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I’m so far behind in posting photos from our various trips, so I figured I need to at least post the pictures from our Walt Disney World trip last month.  We were there June 8-13, staying at Wilderness Lodge, our new favorite resort. Although Yacht and Beach Club still have the most convenient location, Wilderness Lodge (WL) has incredible theming as well as a great location.  From the minute you set foot in the lobby, you may as well be in the Pacific Northwest.  The pool area is one of the best at WDW with a mountain stream flowing directly into the pool.  And you can hop a boat or take a nature hike over to Fort Wilderness (we didn’t try the trails, but hope to do that next time), or take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and Contemporary Resort.  One night we had dinner at Citricos at the Grand Floridian and took the boat from WL to Magic Kingdom (MK), then switched to another boat to the Grand Floridian (GF), then headed back after dinner via monorail to the Contemporary, then boat again to WL.  We hit all of the major parks, watched the space shuttle liftoff (as mentioned in a previous post), and were filmed in a crowd for an upcoming Wonderful World of Disney episode.  A great vacation as always!

I have pictures uploaded from the first three days, coverin the Magic Kingdom and Star Wars Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios.    The space shuttle photos are there as well.  Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite. Head over to my Walt Disney World 2007 gallery for more.

Technorati Tags: Walt Disney World, Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian, Disney, Star Wars Weekends, Disney-MGM Studios, Liberty Belle, Cinderella Castle

Disney and Pixar are expected to announce a major deal soon. I think the best option for both companies would be for Disney to acquire Pixar and put Steve Jobs (a major Disney shareholder after the acquisition) on the board. Put John Lasseter in charge of all Disney animation, including the new Pixar division, and you’d have a win-win for everyone.

Pixar brings Disney a steady new stream of successful movies and characters. Disney brings Pixar the marketing muscle and outlets to extend those stories and characters into so many areas, such as the theme parks for example. Without that, Pixar just makes movies. One of these days Pixar is going to release a so-so movie, so it is better to make a deal now when they’re batting a thousand.

If Jobs really wanted to find a new partner, he would have done so by now. The fact that he waited until Eisner was gone, made it clear that he wanted to be in business with Disney… just not with Michael.

Found out tonight that the Blue Bayou restaurant at Disneyland now accepts priority seating up to 60 days in advance. Previously you had to make reservations at the restaurant the day of your visit, or if you were a hotel guest, you could make reservations for the following day. So now we’re all set for an 11:30 lunch next month. Mmm, can’t wait for my Monte Cristo.

No, he didn’t bury it in Eisner’s back. On Friday, Roy Disney and Stan Gold came to an agreement with the Walt Disney Company to settle their dispute. According to the agreement, announced in a joint statement, Roy and Stan agree not to run a slate of directors or submit shareholder resolutions for at least five years. They also dismissed their lawsuit against the company. In return Roy is back on the board as Director Emeritus and a consultant. The role is largely ceremonial since he can’t vote on anything, but at least he has a seat at the table.

About time! With Eisner on his way out and Iger making an effort (so it seems) to correct some of the problems that had developed under Eisner, Roy and Stan’s dispute had become counter-productive. This agreement is a way for both sides to save face and for Roy to rejoin the company.

I’ve always dreamed of being a member of Club 33 at Disneyland. Several months ago I sent away for information about membership. Yesterday an envelope arrived with “Club 33” in the return address area. Inside was a letter advising me that the membership is currently full, but if I like, I can be added to the waiting list.

Unfortunately, individual membership is $7,500 with annual dues of $3,025. I knew it would be expensive, but unfortunately that is a bit beyond my means at the time.

Who knows, maybe one of these days I’ll win PowerBall.