I just re-attached a counter to this page, after a long absence. It's been on for about a week. Just look at that big, blue slice of the pie.



Let's see if I can get the DISNEY LAWYERS, DISNEY LAWYERS, DISNEY LAWYERS to visit my blog from DISNEY.COM, DISNEY.COM, DISNEY.COM because I'm talking about DISNEYLAND, DISNEYLAND, DISNEYLAND, DISNEYLAND. "Whistle While You Work" is the secret evacuation code for Disneyland. Walt Disney was a "Special Agent in Charge" for the FBI. Michael Eisner is a jerk.

So now, Michael Moore is kind of backing down from his original story. Here is what he said on the 5th:

"Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."

And here is what he says now:

"In April of 2003, I signed a deal with Miramax, a division of the Walt Disney Co., to finance and distribute my next movie, Fahrenheit 9/11... A month later, after shooting started, Michael Eisner insisted on meeting with my agent, Ari Emanuel. Eisner was furious that Miramax signed this deal with me. According to Mr. Emanuel, Eisner said he would never let my film be distributed through Disney... But Michael Eisner did not call Miramax and tell them to stop my film. Not only that, for the next year, SIX MILLION dollars of DISNEY money continued to flow into the production of making my movie. Miramax assured me that there were no distribution problems with my film."

So I'm going to agree, slightly, with the right wingers who claim his story is inconsistent -- though I wouldn't go so far as to call him a liar. On Tuesday, he "was told" that Disney wouldn't distribute the films, but he knew full well a year earlier that Disney wasn't happy about it. And I'd be curious to see how much of what he calls "DISNEY money" actually went into the production. I presume that was actually Miramax money -- in other words, funds that a subsidiary of the Disney company could choose to spend any way it wanted, even if it pissed off the boss. Sounds a bit like blaming parents for purchases made on their kids' credit cards. Sure, it's the parent's money, but maybe the kids bear some responsibility.

Could I have my cake and eat it too? Could Michael Moore be a mensch and admit that feigning surprise at Disney's actions was a bit of showmanship? Could Michael Eisner be a mensch and allow Miramax to release the movie? Could Harvey Weinstein of Miramax be a mensch and admit that he funded the movie knowing Eisner would try to put the kibosh on it?

As far as Disney's Florida tax breaks being in jeopardy, according to Jeb Bush's spokesperson:

''This is not true. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous,'' Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said, noting that a change in the state's tax code would require legislative authority. ``There are statutes in place that outline what corporations have to do, what requirements there are to be eligible, and that goes for every single corporation that applies for an incentive.''

So what's this all about, if it's not about the tax breaks? Corporate censorship seems to pass the Occam's Razor test here -- the more assumptions we throw out, the more likely plain old censorship seems to be the answer. Eisner doesn't want the film out, and the tax breaks are a red herring.

Oh, here's the dumb quote of the day, from the same article:

"Putting politics aside, Gov. Bush may not flock to see Moore's documentary if it gets distributed."

Of course not; one person cannot "flock".

China Can Accommodate More Disneylands
People's Daily, Thursday, December 12, 2002

China can support a number of Disneylands due to the potential of its huge market, but the second Disneyland will not appear until 2010, said the Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) Limited on Thursday.

However, France can't even support one.

Aw, let's face it, the world is lousy with Disneylands. Now they're building cheap Chinese Disneylands. Next, they'll start building Disneylands inside WalMarts.

Told Ya So:

Disney Thrill Ride Sends Six to Hospital

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space" thrill ride has left some older riders gulping, "Houston, we have a problem." In the past eight months, six people over 55 have been taken to the hospital for chest pain and nausea after going on the $100 million ride, which is meant to simulate a rocket launch. It is the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report any serious injuries to the state.

It'll kill somebody. The numbers are there, crunching along. It's just a matter of time.

Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush

Michael Moore's newest movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, is being blocked from release by Disney, which owns the distribution company Miramax. How does this tie in with theme parks?

"Mr. Eisner expressed particular concern that it would endanger tax breaks Disney receives for its theme park, hotels and other ventures in Florida, where Mr. Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor."
-- New York Times, 5/5/2004

Shouldn't tax breaks be based on merits, like how much your business will benefit an area? Wouldn't presuming that your tax breaks are in danger imply that you fear the Governor is corrupt and vindictive?

I was reading Amusement Business looking for news for the blog, and while it's usually a washout (because the major stories are reported in the major media anyway, and the minor stories all seem to be about anniversaries of carnies and ticket sales at Midwest state fairs) this time, I found a very wee tidbit that made my jaw hit the floor. In an interview with Olaf Vugts, director of the Dutch theme park De Efteling, he gave the following statistic:

"Some 92% of the Dutch population has visited Efteling once in their life, with the average frequency increasing to seven times during a lifetime."

Holy mackerel! Try to imagine applying that statistic to a similarly-sized area, like an American state. Rounding off, the population of the Netherlands is about 16,000,000 in an area of 41,000 square miles, and the population of Florida is 17,000,000 in an area of 66,000 square miles. Maybe I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt that 92% of Florida's population has visited Walt Disney World, and that consists of several amusement parks.

Oh well, it was interesting to me...

Today's roller coaster death.

(Danny's Land supports amusement ride safety legislation.)