Revamped Disney site launched

Walt Disney Co. launched its overhauled Disney.com website early Tuesday, a week after the Jan. 29 target date.

The first day’s visitors posted generally positive reviews on fan websites, discussion groups and blogs, though people overseas complained they couldn’t reach the new destination.

In a preview offered by Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger early last month, the souped-up site emphasizes promotional video clips and games aimed at teenagers and children.

With one click, visitors who pick from such categories as “girls” or “preschool,” see a variety of material aimed at them. Viewers can also sort by character before delving into more interactive environments built around Winnie the Pooh, Disney princesses and other favorites.

Some of the pages and features were slow to start, even with high-speed Internet access. The most advanced and customizable part of the site, Disney XD, still had parts that weren’t working, and Disney said it remained in a testing mode.

“It looks good, but it’s very slow to load. I have a feeling they’re gearing this toward the teenagers,” one fan wrote on the MiceChat.com discussion forum.

Al Lutz, a longtime Disney watcher who writes at MiceAge.com, said the navigation was too complicated. But he added, “Anything’s better than what they had before.”

A Disney spokesman declined to comment on the number of Web visitors or the sort of feedback received by the firm.

Iger last month said the site was one of Disney’s most important initiatives of the year.

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 joseph.menn@latimes.com