The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth by Leslie Le Mon Read Free Book Online

characters like Phineas and Ferb , pint-sized Imagineers who embody Disney ’s creative spirit.
    Disney displays an uncanny ability to identify talent, nurture it, and build warm and entertaining shows around pop princes and princesses like Raven , Miley Cyrus , Selena Gomez , Demi Lovato , the Jonas Brothers , Ross Lynch , China McClain , Bridgit Mendler , Bella Thorne , and Zendaya , talented youths who strike gold not only with their TV shows but sometimes with CDs and feature theatrical releases.
    Why do some of these stars later grapple with personal demons?  That is a topic for another venue, well beyond the scope of this book.  What is undeniable is the talent of these young entertainers – and their heart.
    Over the years, Disney Channel has become destination TV for generations of kids, and shrewdly synergizes Disney TV successes with Disney ’s music, cinema, and online distribution channels.
    On Valentine’s Day in February 2011 Disney Junior launched, first on the Disney Channel , then taking over ABC ’s defunct SOAPnet Channel .  Disney Junior targets children aged 2 – 7 and is comprised of Playhouse Disney programs as well as newer fare like Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Sofia the First .  An entire channel devoted to preschoolers builds Disney brand loyalty almost from the cradle.
    It would not be too broad a statement to call today’s infant-to-teen demographic a “ Disney Nation,” so heavily have they been inundated and indoctrinated by Disney shows, films, music, websites, products, clothes, characters, themes, and values.
    Some critics rue the powerful consumer pull of Disney ’s products, and try to cast Disney as an evil corporate empire.
    Missing the forest for the trees, these critics fail to perceive that almost every company on the planet exists to make a profit from its products; why Disney should be exempt from a profit-drive is a deep mystery.  Disney ’s artisans craft fairy tales and never-never lands, and we’re all the better for it, but if Disney ’s corporate teams suddenly began conducting business in a dreamy-eyed manner, the whole empire would soon be bankrupt.
    T he values typically espoused by Disney productions include honesty, hard work, perseverance, loyalty, ambition, creativity, innovation, friendship, fun, leadership, team work, and service—a positive youth manifesto.  And Disney ’s galaxy of young stars, whatever their personal challenges, share positive messages related to topics from environmentalism, to charitable giving, to dealing with bullies.
    Because Disney and its TV arm (a little entity called ABC ) are run largely like the old Hollywood studio system, with a great deal of synergy and cross-pollenation, and a tight reign on what information is released to the public, and how it’s released, we’ll probably never know (until they write their memoirs) what Disney ’s young stars really believe, deep down, about bullies or volunteering or friendship or going “green”.  But the young idols’ encouraging public service announcements and inspirational messages reach millions of kids.  And the bottom line is, that’s what matters.
    Walt might almost be transmitting today’s Disney value playbook from beyond the grave.  Because the values that Disney productions encourage today are core values, those that Walt embodied and communicated through his art, his stories, and his original theme park.
     
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    After I’d made dozens of Disneyland visits and completed substantial research, my sister (the one we almost lost to the bottomless pit near the Lemon Squeeze cavern) told me I should be a Disneyland Guide .
    That was flattering, but I already had a rewarding occupation as a manager for a busy insurance office in Downtown L.A.  My team and I faced many challenges in a competitive, pressure-cooker environment.  Visits to Disneyland were a great weekend stress release.
    Interestingly, the more I visited the resort, and the more I