I was fortunate to have interviewed Disney Legend Bill [Sully] Sullivan in 2015 after the release of his book, “From Jungle Cruise Skipper to Disney Legend: 40 Years of Magical Memories at Disney” [Theme Park Press]. I met him in person at a D23 event in 2009 and kept in regular contact with him via email over the years.

The following is an excerpt from my book, “The Beat Goes On” [Theme Park Press]. In the chapter I devoted to Sully, I took a deep dive into his life and his storied Disney career.

Ever since his retirement, Sully, fellow Disney Legend Tom Nabbe and a group of fellow Disney retirees in Florida have gotten together periodically for lunch, known affectionately as “Meatloaf Thursdays” … sharing some laughs, old “war stories” and the camaraderie that sprang up during their days working together in the Vacation Kingdom of the World.

“There was only one Sully!” Nabbe told me after learning of his friend’s passing. “I miss him already. We did many Disneyana events together. I loved that handlebar mustache!”

———-

At Disney, it’s always about The Story.

Whether it’s developing a new resort, working on a new theme park attraction or dreaming up a new shopping experience, The Story is foremost in the minds of Disney’s creative team as they take on a new project.

That being said, The Story — or, more accurately, The Stories — are what defined the 40-year Disney career of William (Sully) Sullivan, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 88.

During my interview with Sully, it was his stories — enlightening, honest, funny, sometimes blunt — that stood out the most. That, and his infectious laugh.

In fact, he relayed so many hidden Disney gems during our talk, that you would have thought Sully spent his spare time in the Seven Dwarfs’ diamond mine.

For instance, in describing Paul Castle, the first official Mickey Mouse hand-picked by Walt Disney himself in 1961: “He was a pain in the ass to work with half the time. He was really salty.”

Or Tiny Kline, the first Tinker Bell at Disneyland: “She was a funny little old lady … 70-some years old … who wanted to do Tinker Bell going down the wire by her teeth. She’d ride the bus down every day from Los Angeles and then had to run to catch the last bus going back home. She was a sweetheart.”

And when he talked about Annette Funicello at a D23 celebration, he was effusive in his praise of the late, great Mouseketeer. “She was a sweet kid, a really charming young lady.”

Sully was fresh out of high school [Anaheim High, whose alumni included Disney Legend Ron Dominguez and Leah Gerber, who would go on to marry Marty Sklar, the former leader of Walt Disney Imagineering] when he watched in amazement as the press preview day at Disneyland unfolded on ABC-TV on July 17, 1955.

At that moment, Sully caught Disney fever. The following Saturday, he applied for a job at Disneyland. On Monday, he quit his job at Northrop Aircraft and on Tuesday, he reported for work as a ticket-taker for the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland. Back in those days, you bought a general admission ticket to get into the park, then used separate tickets to gain admission to each attraction.

Sully’s Jungle Cruise gig was the beginning of a 40-year career that saw him tackle a boatload of assignments both in Disney theme parks and outside the parks at Disney-related events, such as the 1960 Winter Olympics, the premiere of Mary Poppins and the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “Folks had faith in me. I had never been in a place with the magnitude of the Contemporary Resort, let alone work in it. I just had a tremendous experience throughout my career. I got to go to New York, Paris and Tokyo. The company supported me and gave me the opportunity.”

In addition to dozens of assignments during his career [he retired as the vice president of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World], he became personal friends with the “leaders of the club” … Walt and Roy Disney.

“Walt was a regular guy,” Sully said. “He was a complete gentleman, honest and straight-forward. He was always about taking care of the guests and keeping the place clean. I remember seeing him walk through the park and he’d bend down to pick up trash He was easy to work with, but if he raised his eyebrow, that’s when you knew he wasn’t happy.”

Sully had a great relationship with Walt’s brother, Roy, as well. “He was a really nice guy, too,” Sully said.

“I’ll never forget one Sunday morning I was on duty in the park. I was on Main Street and Roy and his wife Edna walked out of the door of the firehouse. I went over and said, ‘Good morning.’ And Roy said: ‘Meet me at the back of the Hills Brothers Coffee Shop so we can get some coffee and a danish.’ I did just that and Roy asked me to join him and his wife for breakfast. Nice, nice man. We started talking about the plans for EPCOT and Walt Disney World.”

It turns out that other members of the Disney family had warm feelings for Bill Sullivan, as well.

During EPCOT’s opening-day celebration in 1982, Sully crossed paths with Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, and her young daughter, who were driving around the park in a golf cart. Sully knew that Lillian Disney, Diane’s mom and Walt’s widow, also was in the park that day as well and “I asked [Diane] if her mom might be willing to do a quick interview,” Sully said, knowing full-well that Lillian rarely did interviews. “Let’s go ask her,” Diane told him.

Diane and Sully then approached Lillian, who wanted to know “what are you going to use [the interview] for?”

“We’re going to use it for history,” Sully responded, “so we can train our people.”

“Well, as long it’s for you Sully, I’ll do it,” Mrs. Disney said.

That comment speaks volumes about how much Sully was respected by people throughout the Disney organization.

One quality which played well with Walt Disney himself was the fact that Sully was not a “yes man.” Walt always wanted his people to give him an honest answer.

“Walt was like that,” Sully said. “He wanted a direct answer.” And, as a result, “he respected you for it.”

Out of all the jobs and assignments Sully was given over the years, which was his least favorite?

“Well, I guess it was working the graveyard shift doing security at Disneyland for eight months, but I learned a lot.”

Sully started his 40-year Disney career as a ticket-taker for the Jungle Cruise attraction a week after Disneyland opened in 1955. Starting salary: $1.56 an hour. In a few weeks, he was promoted to skipper. He would go on to become foreman of the popular attraction.

His career took off from there as his assignments became numerous, varied and far-flung. When Sully was promoted to park supervisor, “My responsibility was scheduling and the operation of the attractions,” he said. “When we had a breakdown, we had to be there. We’d handle guest complaints, lost children [of which we had a lot] and similar issues.”

The early years of Disneyland were a struggle, according to Sully. In the beginning, the park was open seven days a week. It was decided to close the park on Mondays, then Mondays and Tuesdays, to do maintenance and, more importantly, to save money.

“We got a lot of flak from the hotel people and the restaurant people,” Sully said, adding: “Walt said, ‘If you want to subsidize me, fine. Otherwise, I’m closing Monday and Tuesday so I can stay open.’”

Disneyland’s fortunes turned considerably in 1959 when The Matterhorn, the monorail and the submarine voyage opened to rousing acclaim. Sully’s career also took a quantum leap at that time.

In 1960, he was assigned to the Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California, where Disney had a substantial presence. Sully helped set up security and oversaw crowd control during opening and closing ceremonies.

He returned to Disneyland for several years before being reassigned to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. His assignment in the weeks prior to the Fair opening was simple: “To help get it open and get it operating.” During the second season, Sully was the assistant manager for the four Disney attractions and helped manage “it’s a small world.” When that attraction was moved west to Disneyland, Sully was there to assist with the installation.

When the company’s interests shifted to Florida and Walt Disney World, Sully was reassigned — by none other than Roy O. Disney himself — to the project. “We need experience down there,” Roy told Sully.

Sully would go on to work on EPCOT, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. When he retired in 1993, he was vice president of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. He was named a Disney Legend in 2005; his name appears on two windows on Main Street.

Curiously, Sully — who moved to Florida with his wife Jackie [they met when he worked the Jungle Cruise and she worked in a shop nearby] — didn’t visit Walt Disney World very much after he retired.

“It’s my park, and when I was there, I ran it my way,” he said. “I don’t want to be frustrated if I go back.”

Still, Sully had nothing but praise for WDW. “They’ve done a helluva job. It’s a beautiful place. You have to appreciate the architecture, the people who work there, the training, the colors, the merchandising, the food, which is better than it’s ever been … all the things The Boss [Walt] was interested in for a good show.”

Sully did return to Disneyland in July of 2015 for the park’s 60th anniversary.

“I saw Ron Miller [Walt’s son-in-law and the former CEO of the company who passed away in 2019] at the 60th anniversary. With Ron were his eldest daughter and three of his grandkids. He saw me and said, ‘Sully, you can’t hide behind that mustache!’”

Just another great story compiled during a lifetime of great stories involving William [Sully] Sullivan.

Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist and retired Disney cast member who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored seven books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat and The Beat Goes On for Theme Park Press. He has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, 2015.

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