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‘Dream Home’ shows Jetsons-like future

Disneyland attraction mixes cutting edge technology, gee-whiz flourishes

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updated 11:52 a.m. ET June 17, 2008

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Disneyland has seen the future, and the future is now-ish.

For its "Innoventions Dream Home" that opened Monday, the Happiest Place on Earth combined today's cutting edge technology with a few Jetsons-like flourishes.

Many of the 5,000-square-foot home's technologies are practical, such as a virtual bulletin board for the kids' schedules and a flat-screen outdoor monitor that gives barbecue instructions.

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Others are more futuristic: the push of a button changes the outside appearance of the home and a virtual mirror projects accessories, hairstyles and clothes from your closet onto your reflection.

The idea of a futuristic home dates back to the Monsanto House of the Future, which stood near the entrance of Disneyland Park's Tomorrowland from 1957 to 1967.

Many features of the new dream home were inspired by technology inside the Microsoft Home, a prototyping facility in Redmond, Wash.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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