been able to fill-in the blanks. I got an email from a woman who wanted to buy her husband a special Valentine's Day gift. He could remember of book from his childhood, but could only remember pictures from one or two pages. A couple of emails back and forth, and we were able to find the missing book. I love questions like that. I hate the "what's this worth" question.

Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney geek?

-Oh yeah, I get teased about it all the time. But, they all know how much I enjoy it, so the comments are usually positive. Whenever I go to southern California, but don't go to Disneyland, people are shocked.

Thanks Tom!! When you have a bit of time this is a site to savor a bit. There are some real treasures here. When you're done I would love to hear what you think...leave a comment below.

Fabulous Fan Site and Podcast: MouseGuest.com

Today’s feature is for a site and podcast that I have followed for a long time: MouseGuest.com and Mouse Guest Weekly Podcast. The podcast just celebrated three years of production and is a lot of fun to listen to. Recently, Eric’s wife Kathy has joined Eric and Dan and the format has changed a bit so if you haven’t given them a listen in a while it's worth checking out. The website is unique among Disney sites, for a small fee per month, members can ride the rides through first person video, see characters and collect virtual autographs and participate in the forums. Eric, who used to be the author of the Daily Dose of Disney before passing the torch to me, agreed to answer some questions.


1. Why did you start your site? and why Disney?

After returning from my trips to Walt Disney World, I would get the "Disney blues" familiar to many Disney fanatics. So I thought there should be a website where Disney fans could take virtual vacations to relive just a part of what makes the Disney parks so great. A place where they could "get their fix". After some searching, I didn't find a site that captured what I was looking for, so I decided to recruit my web designer pal Dan and create MouseGuest.com.

In an effort to promote the site, we decided to start the Mouse Guest Weekly podcast. We recently celebrated our third anniversary of the podcast and have found a wonderful audience that has led to many new friendships.


2. Do you have a site, a blog or a community that has inspired you?

I can say the first Disney site that I frequented was AllEars.net. There is just so much information there! Since starting the podcast and website, I've had the pleasure of getting to know many other webmasters and podcast hosts that I have become friends with over the years.


3. Is there anyone in the Disney community that inspired you to get started or whom you admire?

I have always been inspired by Walt Disney himself. He took risks, followed his instincts, delivered a quality product and never forgot the joy of childhood.


4. What sites do you read each day?

I'm sure I will forget some but I try to visit Studios Central, AllEars, MousePlanet, WDWMagic, Mouse Extra, 2719 Hyperion, The Disney Blog, Disney World Trivia, DVC News, Magical Mountain and Window to the Magic, among many others. I also listen to as many podcasts as I can fit into a week, which sadly is not as many as I would like.


5. What impact MouseGuest had on your life?

I get a lot less sleep now. Seriously, it has been amazing. The relationships I've developed and friends that I've made make all of the work worth it. We are hosting The Mouse Guest Experience this October at WDW, which will be a meet of Disney fans with a few special guests from other sites/podcasts, and I cannot wait to meet even more Disney fans. Our Mouse Guest community is, in my biased opinion, simply the best Disney online community around. We truly care about each other and display a kindness to each other that is unusual online, even among Disney communities.


6. Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney geek?

Of course! When you go to Disney two or three times a year, it's kind of hard to hide it.


7. Is there anything else that you would like for our readers to know?

There are many ways to get plugged into Mouse Guest: we have Mouse Guest Memberships, that give you enhanced features of our virtual tours (right now we have the Magic Kingdom and Epcot running); our weekly podcast Mouse Guest Weekly; our family-friendly Mouse Guest Message Board; our weekly chats each Wednesday at 9pm ET at mouseguest.com/chat; and of course you can meet us in person at The Mouse Guest Experience this October 25-30th at WDW. For details, visit mouseguest.com/experience. We'd love to see you there! If anyone has any questions about the site, show or Experience, feel free to email me at eric@mouseguest.com.

Fabulous Fan Site: FindDisney.com

One of the reasons that I began this blog was to feature some of the wonderful fan sites on the interweb. It is amazing what people are doing as part of our little Disney fan universe. Today, I want to feature, FindDisney.com which has been built and maintained by John and his family and features his awesome collection of Disney postcards, books and trading cards and other paper Disney Collectibles. I found this site about a year ago and John’s collection along with George’s book reviews over at Imaginerding have helped to grow our mini library of Disney books. The whole site is fabulous but what I like the best is the way that it is organized. Books are grouped by year which helps you target a “Disney Era” to find what you are looking for. The postcard collection is particularly noteworthy for its documentation of the changes in the characters over the years. As someone who now saves every Disney related scrap from our “grownup” trips and laments the fact that I didn’t keep the papers from my Disney trips when I was a kid, I am just plain green that John has kept all of this stuff over the years. I wrote to John and he was gracious enough to share a bit more about his collection and what got him to develop this treasure of a site.



What made you start collecting? and why paper goods? What prompted you start your site?

I made my first trip to Disneyland in 1977. It was for my senior class trip. We road a bus all night, went to Disneyland all the next day, and rode the bus home that night. I had such a great time, I knew I had to go back. My wife and I were high school sweethearts and were dating at the time. Her sister lived in Long Beach, so we had our own bed and breakfast. So over the next couple of years we made trips at least once a year. My wife is a dog fan. She breads and shows Gordon Setters, so it was natural that she would fall in love with Mickey's dog PLUTO. She began collecting anything Pluto. We had Pluto figures, Pluto glasses, Pluto clocks, Pluto toys, well you get the picture. Anything that we saw that was Pluto we had to have. Then the family got involved and Pluto's were coming from everywhere. When we first got married we had a room dedicated to her Pluto collection. I saw how much fun she and the family were having with her collection, I decided I wanted to collect something. I really wanted to collect something that had to do with Disneyland itself. That was really were my interest was. So, I began collecting Disneyland Paper. I collected guides, books, postcards, maps, anything having to do with Disneyland. Then we started to have children and ran out of room, so much of the stuff got put into storage. But, the collecting did not stop. My wife's sister and her husband then moved to Anaheim. So, now our bed and breakfast was only 8 minutes door to door. Also, my brother-in-law became a Disney collector. So, he would always get 2 of everything and give me one. They were annual pass holders and went to Disneyland weekly. That is why I have a large collection of stuff from the 80's and 90's. My children have been going to the park at least once a year since they were 6 months old. They are both fanatics like their parents. Lindsay helps me with the website when she has time. But being a busy 16 year old, it does not happen on a regular basis. Which brings me to the web site. I started with a free website provided by my ISP. I thought I would like to share all of this stuff I had in storage. Since I could not have it all out on display, I would put it on virtual display. The site just kept getting bigger as I would continue to add stuff. I eventually had to go to a paid ISP because I was using too much storage space on the free ISP. Then I decided to expand. I would look at other sites on the internet and when I saw something I liked, I tried to recreate it on my site. It is now a hobby that I truly love and wish I had more time to dedicate to it.



Do you have any favorites in your collection?

My favorite items would be my Disneyland Pictorial Souvenirs. I have just about everyone of them now. It has been a blast looking for them and making the special find on E-Bay :) When Disneyland first opened they were making changes every year, so they would put out a new one every year. In the 80's and 90's they stopped doing that and they only came out every couple of years. It has been hard to find out which years the guide were available and which years they were not. I even reached out to Dave Smith, the Disney Archives Director. He was able to help me with some items, but he really did not have all of the answers. This made me want to investigate further. I did find that some of the pictorial souvenirs had more then one version in a given year. Some of them had inserts. Some of them you could only get by sending in a coupon from a magazine. It has been a lot of fun researching them and I wanted to share my findings by publishing them on the website. I have had people e-mail me thanking me because they could come to the site and not have to spend the hours researching as I had. E-mails like that have made it worth while.



Have you always been a collector?

Now that I think about it, I guess I have been a collector most of my life, at least since high school. Starting with Pluto and now with Disneyland items.



Are you involved in any other Online communities or activities?

Not really active. I do spend a lot of time looking at Disney sites, newsgroups (I especially liked alt.Disney.Disneyland, but it has not been available for quite some time now, and E-bay. I will however ask a question or 2.



What sites do you read each day?

Miceage.com, Disneygeek.com, and Laughingplace.com are the sites I visit regularly. But, I do visit many sites and have a bookmark list of about 50 sites.



Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney geek?

Yes they do. Its hard for them not to know. I have some of my collection displayed in the house. My daughter's room is totally Disney. She has Tinkerbell Banners that hung at Disney World hanging on her walls. She has Disney pictures with autographs, Disneyland posters, and Disney memorabilia everywhere. Some of my friends are Disney fans as well. Some do not understand, but that is OK. They cannot understand why I use my vacation every year to go to Disneyland. If you are a Disney fan, you understand why.

My car license plate says DSNEYLD and I get a lot of comments from I love your License plate, I am a Disney fan too to one time we had a car flag my wife down and ask her if she had tickets.



Is there anything else that you would like for our readers to know?

I have seen and met a lot of interesting people and had a lot of wonderful experiences because of my interest in Disneyland. I have met Michael Eisner, I have eaten at Club33 twice, Roy Disney had my site as one of his links when he had the Save Disney site up and running, I was interviewed by a Japanese TV station and we have met and made friends with some of the Disney artists.


Thanks John for sharing your collection with all of us! If you have a site that you would like to nominate as a Fabulous Fan Site please let me know in the comments section.

Trader Sam's Magic

Today I have a "two fer" WWD for you: The Head Shrinker and The Disney Experience. Both sites are created and maintained by Robert Nava aka. Trader Sam. The Head Shrinker is his bit of Disney musings, some personal, some just interesting stuff. The Disney Experience is one of the most interesting sites in the Disney Community. There is a ton of really interesting stuff here, especially for those interested in papercraft. Rumor has it that the Mouse is looking into buying the Disney Experience, if this comes to pass I hope that Sam continues to post on his blog. I wrote to Robert and here are his answers. Enjoy!


1. Why did you start a blog? or why Disney?

I don't know what the attraction is, but Web sites have always fascinated me (I have three or four at the moment). I suppose it's my innate love of creating something from nothing. It would also explain why I love being an artist.

The Disney Experience was originally called The Wonderful World of Icons,and it was up on October 9, 1999, just a few days after my first Internet connection. In my early collage years-before I had Internet access-I started designing icons of Disney characters for use on my
own computer. Back then, I did each 32 X 32 icon pixel-by-pixel. Literally! It was very time consuming. By the time I was able to post my very first Web site, I already had an archive of about sixty to eighty icons, far more than I would ever need for myself. So, it only seemed natural to share them with everyone else. Over time, other features were added, and the site quickly became far more than what it was intended. So much, so, that I decided to let the site spill over into the Head Shrinker.

The Head Shrinker is far more personal than the Disney Experience. It's a place where I can rant about anything I want. It's not meant to be family oriented or kid friendly, but I do often curb my emotions, language, and content a little bit. It really is more for me than it is for everyone else. Think of it as a window into who I really am, albeit a very tiny one.

Why Disney? Some of my earliest and most memorable memories are fragmented images of Disneyland. I guess I've always been a Disney fan, though it would take years for me to figure it out. It wasn't until Who Framed Roger Rabbit that I fell in love with animation, particularly Disney animation. My first serious drawing as an artist was a picture that I had copied from the VHS cover of that movie. I even made a makeshift drawing desk, using the top of my small dresser to draw on. A nightstand became my chair. From there, it just snowballed, and friends were asking me to draw Disney characters for them at school.


2. Do you have a blog that inspired you?

I don't have a Blog that inspired me. At the time, it seemed like everyone was blogging (and still are), so I thought I'd give it a shot. And, I'm still here.


3. Is there anyone in the Disney community that inspired you to get started or whom you admire?

One of my early favorites was DoomBuggies.com. The site's design was jaw-dropping, definitely something that no other Disney fan site had ever accomplished that I ever saw. Jeff Baham definite set the bar high, and I was determined to reach it with my site design.


4. What sites do you read each day?

I used to read MousePlanet several years ago. But, when Al Lutz and Kevin Yee broke off and started MiceAge, I quickly followed them. Al Lutz's Disneyland news updates, rare as they are, continue to be one of the highlights of my Internet experience.

I also love Disneyland photos; I can't get enough of them. MouseTimes.com and Darkbeer's photos are at the top of my list.

And, of course, I regularly check in on Haunted Dimensions. Ray Keim is a fellow Disney paper model designer, and he has an interest in the macabre, as I do.


5. What impact has it had on your life?

I've become well-known over the years, I think, most notably for my paper models. There really isn't a lot of quality paper models out there, so I'm a valued resource. Ray Keim's models are the only other models that meet or exceed my own. That sounded a little egocentric, but it's what I believe. When it comes to anything Disney, a person should expect nothing less than the very best.

I don't think my impact on the online Disney community has really sunken in yet. I've been doing this stuff for a little over eight years now, and it's still business as usual. I've recently been in contact with Disney regarding a proposal. It's private at the moment, plus the details are constantly changing, so any information would be out-of-date by the time anyone reads this.


6. Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney blogger?

The most that my friends and family members know about me is that I'm a Disney fan. I don't spout out Disney facts and figures every time I open my mouth, like I know many others do. I've seen it, and it's not a pretty site. Disney is kind of personal, anyway, so I mainly keep it to myself.

Since I'm a little more revealing in my Blog than I am in real life, I tend to refrain from advertising the Head Shrinker to friends and family. There could be things in there that would rub someone the wrong way. It's best to keep everyone in the dark.

The Magic in Pixels

This week's featured blog is The Magic in Pixels by Tim Divine. I really like this site there are loads of beautiful pictures. Mr. Divine is also associated with the Magical Definition Podcast. Forms are for members to share photos and tips for taking great pictures. Tim has also written some great articles for the newbies (like me) and those looking to move their photography to a new level. There are some wonderful pictures here. Over 1,000,000 since 1/1/08! This is one you will want to take some time at. I love to go when I need a little magic. I wrote to Tim and here are his replies to my questions.


"The Magic in Pixels is a site dedicated to Disney Theme Park Photography that features the galley of Tim Devine, unofficial Disney Park Photographer. The Magic in Pixels offers photos, a Disney photography forum that welcomes photographers of all skills levels, a shop where fans can purchase 8x10 and 16x20 prints of their favorite work from the site, and the occasional photography article designed to help teach some of the points of photography. The forum is set up so other people can post photos of their own, and to help teach beginners and answer whatever questions they might have."


1. Why did you start a blog? or why Disney?

I was first introduced to blogging as a communication form in 2005 by an artist in San Diego who used a blog as a format to showcase and sell his artwork. I started Tim Devine's Disney Photo Blog as a boredom project (honestly) and as a way to have a little chunk of cyberspace to call my own. As the blog became more popular and the feedback kept coming in, I wanted to have my very own site to showcase my Disney photos and hopefully bring a little magic to those who can't go as often as they would like. In June of 2006, The Magic in Pixels debuted and has been growing and growing ever since. I chose Disney as a way to showcase my photos because I have all been a fan of the parks and know how emotional a subject they are for people.


2. Do you have a blog that inspired you?

I enjoy Grumpy's Hollow, ImagiNerding, 2719 Hyperion. Although not a blog, I also really enjoy HauntedDimensions.com, TellNoTales.com, DisneyWorldTrivia.com, MagicalMountain.net, HiddenMickeysGuide.com, and AllEarsNet.com.


3. Is there anyone in the Disney community that inspired you to get started or whom you admire?

I have always respected the work of Steve Barrett, Deb Wills, and Lou Mongello. I am proud to consider all of them personal friends of mine.


4. What sites do you read each day?

The Magic in Pixels of course! I also read Grumpy's Hollow, Magical Mountain, AllEarsNet, ImagiNerding, 2719 Hyperion and a few others as often as possible. It may not be every day, but I try to visit regularly.


5. What impact has it had on your life?

I never thought that my photos would have such an impact on so many of the fans. I truly am humbled and honored when someone emails or comes up to me in the parks or at an event and mentions who much they like my work. I still get goosebumps when I hear that kind of thing - it really validates all of the time that goes into the site. I love making other people happy and have a blast being able to do that.


6. Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney blogger?

Oh yeah and I catch lots of grief for it but I think they appreciate what I do because they know how much passion and energy goes into keeping the site running and fresh.


7. Is there anything else that you would like for our readers to know?

I really love hearing feedback from folks who enjoy my site and encourage anyone to feel free to send me an email. If there is something that anyone wants that they can't find on the site, all they have to do is email me and I will be happy to try to help out. I would also like to thank God and my wife and son for making it possible to have this "second identity" in which I can leave reality and live in a fantasy world a little bit every day.

Passamaquoddy

I am an unabashed fan of this superb and unusual blog. Seen through the eyes of it's author, Glenn Whelan the fictional town of Passamaquoddy (from Pete's Dragon) various citizen's comment on current Disney news, the parks and anything else that the author sees fit. This is unique and worth a peek with each new post. I posed a few questions to Glenn and he very graciously replied.


Why did you start a blog? or why Disney?

I've been a Disney fan all my life and with the explosion of blogging, I saw an opportunity to give something back. But I knew right up front I didn't have the accumulated knowledge or passionate drive of some other Disney blogs. What I did have is a simple idea: Create a Disney
blog that represents the thoughts and writings of several small town characters. Using photoshop techniques and a knack for storytelling, I could comment on Disney while keeping distance from heated issues. Hopefully, the blog offers some fun to our Disney community.


Do you have a blog that inspired you?

"2719 Hyperion"! Jeff Pepper's blog was unknowingly part of the birth of Passamaquoddy. His work is detailed and informative, which created issues for me from the start. I knew I don't have his writing style or Disney resources at my disposal, so I couldn't do anything that would in any way compete. Because of Jeff's inspiration, one of Passamaquoddy's "contributors" is Jeff' Pepper's "cousin", Jeffrey C. Salt.


Is there anyone in the Disney community that inspired you to get started or whom you admire?

Lou Mongello of Disney World Trivia and WDW radio. Here's a guy close to my age (err� 28) that has fostered a community of fans through a very Disney-esque synergy. His books, CD products, radio appearances, charitable contributions and a humble ability to convince others to step up make him an important true friend.


What sites do you read each day?

As Passamaquoddy grows, much of my energies are fueled by my blogging friends: The aforementioned Jeff Pepper's "2719 Hyperion, "If We Can Dream It�", "Grumpy's Hollow" and most prominently George and Andy Taylor's "Imaginerding". I met these guys at Mousefest in December of 2007 and it felt like we were friends for many years. Another creative, inspiring site is Jeff W.'s "All About the Corn". He too has created a small town to filter his thoughts through� (What genius.) Outside of my blogging pals, I always visit Lou's Disney World Trivia
site and my good friend Bryan Ripper's "All About the Mouse". I met Bryan at the birth of his site and it has grown in length, stature and in the number of hosts as Bryan is now joined by Jonathan "the Voice" Dichter.


What impact has blogging had on your life?

Every day� All day I consider things to blog about. But I've also trapped myself in this small town of Passamaquoddy where random thoughts about life don't work� without a spin. Now, I have to consider the angle of my `reports'.


Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney blogger?

Nope. It'd be too hard to explain.


Is there anything else that you would like for our readers to know?

Passamaquoddy continues to grow and morph as it works to find its place in the world. With help from friends, its still going and growing. There are times when I really want to discuss something� a Disney Movie I saw� a Epcot restaurant I want to review� Those things
are all over my blog as well and are less "themed" to the town of Passamaquoddy� but still part of my vision. Most of that writing is done by Doc Terminus. I'm not a Doctor. I don't fish very often and I've never been anywhere near Maine. But I love writing and graphic design and don't mind tipping my hat to a town that figured prominently in the once popular PETE's DRAGON.

Broke Hoedown

This blog is written by half of Those Darn Cats from Mouseguest Weekly: Jennifer von Hoffman. She is one of the few women Disney Bloggers and has some really interesting and humorous insight into Disney Parks, fans and Disney itself. Just a peek at her categories list tells you that this isn't any regular old Disney blog: Disney themed bento art and Mickey Che Guevara. She also features a lot of Star Wars stuff which makes her and her blog super cool in my book (yes I am a total geek). Her post about Disney On Ice on December 24th was insightful and thought provoking. Jennifer also writes for StudiosCentral.com. This site is entertaining and worth reading each day. I posed a number of questions to Jennifer and here are her answers


Do you have a blog that inspired you?

At the risk of shameless nepotism, I've got to honestly say that my spouse's blog, Collateral Damage, was my biggest inspiration. Collateral Damage covers marketing from a quirky, unusual angle, and I thought perhaps given my general outlook on life I might have something similarly unique to say about Disney. I started blogging shortly after he ran a guest post that I'd
written about Disney travel, and after he interviewed me for a BrandWeek magazine article on Year of a Million Dreams. Besides, I figured my family could use a break from my constant rambling about Disney, so I needed more outlet for my obsessions!


Is there anyone in the Disney community that inspired you to get started or whom you admire?

There are so many, I couldn't possibly name them all! Eric and Dan of MouseGuest have been especially wonderful . . . I was a regular MouseGuest Weekly listener when they called me one day to be their "weekly guest," which was a real turning point for me. They've both been very helpful and encouraging. My BFF Lisa and I do a regular segment on their show now, Those Darn Cats. She's also blogging now, at My Life on the WDW Dlist .

I'm also a big fan of the WDW Today podcast, which I threw into my pod catcher since I've always loved the Unofficial Guide to WDW. I love the way the UG throws in an irreverent hip shot now and then. (Trivia quiz: Can you find the reference to the regulatory power of prunes in
the 2008 edition?). The WDW Today podcast has that same sort of aesthetic, and I never miss an episode. So, when Matt Hochberg, host of WDW Today, dropped me a note to ask if I'd write a column for his StudiosCentral.com web site, I almost fell out of my chair. (And yeah, I'm gonna be really embarrassed when he reads that, but it's still true.)


What impact has blogging had on your life?

It's almost too trite to say it . . . I honestly feel quite fortunate to have connected with so many friendly and kind people! The Disney fan community is very welcoming. And I haven't even had the opportunity yet to meet many of my friends in person! Man, I am SO looking forward to MagicMeets and MouseFest. I heard there were some people looking for me at MouseFest last year, and I was really sorry to miss meeting them.

My experience with Broke Hoedown (and StudiosCentral, and MouseGuest) has also reinforced my belief that it's important to speak from our hearts, especially when we're afraid our opinions will be unpopular. Every now and then I'll go out on a limb and share an opinion that I'm afraid will earn me some serious flack. Sometimes it's political . . .my Disney fandom doesn't happen in a vacuum. I have strong feelings about social justice, sexual orientation, and human rights, and this context doesn't disappear when I cross the berm, or turn on the DVD
player. And yeah, not everybody agrees with me, and that's cool. But I get some peace of mind from knowing that I've said something out loud, that I felt needed to get out there. That I'm a part of the conversation, even when I'm voicing the minority opinion, maybe especially then. And sometimes I get comments or emails that let me know my voice is heard. Those are some pixie-dusted moments for me, for real.


Do your 'real world' friends know that you are a Disney blogger?

Most of my friends know that I blog about Disney . .. but I think they're always shocked to hear that people actually READ my blog. It's hard to understand the size, intensity and passion of the Disney fan community unless you're in the heart of it.

My interests have always been rather eclectic, so I've got friends in a lot of different communities. My friends and band mates from the local rock community are shocked to know I'm so deeply into Disney. My Disney friends can't believe the awful music I play. My colleagues mostly just think it's all kind of weird. There's a very small place in the Venn diagram of my friends that actually understand all the worlds I run in.


Is there anything else that you would like for our readers to know?

Don't ever hesitate to thank Disney Cast Members! They work hard to make the magic, and deserve our appreciation, especially when they've gone beyond the call of duty. You can stop by Guest Services to fill out compliment cards, or send an email to Disney corporate offices when you get home. If a CM has done a kindness for you, just think of how it might bring a smile to their face if they heard you wrote in to thank them! Their boss would appreciate knowing too.

Mouse Extra

This is a pretty interesting site. It covers news and commentarymostly from the World.

Dave the author had this to say about Mouse Extra: “Basically, Mouse Extra is dedicated to finding the stuff that really gives Disney fans, especially Disney World fans, something to think about or enjoy. I don't get into the nuts and bolts as most websites do and I really don't get too involved with other aspects of the company besides maybe the animated films.

We hope to spark a little debate and hear the opinions of others about what we write about. It's mostly an opinion blog, and not much of an information blog. We do post news stories and rumors, but mostly we like to give our take on them rather than just report.

What we felt when we started was that there was not a site dedicated to opinions and features that focused on WDW. There were a lot of extremely useful touring tip places and trivia, and there were many "Disney Company" sites as well. But we wanted to be a place that talks about the fun stuff at WDW.”

Epcot Central

Today's site, I will admit is more than a little controversial. Epcot82, the author, feels very strongly that Epcot has gone wrong. While I do not share this opinion, I think some of his ideas are worth a look. I'll let you decide for yourself.

When I contacted, Epcot82 here is what he had to say, "I started my site in February 2006, and last June was ready to pack it in ... but with the lack of a 25th anniversary of Epcot, and with continued (I feel) creative deterioration at my favorite park, I started it up again. I live in California and am a former longtime Disney employee from Burbank. Therefore, I try to remain anonymous, though nearly a decade at Disney left me with some insight into the changes at the company that have led us to where we are now.

From the standpoint as both an investor and a fan, I continue to be disappointed with Disney. Sure, in the 1950s and 1960s, Disney attempted to reach teens and pre-teens with shows like "The Mickey Mouse Club" and "The Wonderful World of Disney" and with "pop sensations" like Annette Funicello. But at the same time, Walt Disney insisted the company never do the same thing over and over, and that resulted in concurrent projects like "Mary Poppins," "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Disneyland and WED Enterprises, which were extraordinary developments. I believe Disney COULD invest its money more wisely into projects that pay dividends in years, not in "quarters."

So, I continue! So far, I've seen a high of about 500 people a day come to the site, and even when I wasn't writing there were people who continued to e-mail me and visit. On an average day, a couple of dozen readers from Disney.com domains (meaning internal Disney) visit the site in California and Florida. I've seen readers from as far away as India, Indonesia, Norway and Russia. I'm pleased with the response I've had!"

Animation Backgrounds

Today I have a real treat for you. While I enjoy animation, I cannot
call myself an animation geek, but this site absolutely fascinates
me. It is entirely devoted to the backgrounds of some of my favorite
Disney animated movies. The pictures are beautiful and meticulously
presented. This site is worth spending some time at, it has helped me
to appreciate more the painstaking nature of animators and artists. I
will watch the old and new movies and cartoons with a greater eye to
detail from now on.

I corresponded with Rob Richards the artist from this site and this is
what he had to say, "My site features (primarily) Disney background
art. (Although on rare occasions there's something from another
studio.) I recreate the background art as follows:
By using screen captures and Photoshop, as a character moves in a
scene, I composite multiple layers of the areas where the character is
not. The sections are then assembled, patchwork style, to create an
entire background. On rare occasions, a background appears for a frame
or two before a character pops into the scene. What a joy! Usually,
though, it's a complex process to re-create these backgrounds, section
by section. Not only do the component pieces have to be assembled, but
color saturation, hues, intensity, brightness and other factors
change, sometimes frame to frame. All these have to be precisely
matched so the pieces blend together as a seamless whole. Zoom shots
require resizing the image(s) until I have a perfect match. I try keep
the art entirely original, as much as possible. Sometimes, though,
brush tool blending is required to smooth edges where the sections are
pieced together. Some pieces take an hour or two. Some take a day, or
more!

I am familiar to Los Angeles audiences as the "House Organist" at
Disney's EL CAPITAN theatre in Hollywood, where I have played nearly
4500 performances on the famous "Mighty Brazillian" since 1999, as
well as concerts around the world.

My animation backgrounds blog is a labor of love. While my career is
in the music world, I feel an equal passion for animation art. I have
a large collection of Disney animation art, mostly cels. It is
definitely not a passive interest! Thank you for your interest in my
work."

I hope you have a moment or two to enjoy this site.