On April 30th 2008 , the day before Walt Disney Company would take over The Disney Stores back from The Chidren’s Place, they Have Decided to close another 100 Stores, which is a total of 200 stores that they will be closing. Disney will be having a liquidation sale starting sometime next week. They already sent up the signage and and company that Disney Hired will do the liquidation process. The stores that are closing will be open for about another 6 to 8 weeks from now. Within Connecticut, the Only store that will be open will be the one in Westfarms Mall, all other stores will be closing in New York, besides the store in New York City on 5th Ave. Very sad but not very shocked by this news as they saturated the market with the stores which destroyed the novelty of going to the stores. Unfortunately, not even the successful Children’s Place as the owners couldn’t undo the damage that was already done.

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Disney Parks to create attraction based on the television and pop culture phenomenon

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will create an “American Idol” attraction that will bring the television and pop culture phenomenon to life at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, according to Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts; Simon Fuller, CEO of 19 Entertainment; and Keith Hindle, executive vice president of FremantleMedia Licensing.
The attraction, slated to debut in late 2008, will be located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park and will follow the model of the high-energy show. Disney guests will be able to experience the challenge of auditioning, the rush of performing on stage in competition, or the thrill of judging the performances in a live interactive entertainment setting with all the glitz and glamour of the distinctive “American Idol” set.

That experience will include an audition process, open to all eligible to register, where guests perform “live” in front of a Disney’s Hollywood Studios producer for the chance to be cast in a theme park show. If shown to have that star quality during the screening process and after backstage preparation — working with a vocal coach, hair and make-up — it’s lights up and showtime for the lucky guest in front of a “live” audience and a panel of judges.

Guest performers with the highest votes will compete in an end-of-day Grand Finale show at Walt Disney World, and the winner of the Grand Finale show will receive a guaranteed reservation for a future regional stadium audition — to ensure no waiting in long lines — for the “American Idol” TV show. But when it comes down to the television show auditions, everyone is treated equal.

“Millions of people have imagined themselves standing on the ‘American Idol’ stage,” said Rasulo. “We’re excited that we will be bringing this dream to life every day at Walt Disney World.”

Added Fuller, “One of the most remarkable elements about ‘American Idol’ is that for a brief moment each week, we can provide TV viewers the opportunity to imagine life as America’s next superstar. Disney’s new attraction perfectly captures what we at ‘American Idol’ feel is the heart and soul of this brand, real people getting a shot to make their dream a reality.”

“This partnership,” noted Hindle, “brings the number one show on television, watched in over 100 countries, to the number one theme park destination in the world. It’s a perfect combination and opportunity to offer everyone a taste of the ‘American Idol’ experience.”

The coming “American Idol” attraction will reflect the best and brightest of the TV show, giving starry-eyed park guests a chance to become a star on the attraction’s stage. It joins an all-star lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a celebration of today’s Hollywood in movies, television, music and theater. Among the new adventures debuting in 2008 is the just-opened “Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage!” plus coming attractions “Block Party Bash,” an interactive and moving Disney-Pixar spectacle filling the theme park streets; and Toy Story Mania! immersing guests in a 3-D interactive ride-through video game starring popular Disney-Pixar “Toy Story” characters.

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We’ve just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you “look ahead,” before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

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We are back from the dead. It’s been a busy few months but we will try to start posting some updated content here on imagineears.com when time allows. We’ve just installed a great new plugin which allows our site to accept video comments, audio comments and standard text comments. Feel free to share your thoughts with the community now in video format or audio format. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival presented by Vanity Fair Premium Napkins Sept. 28 through Nov. 11 at Walt Disney World Resort.

Epcot guests can explore the nuances of great wines from around the world and sample blissful bites from dozens of countries against the backdrop of paintings inspired by food and wine. The paintings are served up from the palettes of artists in China, Italy, France and beyond as a fitting accompaniment to first-rate food, wine and beer that spotlight regional experiences from Turkey to Chile to Scandinavia during the six-week-long festival.

More than 25 international marketplaces serve tapas-sized portions of regional specialties, and recommended wines and beers available at each kiosk make for picture-perfect pairings. Exciting new marketplaces this year include Oklahoma, Dominican Republic and Peru.

Meanwhile, daily seminars offer complimentary tastes of wine, beer and food from around the world. In addition, a series of special culinary programs features a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.
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OBI-WANNA-BE: Star Wars Weekends lets guests of all ages live out their Star Wars dreams. The popular sci-fi fan-fest returns to the Disney-MGM Studios every Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 1-24, 2007. Star Wars fans of all ages will converge on the park to celebrate with Star Wars celebrities, more than 50 Star Wars characters roaming the theme park for meet-and-greet opportunities, star conversations, Star Wars parades, interactive activities, exclusive merchandise and the famous Star Tours thrill ride. Event activities are included with regular theme park admission.

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In This Edition:

• Epcot: The Three Caballeros reunite after 63 years for ‘Gran Fiesta Tour’ at Mexico pavilion; Themed weekends bursting with fun during Flower & Garden Festival; Flower Power concert series revisits ‘British Invasion’; Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens being ‘re-imagined.’
• Disney’s Magical Express: Innovative program welcomes aboard AirTran Airways.
• Pin Trading: Pirates of the Caribbean take over May 25 event.
• Disney Cruise Line: Popular stage show has new dazzle plus Timon and Pumbaa.
• Sports: The Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex to host American League series between Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Texas Rangers; Disney offering the kind of slice golfers will like - a price slice.
• Food & Beverage: This trendy tea party isn’t for teetotalers.
• Disney Dollars: Buc Bucks are here.
• Disney Deal: Late summer vacation package includes free dining.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (April 11, 2007) - Inside the Epcot icon, remarkable changes will be taking place over the next several months. A re-imagined Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens will combine the magic of the iconic attraction’s time-travel adventure into the past with a new finale which provides guests the opportunity to imagine their futures. On a trip through time inside the Spaceship Earth attraction, guests discover how each generation of mankind has invented the future for the next generation, and how the spirit of innovation has moved people from the caves to the cosmos.

Enhancements to the time-travel attraction will encompass changes to each of the ride scenes. New show scenes will be added to the attraction’s story along with new lighting effects, costumes, set decoration, narration and musical score.

This adventure through time leads ultimately to the very top of Spaceship Earth’s geodesic dome, where guests arrive at the present. The time travel adventure will be enhanced through new, interactive touch screens installed aboard each “time machine” that will enable guests to create their own visions of the future and see themselves in that future.

As guests disembark the time travel experience, they are invited to visit “Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow,” where interactive exhibits bring to life the ideas and technologies Siemens is developing to help make the world a better place for the future.

The space is filled with fun, interactive games and displays that showcase innovative technologies. Here guests step into the world of tomorrow and glimpse the future of medicine, transportation and responsible energy management across the globe.

Opening to Epcot guests later this month, the first completed phases of Project Tomorrow will include:

• An illuminated globe measuring 20 feet in diameter that will offer an ever-changing collage of inspirational images that invite guests to imagine the wonders of tomorrow.
• Body Builder, a 3-D game that enables users to assemble a digital human body, simulating the Siemens technology developed to perform remote surgeries.
• Super Driver, a driving simulation video game that showcases motor vehicle accident and avoidance systems developed by Siemens.

With phased renovations occurring through the year, Spaceship Earth’s makeover is scheduled to be fully completed in early 2008.

April 10th, 2007: Spaceship Earth post show name unveiled!

The sign for the new Spaceship Earth post show has now been installed at the exit of the ride. The name of the new post show is “Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow. Presented by Siemens”.

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John Lasseter, who currently holds the title of chief creative officer of
the Walt Disney Co., selected a stockholders annual meeting in New Orleans
Thursday to announce that Disney will return to hand-drawn animation in 2009
with a feature set in New Orleans. The feature, The Frog Princess, will be
directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who oversaw The Little Mermaid and
Aladdin, and who were forced out by the studio’s previous management when it
decided to abandon hand-drawn animation in 2004. The movie will also feature
the first African-American princess to appear in a Disney animated film.
“We’re going back to hand-drawn animation,” Lasseter announced at the
meeting. “This movie is going to be classic Disney and yet you have never
seen this before.” The studio said that it plans to rehire many of the
animators it let go during the bloodletting following the failure of 2004’s
Home on the Range, Disney’s last “2D” animated film.

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Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com Invite America to Interview the Dream “Job” Finalists as Part of Disney’s “Year of a Million Dreams” Celebration

Burbank, Calif. (March 7, 2007) — More nerve-wracking than a trip to the board room, how about having to interview with 300 million Americans to see if you’ll land your dream job! On center stage are the 100 most creative finalists from the CareerBuilder.com-Disney Dream “Job” online video search who are competing for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to live out a Disney Dream “Job” for a day. Beginning March 6 and running through March 30, America can check out the video auditions online at www.careerbuilder.com/disneydreamjobs and click to view and vote for their favorite Jungle Cruise Skipper, Haunted Mansion Butler or Maid, Pirate, Princess-in-Waiting or Disney Park Parade Performer.

The five applicants in each category who receive the most support will get the chance to live out their honorary dream job for a day. The winners will travel to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., in June 2007 during the grand opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. “We have been overwhelmed by the response. We have received submissions from every U.S. state and thousands of people visit the contest site daily,” said Michael Mendenhall, executive vice president, global marketing, Disney Destinations. “The creativity of the auditions has been astounding and we have seen everything from would-be Jungle Cruise Skippers navigating the treacherous waters of their swimming pools to Disney Pirates plundering and pillaging their own living rooms! This really has captured the imagination of the public and will be one tough choice for America.”

Dream “Job” wanna-bes were asked to send in a video that showcased their most original and creative attributes, including why they want to work at a Disney Park, qualifications and skills for their desired position and reasons why this is their Disney Parks Dream “Job.” For complete rules and regulations surrounding the CareerBuilder.com-Disney Dream “Job” search, log on to www.careerbuilder.com/disneydreamjobs.

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