Disneyland visitor falls from 'Tower of Terror'

Perhaps a good tip for amusement park operators, particularly those operating under the slogan 'The Happiest Place on Earth', would be not to actually perpetuate the name of the rides you build.

Disneyland's so-called 'Tower of Terror' did just that, a television newsroom has reported, after a guest fell some 25 feet while waiting to hop onboard one of the ride's elevators.

Although the ride is actually made to have guests drop down several flights of stairs in just a matter of seconds, Disney hopes that guests opt to use the tower's built-in terror elevators.

The 20-year old climbed a rail and fell off - having had alcohol - and having just joked to his friends about the potential of actually falling off.

He was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.

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Woman sues Disney, claims she was molested by Donald Duck

A Pennsylvania woman, having visited Disney World Florida's Epcot Centre theme park, is suing the Walt Disney Company because - she claims - an employee of the company dressed as Donald Duck 'grabbed her breast and molested her' after she sought an autograph from the much loved character.

According to the report filed under the lawsuit, the Duck made gestures with his 'snowy white hands' indicating he had done something wrong. The 27 year old was visiting Epcot in May 2008 with her fiancee and children.

She claims that as a result of the incident, she has suffered “severe physical injury, emotional anguish and distress including, but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder.”


She is suing the company, who is looking to have the case moved into federal court, for negligence, battery, and infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages.

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LA billionaire snaps up Disney's Mirimax for $600 million

Mirimax, the film unit owned by Walt Disney, has been sold by the media conglomerate for $675 million to a consortium of investors including Colony Capital and Ron Tutor, the Financial Times [in addition to Market Watch] are reporting this morning. According to Market Watch:

TheWrap.com reported that Burbank, Calif.-based Disney agreed to sell the virtually defunct studio to Los Angeles billionaire Ronald Tutor and his partners, Morgan Creek studios, financial house Colony Capital and Hollywood mogul David Bergstein.

Disney officials would not comment on the report.

Citing various unnamed sources, TheWrap said the studio would be run as a standalone company with Morgan Creek acting as a distribution partner.

Read the full article here: [FT] [Market Watch] 

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Hollywood's hoping Buzz Lightyear will come to the rescue, sending their profits to infinity...and beyond

You'll have to excuse the sorry pun that titles this post, but it is very much a true statement. Disney/Pixar's new installment in the Toy Story franchise is the movie Hollywood execs hope will help bolster profits for all studios, the New York Times reported. Read the full article at NYT.

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