Al Lutz
Encyclopedia
Al Lutz is an Internet journalist who publishes critical commentary and behind-the-scenes reports primarily about the Disneyland Resort
in California and other Disney businesses. He relies on anonymous sources for his columns at MiceAge.com and has been quoted in many mainstream news reports about Disney, including coverage in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
.
newsgroup before moving to the World Wide Web
, where he edited the Disneyland Information Guide, an unofficial resource for information about the Anaheim, California
theme park. "It just started as an FAQ, but then we developed it into a gossip column," he told USC
's Online Journalism Review in a 2007 interview. "I think having the viewpoint is what's important to me. Because that's one thing they'll kill you for on the Web is not having one." The article also calls Al Lutz "the dean of theme park reporters on the Internet".
With owners of several other Disney-related sites, on July 17, 2000, he launched MousePlanet.com, a news and travel-planning Web site largely devoted to Disney's theme parks. In 2002 he left the site with fellow writer Kevin Yee to create MiceAge.com, a Web site devoted primarily to commentary and anonymously sourced reports about Disney's theme parks. Lutz currently is the site's editor-in-chief.
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
in California and other Disney businesses. He relies on anonymous sources for his columns at MiceAge.com and has been quoted in many mainstream news reports about Disney, including coverage in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
History
In the 1990s, Lutz posted messages in the alt.disney.disneyland USENETUsenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
newsgroup before moving to the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, where he edited the Disneyland Information Guide, an unofficial resource for information about the Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
theme park. "It just started as an FAQ, but then we developed it into a gossip column," he told USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
's Online Journalism Review in a 2007 interview. "I think having the viewpoint is what's important to me. Because that's one thing they'll kill you for on the Web is not having one." The article also calls Al Lutz "the dean of theme park reporters on the Internet".
With owners of several other Disney-related sites, on July 17, 2000, he launched MousePlanet.com, a news and travel-planning Web site largely devoted to Disney's theme parks. In 2002 he left the site with fellow writer Kevin Yee to create MiceAge.com, a Web site devoted primarily to commentary and anonymously sourced reports about Disney's theme parks. Lutz currently is the site's editor-in-chief.