Make note of the part about KP (in bold).

Nov 12, 2008 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — Visitors to the Disney parks and resorts early next year will be to able connect with the equivalent of a personal tour guide through their wireless phones in a partnership between Disney and Verizon Wireless, the companies announced today.

Certain items such as dining locations, show times and location information will be available to all Disney visitors, regardless of their wireless company.

However, guests with Verizon Wireless service will get certain exclusive information including real-time attraction availability and messages from the theme park characters. The service will be available before and after guests arrive.

Ninety percent of families take a mobile phone into the parks, Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.

“Imagine receiving up-to-the-minute tips on special Park activities with just the touch of a button or receiving a call from Buzz Lightyear welcoming you to the Magic Kingdom,” Rasulo said.

Guests visiting Epcot in early 2009 also will be able experience Disney’s interactive Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure through a Verizon Wireless handheld device to maneuver through the mission of saving the world from various comical villains.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

Now, does that mean that you have to have a Verizon phone to do the KP thing, or that Disney will provide a Verizon branded device?

Bob Schooley just told me about an upcoming sneak peak of Mark and his new show on Nick, The Penguins of Madagascar.

Programming dates are always tentative and change at the drop of a hat, but at the moment, the sneak peak of “Gone in a Flash” (a single 11 minute episode) premieres:
Friday, 11/28, at 8:30PM
And repeats:
Saturday, 11/29, at 10AM and 9:45PM
Sunday, 11/30, at 12:45AM and 7:45PM

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

Source: Yahoo TV

Hannah Montana’s latest checkup resulted in a troubling diagnosis.

The Disney Channel confirmed to E! News that the network scrapped the episode it had intended to open the hit series’ third season—an episode titled “No Sugar, Sugar” that features a character (Hannah’s pal Oliver) dealing with diabetes—after some initial concerns as to how the disease was portrayed.

According to a network executive, the Disney Channel’s Standards and Practices team consulted with medical experts during the script-writing process “to inform the story and be sure it was told responsibly.”

“Notwithstanding the measures we took, and based on the episode’s preview and early feedback from parents, we removed the episode from Sunday’s schedule and are now reevaluating it,” the Disney rep said.

“We will await the results of the episode review by a variety of experts and then will make a determination on the episode’s future. Most importantly, we listened to those who expressed their concerns and consulted with the creative team (programmers and producers).”

It was then that they chose to pull the Nov. 2 episode, opting to make “He Ain’t a Hottie, He’s My Brother” the sitcom’s season-three premiere instead. Episode No. 2, “Ready, Set, Don’t Drive” (Billy Ray’s message to the almost-16-year-old Miley, perhaps?) premieres Sunday.

“Still, there is great interest, especially from parents, in seeing the subject of living with diabetes somehow incorporated into our storytelling for kids and families, so we’re hopeful we’ll do so in the future,” added the Disney Channel exec.

And it’s not as if the Mouse House doesn’t have a handle on the subject matter already. Also on Nov. 2, the Disney Channel aired an installment of Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream that explored how Nick Jonas manages his diabetes both at home and on tour. The 16-year-old JoBro appeared in a PSA afterward in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

What the heck? I only saw one prono for “No Sugar, Sugar”but I didn’t see anything objectionable.

Today is the fourth year anniversary of Save Disney Shows. The past four years have been quite a journey, and much more than I would have ever imagined.

Four years ago, I was a college freshman about halfway into my first term. I had been helping and then running SaveKimPossible.com for the past several months, and was already in awe of the contacts we had made (Bob & Mark), and the number of members MKP had (at the time, maybe 150). But this new project was to expand my world in ways I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

A lot of people don’t know it, but the ideas of SDS was really Tucsoncoyote’s idea. Before that point we where focused exclusively on KP, but Tuc to his credit saw the need to work for more than just KP. But we’ll get to that later.

Four years ago, Kim Possible was squarely the goal. And between Adam and myself, we established the SKP section of SDS and formed much of the navigational structure we still use today. Sometimes I wish we had planned it all out a little more, but the site grew as ideas for it where made, and plans weren’t really applicable.

I know that for myself at least, the fight for KP really rekindled my love of the Walt Disney company, which might sound strange considering the fact that we where “fighting” against it. In actuality, any successful campaign is not really a fight. It is much more a persuasion, perhaps even a seduction. In order to get more KP we had to convince them they wanted to continue it, not that we’d boycott them if they didn’t.

Our high point came in 2005 when our primary purpose was fulfilled. Namely, KP was renewed for a fourth season. Unfortunately, saving the show caused some real problems on the site! For only days later, we learned that Phil of the future had been canceled. My reaction was to quickly spring into action, organize fans, and try to quickly mount a campaign to save the show. Adam, well, didn’t much care. I mean, yes he cared about the fans, but he didn’t want to directly help as it was up to the Phil fans to save their show (paraphrased). It was the start of a major rift, and everyone knows how that ended.

Today, on it’s fourth year anniversary, Save Disney Shows is at a cross roads and when I think about it, so am I. Our mission statement has been laid out on the main page ever since SDS’s founding. And while it had been revised over the years, the basis stays the same. We’ve never been able to get Disney to acknowledge the 65 episode rule, but we’re fairly sure it’s time is over. And while DC still doesn’t play any of the classic 90s shows, they are being released on DVD. And while some fans continue to fight for Phil, or Jake Long, or even Stitch it is apparent that this site has always been focused around the fight for KP’s fourth will have to further evolve as the Disney Channel and Disney company evolve.

I for one look forward to helping guie fans of current and future Disney shows, not simply when programs end, but before that time, as a sort one one stop destination for information about the status of all Disney shows. And perhaps we can help the hard core animation lovers get over their loathing of High School Musical. And maybe we can get the Hannah Montana fans to appreciate American Dragon Jake Long. If there’s one thing the past four years have taught me, it’s that the Internet is a very powerful tool for bringing people together.

We’ve done a lot in four years, but really, we’re just getting started.

Source: NY Daily News

Dylan and Cole Sprouse sent Disney’s ratings soaring when their new spinoff, “The Suite Life on Deck,” debuted in September. This new life on the high seas sits with the brothers just fine.

“Life on Deck” is an offshoot of the twins’ former show, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” in which the boys ran amok at the fictional Tipton Hotel. Now older and maybe wiser, Zack and Cody are attending school at sea on the S.S. Tipton and still getting into mischief, though perhaps not as much as on dry land.

“I think Disney wanted us to be more responsible on the show,” said Cole, “and they felt that putting us on a boat would be the best way to do that.”

“With growing older comes responsibility, [which] if you don’t acquire sooner or later, you’re gonna be in trouble,” said Dylan. “So the new show definitely teaches responsibility. We get jobs, and essentially every single show has a moral.”

The brothers, identical 16-year-old twins, got their start in acting at the age of 6 months, appearing in a toilet paper commercial, then on ABC’s “Grace Under Fire” as the same character, Patrick Kelly. They appeared in movies such as “Big Daddy” and eventually landed the Disney show.

The first season of “Life on Deck,” airing Fridays at 8 p.m., will explore all the follies of living at sea, including fighting off a Loch Ness-type monster and an eerie encounter in the Bermuda Triangle. There are also plans for a “Life on Deck,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Hannah Montana” crossover episode.

Unlike most of their Disney counterparts, the Sprouse brothers swear they have no singing aspirations. They’d rather just concentrate on their acting before heading off to college when they’re old enough - Dylan to art school and Cole maybe to USC to study film.

In the meantime, the boys are grateful for their show and work hard at staying levelheaded in the Hollywood environment.

“Some people do shows because they want to be famous and I’m honestly telling you right now, if that’s the reason, they’re going to get swept up,” said Dylan. “Cole and I just came into acting because we like to act and we like to work.”

And just in case you’re curious, there are no plans for the boys to shave their famously coiffed heads anytime soon.

“I don’t think they would be too happy about that,” said Dylan. “On the Disney Channel, the skinhead look doesn’t do too well, let me tell you.”

Another three-way crossover? They did a decent job on the last one, so this should be interesting.