Posted on: Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 in: D23 Expo, Website
We’re going a little off our usual subject, but I wanted to share my videos of a new show at Disneyland features princess Tiana and Prince Naveen of the new movie The Princess and The Frog.
Now, if you remember I wrote a post about the Wizards Pannel at the D23 Expo last month. It was mostly an excuse to post a couple pics I took of Selena and a video or two from the event.
But now I’ve found a very good review of the event from the Official D23 website, and I wanted to share it with you all.
The D23 Arena was THE place to be Sunday afternoon at the Expo for any Disney Channel fan. From the moment the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place entered the room for their panel, they instantly had the crowd under their spell!
But before the main event began, there was a fashion show of the hot new clothing line inspired by the series (available soon in stores like Sears, Wal-Mart and JC Penny) and a screening of the upcoming Wizards season premiere. Then it was time for the real fun to begin. Fresh off their Emmy win the night before for Outstanding Children’s Program, Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone and Maria Canals-Barrera, along with executive producers Peter Murrieta and Todd Greenwald came on stage one by one, statues in hand, and were greeted with a long round of enthusiastic screams of excitement that seemed to echo throughout the entire convention center!
The shouts of joy from the kids in the room never stopped throughout the entire Q and A session, as the gang told stories of their lives before the show, favorite memories from the set, meeting each other for the first time and when they realized the effect the show was making on fans. For Selena, that moment came when a young boy approached her and asked if the magic on the show was real. “I asked him, ‘Do you believe it’s real?’ He almost started crying and said, ‘Yes, I do think it’s real’ and I said, ‘Then that’s all that matters,’” Selena recalled. “That’s when I realized what an impact the show was having on people.”
Then the audience got in on the act with their own questions for the cast - including a marriage proposal for David and Selena receiving a flower from a young male admirer! The Wizards gang also revealed that Harper would be moving in with the Russos this season, Justin would be taking up monster hunting, Max would be conjuring up more spells and Alex, well, she will still be single and causing trouble. As soon as the questions were done and the cast bid the audience adieu, the event was capped off by an amazing performance from Honor Society.
An Emmy win plus one of the warmest and most energetic welcomes at the D23 Expo made for an afternoon even the Wizards group won’t soon forget. “When you win an Emmy, you can celebrate with your family and friends, but to have won this last night and to celebrate with the fans, it’s an unbelievable experience,” Todd tells D23. “To have four thousand people screaming in that room was surreal and it was the cherry on the cake of the whole weekend!”
Its important to remember that paper letters are the key to our efforts, and events are spaced out so you have at least a week to prepare as many as you can. Please refer to our how to help section for addresses: http://help.savedisneyshows.org
Then on the day of the event, you can also send faxes, make phone calls, and use our email program at http://sdsmail.org
Save Ruby & The Rockits
Ruby & The Rockits is an ABC Family original series staring Alexa Vega and the Cassidy brothers. On 09/11/09, Alexa announced on her twitter that the show has not been picked up for a second season: “Ruby didn’t get picked up “
But this doesn’t have to be the end! Save Disney Shows was founded by Kim Possible fans that thought it was that wrong for a “soulless” company to arbitrarily end the show at 65 episodes. We where able to brink KP back by working together. And since then, Disney management has been much more responsive to the wishes of fans, but it’s only natural that problems still arise.
The cancellation of Ruby & The Rockits has to be one of the biggest blunders of the Iger-era at Disney! Any show that brings together Alexa Vega and the Cassidy brothers has scores of untapped potential! There is no justification that warrens ending the series after showing just eight episodes!
Simply put, this cannot be allowed to stand. ABC Family can’t just produce ten episodes and just walk away, not only is it wrong to drop the fans once they’ve started to get invested in the show, it doesn’t make any business sense. What does ABC Family do with 10 episodes? It’s a waste of money not to order a second season.
We don’t know if there are enough fans to make a difference. ABC Family didn’t give the series much of a chance to acquire fans, but if every fan joins our movement, and shows the show to their friends that number will grow. And given the amazing success of the Save Kim Possible Campaign has made, We firmly believe that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we work together – starting right now!
This past September, Disney hosted the “Ultimate Disney Fan Experience,” the D23 Expo, at the Anaheim convention center (across the street from Disneyland). Fans in attendance had unprecedented access to Disney employees and technology including keynote presentations from CEO Robert Iger, Former Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Jay Rasulo, and Animation Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter. These executives presented a wide array of exclusive previews of upcoming film and other projects.
For a fan like SDS Webmaster Greg that loves both the classics and the new stuff, the Expo was like a dream come true. He saw a lot of cool footage, everything from rare shorts from the archives (including a never before shown Mickey mouse cartoon) to the newest unreleased footage (like the first third of The Princess and the Frog).
Greg got to meet some DC stars including Debby Ryan of the Suite Life on Deck, and Tiffany Thornton of Sonny With a Chance. And of course, he let all the stars in attendance know of our movement should we ever be needed to help save any of their shows. He even got to see Miley Cyrus perform “The Climb” at Dick Cook’s presentation!
Kim Possible got a couple mentions. The first was in the “world of disney” video that showcased the scope of the company at the beginning of CEO Robert Iger’s presentation. All of the currently running DC shows where mentioned, but KP and SWAC got slightly more prominent mentions. This video introduction also prominently featured the music of the High School Musical series. The other mention for KP was during Jay Rasulo’s presentation and was about the popular Epcot attraction. Greg stood and clapped – and people around him looked at him like he was nuts!
There where some problems, which was to be expected as Disney’s never done anything like this before, but all in all it was an awesome event.
Everyone should take a look at Greg’s Expo Website. There’s a lot of great information there about the event.
Dick Cook Resigns; Rich Ross Promoted!
Our very own Rich Ross has been selected as the new chairman of the Walt Disney Studios.
Ross was the president of the Disney Channel, and has been our #1 recommended target for letters and emails ever since the founding of SDS. But now that Ross is moving on to the film division, we need to change our strategies.
Well be watching as Disney reshuffles its personnel, and well keep you apprised on whom you need to write to.
Halloween is by far the best recruiting day of the year. All year long we spend a lot of time encouraging everyone to get out there and find more people who don’t yet know about our movement(s). This might be by posting flyers around town, wearing SDS merchandise, and/or by posting about us online.
But on Halloween, kids (and their parents) come right to your door. So put a couple flyers on it. Or pass out handouts with the candy. It’s a great opportunity for near free promotion that should not be wasted. Start printing your flyers and handouts now!
For your convenience, we’ve organized our available flyers and handouts on our Halloween Bash Website. Spread the Word!
Just for the Hannah Montana Fans…
If you’re not a fan of Miley Cyrus or Emily Osment, this section is definitely not for you. For everyone else, Webmaster Greg was lucky enough to see both Miley and Emily perform this past month! Miley is currently on her second major concert tour, “Wonder World,” and she puts on quite a show! And we wanted to share some photos (see below) and videos from Miley’s concert.
A few days after Miley, Greg was able to attend Emily’s free concert in the parking lot of the San Jacinto, CA Wal-Mart store, which also featured Ashlyne Huff. He’s posted the Videos of the Concert which include all six songs from Emily’s upcoming EP "All the Right Wrongs." And check out some of the photos from the event below.
Give a Day. Get a Disney Day
And finally, before we end this edition of the newsletter, we wanted let everyone know about a new program from the Disney parks that will let you in the gates for free! (And we certainly hope everyone has or will take advantage of their free birthday admission this year). What follows is the un-edited announcement from Disney:
Birthdays. Anniversaries. Reunions and beyond. Life gives us so many feel-good reasons to celebrate!
Because youre a valued Passholder, we wanted you to know about a very special program beginning in January 2010. One that gives us all one more reason to celebrate-and that’s the good things we do for each other.
Introducing the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program*. Its how we want to inspire one million people just like you to volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in your community. In turn, well celebrate your efforts by giving you a free one-day admission to Disneyland Resort! As a Passholder, you may choose from one of the following three options instead of receiving the 1-day, 1-Park ticket:
Disney Special FASTPASS cards for certain attractions for you and up to five additional members of your party"
A collectible Ear Hat figurine with exclusive trading pins"
Donate your free ticket to a non-profit organization designated by Disney Parks.
In the next few months, youre going to be hearing more about all the ways you can help. Whether its helping out with animals or environmental programs, mentoring a child, or building a home for someone who doesnt have one, start thinking about what kind of volunteering youd like to do in your area. Visit disneyparks.com to learn about the “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” program!
The "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program. Its something you can truly put your mind, your back and heart into!
This concludes this email news alert. Thanks for reading from all of us at Save Disney Shows.
On the last day of the D23 Expo, we had by far the most amazing event of the entire event, the Wizards of Waverly Place Cast and Crew Panel. In attendance where Selena Gomez (Alex Russo), David Henrie (Justin Russo), Jake T. Austin (Max Russo), Jennifer Stone (Harper), Maria Canals-Barrera (Theresa Russo), Todd J. Greenwald (Creator), and Peter Murrieta (Executive Producer). David DeLuise (Jerry Russo) had been scheduled to appear, but had injured himself the night before when he got a little too exited about their Emmy win.
The event opened with the screening of the first season three episode. In this episode, Justin creates a monster to keep Alex out of his room, but things don’t go as planned.
Alex actually ends up trying out for cheer leading!
And of course, Selena was as cute as ever. Even with her short hair.
Anyway, after the video, they brought out the cast for an hour long Q&A. Most of the questions that Peter asked them where the usual sort of stuff, like “favorite memories” for example. There where more interesting questions from the audience, but most of those questions ened up being requests for hugs from Selena and David! The last question was actually a marriage proposal for David! They brought the girl up on stage and she got down one knee and everything! It was an insanely awesome event.
Check out the videos below to get a feel for it.
After the panel ended, they closed the show with a performance by Honor Society.
On day three of the Expo, I was able to meet my two favorite Disney blonds, Tiffany Thornton and Chelsea Staub!
I don’t know how I was able to breathe, let alone talk, while in Tiffany’s presence. She is just one of the most amazing people, well, ever. I was able to tell her about TiffanyThornton.us and Sonny-with-a-Chance.com!
I can’t remember meeting Chelsea very well, as I was still stunned from meeting Tiffany only moments earlier. But I know I was able to tell her about ChelseaStaub.ws and that I loved her in Minute Men.
Prior to the signing, Chelsea and Tiffany had an audience Q&A session at the Radio disney booth. The full Q&A was some 40 minutes, and I was able to sneak a little bit of video for you all.
This first one is about what to expect on SWAC and JONAS.
This one was what happened when a really little girl asked about promice rings – and why neither Tiffany or Chelsea have one.
And this last one is about how each got her start in Hollywood. Watch for when Tiffany exclaims “What the Heck!?”
So before the D23 Expo, I had looked at Miley’s concert tour schedule to see if it was possible for her to make an appearance at the expo. And for whatever reason (I think I got my dates mixed up, LOL) I was under the impression that Miley wouldn’t be able to make it.
That’s why I was so surprised, shocked, and excited when Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, brought her out on stage on day two of the D23 Expo (09/11/09)!
To round out the talent appearing on stage, Miley Cyrus arrived to help promote the Nicholas Sparks movie she just finished called The Last Song. “I love all of his other movies and to work with someone who kind of inspires you is really cool,” the superstar revealed. “And I remember growing up, my mom would always be reading his books and I always wanted to read them. So now that I can and I’m working with him, it’s really great.” No movie clip was available, but instead, the pop icon thrilled the crowd by singing her smash hit “The Climb.”
Miley did a great job preforming my favorite song of hers. And it was great to finally see her in person! I did think it was kinda weird they didn’t have a clip from The Last Song for us though.
Of course, Miley wasn’t the only star to show up on Friday. Actors John Travolta, Johnny Depp, and Nicolas Cage where all there. As where directors Jerry Bruckheimer and Tim Burton. It was a really unbelievable experience.
Miley was the least welcome star though. At the announcement of her name, I heard people behind me groan and one exclaimed “Oh come on!” And I believe that person actually worked for Disney! The people right in front of me actually left when Miley came out. I hope they didn’t mind missing Johnny Depp too!
Okay, so it’s been real quiet around here the past few days because I was at the D23 Expo from Thursday through Sunday. I was tweeting the whole time, and you can still find those comments on my twitter (@anitrain).
On Saturday, I got to meet the fabulous Tiffany Thornton and the lovely Chelsea Staub. I told Tiff about my fansite TiffanyThornton.us and my SWAC fansite Sonny-With-A-Chance.com. She said the was gonna check them out!
I met a lot of other cool people, like Nicole Anderson, Doug Brochu, and Cody Linley. I didn’t have websites just for them, so I told them about DC Fans and Save Disney Shows.
And I didn’t get to meet Selena Gomez, but I did get to see her in person at the Wizards panel in the arena!
Besides all the Disney Channel stuff, I saw presentations and sneak peaks of Disney’s upcoming live action and film projects, new developments for the theme parks (which included Darth Vader demanding that the new Star Tours attraction open no later than 2011. And he brought storm troopers).
I even met and got the autograph of Disney Legend Mary Costa, the voice of princess Aurora!
It was really an unbelievable experience. I’ve uploaded photos and videos from the event to my special expo website http://d23expo.g2i.us/ And I’ll post more of the Disney Channel stuff here over the next couple days.
She just posted on her twitter: “I’m gonna be hanging out at D-23 at the Anaheim Convention Center this Thursday, autographs from 2-3pm. Come on by if you want a scribble!”
And this solves the great mystery of who from Disney Channel will be at the 23 Expo on Thursday. Well, I suppose someone else could join her, but now at least I know I need to get over there on Thursday.
I’m so excited! Just over a day left until it’s time!
And now they’ve released a press release that says Honor Society will be preforming at the Expo on Sunday. I can only assume that 2+2=4 and that Honor Society is that surprise musical guest.
But I won’t know for sure until the event. And I’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes!
HONOR SOCIETY TO PERFORM AT D23 EXPO ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Hot new recording artists Honor Society, the first band signed to Jonas Brothers’ joint venture label with Disneys Hollywood Records, will perform during the largest Disney fan gathering ever, D23 EXPO on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 (2:00-4:00 p.m.) at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The bands debut album, "Fashionably Late," will release on September 15 and its first single, “Over You,” is now rolling out on radio stations nationwide.
Delivering an R&B/pop/rock sound, skilled musicianship, energetic live shows and a sense of style, Honor Society was named a breakout band to watch by Rolling Stone, identified as Buzzworthy Artists by MTV and opened for one of the most popular tour this year, Jonas Brother World Tour 2009 with Jordin Sparks.
Honor Society built its substantial and loyal fan base by utilizing social networks including Twitter, You Tube and over 3.5 million music plays on MySpace (www.myspace.com/honorsociety).
Their hit single, “Where Are You Now?,” is #16 on the Radio Disney Top 30 and appears on the soundtrack to “Bandslam.” The band is currently headlining a club tour, The Full Moon Crazy Tour, and recently sold out New York’s famed Fillmore Theater at Irving Plaza and L.A.s House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. Their "Fashionably Late" nationwide concert tours begins in September.
Honor Society is: Michael Bruno (lead vocals, guitar), Andrew Lee (bass, backing vocals), Alexander Noyes (drums) and Jason Rosen (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals).
Sunday afternoon at D23 EXPO will also feature popular radio personality Ernie D from Radio Disney, the 24-hour contemporary hits radio network and the only radio broadcaster for kids and families, and “A Magical Afternoon with ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,” with the entire cast of the series — Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone, Maria Canals-Barrera and David DeLuise, plus series executive producers Todd Greenwald and Peter Murietta. The Radio Disney Road Crew will be on hand with the “JONAS” Fan Van, playing music and inviting young fans to win prizes.
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