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Armed with our telephoto lens, we were able
to get some pretty good shots of the ceremonies that were kicked
off by LeAnn Rimes singing the theme to the 18 month celebration,
"Remember When". Bob Igar, Disney's
new CEO, took the stage to thank cast members worldwide. Then the
wheels feel off the well scripted wagon when outgoing CEO
Michael Eisner was introduced.
The crowd of nearly 93,000 broke
out into boo's and chants of "We want Roy", alluding to Roy
Disney the nephew of Walt Disney who has attacked Eisner's
decision to close the Orlando animation studio that made films
such as Lilo & Stitch.
When the video of the ceremony was played
for the media later the boo's were replaced with cheers.
The crowd defiantly went nuts for the next
three announcers. Julie Andrews and Art Linkletter took to the
stage before former Mousketeer Christiana Aguilera sang "When
You Wish Upon a Star". Then all the characters made their way to
the stage for the largest Disney homecoming ever.
Unlike 50 years ago when the heat was a
problem for the Disney people, this time they had to deal with
rain. And rain they got. Just before the ceremony and the
all-new “Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams,” a larger-than-life
spectacular, the clouds opened and the rain came in buckets.
Michael W. Geoghegan plays host to a
PodCast of the three day celebration, including interviews,
stories and other exciting events direct from the Disneyland
Resort. Click on
PodCast to download your own MP3 files of the show.
If you haven't been to the park in a while
or were there just last year, you will be surprised at how much
work went into preparing for the celebration.
As annual pass holders, my family travels
to Disneyland at least three times a year. We were pleasantly
surprised at how clean the Disney folks have made the park.
If you get a chance check out the happiest
place on Earth. You'll be happy you did. |
