Editor's Report
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"And They Lived Happily Ever After"

Rick West Gets Married
Ok, so it's not really Disney news, but it's important to all of us here at LaughingPlace.com, so it's our top story. Columnist Rick West got married last Saturday, November 20th. His lovely bride is named Venus. The wedding was beautiful, the reception a blast and the happy couple will soon be honeymooning in - where else - Walt Disney World.

I first met Rick West after the press event announcing the New Tomorrowland. I was just another guest crowding around trying to see something and Rick and his partner Bob Barber (also a LaughingPlace.com contributor) were inside the rope doing interviews and taking pictures. After the event I was hanging out at Coke Corner and Rick came over and showed everyone there the press kit that was handed out. I had known of him because of his posts on a BBS called The Mouse House. I kind of looked at in awe because he knew some Imagineers, but in person I found him to be a very, very nice person.

Over the years I've gotten to know him better and better and I honestly don't know if I've ever met anymore more willing to help someone out than Rick West. If it weren't for my relationship with Rick, this website would've been much more difficult to get going. He offered to write a column early on, made sure I was able to meet some of the contacts he knew, helped make sure we could attend press events, and pretty much did whatever he could to make us a success. Now I'm lucky enough to be a staff member of his magazine, Theme Park Adventure. I look forward to working with Rick in the future. But more importantly, I look forward to continuing to be friends with Rick, Venus and everyone else we've gotten to know because of Rick, in the years to come.

Both Rebekah and I as well as everyone else here at LaughingPlace.com extend our congratulations and our very best wishes for Venus and Rick's happily-ever-after.

News of the week
On to the news. This was a pretty busy week in the world of Disney. In case you missed it, here are some of the major stories:

• On Thursday Mickey Mouse celebrated his 71st birthday. Mickey made his screen debut on November 18, 1928 in Steamboat Willie. Happy Birthday, Mickey. Without you none of this would be here.

• Go.com was first ordered to stop using the Go "stoplight" logo but was later given a 30 day reprieve. The whole mess stems from a lawsuit by GoTo.com claiming the Go.com logo too closely resembles its logo.

• The Orlando Business Journal reported on the Disney stockholders approval of the 100% acquisition of Infoseek. BusinessWire had a transcript of the addresses given by Chairman / CEO, Michael Eisner and Senior Executive Vice President / CFO Thomas O. Staggs at the November 17, 1999 meeting.

• Reuters, in an November 16th article, reported on Eisner's view of the Disney Company future via an interview with the Disney boss..

• Another story near and dear to us, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies had their last show in the Golden Horseshoe Saloon at Disneyland last Sunday. Rebekah wrote about it in last week's Forever Magical.

• On November 23rd Disney will release a special collector's edition DVD of A Bug's Life with extensive bonus programming. Click here for details on the DVD and purchase information.

• Disney announced a very special event to be held on February 12, 2000. The Disneyland Hotel and Walt Disney Art Classics will host Cinderella's Royal 50th Anniversary Celebration featuring a reunion of many of the film's original artists, animators, and voice talent, dining, dancing and event-exclusive merchandise.

Coming Up
Toy Story 2 will be released nationwide on Wednesday, November 24th. I think Disney has another huge hit on their hands with this sequel. So far, the critics agree.

To coincide with the movie, Woody's Roundup, the new show at the Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland is scheduled to being on Thanksgiving Day. The Christmas Fantasy parade will also begin on Thursday as Christmas at Disneyland goes into full swing. The day after Thanksgiving should bring the all the holiday festivities to Walt Disney World as well.

The Rest
I apologize for not having a Disneyland Update this week. We were at Rick West's wedding over the weekend so we didn't get to take all the pictures we wanted to. But one will be coming up soon, so stay tuned! This week's trivia contest is all about Walt Disney World of the 90s, so be sure to enter. Our Online Poll this week asks the very important question "Does Disney focus too much on Winnie the Pooh?" I'm sure many of you have strong opinions on that.

-- Doobie Moseley (November 22, 1999)