Walt Disney Signature: Non-Character Furniture, Home Furnishings From Disney
Walt Disney Signature is a furniture and home furnishings brand. Unlike Disney's other products there are no Disney characters in the
Walt Disney Signature brand.
The brand launched with home furnishings and has expanded to include outdoor furniture, entertainment units, rugs, wall decor, tabletop products, stationery, and candles.
Some of the items can be purchased here on DisneyStore.com. You can see a few of the pieces from the collection in this video. Take a look:
The UK town of Swindon has been named a "twin" of Walt Disney World in Florida for a year. The town does have a traffic circle called the Magic Roundabout, which may be what encouraged Disney to name the city a "twin." Take a look:
Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature Collection Announced
Fashion designer Sue Wong has announced the launch of Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature, a high-end dress line inspired by Disney's Alice in Wonderland film, which is directed by Tim Burton. The collection will launch nationally in February 2010 as a special limited edition collection for Spring 2010. The collection features pieces influenced by key story characters and locations, including Alice, the Red Queen, the White Queen, the White Rabbit and the talking flower garden.
"I have long been mesmerized by the fantastical tales of Alice and her surrealistic adventures in Wonderland and am thrilled to be collaborating with Disney on this project," says Sue Wong. "This classic story, along with Tim Burton's inspired interpretation, lends itself especially well to my design aesthetic, which is whimsical and fun, while adding yet another element of creativity and expression to my artistic process. It is an honor to help bring this marvelous tale to life."
The Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature collection will be available in department stores including Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom's, Lord and Taylor and Macy's, as well as on SueWong.com. Prices will range from $329 to $609.
Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol Wins Weekend Box Office
A Christmas Carol wasn't as big of a box office take as insiders anticipated but it was still a box office win for Jim Carrey and Walt Disney. The film made $30 million as it opened in first place but it didn't do as well as Carrey's other Christmas film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Michael Jackson's This Is It came in second and made $13 million. The Men Who Stare at Goats opened in third and made $12.7 million. It was followed by the The Fourth Kind which opened fourth and made $12.3 million. The viral marketing hit Paranormal Activity came in fifth and made over $8 million to bring its box office tally to $97 million. The suspense thriller The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, opened in sixth place and made $7.5 million. Precious, a film that has considerable Oscar buzz, made $1.8 million despite a limited release opening.
The box office will probably belong to 2012 this coming weekend and it will certainly belong to New Moon the following weekend.
Disney is offering refunds on its Baby Einstein DVDs. Consumers can get a $15.99 refund on Baby Einstein DVDs purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 9, 2009. Up to four DVDs can be returned per household. Disney's decision to offer a refund comes after a class-action lawsuit was filed in 2008.
The New York Timesreports that the class-action lawsuit filed last year pointed out Walt Disney's Baby Einstein campaign made false claims. The lawsuit pointed out that research shows television viewing is harmful not educational for babies.
Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. "The Walt Disney Company's entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development," a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims "false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children."
The letter cited estimates from The Washington Post and Business Week that Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually.
The letter also described studies showing that television exposure at ages 1 through 3 is associated with attention problems at age 7.
The refund offer is called the The Baby Einstein DVD Upgrade / Moneyback Guarantee on the Baby Einstein website. It also offers consumers the option to swap the Baby Einstein DVD with a book or music item, or a 25% off coupon. The webpage located here includes the form you need to mail in your DVD for the redund or "upgrade."
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo detailed Disney's future plans at the first D23 Expo. The announcements included the confirmation of a new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the "Star Tours" attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2011. The attraction is based on the Lucasfilm Star Wars films.
"Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we're always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places," Rasulo told the crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
For Walt Disney World in Florida, Rasulo outlined plans for the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to:
Visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty's birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an nchanting story performance in the Beast's castle library.
Dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast's castle.
Fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.
Journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction - also opening at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011.
Meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow.
Rasulo provided updates on the expansion of Disney's California Adventure including the new "World of Color" attraction slated to open in the spring of 2010 and the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests can step into the town of Radiator Springs and its six acres of hand-carved rockwork. Other recently-announced projects include the three new lands coming to Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014; the Disney Dream, a new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line; and Disney's first family destination resort on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
The BBC reports that Walt Disney has recorded a 26% drop in profits during its second quarter. Disney says people are spending less money at its theme parks. Revenues were down by 7% for the quarter.
Revenues at the Parks and Resorts division fell 9% to $2.8bn, while those at the Studio Entertainment division fell by 12% to $1.3bn.
The company said visitors were spending less at its theme parks, both in the US and in Paris, France.
Despite the market's reaction, Disney said it was heartened by the results.
"While a tough global economy impacted our performance in the quarter, we remain encouraged by the relative strength of our business," said Disney president Robert Iger.
If the parks are less crowded it is probably a good time to go.
American Idol winner Kris Allen visits Disneyland to celebrate. On Friday Kris rode in the parade with Mickey Mouse at the Walt Disney World theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The Wall Street Journalreports that Walt Disney Co. plans to restructure its U.S. theme park operations. They will also be laying off employees but have not specified how many jobs will be cut.
The announcement came less than two weeks after a deadline to accept voluntary buyouts that the company offered to about 600 executives in the Parks and Resorts division. Disney officials declined to say how many executives took a voluntary buyout, but said the number was "satisfactory."
In a memo to employees Wednesday, Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo said the cuts would help build "an organization and cost structure that meet today's economic realities."
In effect, Disney is consolidating many of its behind-the-scenes operations into one unit. For example, separate units in charge of maintenance at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., will be combined into one unit, according to a company official.
The WSJ says attendance to Disney's parks fell 5% in the fourth quarter of 2008 when compared to 2007. That doesn't really seem that bad considering there is a major recession going on but it's bad enough that Disney feels the need to cut costs. Disney's internal outlook for future attendance may not be very optimistic. The company does say that its offer for guests to get in free on their birthdays has helped boost attendance.
Disney is offering refunds on its Baby Einstein DVDs. Consumers can get a $15.99 refund on Baby Einstein DVDs purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 9, 2009. Up to four DVDs can be returned per household. Disney's decision to offer a refund comes after a class-action lawsuit was filed in 2008.
The BBC 
The Wall Street Journal 
