From nytimes.com:

In the autumn of 2005, Michael D. Eisner worked his last day as chief executive of Walt Disney. His ubiquitous mug and wide grin came to embody the company almost as much as Mickey Mouse, making him a public personality in his own right.

At the end, however, he looked more like Richard Nixon, isolated atop his empire. He found himself under siege from two former board members, who sought to force him out after 20 years because they felt the company was underperforming.

Today, Mr. Eisner has settled into a comfortable post-Disney existence — deeply involved with his talk show, his investments and his experiments in new media, and quite pleased that corporate spinmeisters no longer surround him, The New York Times’s Tim Arango writes.
« READ MORE »

From orlandosentinel.com:

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau President Gary Sain — along with executives from Disney, Universal and SeaWorld-owner Busch Entertainment and a second visitors bureau official — is competing for one of three openings on the board that oversees Visit Florida, the statewide tourism-advertising agency.

Gov. Charlie Crist will pick three Central Florida representatives from among Sain; Ed Fouche, a senior vice president at Disney Destinations; Tammy Gustafson, director of national sales at Universal Orlando; Scott Rose, the vice president of marketing strategy and planning at Busch; and Maria Diaz Urbino, the community relations manager at the visitors bureau. (Fouche and Gustafson are seeking reappointments to the board, which is formally called the Florida Commission on Tourism.)

Crist’s office recently began contacting locals to get recommendations from among the group. As the Pulse notes, the timing is awkward for Sain, who has faced heavy criticism this month over a pricey plane ticket to Dubai.

Link

www.luxist.com

For the last few years, the Golden Opulence, a $1,000 ice cream sundae, has reigned supreme as the priciest dessert at Serendipity 3 in New York. Now Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, has gotten himself a Guinness world record for the most expensive dessert. The dessert emporium teamed up with jeweler Euphoria New York to create the “Frrozen Haute Chocolate,” a $25,000 chocolate sundae. The new dessert is made from a blend of 28 cocoas from all around the world and is infused with five grams of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. It is topped with whipped cream, more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound. It even comes with souvenirs, an 18K gold bracelet with a carat’s worth of diamonds that rests at the base of the goblet and a gold spoon set with white and chocolate-colored diamonds. It makes yesterday’s $1,000 bagel look positively simple by comparison.

From marketwatch.com:

Disney Store locations nationwide will usher in the holiday season earlier than ever with day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) specials starting as early as midnight in more than 100 of its more than 200 stores. In malls across the country, most other Disney Store locations will kick off Black Friday shopping with 5 a.m. openings. All stores will offer an additional 20 percent off almost everything*, including already low one-day only pricing, from opening hours until 10 a.m.
The store for everything Disney is a favorite location for holiday shoppers looking for that perfect gift to fit any budget. Throughout the remainder of the weekend, Disney Store will continue to offer sale pricing on top toys such as Disney Princess dolls, tween and plush toys, and more.
« READ MORE »