ULTIMATE DISNEY - Chain of Memories -

[Ric-Mx]

Ok, I got the title of this post from the most recent Disney videogame Kingdom Hearts, but I think I'll work...

This is my 100th post so I wanted to make something good out of it. I know many people have got 10 or 30 times more posts than me but I'm a proud member of this site since the beginings of this now big and great online community of fans.

I started collecting Disney DVD's when my brother got me my first ever dvd "The Little Mermaid" back in spring 2001. I searched far and wide for Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella without knowing anything about Disney's vault and moratorioun policies and anything about advantages of the dvd's.

I can't remember exactly when I found ultimatedisney for the first time. I do know that the site didn't had the url name back then, and that we used some forums before this one.

It started going strong when we were at Onecenter.com, the forum with the condom ads that doesn't need user registration. I can recall some regular users as Gus (aka MickerMouseBoy) The Lizard King (who doesn't seem to be around anymore) Terry (whose new nickname I never found out who he is) Jake Lipson, Mulan, Poco (also nowhere to be found) and of course or misterious webmaster Luke (who is not willing to reveal his age... ever) plus many more.

We learned a lot about DVD's technology and advantages. Figured out what makes a good video transfer and a good audio mix. What are the format limitations. Shared opinions on what is and is not a good bonus feature. All about rumors, international releases, comparisions, and even social not disney related topics once in a while.

We can recall the akward episode when e got a new host for the forum... Bill (VonDrake) Oh Boy! that was a painful week, because many users had problems and our new host seemed like he wanted to take over all of us, banning members and reading the privates and... oh he wanted to be the new webmaster. But we decided that condom ads were better than that. I don't know Bill's nicknmae on this forum.

A few weeks later Luke surprised us with this brand new site. So in april 2003 we got a new and great interface, and more structured info all around. Good Reviews and many new users to share this. At this moment there are 1359 registered members on this site.

The site is growing stronger and better than ever. I believe is gaining popularity as one of Disney's more reliable online resources, way better than the Disney DVD official site. Who'd ever thought this would be???

For this Holidays I want to congratulate in a special way to Luke and all of the users that started it all. I also like to congratulate all forum members wishing you all for a great new year, hoping each of you will keep sharing this hobbie that entertains us even more than actually watching the movies. I mean, all of this forum-rumors-news- discussions is half of the fun of getting the disney dvd's

Well I started the first link of the chain, I know every user has a good, even if it is pretty simple, memory about the site that we can share.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

[TreasurePlanetRules]

Hi, I have been visting this site for the latest news on all the wonderful DVD's that have been released and those that are coming. I have been collecting Disney stuff since the first release of Aladdin on video. That is a lifetime away now!!!! I have all the major animation on video and am now collecting them on DVD!!!! (Ahhhhhh). I had never realised there existed a discussion section until today. I have read some of the discussions and they are full of cool trivia and great insights. So there is heaps about this wonderful website for me to explore. I think the information contained on this site is so extensive it simply blows me away.

[Luke]

Nice thread idea, Ric!

It started going strong when we were at Onecenter.com, the forum with the condom ads that doesn't need user registration. I can recall some regular users as Gus (aka MickerMouseBoy) The Lizard King (who doesn't seem to be around anymore) Terry (whose new nickname I never found out who he is) Jake Lipson, Mulan, Poco (also nowhere to be found) and of course or misterious webmaster Luke (who is not willing to reveal his age... ever) plus many more.

Terry is Maerj, and poco definitely still shows up now and again. Who else was there? Cinderelly posted a bit, Loomis and 2099net did too near the end of the condom board. Papa Bear, hennie, sethp, Joshua (Clinard, not around too much anymore) and I think Sulley told us he was there under a different name.

I would say the fall of 2002, there started to be a certain camaraderie among the small group of forum posters and regular updates to the site.

We can recall the akward episode when e got a new host for the forum... Bill (VonDrake) Oh Boy! that was a painful week, because many users had problems and our new host seemed like he wanted to take over all of us, banning members and reading the privates and... oh he wanted to be the new webmaster. But we decided that condom ads were better than that. I don't know Bill's nicknmae on this forum.

It's "Bill." And I apologize for those problems. Having a bad, uncaring webhost (don't ever use Netfirms!) and practically no knowledge of MySQLs or php lead us to taking that wrong turn.

A few weeks later Luke surprised us with this brand new site. So in april 2003 we got a new and great interface, and more structured info all around. Good Reviews and many new users to share this. At this moment there are 1359 registered members on this site.

Only 2 less than there were last Thursday before the forum went *KABOOM*!

The site is growing stronger and better than ever. I believe is gaining popularity as one of Disney's more reliable online resources, way better than the Disney DVD official site. Who'd ever thought this would be???

For this Holidays I want to congratulate in a special way to Luke and all of the users that started it all. I also like to congratulate all forum members wishing you all for a great new year, hoping each of you will keep sharing this hobbie that entertains us even more than actually watching the movies. I mean, all of this forum-rumors-news- discussions is half of the fun of getting the disney dvd's

Well I started the first link of the chain, I know every user has a good, even if it is pretty simple, memory about the site that we can share.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Thanks, Ric! Nice of you to share your memories of the site and I'm glad you still like the place! Few people have been around as long as you - but I have. Next month marks the fourth anniversary of the site in its first incarnation as "The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD", originally hosted on Angelfire.

We've certainly come a long way and it's been mostly movement in a positive direction. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

And welcome to the forum, TreasurePlanetRules and thanks for the kind words!

[Wonderlicious]

Confessions of a Disney addict...

I first discovered this site back in Winter 2003/4 and read the reviews a bit. I hadn't any Disney DVDs at that point, but I often came here for a peak. I noticed the forum and thought about joining, yet got put off each time. I was currently revising for important exams at the time, so I was too busy to start posting.

Once my exams finished last June, I decided to just go for it and sign up. It only took a little time for me to get in the swing and I became a regular (and often feared ) poster.

Around the time of joining, I decided to go out of my way and get The Lion King on DVD, driven by the urges of the reviews on this site to upgrade my Disney collection (suddenly reminds of me of when I thought Jack owned this site due to nearly every single review being written by him). I've since bought ten DVDs in the past six months or so, all thanks to this site's reviews!

I love this site due to its forum and reviews. Thanks for such a great site Luke!

P.S. Oh Luke, another thing. Thanks for making me feel great. I never knew people thought of me as a Super Genius...

[Jack]

I have too many fond memories of UD to number. I suppose my fondest are those from teh chat room, but there've been quite a few on the forum as well - like coming up with fake sequel names in one thread, and jousting with Ernest Rister in another. Right from the very beginning of joining this forum, everyone made for a very fun and lively interaction, which produced the greatest friendliness and comradery - that's why I've stuck with UD longer than any other forum on the web!

It's been an awsome 4 years for this site, and the credit goes to Luke for working so hard and keeping it all going - I'm still astounded by how many updates he churns out regularly. L-man, this one's for you:

[MickeyMouseboy]

This is great thread! brought back memories! of our beginnings and where we are now! Good memories and bad ones........ There's two other members that are not with use Trevor and I dont remember the other guy's name ( he was suppose to get the limited DVDs covers from BBV).

I remember our first religious thread "Passion of the christ" that was a bad thread! hehe. We need to have annual Ultimatedisney.com meet ups hehe like at disneyland or world