I will be in London from Monday to Wednesday next week. The blog will be updated again on Thursday.

Here's a cartoon that appeared in BALLYHOO magazine in 1934. Cartoonist James Trembath drew it. He was from Pennsylvania and active in the early part of the 20th Century.

Jim Korkis located it on the blog Booksteve's Library, that I also would like to thank for it.

Do not miss today:

- Disneyland history comes to life at D23's first anniversary party by Todd James Pierce
- COVER IMAGE OF 1937 MICKEY MOUSE HOLIDAY SPECIAL by Kaya Özkaracalar
- Legendary Sherman Brothers Honored with Window on Main Street, U.S.A. by Valarie Sutovaky

Peter Emslie just completed those marvelous caricatures for the cover of Walt's People - Volume 9. I am hoping to release Volume 9 in late May / early June.

Do not miss today:

- WALT'S PEOPLE-President Ronald Reagan by Paul F. Anderson
- The Mickey Mouse Musician by Wade Sampson
- The TRON attractions that Disneyland almost got by Jim Hill

I will be in a training course on Tuesday and Wednesday. The blog will be updated again on Thursday.

This marvelous concept drawing of Robin Hood by Ken Anderson is being offered for sale by Animation Celection. Unfortunately the price is way too high for me.

Do not miss today:
- FAMOUS DISNEY DUCKS~Disneyland's Gertie by Paul F. Anderson
- DISNEY AND THE MAGAZINE-Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs by Paul F. Anderson
- BRER RABBIT "Says 25 Free Trips to Disneyland" by Paul F. Anderson
- SUNDAY FUNNIES-An Ode to Elliott by Paul F. Anderson
- The Disney World - July 1967 on Vintage Disneyland Tickets
- Modern Inventions by Shane Glines (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- The Carnation Truck Lives! by Major Pepperidge (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- Walt Disney Presents the Story of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1963) by Cory Gross (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- Oscar®-Winning Walt by Jim Fanning
- Walt Disney's Masterpiece of Magic, Emotion and Dreams Come True by Jim Fanning

While this is not really Disney history, I enjoyed thise so much that I had to share it on the blog. The French March issue of the fashion magazine Elle contains those great drawings by the extremely talented Disney comic book artist Ulrich Schröder. The idea of course is that Disney characters have been dressed by the most famous fashion designers.

This just in from Greg Ehrbar:

[We just produced an original video for the Walt Disney World webiste, and I thought you might appreciate it. It's based on a video I worked on years ago for internal use, and it's finally come to fruition as an online video.

This is a project I've been hoping to get onto disneyworld.com for years -- something funny (I hope)!

First-ever original comedy video on disneyworld.comWonder what a Magic Kingdom visit is like for kids in strollers? Disneyworld.com just premiered its first "Little Timmy" comedy, in which get a "stroller's-eye-view" of a family's first visit. You may have to register at disneyworld.com to access it, but there are some other exclusive articles there to read, too...

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/myVacation/newsletter/download?id=BackstagePassArchiveVideoLandingPage&module=201003Video]

Do not miss today:

- Mickey Mouse Sunday Comic Strip by Ted Dawson (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- Great WDI Imagineer Tim Delaney Interviews by Alain Littaye

My good friend and fellow Disney enthusiast, Josh Noah, released a few days ago a series of never-seen-before photos of Roy O. and Roy E. Disney. Definitely worth a visit!

Do not miss today:

- Tell Me This, Walt... by Michael Barrier
- John Canemaker’s New Blog by Amid Amidi
- COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU~Mickey Mouse Sound Cartoons by Paul F. Anderson
- Casting Call: Large-Eared Elephant Wanted? by Patrick Healy (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link

I mentioned yesterday the book Project Future, The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World by Chad D. Emerson. I had the pleasure of interviewing Chad by email yesterday. Here are his answers:

Didier Ghez: Were you already interested in Disney history before tackling this project?

Chad Emerson: Yes, I've always been fascinated about Walt and his interest in using architecture and design to create interesting settings. In researching the book, I learned that Walt was a true student of planning and design. He was committed to building places that encouraged people to interact with each other and enjoy social company. His earliest visions for Epcot would have been the grandest example of this.

DG: When, how and why did you start working on this project?

CE: The book actually started as an academic article I was working on related to the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The District is the unique government structure that was created for Disney to operate Project Future. As I became more and more immersed in the details of Reedy Creek, I was amazed at the almost spy-like measures that the Disney Company took to purchase the 27,000 acres while also avoiding land speculators. It soon became apparent to me that the story behind Reedy Creek and Disney World was a story that really needed to be told.

DG: Who were the most interesting artists and executives you interviewed while researching this book?

CE: Ray Maxwell is the lead administrator for the Reedy Creek Improvement District and he was fascinating to visit with and very helpful in obtaining materials. Another interesting person was actually the first person I interviewed, Tom DeWolf. In addition to chairing the District's Board of Supervisors for many years, he worked directly with Disney officials in securing the large tracts of land that make up Project Future. In fact, Mr. DeWolf interacted with Walt himself on several occasions early in the project. And, of course, Harrison "Buzz" Price was a wealth of knowledge related to how Central Florida was selected as the home for Project Future.

DG: What were some of the main discoveries you made while working on the book?
CE: Just how committed Disney was to avoid its mistakes at Disneyland. They went to incredible lengths to disguise their efforts in purchasing the land for Project Future. Walt was adamant that this project would not end up being surrounded by the tacky developments that quickly sprung up around Disneyland.

DG: What are the key chapters of the book?

CE: I obviously love them all but, if I had to choose, the most interesting to research were the first 5 or 6 chapters that covered the amazing efforts used to select Central Florida and then secretly acquire the land.

DG: If we have already read Married to the Mouse, Realityland and Since the World Began, are we still likely to discover some new information in this book?

CE: I really think so. As Lee Cockerell noted in his Foreword to the book, Project Future is the first book that puts all the details together from 1959 to 1971 related to how and why Disney selected Central Florida. But, the book is not just about the Orlando area. Instead, an entire chapter of Project Future looks at the other options Disney considered for his first Eastern U.S. project--places like St. Louis, Palm Beach, and Niagara Falls. By keeping the book's focus on the this 12 year period, I've really tried to tell the story in chronological order with details that everyone from casual to sophisticated Disney fans will find interesting.

DG: Are you working on other Disney history related projects?

CE: Yes, I'm currently working on a book that explores how Central Florida became the theme park capital of the world from the 1970s through this decade. Much of the book examines the complex relationships between Walt Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld. If all goes as plans the book is slated for publication in 2011.

I just discovered the new blog Designing Disney and liked what I saw very much.

Do not miss today:

- The Disney Family Album Complete Story Part 2 by Wade Sampson

I just received the press release below about the newly-released book Project Future, The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World by Chad D. Emerson. I have not read the book yet, of course, since I discovered its existence only this morning, but the parts of the press release in bold look promising. I will try and interview the author for the Disney History blog within the next few days.

[Project Future, The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World, is a fascinating new book that explores one of the most comprehensive and successful private developments in U.S. history – the Walt Disney World Resort.

The 189-page paperback by Chad D. Emerson takes Disney fans, theme park enthusiasts and lovers of Americana and pop culture on the ride with Walt and his advisors in the early 60s as they evaluate locations like St. Louis, Niagara, Monterey, Calif., Ocala, Fla. and the Miami area as possible sites for the new “Disneyland-East.”

Emerson, a tenured member of the faculty at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law and highly-respected theme park and attractions industry expert, also puts readers in Conference Room 2E at the company’s Burbank headquarters as the most senior Disney officials sort through the optimal parcels of land to place the “real working city” and planned entertainment development.

Emerson spent more than two years researching the history of Walt Disney’s Florida project while interviewing a variety of key players such as Harrison “Buzz” Price, Robert Price Foster, Gov. Claude Kirk, and Tom DeWolf. The result is a book that serves up intriguing glimpses of historic detail interspersed with fascinating strategies and spy-like maneuvers the Walt Disney Company deployed to fashion more than 27,000 acres of Florida marsh, swamp and farmland into the world’s most successful destination.

“Project Future does an excellent job providing rich details and historical context to the incredible efforts that individuals like Walt and Roy Disney, Bob Foster, Tom DeWolf, Paul Helliwell, Roy Hawkins and many others took to make Walt Disney World a reality,” says Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President for Operations at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Project Future (ISBN 78-0-615-34777-6) is published by Ayefour Publishing at a list price of $14.95. More information can be found at www.projectfuturebook.com]

Do not miss today:

- FANTASIA'S "HEWLETT-PACKARD IN D MAJOR" by Paul F. Anderson
- Solving Dumbo's Mysteries by Michael Barrier

This just in from Sasa Rakezic from Serbia:

[Here is another interesting find from the 1940 issue of Politika - they are announcing that Politikin zabavnik is starting to publish a new Donald Duck story in one of the March issues...]

Do not miss today:
- AMERICA'S "POET LARIAT" REMEMBERS WALT DISNEY by Paul F. Anderson
- A great potcast by Todd Pierce that contains interviews with Rolly Crump, Bob Gurr, Blaine Gibson, Pam Burns-Clair, and an excerpt from an interview Todd conducted with Harriet shortly before she passed on.