After the Mouse.com

Disney Resort on O’ahu Scheduled to Open in 2011

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts broke ground for its first family destination resort in Hawai’i today with a traditional Hawaiian blessing ceremony on its 21-acre oceanfront property, located at the Ko Olina Resort & Marina development on the western side of O’ahu. Scheduled to open in 2011, the new family friendly destination will overlook breathtaking crystal blue lagoons and white sand beaches and is planned to include 350 hotel rooms and 480 Disney Vacation Club timeshare villas.

“This Disney destination resort will provide a unique way for families to experience Hawai’i,” said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “By blending Disney’s high standard of guest service and creative storytelling, we’ll create a place where all family members can discover the wonder of these special islands.”

Rasulo noted that Disney chose to build a resort on O’ahu due to the international popularity of Hawai’i as a family vacation destination. Hawai’i is among the top vacation choices of Disney Vacation Club members following Disney’s theme park destinations.

Several of Hawai’i’s elected officials and community leaders welcomed Disney to O’ahu at the ground blessing ceremony, including Lieutenant Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr.

“We’re excited for this project to begin, knowing the family appeal of both Hawai’i and Disney,” Aiona said. “We’re confident this resort will attract guests from the mainland and Asia because of the natural beauty of Hawai’i and Disney’s reputation for delivering unparalleled family experiences.”

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa also attended the ground blessing and said, “From the moment Disney announced that it was purchasing property on O’ahu, they have shown an interest in our community and have demonstrated they understand the spirit of aloha that we hold dear in our state. I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Disney to Hawai’i as a new neighbor and employer.”

Planned Resort Features
Rasulo noted that plans call for the resort to be built to engage every member of the family, from parents to children, teens and grandparents.

“This resort will be a place where families can escape to reconnect and create lifelong memories,” Rasulo said. “We have kept this vision in mind throughout the design.”

Plans call for an expansive pool and water play area, an 18,000 square-foot spa, a wedding lawn, an 8,000 square-foot convention center, a children’s club and spectacular dining at two restaurants — one of which will provide a stunning view of the ocean.

The design also calls for activities and amenities that aim to engage every member of the family. At the resort’s signature water way, for example, family friendly tubes and body slides will weave through volcanic rockwork and engage an iconic caldera volcano, while a nearby wading pool gives parents with toddlers a welcoming alternative to the sprawling zero-entry fun pool. In addition, more adventurous family members will find vibrant fish species in a saltwater snorkel lagoon.

Beyond activities for the whole family, the resort is being designed to respect and connect with the local culture of the Hawaiian islands. During the past year, the Walt Disney Imagineering team has been researching Hawai’i and working with local architects and cultural experts as part of the resort’s creative design process. The resulting design is a village celebrating the Hawaiian customs and traditions that lead to a life filled with joy and in harmony with the natural world. To further incorporate Hawaiian traditions, cultural programming in the areas of environmental education, music, dance, history, and arts and crafts; a story-driven, technology-enabled adventure game; and other surprises come together to create a Hawaiian destination that’s uniquely Disney.

Additionally, Hawai’i’s aloha spirit will influence the many intricate details for which Disney resorts are famous, with stories woven into the architecture, interiors, art, graphics and three planned signature gardens all brought to life through carefully selected colors, patterns, materials and forms. Wood, thatch, lava stone and coral will be among the materials represented in the resort’s two 15-story guestroom towers, each oriented perpendicular to the ocean to maximize ocean views from the strategically angled guest rooms. Façade murals will add to the distinctive look of each tower and will begin to portray some of the stories and legends of the islands.

At the heart of the resort, an open-air lobby building — dubbed Hale Aloha — will draw its design inspiration from a traditional Hawaiian canoe house, visually connecting families to the sea and beyond. Window designs, wall graphics and other details will welcome families with tales of adventure, myth, legend and more, while twin streams flow through the building before uniting as a single cascade into the center garden below.

In October, Disney shared design plans for the new resort with Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is looking forward to the opening of the project in 2011.

“From my first meeting with Disney executives in California, to subsequent sessions in Honolulu, I continue to be impressed with the effort and the time Disney has put into researching Hawai’i,” Mayor Hannemann said. “Disney leaders have met with Hawaiian cultural experts to gain an understanding and appreciation of our host culture. The end result will be a resort that local residents will be proud to have on our island, and it will be a family attraction that our residents and visitors will find enjoyable and meaningful.”

Disney Vacation Club
Part of the Disney resort hotel in Ko Olina will be dedicated to Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program that helps families enjoy flexibility and savings on vacations for decades to come. By becoming a member of Disney Vacation Club, families can enjoy vacations at Disney destinations worldwide as well as more than 500 other popular Member Getaways vacation locations around the globe.

Disney Vacation Club accommodations blend Disney’s famed attention to storytelling detail with all the comforts of home. From well-appointed studios equipped with convenient kitchenettes to sprawling, one-, two- and three-bedroom villas complete with full-size kitchens, washers and dryers, luxury tubs and other homelike amenities, Disney Vacation Club Resorts create flexible options to meet the needs of thousands of families from around the world.

Since its inception in 1991, Disney Vacation Club has grown to serve more than 350,000 individual members from approximately 100 countries and all 50 states.

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Disney’s Hawaii DVC Resort Ground “Blessing”

First we had bees. (My favorite insect, if I had to choose.) Then we had clowns (did I tell you I used to have a job as a clown?). Then church (also had a job there). Then there was the escort service (did NOT have a job there). Next was a Chinese restaurant (definitely my favorite take out). And this week it’s magic (it’s the job I WISH I had!). You’d think they were writing this season of Pushing Daisies just for me! What? This isn’t my personal blog? Oh, you came here to find out about last night’s episode? Not about moi?

Well, I can’t help it if I want to have dinner at The Pie Hole. (Yes, dinner.) I can’t help that I wish Chuck, Olive and I were the Three Amigos. I can’t even help wishing Emerson would throw one of his snarky comments at me. So, I’m just sad that the buzz in TV land is that it might be canceled! Are you believing this?! The most creative, colorful (albeit, dark) show on TV, canceled?! Say isn’t so! *sigh*

Let’s step away from that dreary subject and get into last night’s episode. It was magic! Literally!

We begin with Young Ned. And for the first time we see a parallel experience with Ned’s “new” half brothers, Ralston & Maurice. (*snicker* I can’t get over their names.)

Young Ned is enthralled by his father’s magic tricks. One day his biggest “magic trick” ruins Ned’s life. His father disappears forever! Then we see Ned’s dad doing the same trick for the twins. (Sick joker.) They are with their father at a magic show of The Great Herrmann. Their dad volunteers to be in the final disappearing act–and he never comes back. The twins adopt The Great Herrmann as their “new magic dad” and never realize how horrible their father had been to them.

Now, back to the future…and the murder…

Ralston & Maurice are at the Pie Hole inviting our favorite Pie people to a magic show. Ned is completely against it. Chuck and Olive think the twins are “magically delicious”. While Emerson is just using them to practice his investigative skills.

While at the magic show, the twins “new magic dad” fails to escape his famous “Cementia” trick. (He’s chained in a box that has cement poured into it.) They are devastated and Ned is determined to find the murderer for his new half brothers. They begin by interviewing The Great Herrmann’s only human assistant, Alexandria. She points them to one of Herrmann’s fellow entertainers, The Geek. He is a sword swallower, bottle chewer and animal regurgitator. (Did you even know they existed?) Both of them seem guilty, but nothing solid can be proved.

Speaking of solid, the Pie Trio head to the morgue to speak to the The Great Herrmann. But after our happy morgue attendant uses a chainsaw to open the cement block that is The Great Herrmann’s murder weapon, we find only a scarf and an envelope that says, “Now you see me, now you don’t. xxoo.” They assume The Great Herrmann is only hiding…no body, no murder. Until Ned remembers his father’s cups and ball trick and realizes this block of cement had been switched with another block of cement–a block of cement containing The Great Herrmann.

Now our Pie Trio plus Olive and the twins hit up the theater to find this missing block of cement. And armed with metal detectors (I missed the reason for these…) Ned and Chuck discover the block in the floorboards while Emerson and Olive discover The Geek dead in an upstairs room—with a spike shoved up his nose. EW.

Ned and Chuck break away the cement to interview The Great Herrmann. Magic man to magic man, Herrmann tells Ned his secret–magnets in his shoes that open up a secret compartment to escape before the cement is poured in.

And then Chuck realizes who the killer is–The Geek. He swallowed the magnets so The Great Herrmann would die. And why? Well, as our yummy narrator says, the facts are these: The Geek, Gunther Pinker looked to The Great Herrmann as a father figure. He wanted to do a Father Son act. And when Herrmann chose the twins over him, he was livid. If he couldn’t have the Great Herrmann, then no one could.

And the spike in his nose? Dead in an upstairs room? A ruse to distract our Emerson. While the Pie Trio is discovering the cement block, The Geek grabs Olive and with spike to her head, confronts our Pie friends. Ned saves the day by proclaiming his love for his dad even when his father disappeared. This catches The Geek off guard and he falls in the same trap door he used to kill his wannabe-dad.

The lesson learned:
Ned really loves his dad. Ralston and Maurice discover the truth of their dad’s betrayal. Assistant Alexandria becomes The Great Alexandria. (cute, huh?)

And let’s not forget our secondary plot…

Dwight Dixon is back! And this time he’s visiting Lily & Vivian. And he knows. He KNOWS Lily is Chuck’s mother. He talks to the sisters about serving in the Peace Corps (or something…) with Charles Charles and asks to have Charles’ pocket watch. Lily and Vivian pretend to know nothing about it. And while Vivian is getting Dwight’s coat, he reprimands Lily and her secrets.

Meanwhile, Vivian has one of her own. She initiates a date with Dwight at The Pie Hole. She tells him Charles’ pocket watch was buried with Chuck.

And our episode ends with Dwight digging up Chuck’s grave to find an empty coffin!

(see, this is why this show cannot be canceled! WHY does Dwight want the watch? What is he going to do now? Will Lily ever tell Vivian? Will Chuck be reunited with her mom and aunt? Will Ned find his dad and get over his issues? Will Emerson find his daughter? Will Alfredo Aldarisio and woo Olive? Will Oscar Vibenius show up again? And what about Digby?)

But wait! There’s a third plot we haven’t even talked about…

Chuck has been crank calling Lily to see if she will admit to being a mother. She won’t. So, Ned (our loving yet completely cynical hero) sets up a magic show of his own. Olive, armed with an in-ear speaker hears Chuck asking the questions she’s always wanted to ask her mother. Lily thinks they are just role-playing and Chuck gets to hear it all. Lily, Chuck and Ned have tears in their eyes. And Ned and Chuck stroke each other’s hands through the plexiglass barrier in their car. *happy sigh*

Best lines of the night:

Emerson to Chuck and Olive, “Where is that rat’s a$$ I could give?”

The Great Herrmann to Olive, “I’m not made of hugs.”

The Great Herrmann to Emerson, “Please, call me ‘Great’.”

Ned to Alexandria the Assistant, “Which means you are the killah, killah.”

Emerson to Maurice & Ralston, “What’choo gonna do? Use your wonder twin powers?”

Emerson to Chuck, “So what?”
Chuck to Emerson, “So buttons!”

In conclusion:
I mean, really. You know I liked it. I can’t help but love this show. Plus I love magic. I loved the curtains closing between each scene. I loved Chucks’ feathery cape. I love the absolute perfect characterization of each person. I love Ralston and Maurice’s eyebrows!

That’s why this show CANNOT be canceled. It just can’t. Please TIVO it next week. Make your family watch it during Thanksgiving. Make pies in honor of Ned. Rent a billboard that saves “Save the Pie Hole!”

(I’ll be at ohamanda.com this week thinking of more ways to save Ned and our Pie friends.)

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Oh, Oh, Oh, It’s Magic! (Pushing Daisies 2.6)

The IAAPA Attractions Expo opened on Monday. But the show doesn’t really get going until the “What’s New” presentation which was yesterday morning. This year the kickoff session featured performances from Universal and The Blues Brothers, dancers from Busch Gardens, and a new song from beautifully performed by a singer from Walt Disney World Resort. All in all a great showcase for central Florida.

Three new IAAPA members were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Arto Monaco (Land of Make Believe) and Edgard “Eddy” Meeus (Walibi Parks)  both played key roles in the early days of theme park development and were awarded posthumously. Larry B. Cochran helped open Six Flags over Texas and rose to the top of the company during his 41 years of service and team building. He gave a wonderful speech with a tribute to his family and team members.

The bi-annual Applause Award went to Xetulul a theme park in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. I’ve never heard of this park, but it looked like a lot of fun. San Diego SeaWorld cam in a close second.

After the morning performance everyone heads down to the show floor to make some deals and see what’s hot from vendors old and new. I only managed to cover about 20% of the show floor yesterday but click through the cut to read a few things that caught my eye.

The ‘Flogos‘ machines that were on Good Morning America a few months ago are at IAAPA. They can produce little ‘clouds’ of bubbles formed into your logo or other design. You can see a familiar shape in the photo above. In the photo below you can see the secret.

These are really just little bubbles, similar to the big blobs ’snow’ machines produce when they’re malfunctioning, formed into a shape and then released into the air. It’s a really neat affect and word is you’ll see them in action at Disney Parks next year.

Sadly the outside display area of the show is really reduced this year. Before there would have been a couple fun rides and other ‘tall’ items, now there are just four vendors.

Inside things are a little different. There are a few holes in the show floor where vendors would have been in the past, but in general it’s almost as full as usual. The traffic yesterday might have been a bit lighter than usual. But only 15-20% or so. So that’s a good sign. People appear to be making deals despite the slow down in the economy. You have to be willing to look ahead. Of course, you also have to have cash on hand, since credit is hard to get these days.

Finally, I did have at least one celebrity sighting. Joan Lunden, a big Disney fan herself, was at the show with her family and a new product called Kinderkord. But more on that later.

Now, I’m off to the show again. If you see me, please do say hi!

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An Initial Look at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2008

Just a quick follow up on a story from last week. It was reported that ESPN had bid $125 million for rights to broadcast the NCAA Division I College Football Bowl Championship Series on the cable channel. Turns out that was for just one year. They actually bid $500 million to get the rights for four years… and guess what? They won.

That’s a lot of money, I hope it pays off.

(Via Orlando Sentinel)

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Disney’s ABC/ESPN is now the home for College Football Bowl Championship Series

So, with three couples it could be, tonight’s results show will be interesting.  And you can tell how far into the season we are getting by how much they start plugging the guests who will be singing instead of telling us which stars are safe and which one is going.  Shall we get to it?

Unless I missed it during the recap show, it looks like we didn’t have an encore at all tonight.  That’s too bad.  I was looking forward to seeing Lance do his Jitterbug with both shoes on.

And I will give them this, having Julianne do one of the songs was nice.  Granted, she already has a built in audience from this show.  But as long as they are going to bring in all kinds of singers, might as well include the one they can do for free.  She’s got a great voice, too.

I did slow down the fast forward button to watch reigning champs Kristi and Mark perform.  I was reminded why I was rooting for her last season.  She’s still great!  And getting to hear Aretha Franklin perform “Respect” was fun, too.

Just as I was beginning to think they forgot what the “Results” show was all about, they did finally get to them.  50 minutes into the hour.  They didn’t do a bottom two.  They started off by telling us that Lance & Lacey and Brooke & Derek were safe.  No surprise with Lance, but I’d been wondering all day if Brooke really would be safe or not.

Of course, Lance and Brooke had to chat with Samantha.  Then a commercial break.  Can they drag this out any further?

Eventually, they did get around to telling us that Cody and Julianne are eliminated tonight.  On the one hand, I’m glad.  I’m tired of correcting my typo of Docy.  I type that every time I type his name, and I don’t know why.

On a serious note, I’d really love to see Julianne and Derek face off in the finals.  And Cody was growing every week.  As you know, I think Warren is the weakest dancer left, so I would have preferred to see him leave.  But Cody just couldn’t overcome those low scores.

Next week - the finals.  Until then, any thoughts on the final elimination of the season?

Mark

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Dancing with the Stars: Semi-Final Results

The International Associations of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) swings into Orlando this week for its annual Attractions Expo. Industry leaders, companies and hangers on swarm over the Orange County Convention Center for a week trying out all the new things the industry has to offer. It’s also a great place to pick up scents and rumors for what’s coming down the line technology wise.

This year the main story is the same unavoidable story that’s affecting companies and families all over the world - the economy. A few parks did not survive last year (Hard Rock Park, for one) and even more look to fall to the side of the road this year. So everyone is a bit nervous. When I hit the exhibit floor this year, I’m curious to see how big a contraction the industry has already experienced.

I’d invite everyone down, but there is no public day this year. Next year the Expo will be in Las Vegas, and I’ll be looking for a correspondent. <grin>

That’s it for now. I’ll be back later with some stories on what’s happening at IAAPA. If you’re at the show keep an eye out.

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IAAPA Attractions Expo hits Orlando

ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort is back for its sixth season. I was lucky enough to go last night and found the new displays to be a lot of fun. It’s amazing to see how huge blocks of ice have been transformed into wonderful works of art.

A little advice: make sure you buy your tickets online ahead of time to save a few dollars. Plus plan to eat somewhere else either before or after the event. The restaurant selection at Gaylord Palms are good, but very expensive, even more than what you might find on Disney property.

The ornaments are a whole new room this year and my favorite of the show. There are a few more pictures below the cut.

Fun Facts About ICE!

• Nearly 2,000,000 pounds of ice was used to create ICE!
• Nearly 5,000 blocks of ice was hand carved to be transformed into a winter wonderland.
• 9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average temperature inside “The Florida Fridge,” the home of the ICE! attraction.
• 1500+ fluorescent and fiber optic lights are frozen within the ice, creating a magical holiday experience.
• More than 18,000 total square feet of space is covered by the ICE! attraction. Kept at a brisk 9 degrees, the unique structure housing ICE! is also known as the “Florida Fridge.” It is believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

Yeah, I couldn’t resist the polar bears.

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It’s ICE!

You go Mickey. When I’m your age, I want to look as young as you do today.

These last 80 years have been quite transformative for you. You’ve gone from a sweet and unpretentious little rascal to a modern day role model for the young. The next 80 are sure to be as transformative, especially as more images of you begin to enter the public domain. Sure there will be fights, huge ones, for control of your future. You have become a part of us. And now you belong to all of us as much as you ever belonged to Walt and the company he set up with his brother. I only hope you’re up to the task.

Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse.

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Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse!

We are down to four stars, which means tonight is all about 8 dances.  The stars will perform the one of the familiar dances they haven’t done, then another dance from the selection of new dances that were introduced a few weeks back.  Plus, there’s the coaching session from Len.  All told, this should be another jam packed semi-final.

Brooke Burke & Derek Hough - Jive - Okay, so this wasn’t quite the routine that Derek and Julianne did last week, but it was pretty darn close.  That was high energy from the get go, and they never slowed down.  You know what that means.  I loved it!  I did notice one under arm turn that looked a tad awkward, and they definitely did some lifts, so unless the rules have changed, watch for Carrie Ann to dock them for that.  Len, however, said they messed up three or four times.  Bruno was surprised about how bad the technique was.  And Carrie Ann did come down hard on them for the illegal lifts.  Yet I could tell from their faces they agreed with the judges, so at least they weren’t too upset.  And Brooke confirmed that she agreed with the judges backstage.  Can I just say that impressed me even more?

Scores: Carrie Ann - 7 Len - 7 Bruno - 7 Total - 21  Her worst score of the entire season.  Wow.  Could she fall just short of the finals?

Cody Linley & Julianne Hough - Paso Doble - Julianne’s back!  When I first saw their costumes, I thought with the military look they would be doing a Jive.  This could be an interesting routine.  You know, I’d never noticed how much this dance has military precision until watching this.  And I do think I prefer Julianne’s choreography to Edyta’s.  But I still wasn’t too impressed.  Bruno said the timing was poor and the lines were non existent, but he did find the dance interesting.  Carrie Ann saw too much tension.  And Len wasn’t impressed with it, saying it was stiff and not dance quality.  Wow, I think the judges are being harder than I am tonight.  That’s a nice change from the last couple of weeks, right?

Scores: Carrie Ann - 8 Len - 7 Bruno - 7 Total - 22  I wasn’t sure what to expect for sure, but this is a combined score one better that Brooke’s.  This is getting very interesting.

Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson - Mambo - That was interesting, stating off in the audience.  And wow, Kym has great abs the way she could hold that back bend while Warren took off his jacket.  But again, I find Warren’s dances fun but not nearly as good as the others.  Obviously, I miss the technical stuff, so we’ll see what the judges say.  Carrie Ann started and said he could include more difficult moves.  Len praised him for showing great personality even if he doesn’t have much content.  And Bruno said it was engaging but very flat footed.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 8 Len - 8 Bruno - 8 Total - 24  So he’s got the highest score in the first round so far.  And with Lance being hit or miss with the judges, this just might be the high score of round one.

Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer - Mambo - And Lacey got to show off her abs, too.  While this had the fun of Warren’s dance, it also seemed like a better dance to me, which the various tempo changing moves.  Plus they really seemed to be traveling all around the floor.  But I’ve been shocked by the judges comments before, so let’s see what they say.  Len called it the best dance so far.  Bruno called it semi-final material.  Carrie Ann said it was a show stopper.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 10 Len - 9 Bruno - 9 Total - 28  They were so happy with their first 10 of the season.  And this makes it the best dance of the first round.

Now I’m really curious to see how things play out with round two.

Brooke Burke & Derek Hough - Salsa - Again with the lifts.  And right out of the gate.  Carrie Ann won’t be happy about that.  I think they were up to three by the time the dance was over since her feet stayed on the ground in that spin.  But I really did enjoy the dance over all.  I’m hesitant to get too enthused, however, after the way the judges have reacted to things tonight.  Brooke and Derek seem happier.  And so did Bruno who welcomed her back to the competition.  Carrie Ann did mention the lifts, but said they were appropriate to the number.  She even praised her for the way she came back.  Len told her to work toward her strengths, which is crisp technique like we saw here.  Naturally, they were much happier back stage.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 9 Len - 10 Bruno - 9 Total - 28  They have started the second round with an impressive score.  While Lance has some wiggle room, they’ve put the pressure on Cody and Warren.  Let’s see if they can keep up.

Cody Linley & Julianne Hough - Salsa - During the master class, Len tried to work on Cody’s hips.  I am seeing an improvement most of the time.  Of course, anyone standing next to Julianne is going to have a hard time standing out.  And we’ve got two lifts here as well.  I’d say their second round was stronger as well.  Way to answer back, guys.  Carrie Ann said it was fun, but he was slightly off from the music at times.  But Len thought the musicality was fine.  He even praised the lifts.  Bruno said it was a bit loose technically, but otherwise good.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 8 Len - 8 Bruno - 8 Total - 24  Funny, based on the comments, I expected a couple 9’s in there.  So they are now below Brooke.  But I think that Lance is really the one to beat tonight.

Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson - Jitterbug - I’m wondering about this one.  In my mind, Warren has been slow all season.  Why would they choose to pick the fastest dance they could have done?  Okay, the contestants must have decided to band together and do lifts tonight.  That’s all I can come up with.  When I think Jitterbug, I think a fast paced dance.  This one just seemed too slow to me.  It was fun at times, but it seemed very weak to me.  Len praised him for selling it.  Bruno came down hard on him, however, because his feet were all over the place.  Carrie Ann became the tie breaker and said she liked it, although she was afraid that the dangerous lifts wouldn’t work and Kym would get hurt.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 9 Len - 8 Bruno - 8 Total - 25  So, Len loved it and Bruno saw flaws, yet they came away with the same score.  Yep, I’m confused yet again.

Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer - Jitterbug - So that’s four for four in the final round.  I sure thought from what Carrie Ann said they weren’t supposed to be doing lifts, but everyone did so maybe I misunderstood.  And then Lance lost his shoe.  He missed a couple steps trying to kick it out of the way, but they soldiered on.  After how hard I was on Warren, I’ve got to say I thought this one was only slightly better at the start, but they seemed to pick up speed as the dance progressed.  And some of their moves were lots of fun.  As Tom pointed out, it was pretty amazing that he only missed a couple steps considering he was dancing with one shoe and one sock.  Len even got into the fun pretending to be upset about him dancing barefoot again.  But the real comments started with Bruno who said it was brilliant and a joy.  Carrie Ann agreed, saying they didn’t miss a step.  Len said this was his second fabulous dance of the night.  These should be good scores.

Scores: Carrie Ann - 10 Len - 9 Bruno - 10 Total - 29  The high score of the night, and they can’t completely believe it.

And that brings the semi-final round to an end.  Here’s tonight’s rankings:

1. Lance - 57

2. Brooke - 49

2. Warren - 49

4. Cody - 46

Encore: Well, Brooke has one more week to get an encore.  This week’s is going to Lance’s Jitterbug.  And I have no complaints because once it got going, it was really good.

Going Home: I feel pretty confident in saying Lance won’t be going home.  I think Brooke, being the only female, is most likely safe as well.  I bet it comes down to Warren and Cody.  There is a slight chance that Cody makes the finals, but my guess is that this is the week we say goodbye to the Boy Wonder.

Is there something I am missing, or will this be Cody’s week to leave the competition?

Mark

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Dancing with the Stars - Season Seven Semi-Finals

James (Black Wolf) Hansen, Anita (Quick Silver) Hansen, and Garry (Thunder Hunter) Englehart perform the annual Blessing of the Four Directions, November 12, 2008, in the lobby of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. November is American Indian Heritage Month.

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Blessing of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Susan Lucci, Emmy Award-winning star of the ABC Daytime drama “All My Children,” strikes a pose with her “Dancing with the Stars” professional dance partner, Tony Dovolani, Nov. 15, 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Lucci and Dovolani, who were eliminated from “Dancing with the Stars” on Nov. 5, appeared at “ABC SOAPnet Super Soap Weekend,” a soap opera fan event held this last weekend at the Walt Disney World theme park.

2008 marks the last year Super Soap weekend will be held at the Walt Disney World resort. In 2009 plans are to have six regional events around the country.

(Photo courtesy Disney. Matt Stroshane, photographer)

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Susan Lucci Dances into Disney’s Hollywood Studios one last time for Super Soap Weekend