Jim Hill
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As for Melissa Joan Hart’s weird little cameo (She’s the head in the glass ball that’s supposedly making a clever riff on the Haunted Mansion’s Madam Leota) in the attraction … You wouldn’t think that Ms. Hart would be all that willing to make nice with the Mouse. Particularly since ABC canceled her sitcom “Sabrina” last season. (Not to worry, though. “Sabrina” - though produced by Paramount / Viacom -- was quickly picked up by Warner Brothers, where the teen-slanted TV show has proved to be a big hit for the WB.)

But - as it turns out - Ms. Hart is a pragmatist. She knows that the key word in “Show Business” is “Business.” More importantly, the production company that Melissa & her mother, Paula, own - Hartbreak Productions - have several deals in the works with Disney. That Shirley Temple bio - “Child Star” - that ran on the “Wonderful World of Disney” earlier this year? That was produced by Hartbreak. Melissa’s sister. Emily, even appeared in the TV movie as the teenage Temple.

So - to make nice with the Mouse - Melissa agreed to make like Madam Leota for WDI. As a special “Thank You,” Disney Channel reps then offered Hart the opportunity to direct an episode of their hit series, “So Weird.” Interesting to see how one hand washes the other, isn’t it?

As for Cher … This was pretty much the last deal that the Imagineers made to land a celebrity to appear in Superstar Limo. Indeed, folks who rode this Hollywood Pictures Backlot attraction during DCA’s Annual Passholder previews will swear to you that they didn’t see the sexy chanteuse when they went on the ride. And they’d be right. The Cher figure wasn’t installed in SSL ‘til just days prior to the official opening of the park.

So what’s Cher’s tie to the Mouse House? Well - in this case - it’s not so much what she’s done, but what Cher is about to do for Disney. She’s agreed to appear in the company’s next adaption-for-television of a hit Broadway musical, “Mame.” This big budget TV movie - which had originally been prepared as a possible vehicle for Barbara Streisand, who eventually passed on the project - should probably go into production sometime later this year and possibly air on ABC during the April 2002 sweeps period.

So why did Cher agree to allow a figure that looked like her yet was dressed like a mermaid appear in Superstar Limo? She thought it was a funny idea … And the guys from WDI asked nice. So Cher - who, these days, is actively trying to play down her reputation as a prima donna - said “Yes.”

As for Whoopi … Again, Whoopi Goldberg’s another performer with strong pre-existing ties to the Walt Disney Company. She’s had hit films with the studio: “Sister Act” (1992) and “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” (1993), as well as done voice work for one of the company’s biggest animated films, 1994’s “The Lion King.” Her besting book - “Book” - was published by Disney’s Hyperion Press. She’s done TV work for ABC, hosting the Academy Awards for the network back in March of 1999.

More to the point, Whoopi was already on board on another project for DCA: Serving at the host/ narrator - Califia, Goddess of California - for the “Golden Dreams” show. So it didn’t take too much additional arm twisting from WDI to get the actress to let the Imagineers use her likeness in SSL.

You see how easy that was? Disney was quickly able to corral a lot of celebrities who were willing to allow WDI to include their likenesses in Superstar Limo. Would that this would have made the difference.

But - even with Whoopi, Drew, Regis & Cher on hand - most theme park fans still felt that Superstar Limo was a significant snore. What exactly was the problem? Some didn’t care for all the inside industry jokes that this Hollywood Pictures Backlot attraction used. Still others felt that the likenesses of the celebrity figures that WDI did are way too stylized, making many of SSL’s star cameos virtually unrecognizable to most DCA guests.

Whatever the ride’s real problem may be, one thing is certain: Superstar Limo is DCA’s first confirmed dud. The attraction that most guests - when asked by those Disneyland Resort pollsters, who lurk around the park’s exits, PalmPilots in hand - regularly refer to as the most disappointing thing they experienced during their day at Disney’s California Adventure.

So what’s Imagineering Chairman Paul Pressler going to do about this DCA disaster? Oddly enough, he’s turning to his old stomping grounds - the Disney Stores - for help in getting Superstar Limo turned around.

Do you recall hearing last year about how the Walt Disney Company was going to revamp the look of its retail operation? How it had already created two prototype Disney Stores that featured the company’s new streamlined look - one at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA. & the other in Cherry Hill, N.J. And the most marked difference between the new look & the old look of the Disney Stores? All those colorful figures -- Mickey, Minnie et al - that you used to see on display had disappeared.

Over the past few months, a few of these figures have turned up as items up for bid on the Disney Auctions site that eBay runs. And some have pulled in some pretty princely sums. A 24 inch tall Mickey display figure from the Stamford, Ct. Disney Store sold for $1850.00. A 32 inch tall Alice in Wonderland figure from the Costa Mesa, CA. Store went for $2027.00. And a fiberglass Peter Pan from the same South Coast Plaza Disney Store sold for a whopping $6500.00.

Well, given how well that they’re selling, you can expect to see a lot more of these Disney Store display figures to turn up for bid on the eBay / Disney Auction site. But not until WDI has had a chance to look them over. Why for? Because the Imagineers are going to set aside the very best of these figures and - sometime soon -- use them to completely redress DCA’s Superstar Limo ride.