Disney by Mark’s Founder Interviewed by ThinkTechHawai’i on KGU Radio 760 AM, Honolulu. For Immediate Release: May 3, 2013, Today Mark Hickson, founder and editor-in-chief of Disney by Mark was interviewed by Atilla Seress for ThinkTechHawaii’s weekly business program on KGU radio, Honolulu. The topic “Into the looking glass with Disney” covered Mr. Hickson’s expert knowledge [...]
News: Mark has been selected as a Affiliate Service Provider to the High Technology Development Corporation. HTDC operates and provides business incubation services at the Manoa Innovation Center (Oahu) and the Maui Research and Technology Center. Current projects include content development & programming for the websites DisneybyMark.com, and authoring a book on the history of Disneyland. [...]
Disney by Mark – Your Independent Disney News Source Created by Mark Hickson, Disney by Mark, a.k.a. DisneybyMark.com & DbM offers a unique look at Disney that only a former Imagineer can share. The website features news, stories, and editorials about the Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries. Disney by Mark also features consumer product, film, television, theme [...]
Never Say It’s Impossible Mark was an Imagineer during the “Disney Decade” which saw an unprecedented expansion of the company and its resources. On a daily basis new content was developed, new venues were located, and new technologies were explored to bring to the world the Disney theme park experience. In this presentation Mark will [...]
Retail Concept: Cucina Bella is Italian for “Beautiful Kitchen” and is Maui’s first, exclusive gourmet kitchenware store. Cucina Bella is a “Destination Store” offering mid to high-end products to a more discriminating buyer.The store is a melding of retail and live interaction. Demonstrations during store hours featuring how-to lessons such as knife skills, bundt cake baking, or barista [...]
I wanted to be an Imagineer as long as I can remember. When I was in 3rd grade I spent an entire day drawing a big map of Disneyland on my desktop. I had rendered every attraction in the minutest detail. But my teacher caught eye of my masterpiece, made me scrub it off my [...]
Yes, that’s me performing at the world-famous Improv. My stage name is Mark Stephan (pronounced Steven). I found that by having a “stage” name anyone that I offend during my show won’t be able to find out where I live. My act has been best described as “a fresh and very twisted, no-holds-barred comedic style.” Trained [...]
In 1997, I was a father of three teenage girls. In talking with them I discovered that there wasn’t anyplace on the web that contained age and gender appropriate material. You know, stuff just for them. Also if they used a search engine looking for “teen girl stories” all they would get is porn. Pretty [...]
No, it’s not a cruise ship.. it was the concept before, we called it the “Floating Theme Park”. That’s right, a complete Disney park with all the attractions shops and restaurants in a converted supertanker hull. Developed in conjunction with Disneyland International it was to be a new and very unique way to bring the Disney theme [...]
When I took over as Head of Development at SCi, I found that 70% of my staff was working on a game called Kingdom O’ Magic or KOM for short. It was a comedic spoof of JRR Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” and was the brainchild of a most gifted writer and gamer, Fergus McNeill. [...]
I met Scott Wolf, a producer for Walt Disney Computer Software at the 1991 Disney Employee Forum. Sharing many things in common we became great friends. One day at lunch we made a visit to one of the new Disney Stores. We found a charming interior, the cast members were cheerful and helpful, and a happy atmosphere. But [...]
The storyline for the park was based on a myth created exclusively for the project. It describes a fiery ball falling from the dark heavens and crashing into a forgotten region of the Dubian desert. The impact of the meteorite caused a vast crater to form. After the ash had settled and many years passed, life [...]
I was driving my car on the freeway in Los Angeles one day when, out of the blue this concept struck me. It was the summer of 1998 and for some months I had been wrestling with the issues and paradoxes that the new Internet was facing. Many seemingly unrelated. First, there was all the [...]
As interim Director of Operations of VeriTest Inc., I had the pleasure of reorganizing and restructuring the world’s most respected hardware and software testing laboratory into an effective, responsive, and scalable organization.As the world’s most trusted independent microcomputer product-testing lab, VeriTest enables the industry to build and market better products through definitive, real-world testing. Their client list [...]
Background: Lonnie Burr, one of the original Mouseketeers, and I have been talking to each other from our homes in Oregon and Hawaii for a few months, sharing our Disney and post-Disney experiences, mixed-in with some good laughs. We thought it would be good fun to share our conversations with our fans. We hope that you enjoy this unique conversation between a Mouseketeer… [...]
