Mayor Curt Pringle of Anaheim, California, has proposed to build a monorail to connect the tourist area with a planned transportation hub. He is planning on seeking funding from private businesses to build a monorail from Disneyland area to the proposed Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The mayor doubts the city will get the $250 million needed so has been reaching out to businesses like Disney to help fund it. The system would likely serve about 2.6 million people annually.

[Via Orange County Register & Netcot]

written by Luke Manning

Although it’s only been a couple weeks since MacWorld, the Apple rumor machine is still going strong — this time with news of updated MacBook Pros. Apparently a utility called MiniBatteryLogger that provides public tracking stats recently got a record from a machine identifying itself as a “MacBookPro4,1″ — current machines being “MacBookPro3,1.” That jives with entries for the same machine in dev builds of 10.5.2, and apparently the machine posted from an Apple IP address — which means, thrillingly, that Apple has updated MacBook Pros somewhere in development. We would have never guessed. Still, let’s hope we see them sooner rather than later — we might be ambivalent towards the MacBook Air, but we’re definitely interested in scoring a multi-touch trackpad.

[Via Mac Rumors]

written by Jose Castillo

Going back on Monday’s post… According to WDW News Today, the permit filed for “Imagination Demolition” is only part of the routine refurbishment now going on inside Epcot’s Imagination pavilion. So according to Tom’s post, the refurbishment now will probably not happen for a while. But it will happen… eventually.

Read the full post on WDW News Today

written by Luke Manning

Walt Disney Records has been quietly re-releasing long unavailable material from its vast archives on iTunes over the past year or so, and happily, a number of new selections have hit the iTunes store today. The titles are:

• Westward Ho the Wagons
• Italiannette
• Annette Sings Anka
• Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

And quite significantly, the original soundtrack from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

According to Walt Disney Records producer Randy Thornton–

“This is HOPEFULLY the beginning of a new line (only time will tell). Also, when you purchase this title, you can download a Digital Booklet with behind-the-scenes photos, and illustrations. I’ve written a brief “Producer’s Note” outlining the background of the project, and there is (the highlight for me) liner notes from my new friend, composer John Debney . . . It’s taken me over 10 years to get this released, and it was definitely worth the wait! Thanks very much for all your patience, enthusiasm and support for this great, classic stuff.”

Thornton continues to be one of the true unsung heroes of Disney-related historical preservation. He has been tireless in his efforts to find and restore these vintage recordings and insure their availability to what is undeniably a very small audience of enthusiasts. Thornton is well known to Disney music fans as the person who produces the Official Disneyland and Walt Disney World music collections; he was notably responsible for the amazing and near-definitive Musical History of Disneyland collection, released during the park’s recent 50th Anniversary celebration.

In addition, five albums that were previously available at the Disneyland/Walt Disney World Wonderland music-on-demand kiosks have been added to the archive releases available on iTunes. Those titles are:

• Meet Me Down On Main Street
• A Musical Tour of France with Maurice Chevalier
• Songs from Lady and the Tramp
• The Disney Afternoon
• Country Bear Jamboree

One special note about today’s releases–a number of readers have contacted me recently concerning the song “The Ballad of John Colter.” Fess Parker performed the song in Westward Ho the Wagons and it is available on the collection released today. It is also included on the archive release Fess Parker - Cowboy and Indian Songs, also available on iTunes.

[Via 2719 HYPERION]

written by Luke Manning

This press release confirms a new addition to Spaceship Earth, that nobody expected. And that new addition is bolded in the press release bellow:

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Jan. 28 PRNewswire- Spaceship Earth, the iconic centerpiece of Epcot, relaunches in February with changes and refinements installed during more than seven months of construction and detailing. Presented by Siemens, the relaunched Spaceship Earth looks on the outside like it did when Epcot opened a quarter century ago. But on the inside, Spaceship Earth has undergone changes since summer 2007 that will treat guests to an innovative “interactive” attraction with many new scenes, new costumes and set decorations, new lighting and special effects, a new musical score and narration, and a totally re-themed interactive post-show.

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 caves to the cosmos. During the journey, new scenes depict: a family in the late 1960s viewing the moon landing on television; a massive, two-story computer room of the late 1960s with reel-to-reel-computers; a garage of the early 1970s where the “personal computer” is born; and a “tech tunnel” in which guests become part of a digital data stream. Even scenes that guests have experienced since 1982 have been touched by the project. “Practically every Audio-Animatronics figure in Spaceship Earth has been updated in one way or another,” said Show Producer Bob Zalk of Walt Disney Imagineering. “To make the figures more realistic, they’ve received a makeover of everything from their hair to their costumes to their movements.” Meanwhile, the makeover of the narration and music benefited from some “star power”:

– The new narration is delivered by English actress Dame Judi Dench, who earned an Oscar as best supporting actress in 1999 for her role in the motion picture “Shakespeare in Love.” While Dench delivers the ride vehicle narration in English, guests can also choose five other languages for their vehicle, a Disney “first” - French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

– The new musical score was composed by Bruce Broughton, who has won a record 10 Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy during a career writing in every medium - from theatrical releases and TV feature films to the concert stage and computer games. A 62-piece orchestra and 24-voice choir brings his latest composition to life. As the ride-through adventure nears its finish, interactive touch-screens in the ride vehicles light up with a series of questions, soliciting guests’ preferences concerning things such as where they’d like to live and work in the future. Then guests are treated to a personalized view of themselves in their idyllic future.

When guests disembark the time travel experience, they are invited to visit “Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow” presented by Siemens, 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. Project Tomorrow includes:

– Body Builder, a 3-D interactive 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 avoidance systems developed by Siemens.

– Innervision, a view into the future of medical diagnostics in the home.

– Power City, a game that demonstrates how to manage power in a growing city. Epcot is the Walt Disney World discovery park, where guests are immersed in a celebration of both technological accomplishments and international cultural achievements.

The 305-acre theme park encompasses two unique worlds — Future World and World Showcase — with attractions, shows, entertainment, dining, shopping and architectural wonders. Epcot is part of the 25,000-acre Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, Fla. For more information, guests may call 407/824-4321 or visit http://www.disneyworld.com/.

Siemens AG is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $107.4 billion in fiscal 2006. Founded 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas of Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $21.4 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens’ worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 480,000 people in 190 countries.

[Via WDW News Today]

written by Luke Manning