Talya Appelbaum recently had a "High School Musical" birthday party. She got special balloons and a slice of cake decorated with the spoiled Sharpay, her favorite character because "she's with Ryan."
It's well past the kids' bedtime, but no one is nagging the preschoolers and kindergartners to brush their teeth and go to sleep.
Summer's almost here. So, when it comes to looking at the strength of the Walt Disney Company, it's natural to zero in on the media conglomerate's domestic theme parks and their potential to lure vacationers this year. Some of the company's closest observers insist the specter of looming recession, consumer confidence at a 16-year low, and increasing gas prices all spell doom for Disney's magic kingdom.
Walt Disney Co. reported sales and profit for the fiscal second quarter Tuesday that exceeded expectations, a sign that advertising spending and theme park attendance is holding up in a tough economy.
At a time of upheaval in the media business, Walt Disney has had a string of hits the likes of which it hasn't had since, well, the early tenure of former CEO Michael Eisner in the 1980s. Three years after succeeding Eisner - and confounding skeptics in the process - CEO Bob Iger talked to Fortune's Richard Siklos about buying Pixar, pulling Disney out of a creative slump with new megafranchises like "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical," working with Steve Jobs, and wrestling with the image of a certain mouse. Edited excerpts:
The next time the kids balk at doing their math or science homework, tell them about Chrissie, Kevin, Marc, Dustin and Steph.
Stocks regained some ground Wednesday as many investors, though still uneasy about the economy, decided to buy back into a market battered a day earlier by recession worries
Walt Disney reported greater than expected sales and earnings for its latest quarter Tuesday thanks to strength at its ESPN cable network and its theme park business.
Its newest Broadway show gets the usual kiss-off from the critics. What's their problem?
It's always a struggle to whittle down our top 10 list, but this month it proved impossible. So we've taken our 10 favorite songs -- one from each of 10 movie genres. And there were still some tantrums in the office... so we've drawn up our top ten original soundtracks, too.
Talya Appelbaum recently had a "High School Musical" birthday party. She got special balloons and a slice of cake decorated with the spoiled Sharpay, her favorite character because "she's with Ryan."
It's well past the kids' bedtime, but no one is nagging the preschoolers and kindergartners to brush their teeth and go to sleep.
Summer's almost here. So, when it comes to looking at the strength of the Walt Disney Company, it's natural to zero in on the media conglomerate's domestic theme parks and their potential to lure vacationers this year. Some of the company's closest observers insist the specter of looming recession, consumer confidence at a 16-year low, and increasing gas prices all spell doom for Disney's magic kingdom.
Walt Disney Co. reported sales and profit for the fiscal second quarter Tuesday that exceeded expectations, a sign that advertising spending and theme park attendance is holding up in a tough economy.
At a time of upheaval in the media business, Walt Disney has had a string of hits the likes of which it hasn't had since, well, the early tenure of former CEO Michael Eisner in the 1980s. Three years after succeeding Eisner - and confounding skeptics in the process - CEO Bob Iger talked to Fortune's Richard Siklos about buying Pixar, pulling Disney out of a creative slump with new megafranchises like "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical," working with Steve Jobs, and wrestling with the image of a certain mouse. Edited excerpts:
The next time the kids balk at doing their math or science homework, tell them about Chrissie, Kevin, Marc, Dustin and Steph.
Stocks regained some ground Wednesday as many investors, though still uneasy about the economy, decided to buy back into a market battered a day earlier by recession worries
Walt Disney reported greater than expected sales and earnings for its latest quarter Tuesday thanks to strength at its ESPN cable network and its theme park business.
Its newest Broadway show gets the usual kiss-off from the critics. What's their problem?
It's always a struggle to whittle down our top 10 list, but this month it proved impossible. So we've taken our 10 favorite songs -- one from each of 10 movie genres. And there were still some tantrums in the office... so we've drawn up our top ten original soundtracks, too.
This month on the Screening Room we're turning to the wonderful world of animated films.
This month, the Screening Room celebrates the release of "The Simpsons Movie" with its top 10 animated feature films. From Disney to Ghibli, Buzz to Beauty, we've picked our favorites - the ones that have charmed us, touched us and made us laugh out loud.
Happy family cruises are all alike because they allow parents and kids to each be happy in his or her own way. A parent of a toddler, for instance, might be happiest with a cruise that provides trustworthy child-care services at flexible hours. Children, of course, have their own priorities. A teen, say, will probably want lots of activities for socializing after 10 P.M.
On a trip to Disneyland, Marco McFarren and his girlfriend participate in a program that allows them to buy a CD of photos taken by cast members for $59.99. But wait! The CD actually costs $124.95 when it's ordered from the Disney Web site. Is Mickey holding their vacation photos hostage, or was McFarren given the wrong information?
Ousted Children's Place Chief Executive Ezra Dabah said he has hired Bear, Stearns & Co. to advise him on a potential acquisition of the company in combination with unidentified private equity or strategic partners.
It's 7 p.m. Homework is done, and cheerleading practice is over.
The Walt Disney Co. will pull the plug on its branded cell-phone service by the end of the year, the company said Thursday.
Hong Kong Disneyland, a major showcase of Disney entertainment for mainland China, celebrated its second anniversary Wednesday amid disappointing attendance and alleged labor problems.
The Walt Disney Co. will begin testing toys featuring its characters in an effort to ensure product safety ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, according to a pair of reports published Monday.
Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. Thursday posted a preliminary quarterly net loss that nearly doubled, hurt by fees related to a stock option probe and said its license agreement with Walt Disney Co. could be jeopardized by several missed deadlines.
After a blaze of publicity, Walt Disney Co. Friday launched the sequel to its surprise, blockbuster TV musical "High School Musical," aiming to retain its spell over the preteen set.
Walt Disney Co. reported a 4.7 percent increase in net profit Wednesday, driven by strong television program sales and higher receipts at its theme parks.
Walt Disney has a lot riding on the sequel to the wildly successful "High School Musical" movie. "High School Musical 2" premieres on the Disney Channel on Aug. 17.
It's grown-up time.
Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. Monday said weak sales at its Children's Place and Disney Store chains caused a 4 percent decline in June same-store sales, forcing the retailer to forecast a wider net loss for the current quarter than analysts had expected.
Lasting lessons from business leaders who've gone to the great corner office in the sky.
Disney Mobile, Sprint and Verizon lent the Hannons phones for two weeks. They used them at home in Indianapolis and on a family vacation to Longboat Key, Fla.
Peter Parker set a new box office record two weeks ago and then that big green ogre followed up with the best opening for an animated movie ever this past weekend.
It's hardly Harvard, or even the University of Phoenix. But Walt Disney is getting into the education business.
Walt Disney, the media company that owns the ABC TV network and Disney movie studio, said Tuesday that earnings for its fiscal second quarter increased 27 percent, topping analysts' expectations.
How many 8 year-olds do you see running around, gabbing or furiously text-messaging on their cell phones?
Disney Stores North America and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday announced a recall of Baby Einstein caterpillar pajamas and Baby Einstein duck pajamas due to a risk of burn injury to children.
Take-Two Interactive Software, the troubled maker of the popular Grand Theft Auto series of video games, has said that it might consider a sale.
The Walt Disney Co. has changed its policy to allow same-sex couples to participate in a popular Fairy Tale Wedding program it runs mainly at its two U.S. resorts and cruise line, a Disney spokesman said Thursday.
Eleven-year-old Liana Crandall, a fifth-grader in St. Louis, is a typical overscheduled kid. When she isn't playing soccer or basketball after school, she's swimming or singing in the choir. But sh...
For generations, princesses in Walt Disney Co. films have captured the hearts of little girls dreaming of living happily ever after. In the past few years, fairytales' leading ladies have become increasingly diverse, and the Walt Disney Co. recently announced that Princess Maddy would be the studio's first black princess.
Walt Disney Co. Wednesday reported solid gains in sales and profits for the latest quarter, driven by healthy sales of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Cars" DVDs as well as strong results at its ESPN and ABC networks.
So far, 2007 is looking an awfully lot like last year for major media companies.
For more than half a century the fairy from Peter Pan has been a signature Disney character. Lately, though, she's been sharing the spotlight with a newcomer to the Magic Kingdom: Hannah Montana.
On a humid afternoon on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, monsoon-season thunderclouds release torrents of rain. Some of the 1,700 workers at the Danu Vina factory, who make Mickey Mouse and other...
You would think Walt Disney would have a major problem on it hands in trying to market its new movie "Apocalypto."
A fast-growing economy has created new career options for young women.
Late on a humid afternoon on the industrial outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, as loudspeakers inside the gated compound of the Linh Trung Export Processing Zone play a melody releasing workers from th...
As the blue-chip stock indexes rally, many big high-quality growth stocks are perking up. As they do, investors have to determine which stocks still have substantial room to advance.
Tech stocks edged higher early Friday afternoon, while the broader market struggled as investors took in earnings from AIG and Disney.
Stocks bounced back Friday as investors mulled falling oil prices, a weaker dollar and strong earnings from the likes of Disney and AIG after the close of trade Thursday.
Most media stocks have enjoyed a revival on Wall Street this year after a disappointing 2005. But whether or not the group finishes the year on a strong note will largely depend on what three industry leaders say in their upcoming earnings releases.
That real estate slowdown you keep reading about? It certainly isn't taking place in the virtual world.
Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks, ranks No. 13 on Fortune's 2006 list of 50 Most Powerful Women.
Walt Disney ranks no. 180 on FORTUNE's Global 500 this year, with $31.9 billion in revenues, up 3.9% from the previous year. The Burbank, California-based company was ranked no. 159 on the 2005 list. Its 2005 profits were $2.5 billion, up 8% from a year earlier.
The new Mark Wahlberg football drama "Invincible" lived up to its immodest name at the weekend box office in North America but overall ticket sales resumed their decline as the lucrative summer moviegoing period drew to a close.
After a series of interest rate increases lasting more than two years, the Federal Reserve decided last week to hold rates steady. The chief reason for the change in policy was concern that the economy is slowing.
Walt Disney and News Corp. are the Midases of media this year: Just about everything they've touched has turned to gold.
Summer was once a quiet time in the media world. "Things used to slow down," an ad agency honcho sighed the other day. "You used to be able to leave early on Friday afternoon." Not this year. While...
Summer was once a quiet time in the media world. "Things used to slow down," an ad agency honcho sighed the other day. "You used to be able to leave early on Friday afternoon." Not this year. While executives may long for an escape to the beach, they've got some heated conflicts to resolve first. A sampler:
This story is an update of one that originally ran on July 5.
May was a cruel month, as inflation fears battered share prices. Ten of the Sivy 70 were down more than 10% as of May 24. The worst losers: Aetna and UnitedHealth Group, the former sandbagged by ri...
The boy who collapsed and died after riding a Disney roller coaster ride may have had a congenital heart abnormality, according to preliminary autopsy findings released Friday.
A 12-year-old boy was pronounced dead after he rode a roller coaster at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Walt Disney Co. Wednesday named ex-Procter & Gamble CEO and Disney director John Pepper as non-executive chairman, succeeding former Senator George Mitchell.
You don't often find examples of the best and worst executive teams involving the same person, but consider the case of Michael Eisner. For the first ten years of his reign at Disney, he and COO Frank Wells formed one of corporate America's great teams.
When Disney bought Pixar, the upstart studio took over the creative direction of Disney's own once-renowned, now-flailing animation operations . For Iger, the deal is a bet-the-house gamble to save Disney animation from creative oblivion. For Pixar (and now Disney) animation head John Lasseter, who once got fired by Disney, it is sweet vindication.
High-quality blue chips, such as the stocks on the Sivy 70 list, have been having a bad time over the past couple of weeks. Recent earnings reports for Target, Sara Lee, Cisco, AIG and Viacom have all disappointed shareholders.
HERE'S THE SCENE: It's 3 P.M., Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Sound Stage 7 on the studio lot of Walt Disney Co. in Burbank. Five hundred cartoon people--artists, producers, voice artists, etc.--are jammed into the warehouse-like building, murmuring and fidgeting in anticipation. Just yesterday, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Pixar chairman Steve Jobs announced a surprise $7.4 billion deal in which Pixar Animation Studios, which brought the world the Toy Story movies, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, would become a wholly-owned part of Disney. The deal is surprising because Pixar's longtime distribution pact with Disney fell apart in acrimony and is due to expire after the release in June of Cars, a kaleidoscopic celebration of racing, Route 66, and life in the slow lane. But in an amazing plot twist, not only is Pixar becoming part of Disney, but the upstart studio is also taking over the creative direction of Disney's own flailing animation operations--the people in this very room! For Iger, the deal is a bet-the-ho...
Walt Disney, one of the world's largest media companies, reported better than expected fiscal second-quarter earnings Tuesday thanks to strength in its network TV and cable business. But revenues were a bit lower than analysts were hoping for due to sales declines in the company's film studio and consumer products businesses.
College students would rather have a good health plan than make a lot of money, and many of them want to work at the magical world of Disney, according to a survey released Monday.
With the average price of gas hovering at just under $3 a gallon nationwide, will Americans cut back on going to theme parks this summer?
When The Walt Disney Co. was accused of condoning sweatshop conditions in China, the story made headlines and the company swung into emergency-response mode.
Disney Channel's romance between jock-turned-singer Troy (left) and adorable geek Gabriella (below) has gone from TV movie to global cultural phenomenon. What's up with that?
A 49-year-old woman who died after riding on Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space" ride suffered a stroke linked to her high blood pressure, according to preliminary autopsy results released Friday by the Orange County medical examiner.
There's something for young and old and everyone in between at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show that opened here yesterday. While most of the new mobile handsets introduced here are aimed at active adults -- more than 70 percent of whom already have a mobile phone, according to market research -- at least two new services are hoping to dial up seniors and kids.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The magic is back for shareholders of Walt Disney.
The Hell's Angels Motorcycle Corp. is suing a division of Walt Disney, Buena Vista Motion Pictures and a film production company for infringing on its trademark in the development and production of "Wild Hogs," a comedy about middle-aged bikers.
Stocks made tentative gains Tuesday morning after a weaker open as investors welcomed falling oil prices and upbeat earnings from Walt Disney and Coca-Cola.
Smartest CEO: ROBERT IGER
JUST 12 DAYS AFTER BOB IGER BECAME CEO of Walt Disney Co., he made a splash by agreeing to let Apple sell ABC's television shows over the Internet. So before flying to Los Angeles to see Iger, I pa...
Mickey Mouse and Nemo are now corporate cousins. Walt Disney has announced that it is buying Pixar, the animated studio led by Apple head Steve Jobs, in a deal worth $7.4 billion.
The Mickey Mouse Club may soon have a prominent new member...and Walt Disney investors couldn't be more delighted.
It's a percolating Monday folks ...
Just 12 days after Bob Iger became CEO of Walt Disney Co., he made a splash by agreeing to let Apple sell ABC's television shows over the Internet.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The Mickey Mouse Club may soon have a prominent new member...and Walt Disney investors couldn't be more delighted.
The next generation of McDonald's Happy Meal toys could be a partial movie download from Walt Disney Co. into a specialized portable media player, according to a published report.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Walt Disney is obviously crossing its fingers and rooting for its first Narnia movie, due out on Friday, to be a big hit.
Although Disney recently reported earnings that were better than expected for the quarter and fiscal year that just ended, investors were still disappointed, and uncertain about the company's longer-term prospects.
A boy who died this summer after riding the "Mission Space" ride at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando had a pre-existing heart condition, according to autopsy reports.
A quick survey: have the clouds over Wall Street cleared?
While Pixar delivered a strong third quarter, analysts and investors say the real story is whether the animation company will renew its film distribution agreement with Disney.
For years, one of the worst kept secrets in business was the extraordinary lengths that CEOs had to go to in order to be terminated "for cause," and thus forfeit their stunning severance payouts. S...
"It's hard to make a film that's ... not embarrassing,'' says director Sydney Pollack.
AS: Andrew Stevens BI: Bob Iger
Outgoing Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner will leave the media conglomerate this week without fanfare, according to a published report.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Hong Kong Disneyland theme park opened with much fanfare on Monday.
Just after one o'clock on a steamy afternoon, hundreds of Chinese sprinted down Main St, U.S.A., past the Corner Cafe and Sweet Store in their Disney T-shirts and caps, gripping their cameras.
Disneyland flung open its gates in Hong Kong on Monday in its first foray into the massive China market.
Walt Disney Co., giving shareholders a much greater voice in the makeup of its board, unveiled a new rule Thursday that would force a board member to resign if a majority of shareholders withhold their support.
The National Labor Committee, an anti-sweatshop advocacy group that once exposed labor abuses in apparel produced for Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing line, made new charges Thursday against The Walt Disney Company, releasing a videotape alleging that two Chinese factories making books for Disney operate under unsafe conditions.
Disney can thank a handful of housewives - Desperate Housewives, to be specific - for its better-than-expected third quarter earnings.
These should be wonderful times at the world of Walt Disney.
THE WORD OUT OF ALLEN & CO.'S ANNUAL mogulfest in Sun Valley, Idaho, this month is that Eisner and Ovitz still aren't speaking. Which isn't surprising. Epic feuds are as much a part of Hollywood as...
Walt Disney Co. is looking at a possible sale of its radio unit in a deal that could value the operation at about $3 billion, according to a published report.
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