Disney Dish: Mickey Mouse's Public Domain Entry & Never-Made Attractions

Disney Parks News and Updates

• 🎆 Disney Enchantment is a new projection show coming to Magic Kingdom, extending projection technology down Main Street, U.S.A., with potential for seasonal overlays.
• 🎇 Harmonious, a new nighttime spectacular, is set to begin at Epcot on October 1st.
• ✨ The Beacons of Light four-park lighting package will debut for the 50th anniversary, featuring special lighting on Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Tower of Terror, and the Tree of Life.
• 🎬 A new Tower of Terror movie is in development, produced by Scarlett Johansson, with a script by Josh Cooley (director of Toy Story 4).
• 🪁 KiteTails, a new daytime show featuring kites, will debut at Animal Kingdom's Discovery River amphitheater.
• 🚶‍♂️ The rope drop procedure at Magic Kingdom has reverted to holding guests in the central hub until park opening.
• 🎟️ FastPass kiosks have been uncovered, and a new system potentially called Disney Access Plus is being hinted at, suggesting a return or evolution of the FastPass system.
• 🌭 The park's best hot dogs have returned to Liberty Square Market at Magic Kingdom.

Operational Challenges and Cast Member Concerns

• 🚌 Disney is experiencing a shortage of bus drivers, leading to the use of unmarked VIP coaches and importing drivers from out of state.
• 🏘️ Rising rent prices in Central Florida are creating housing affordability issues for frontline Cast Members, potentially impacting recruitment and retention.
• 🚗 The average cost of a used car has increased significantly, further straining the budgets of lower-wage Cast Members.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World Planning

• 🎢 For a two-day trip to Disneyland, focusing on classic attractions in Fantasyland and highlights like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean is recommended, especially with young children.
• 🗓️ Planning a Walt Disney World trip about a year in advance is advised for hotel availability and crowd insights.
• 🎟️ If FastPass returns, using it for shows like Fantasmic! or opting for a dinner package is suggested for reserved seating.
• ⚙️ The rollout of Genie is expected to impact touring plans, but its exact features and pricing are still unknown.

Mickey Mouse and Intellectual Property

• 🐭 As of January 1st, 2024, the original Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse is set to enter the public domain.
• ⚖️ Disney is strategically releasing new iterations of Mickey Mouse, like the Paul Rudish shorts, to create confusion and potentially leverage legal arguments against unauthorized use of the character.
• 🎬 Major corporations are actively reinterpreting classic characters (e.g., Warner Bros. with Tom and Jerry, Space Jam) to maintain control over newer versions as older copyrights expire.
• 🏛️ The discussion raises questions about the principle of copyright extension and why certain characters, like Mickey Mouse, receive extended protection compared to literary works.

Never-Built Mickey Mouse Attractions

• 💡 An early concept for a Mickey Mouse ride involved a cartoonish vaudeville theater with animatronic characters performing for an audience, but technological limitations in the early 1960s made it unfeasible.
• 🎶 The Mickey Mouse Review, an animatronic orchestra show, opened in Magic Kingdom but closed within nine months and was relocated to Tokyo Disneyland.
• 🎢 Several other Mickey Mouse-themed ride concepts were developed over the decades, including Mickey's Mad House, Circus Mickey, and Mickey's Movie Land.
• 🎯 Mickey's Midway Mania was a proposed interactive shooting gallery ride that was shelved after Disney acquired Pixar, with its concepts later reworked into Toy Story Midway Mania!

Personal Anecdotes and Memories

• ✍️ A listener shared a story of potentially meeting Walt Disney at the opening of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln in 1965, with a possible sighting of Mary Blair.
• 🧵 The creation of Disneyland character costumes in the late 1950s and early 1960s was a lengthy and challenging process, prioritizing cast member comfort and safety.
• 🚂 The Disneyland Monorail extension to the Disneyland Hotel in 1961 was considered a thrilling attraction in its own right.