Disneyland is more than a place where parents and children can have fun together, as its creator, Walt Disney, intended.

It’s also a place where precious memories reside.

The folks at Disney are well aware that, while they are, first and foremost, part of an entertainment company, they also are in the business of creating lasting vacation memories.

What Disney has discovered is that those cherished memories at Disney Parks have a very long shelf life … so long, in fact, that the feelings of togetherness and familial bonding tend to span generations and more often than not, are passed on from mother to daughter, father to son, grandparents to grandchildren.

My memories of Disneyland go back to the first time I walked down Main Street USA. It was late July of 1998, and a dense fog enveloped the park. It was unseasonably cool that morning, maybe in the upper 60s. The fact that we were walking through a Disney theme park in July and we weren’t soaked in sweat – as is always the case in Walt Disney World at that time of year – came as a refreshing surprise.

As I walked toward the park’s central Hub and Sleeping Beauty Castle, I remember thinking about the storied history of Disneyland … about how this “amusement enterprise” at one time existed only in Walt Disney’s fertile imagination … about how Walt and his determined team overcame a boatload of obstacles to turn vast fields of orange trees into an entertainment juggernaut … and about how Walt himself walked along the fabled thoroughfare after his “latest and greatest dream” became a reality in July of 1955.

In the year 2000, we returned to Disneyland. During this visit, we got to see the early stages of construction on Disney’s California Adventure. There were barricades lining the area near the Main Gate of Disneyland and a small preview area was set up for guests to get an idea of what was to come.

I’m always hit with waves of nostalgia each and every time I visit what has long been known as The Happiest Place On Earth, which turns 70 years old this summer.

I remember running the inaugural Disneyland Half Marathon in early September of 2006. Thousands of runners crammed Disneyland Drive for the early morning start. A monorail was parked on a beam above the street, with several Disney characters waving to us from open windows.

It was quite a thrill running along the empty paths inside the darkened park, through Sleeping Beauty Castle, into Frontierland and Adventureland, then on to the streets of Anaheim, along the dirt warning track inside Anaheim Angels’ baseball stadium, into Disney’s California Adventure to the finish line near the entrance of Downtown Disney.

I remember meeting up with Marty Sklar, the Disney Legend and former leader of Walt Disney Imagineering, on a rainy late November day in 2013. We greeted each other outside City Hall and walked up Main Street, headed toward New Orleans Square, where we would have lunch at the exclusive Club 33 restaurant.

It was an afternoon filled with treasured memories with a man I truly admired (be on the lookout for my latest book, Marty, Mickey and Me, due out this spring). As we walked, Marty talked about many of his cherished memories regarding a place he often referred to as “the heart” of everything Disney encompasses.

Indeed, Disney has spent decades weaving its magic into a tapestry of joy-filled memories for its millions of guests. Over the years, they’ve asked us to Remember The Magic and to Let The Memories Begin. And we have.

This past January, I added to my own list of personal Disneyland memories by spending a day with retired Imagineering Executive Creative Director Kevin Rafferty. As with everything involved with Disney, there’s a story behind this wonderful get-together with a man, who like Marty Sklar, has become a dear friend.

Back in 2013, after lunch with the aforementioned Marty Sklar at Club 33, Marty, my wife Janet, our friend Mike Splitstone and I began the trek back to City Hall. As we made our way through Adventureland, Marty pointed out several trees near the Jungle Cruise that were planted there before opening day in 1955. And as we walked past the entrance to The Enchanted Tiki Room, Marty mentioned how the original concept for the Tiki Room was for it to be part of a restaurant.

The next day, it dawned on me that I had missed a golden opportunity: I should have asked Marty to join us to experience the Tiki Room together. I can only imagine the pearls of wisdom Marty would have shared with us.

Fast forward to March 3, 2020, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway – the brainchild of none other than Kevin Rafferty – is set to debut. Prior to the day-long press preview, I mentioned to Kevin about the regrets I had over the Marty/Tiki Room experience, and I asked him if he could squeeze me in for a quick ride aboard MMRR. I wanted to find out all the juicy details he and his team had inserted into the attraction.

Understandably, Kevin was too tied up with interviews and official ceremonies, but he promised me “I owe you a ride.”

A few weeks after MMRR opened, however, the world came grinding to a halt, thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Over the next few years, life, as it often does, got in the way of experiencing MMRR with Kevin. I did meet up with him in 2022, when he was in Florida for an appearance with The Carolwood Society, a group dedicated to preserving Walt Disney’s railroad legacy. Kevin was the group’s featured guest.

We finally set up a day to get together this past January during our planned trip to California. To borrow from the theme song featured during Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway: Nothing could stop us now.

Joining my wife and I were our friends Cathy and Rich Reynolds, and Dorene and Mike Splitstone (the same Mike who was with us for lunch with Marty Sklar). Our group met Kevin at 8 a.m. at the Walt and Mickey Statue in Disney’s California Adventure.

Ever gracious, Kevin immediately ingratiated himself with his new friends, regaling them with stories from his amazingly productive Disney Imagineering career.

After about a half hour, we decided to make our way over to the Kevin-inspired Cars Land, which opened in 2012 and solidified Kevin’s status as one of Disney’s most prolific attraction masterminds; indeed, of all the attractions he’s had a hand in creating, Cars Land may be his crowning achievement.

As we waited on the nearly hour-long queue for the Radiator Springs Racers, Kevin pointed out one fascinating detail after another along the intricately designed Stanley’s Oasis and what it took to find and/or create those nuggets.

As it turned out, the day brought back a flood of personal memories for Kevin, as well.

The area where Cars Land was built, he explained, was once Disneyland’s parking lot … the same parking lot where his relationship with a fellow Disneyland cast member named Patty – now Mrs. Patty Ann Rafferty – blossomed.

After our spine-tingling race through Ornament Valley, we experienced the always fun Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree before heading over to Mickey’s PhilharMagic (yes, Kevin was one of the driving forces behind that attraction, too, as well as offering his guidance on the stunning overlay featuring scenes from Coco, which were added just prior to his retirement). We topped off the California Adventure portion of the day by hopping on the now-shuttered trolley car for a spin around Hollywoodland and Buena Vista Street.

As we made our way from California Adventure to Disneyland’s Main Gate, Kevin pointed out a special spot to him in the esplanade.

“There’s a picture of my wife Patty driving the tram when she was a cast member here,” he said, pointing to the exact spot where the photo was taken. “So, this is a special place. Patty used to drop guests off, and pick them up, right here at the front entrance almost under the monorail track!”

Kevin went on to point out that in addition to himself and his wife, their son Kevin Jr. (Imagineering), Kevin Jr.’s wife Cortney (Disneyland HR), Patty’s sister Linda Flathers (a former dancer at the Golden Horseshoe Revue in Disneyland and the Diamond Horseshoe Revue Tokyo Disneyland) and Patty’s brother Steve (former cast member at the French Market in New Orleans Square) have all worked or currently work for Disney.

“All three siblings were Disneyland cast members together and all three went to Walt DIsney Elementary School in Anaheim – a perfect family for me to join, huh?” Kevin said.

Then it was on to Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland for my much-anticipated trip on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway with Kevin.

Although he retired before the Disneyland version of MMRR opened, his considerable influence can be seen throughout the attraction.

In Florida, the attraction was designed to fit inside the Chinese Theater, where The Great Movie Ride once held sway. Designing an attraction inside an existing structure presents its own set of unique challenges, which Disney’s Imagineering team overcame in spectacular fashion.

The Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disneyland (which opened in 2023) didn’t have the same space constraints, because a new show building was built to accommodate the attraction … and the differences are startling, particularly in the magnificent queue area of the El CapiToon Theater.

In Florida, you walk from the queue right into the attraction’s “Perfect Picnic” opening sequence. In California, the queue winds its way around a stunning collection of Mickey and Minnie movie-themed memorabilia … as well as some devilishly clever props.

There’s a movie theater-style refreshment stand featuring Mickey-shaped popcorn kernels, cash registers with the date of Mickey’s debut (11.18 and 19.28), and cheese dispensers for Your Cheese and Nacho (not your!) Cheese.

According to Kevin, “the Mickey and Minnie memorabilia seen there is part of the special Toontown Hysterical Society-sponsored exhibit called ‘Mickey Through the Ears.’  Of course, the movie theater props, such as the popcorn kernels, etc., are a permanent part of the theater.”

And there are subtle differences during the ride. For instance, guests in WDW turn left after they enjoy Daisy’s conga sequence, while in Disneyland, the ride vehicle turns to the right.

And in California, there’s no “Great Moving Ride” sign during the carnival sequence, like there is in Florida. That sign pays homage to The Great Movie Ride.

And then there’s the Disneyland-exclusive sign that honors Kevin’s contributions to the attraction. It’s located on a storefront in the downtown area of the attraction, and it reads:

Kevin’s Aloha-Ha-Ha Shirts.

“There’s a photo of the moment when I was doing a walk-through of the attraction while it was still under construction several months before opening and the team sprang the huge ‘hidden Kev’ surprise on me. I was flabbergasted, to say the least!”

One thing that remains constant on both versions of the attraction is the level of detail that’s packed into each show. That, and how much fun it is to experience the totally enjoyable journey. Especially with a friend.

“Well, we finally did it!” Kevin said as we got off the ride.

Although it took nearly five years, it was well worth the wait … another wonderful Disneyland memory to add to my growing list.

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, The Beat Goes On and Disney’s Dream Weavers for Theme Park Press. He has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.

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