Editor's Report
Page 1 of 2

The original LaughingPlace.com logo. This one was
used before our official launch on our Disneyland-only
prototype site.

Happy Birthday To Us

If you've been a reader of LaughingPlace.com for a while, you know I don't normally have much to say publically. (And if you've been reading for a really long while, you might actually remember that logo up there). My job on this site is to do all the support work, take pictures, cover events, do interviews - stuff like that. But today is LaughingPlace.com's 2nd birthday and being the co-owner of the site (along with my wife Rebekah) I thought I should say a few words about the past year, what's coming up, share a few personal thoughts and hand out a few thank yous.

I'll pick up the story here ...

One year ago today LaughingPlace.com had just completed the most exciting 2 1/2 weeks in its history. On July 14, 2000 we put up an interview with Disneyland Resort President Cynthia Harriss, the first (to my knowledge) extended interview with a high-ranking Disney park executive for an unofficial Disney site. Following that was our Magical Memories series where we had Disney personalities and LaughingPlace.com readers share their favorite memories of Disneyland. Participants included Disney Archivist Dave Smith, songwriter Richard Sherman, Bob Penfield - the last original Disneyland Cast Member and several others. The series culminated in the August 1st publication of memories from Cynthia Harriss, famed Imagineer Tony Baxter and Rebekah and me sharing our story of getting engaged at Disneyland. It was a good time to be the owner of LaughingPlace.com. The only problem - the problem we always face - what's next???

Well it's been a busy year....

• Six new columnists - Marc Borrelli on Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, Ken Pellman with a unique take on all kinds of Disney topics, Kirby Holt with film reviews and awesome special features, Michelle Smith with her unique style, Barry Allender on collectibles and Jim Hill with his controversial views on everything Disney.
• More guest writers - Matt Walker, Paul Perrello, Josh Benton, Kim Petersen, Marc Spignese - contributing unique articles to the site.
• More interviews - Actor Daniel Roebuck, former Imagineer Eddie Sotto, Spy Kids writer and directory Robert Rodriguez, Disney family member and filmmaker Tim Disney, Atlantis screenwriter Tab Murphy, Electrical Parade pioneer Don Dorsey, Lee Zoppa of Walt Disney Art Classics and others.
• The LaughingPlace.com Community continues to grow through our very popular Discussion Board, meets at the park organized by reader LuLu and even the LaughingPlace.com T-Shirts we've (finally) started selling.
• The opening of Disney's California Adventure and the rest of the new Disneyland Resort was covered with hundreds of pictures, video, interviews, opinions and lots more.
• Our first holiday trip to Walt Disney World. And what a trip it was - more than 950 pictures in our Guide to the Holidays at Walt Disney World.
• Coverage of events large and small - Divas at Disneyland, Electrical Parade opening, the new Mr. Lincoln opening, Disneyland's 46th birthday, Agriculture Day at DCA, the NFFC Convention, the Reagan Library Walt Disney exhibit, the Architecture of Reassurance exhibit, the final Fantillusion at Tokyo Disneyland and others.
• Spotlights on attractions including SpectroMagic, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Condor Flats and our recently completed series on how Alice in Wonderland is represented in each of the four Disney resorts.
• A Trip Countdown on the front page so readers can count down the days to their next Disney trip each time they visit the site.
• The addition of our second online game - Guess the Picture.
• The addition of a daily email list with all the day's headlines and links to the new LaughingPlace.com articles.
• 2922 news headlines and 470 press releases and announcements in the past 12 months.
• The Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World and DisneySea Updates that have remained very popular. In the past 12 months we've done 27 Disneyland Resort Updates, 8 Walt Disney World Updates and 7 DisneySea Updates.
• Enhancements to our attraction and dining guides and the addition of the California Adventure attraction guide.
• All this culminating in a huge event in the short life of this website - an interview with Paul Pressler, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Which, once again brings up this question - what's next???
Well, I've given up trying to answer that question because I'm never right. Just when I think things are ready to go in a certain direction, something pushes us in another direction. So the only real I answer I can give is "a lot". I've got a list a mile long of features I'd like to add to the site. Another list equally as long with stories I'd like to do. Another for improving our trip planning guides. Another for improving our website directory and search engine. Another for ... well, you get the idea. Exactly when and in what order all of this will happen, I can't say. But I do know that from day one our goal has been to be "The #1 Site for Disney News, Information, Links and Discussion" And we will continue to work towards that goal from every angle.

On a Personal Note
If you're a Disney fan, can you even imagine how much fun it must be run a site like this? My "job" is going to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. It's my "duty" to eat at different restaurants and check out the hotels. And I "have to" attend Disney conventions, meet other Disney fans and talk to Disney legends and personalities.

Those who know me personally know there have been some very difficult times over the past couple of years related to LaughingPlace.com. But they also know that - save for my family - nothing in this world brings me greater joy. Starting LaughingPlace.com is the best decision Rebekah and I ever made. The opportunities we've had, the people we've been able to meet, the places we've gone, the things we've done - it's unbelievable. And I can look all around my life right now at the people who are important to me, and so many of them I know as a direct result of this website. There are some really wonderful, wonderful people in this Disney community and Rebekah and I are lucky to know many of them.

Now, I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. There's no question that LaughingPlace.com is a business and our goal is to make money. We take the site very seriously. We spend a lot of time trying to balance the needs of all of our readers. We try to make sure the stories and other content we produce is of high quality and the overall tone of the site is balanced. We recognize that a large part of our audience are people planning trips or casual to moderate Disney fans just looking to have some fun with their hobby. We also recognize that many in our audience are very serious Disney fans who are interested in going a little deeper in examining the Company. Creating a site that's useful and appealing to both audiences is a challenge. But we hope we've lived up to that challenge for most of our readers. When we don't - you'll let us know (and you have been).

But all that business stuff aside, LaughingPlace.com is a just-plain-fun place to run. If you ever get the opportunity to do a website like this, don't pass it up. The work may look daunting, but the rewards are amazing in so many different ways - some a complete surprise. For example, last month Rebekah and I were guests on a radio game show called "Hooked on Trivia" (760AM out of San Diego). Host Mike Cook had us on to ask some Disney trivia questions. Things went so well he's asked us to return later this month or early next month for more Disney trivia. Now there's no way in the world I would have ever guessed running a website would've led to something like this. Just another example of how I never know "What's next".