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May 8 2009
All Aboard for “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” Train Tour

From Sneak Peeks of Exclusive 3D Film Footage to Summertime Snow – Disney Pulls out All the Whistle Stops for 40-City Traveling Experience Departing Los Angeles May 22; Tour to Cover More Than 16,000 Miles
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney is pulling out all the whistle stops and taking its show on the road with a spectacular immersive and interactive 40-city train tour including a 3D sneak peek of film footage from the upcoming movie “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” it was announced today (05/08/09) by Dick Cook, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. Set amidst a snowy backdrop—complete with all of the sights and sounds of Christmas including carolers, decorations, giveaways and many more surprises in each of the 40 cities—the Train Tour is being launched with HP on board as the title and technology sponsor and driven by Amtrak. This family event is for guests of all ages and is free to the public. Starring Jim Carrey and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” opens in theatres November 6 in Disney Digital 3D™ and in IMAX 3D®. Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “‘Disney’s A Christmas Carol’ Train Tour is an incredibly fun way to introduce families across the country to the wonders and spectacle that is Robert Zemeckis’ unique and spectacular new holiday film. We are so proud of the movie, and think the 3D footage is so incredible, we just had to give everyone a chance to see it in Disney Digital 3D. From Los Angeles to New York, and all points in between, guests are going to have a fabulous time discovering things about the making of this extraordinary film, participating in their own festive fantasies, and getting into the holiday spirit all year round. ‘Disney’s A Christmas Carol’ is great entertainment for moviegoers of all ages, and this is the perfect introduction to a fun and exciting new holiday classic.” Among the highlights of the tour are authentic artifacts on loan from the Charles Dickens Museum of London; artwork, costumes and props from the film; demonstrations of performance capture technology; and a chance to morph your face into one of the film’s characters using HP TouchSmart PCs. At each stop along the way, a state-of-the-art Disney Digital 3D Theatre will be erected, where guests can get a sneak peek of “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” and see other exclusive behind-the-scenes materials from the movie. The latest details about tour stops and scheduled events are available at www.christmascaroltraintour.com. Featuring four custom-designed vintage rail cars full of behind-the-scenes attractions, entertaining demonstrations, and fun activities, the tour will have its inaugural stop at Los Angeles’ Union Station over Memorial Day Weekend, from May 22nd through May 25th. During the next 24 weeks, the train will make 40 stops in 36 states, as it travels its way across more than 16,000 miles of track. The tour will finish at New York’s Grand Central Terminal over the weekend of October 30th through November 1st. At every tour stop, Radio Disney will invite kids to enter for a chance to become a Movie Surfer representing their hometown. Each Hometown Movie Surfer will get a chance to appear on Disney Channel by filming their very own Movie Surfer’s segment! They’ll also receive a prize package of exclusive Movie Surfer and "Disney’s A Christmas Carol” gear. ABC television stations across the country will run local promotions. At each stop, guests will have the chance to win an HP TouchSmart PC and an HP Photosmart wireless printer. Additionally, Disney is working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America organization to provide an early Christmas experience to kids across the country. Disney will present the organization with a donation in the amount of $100,000 at the May 21st launch in Los Angeles to further the organization’s efforts of helping kids grow up to be great and will invite Boys & Girls Club kids to be part of the tour when it comes to their town. Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the nation are impacting the lives of 4.8 million young people each year with after-school programs that emphasize education, career exploration, community service, technology skills, financial literacy, the arts and more to help them reach their full potential as productive, caring citizens. A variety of innovative HP technologies helped to make the Train Tour possible. HP ProLiant servers and HP ProCurve switches will provide Disney with the computing power that will allow guests to collect and upload photos. Throughout the train exhibits, Disney is using HP TouchSmart PCs to run an interactive face morph application and HP monitors to showcase performance capture technology as well as images and digital effects from the film. Additionally, each train car will be wrapped with Disney’s Train Tour logo using the versatility of HP Scitex printers. “For decades HP and Disney have joined together to captivate audiences through technology innovation and digital entertainment,” said Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, HP. “HP technology used in the making of ‘Disney’s A Christmas Carol’ has enabled Disney to push the boundaries in performance capture technology. The Train Tour offers an innovative way for guests to interact with HP’s latest technology and experience the magic behind the film.” Amtrak locomotives and engineers will lead the four-car Train Tour (plus a private car), across the US, with stops ranging from 1-3 days along the way. Each train station will be themed with holiday decorations, and feature artwork from the film, Christmas Carolers, fun activities for the entire family, and snow! “Rail travel continues to influence the way people connect with each other and celebrating the release of a true classic is a perfect way to further that connection,” said Emmett Fremaux, Vice President Marketing and Product Management, Amtrak. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be teaming up with Walt Disney Studios for this 40 city tour to help educate Americans about the benefit of rail travel.” Dolby Laboratories will be supplying its Dolby® 3D Digital Cinema solution for the traveling Digital 3D theater, and Barco is providing the DP2000 digital projectors. Panasonic provides some of the latest high resolution large screen technology available to consumers today throughout the train cars. And, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is encouraging guests traveling to and from the train to Buckle Up, Every Trip, Every Time! ABOUT THE MOVIE “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking, performance-capture 3D motion picture event. Ebeneezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey, revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late. Through the magic of performance-capture technology, Jim Carrey tackles seven roles, including Scrooge and all of the Christmas spirits. “DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL” TRAIN TOUR SCHEDULE Stop # Market Date Site Address City State Zip 1 Los Angeles May 22-25 Los Angeles Union Station 800 N. Alameda St. Los Angeles CA 90012 2 Grand Canyon May 29-31 Williams Depot 233 North Grand Canyon Blvd Williams AZ 86046 3 Santa Fe June 2 Santa Fe Depot 410 S Guadalupe St Santa Fe NM 87501 4 Albuquerque June 5-7 Albuquerque Amtrak Station 214 First Street Southwest Albuquerque NM 87102 5 Denver June 12-14 Denver Union Station 1701 Wynkoop St Denver CO 80202 6 Salt Lake City June 16 Ogden Union Station 2501 Wall Avenue Ogden UT 84401 7 Sacramento June 19-21 California State Rail Road Museum 111 I Street Sacramento CA 95814 8 San Francisco June 26-28 Port of Redwood City 675 Seaport Blvd. Redwood City CA 94063 9 Portland July 1 Portland Union Station 800 Northwest 6th Avenue Portland OR 97209 10 Seattle July 3-5 King Street Station 303 South Jackson Street Seattle WA 98104 11 Spokane July 7 Spokane Amtrak Station 221 W. 1st Avenue Spokane WA 99201 12 Whitefish July 10-11 Whitefish Amtrak Station 500 Depot St Whitefish MT 59937 13 Fargo July 15 North Dakota State University 1301 12th Avenue North Fargo ND 58102 14 St. Paul July 17-19 Amtrak Midway Station 730 Transfer Road St. Paul MN 55114 15 Chicago July 24-26 Chicago Union Station 225 South Canal Street Chicago IL 60606 16 St. Louis July 31- August 2 St. Louis Union Station 550 South 16th Street Saint Louis MO 63103 17 Memphis August 4 Memphis Central Station 545 South Main Street Memphis TN 38103 18 New Orleans August 7-9 Riverview in Audubon Park 6500 Magazine Street New Orleans LA 70118 19 Houston August 11 Houston Amtrak Station 902 Washington Avenue Houston TX 77002 20 San Antonio August 14-16 San Antonio Amtrak Station 350 Hoefgen Street San Antonio TX 78205 21 Dallas August 18-19 Dallas Union Station 401 South Houston St Dallas TX 75202 22 Oklahoma City August 21-23 Oklahoma City Santa Fe Depot 100 South E. K.Gaylord Blvd Oklahoma City OK 73102 23 Kansas City August 25 Kansas City Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road Kansas City MO 64108 24 Omaha August 28-30 Durham Museum 801 South 10th Street Omaha NE 68108 25 Detroit September 4-6 Henry Ford Museum Greenfield Village 20900 Oakwood Blvd Dearborn MI 48124 26 Indianapolis September 9 Downtown Bargersville 24 North Main Street Bargersville IN 46106 27 Louisville September 11-13 Louisville Union Station 1000 W. Broadway Louisville KY 40203 28 Cleveland September 18-19 Cleveland Brown’s Lot 1085 W Third St Cleveland OH 44114 29 Albany September 22 Albany Rensselaer Rail Station 525 East Street Rensselaer NY 12144 30 Boston September 25-27 South Station 2 South Station Boston MA 2110 31 Baltimore September 30 B & O Railroad Museum 901 W Pratt St Baltimore MD 21223 32 Washington October 2-4 Union Station 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE Washington DC 20002 33 Atlanta October 6 Southeastern Railway Museum 3595 Peachtree Rd Duluth GA 30096 34 Spencer October 9-11 NC Transportation Museum 411 S. Salisbury Ave Spencer NC 28159 35 Savannah October 13 Savannah Amtrak Station 2611 Seaboard Coastline Dr Savannah GA 31415 36 Miami October 16-18 Gold Coast Railroad Museum 12450 SW 152nd St Miami FL 33177 37 Jacksonville October 20 Jacksonville Amtrak Station 3570 Clifford Lane Jacksonville FL 32209 38 Charleston October 23-25 Ansonborough Field Washington and Concord Streets Charleston SC 29401 39 Philadelphia October 27 30th Street Station 2955 Market Street Philadelphia PA 19104 40 New York October 30 - November 1 Grand Central Terminal 42nd Street and Park Avenue New York NY 10017 Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5960722&lang=en