Chuck Schmidt

Chuck Schmidt, bitten by the Disney bug at an early age, remembers watching The Mickey Mouse Club after school in the mid-1950s. During his 48-year career in the newspaper business, he channeled that love of Disney as the Sunday News and Travel editor for The Staten Island Advance. Chuck has written or co-authored six books for Theme Park Press, including Disney's Dream Weavers, On the Disney Beat, An American in Disneyland Paris, Disney's Animal Kingdom: An Unofficial History. Chuck has shared his passion for all things Disney in his Still Goofy About Disney blog on AllEars.Net since 2016. He resides in Beachwood, N.J., with his wife Janet. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.


How Epcot Went from a Napkin Sketch to Entertainment and Educational Beacon

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Epcot, the second of four theme parks to be built on Walt Disney World property since 1971, is currently undergoing a major overhaul, with new shows and attractions in the works to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of The Vacation Kingdom of the World in central Florida. But the Epcot that opened on Oct. 1, 1982, was a far cry from the Epcot envisioned by Walt Disney in the 1960s.
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Disney’s New Skyliner Has an Unlikely Height-Challenged Fan

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
I’ve never been a fan of heights. Put me anywhere that’s 20 feet or more above terra firma and little beads of sweat start forming on my forehead. Unfortunately for me, fear of heights has come into play over the years on a number of popular attractions at Walt Disney World. Imagine how thrilled I was when the Disney Skyliner opened. But after one ride on the transportation system, I'm hooked.
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“The Art of Disney Costuming” Explores the Fascinating World of Wardrobing

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
The Disney Editions book "The Art of Disney Costuming: Heroes, Villains and Spaces Between," by Jeff Kurtti and the Walt Disney Archives staff, takes a deep dive into the heretofore unexplored world of the costumes that permeate Disney’s expansive world. What we learn is that costumes aren’t just set pieces, but are true works of art that embellish each character's role.
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The Wonderful World of Disney Has a Long History With the Wonderful World of Oz

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939 and became one of MGM Studios most profitable ventures. The movie was based on the literary works of L. Frank Baum. Two years before the release of The Wizard of Oz, Walt Disney expressed interest in purchasing the rights to Baum’s stories. But with work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio occupying all of his studio’s attention, Walt passed on pursuing Baum’s works until 1954.
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Like a Freak Snow Storm, the Incredible Success of ‘Frozen’ Caught Disney Off-Guard

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
You’d be surprised to learn that even the creative minds at Disney can be caught off-guard at times. The first inkling I got of that phenomenon came with the unexpected success of the Turtle Talk with Crush attraction in The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion at Epcot. The Nemo-themed show, which features live interaction with lovable turtle dude named Crush, was – and still is – a big hit. Another “Don’t look now, but we have a big hit on our hands” moment came in the weeks after the movie "Frozen" was released in late 2013.
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It’s Tough to be a Bug! Proves it’s Tough to be an Imagineer

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
It’s tough to be an Imagineer. For every show or attraction that the members of the Walt Disney Company’s creative wing dream up, there are dozens of their ideas that get rejected. Indeed, the evolution of an attraction can be almost as thrilling as the attraction itself. Take the It’s Tough to be a Bug! … Continue reading "It’s Tough to be a Bug! Proves it’s Tough to be an Imagineer"
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