For years, they called them Meatloaf Thursdays.

Every few months, a group of retired Walt Disney World cast members convened at an establishment called Miller’s Ale House in central Florida, where the guys would swap stories of working during WDW’s early days, savor a tasty lunch and simply enjoy each other’s company.

The luncheons have always been organized by Disney Legend Tom Nabbe, who began his Disney career as a teenager in 1956, playing the role of Tom Sawyer on Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island. When he transferred to Walt Disney World, he took on the role of monorail supervisor.

We’re happy to report that the luncheons – now held at Servando’s Mexican Restaurant in Winter Garden – are still going strong. Although meatloaf has been switched out in favor of quesadillas and tacos, warmth and camaraderie remain the main dish.

Tom invited me to attend a recent gathering this past February and it was everything I had expected … and then some. The good-natured ribbing … plenty of belly laughs … and stories of the good old days that left me in awe.

The lunch tradition among the Walt Disney World retirees began as an offshoot of an annual Christmas party Nabbe and his wife Janice hosted.

“It started a few years back,” Tom told me in 2016. “We have had a Christmas party for the last 15 years. We invite those folks that relocated with us to Florida to open Walt Disney World.

“Through the years, they became our close friends and, in some cases, our extended family. Well, some of us, after a little Christmas cheer, were talking about the group and it wasn’t getting any bigger, because over the years, some of our friends had passed on. We decided that we should get together more often than once a year, so we decided to do lunch every few months.”

Tom took on the role of scheduler for the group, setting up the luncheons via e-mail invitations. The gatherings are “not a set schedule, usually six to eight weeks apart. I check with everyone when they want to meet again and send out an e-mail with a time and place. If I get more than three responding ‘yes’ to the e-mail, it’s a luncheon.”

The original group included Disney Legends Bob Matheison, Bill (Sully) Sullivan and Nabbe, who have windows in their honor on Main Street USA in Walt Disney World. Both Matheison (2020) and Sullivan (2024) have passed away.

The other four “meatloaf originals” are Bill Hoelscher, Steve Baker, Ted Kellogg and Dwight Dorr.

“Steve, Ted and I were the opening supervisors in the Transportation Department, working for Pete Crimmings,” Tom said. “Dwight was the opening manager of Frontierland/Liberty Square; Sully was the director of Hotel Operations; Bill opened the Preview Center in 1970 and was the director of Park Operations and Bob Matheison was the Big Boss.”

I posed for a photo with the group. Rather than write a caption for the photo, here in detail are brief descriptions of who they are and what they did during Walt Disney World’s opening few years:

From right to left, there’s …

Jeff Burton, Walt Disney Imagineering project manager for Italy, Africa and China for EPCOT and many other WDI projects until his retirement.

Steve Baker, relocated from Disneyland to be the supervisor of Buses and the Parking Lot at the Magic Kingdom for Pete Crimmings in the WDW transportation Department. Later was Director of Participant Affairs.

Ted Kellogg, relocated to Florida to be the Supervisor of Watercraft for Pete Crimmings’ opening crew. Retired from WDW as a maintenance superintendent. Wrote a book about his life experiences, titled Passport to Pixie Dust, for Theme Park Press.

Martin McCarthy, hired in 1971 as a member of the Magic Kingdom’s merchandise opening crew and worked throughout WDW. Also, he was part of the merchandise opening crew for EPCOT and retired with 50 years of service.

Tom Nabbe, relocated to Florida from Disneyland in 1971to be the opening crew for Monorail system supervisor working for Pete Crimmings. Also wrote a book, From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend: The Adventures of Tom Nabbe. Named a Disney Legend in 2005.

Goofy About Disney blogger Chuck Schmidt.

Bill Hoelscher, relocated to Florida in 1968 to open the Walt Disney World Review Center and was the Magic Kingdom Operations Director in 1971. Had previously worked at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair.

Dwight Dorr, relocated to WDW as the supervisor of Frontierland, but was moved to the Polynesian Hotel before opening to help out Bill Sullivan. Dwight celebrated his 50th anniversary with Disney before retiring from the Sports Complex.

Missing from the photo were luncheon regulars Alain Boniec, who worked in the Marketing Division and was a WDW photographer until his retirement, and Gene Columbus, who worked in the entertainment division from the mid-1970s until his retirement.

Hoelscher and Nabbe are members of Club ’55, meaning they worked at Disneyland during its first year of operation in 1955. Other Club ’55 members are Bob Penfield and Ron Heminger.

When the call went out for Disneyland cast members to voluntarily move to central Florida to get Walt Disney World up and running, most of the “Meatloaf Thursday” crew answered.

“We (Kellogg, Baker and Nabbe) were the WDW opening transportation supervisors for Pete Crimmings, who was the head of WDW’s Transportation Department” when Walt Disney World opened, Nabbe said.

This Oct. 1 will mark the 55^th anniversary of Walt Disney World’s opening. Nabbe and several of his opening-day cast member cohorts are planning to be in attendance on that day to pose for a group photo in front of Cinderella Castle, just like they did five years ago during WDW’s 50^th in 2021.

Lost in the hustle and bustle, pomp and circumstance and souvenir popcorn bucket frenzy at Walt Disney World’s 50^th anniversary celebration was the fact that several of the park’s opening day cast members – the folks who were on hand to greet excited guests when the park first swung open its gates on Oct. 1, 1971 – were an important part of that day’s festivities.

And they’re planning to carry on that tradition this coming Oct. 1.

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 eight books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat and The Beat Goes On, as well as his latest, Marty, Mickey and Me, all for Theme Park Press. He has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.

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