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 seven 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 and The Beat Goes On. Chuck has shared his passion for all things Disney in his Still Goofy About Disney blog on AllEars.Net since 2015. He resides in Beachwood, N.J., with his wife Janet. They have three adult children and seven grandchildren.

Monorail guru Bob Gurr talks about Monty … and his concept drawing of the famed transit vehicle

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Bob Gurr’s original drawing of the monorail, sketched in late 1958. The color was added by Disney Legend John Hench. Hey, Bob Gurr … now that you’ve completed a documentary showing the world just how you designed some of the world’s most innovative theme park attractions, what are you going to do next? “My next … Continue reading "Monorail guru Bob Gurr talks about Monty … and his concept drawing of the famed transit vehicle"
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Documentary shows how Bob Gurr created so many classic Disney attractions

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Bob Gurr holds a copy of his book, “Design: Just For Fun,” after its release. [Ape Pen Publishing] If there’s such a thing as a blueprint for an exciting, fun-filled, never-a-dull-moment retirement, Bob Gurr seems to have created it. Which, in a way, makes perfect sense, since Gurr is the man responsible for creating so … Continue reading "Documentary shows how Bob Gurr created so many classic Disney attractions"
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Charlie Ridgway and Rick Sylvain: Two Disney PR guys with the “write” stuff

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Rick Sylvain, left, and his former boss, Charlie Ridgway, crossed paths in England several years ago. As Rick puts it: “This was taken in 2007 after a travel writers’ convention in Manchester, England. Two friends and I were getting our rental van serviced deep in the English countryside. Who do we run across on that … Continue reading "Charlie Ridgway and Rick Sylvain: Two Disney PR guys with the “write” stuff"
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Art Smith’s Homecoming beefs up Disney Springs’ restaurant offerings

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Guests at Art Smith’s Homecoming in The Landing neighborhood at Disney Springs prepare to dig in to some of the restaurant’s signature items. [Courtesy of Art Smith’s Homecoming] As celebrity chefs go, Art Smith is the antithesis of the flashy food mavens you often see on TV cooking channels. He’s thoughtful, articulate and genuinely down-to-earth. … Continue reading "Art Smith’s Homecoming beefs up Disney Springs’ restaurant offerings"
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Change has been the name of the game at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom has seen many changes over the years. The most recent was the placement of a Starbucks on the site of the bakery. [Walt Disney World] Walt Disney World has been compared to a living, breathing entity, in the sense that it is always growing, always changing. During a … Continue reading "Change has been the name of the game at Walt Disney World"
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Ted Kellogg’s fascinating life stories will come to life in new book

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Former Walt Disney World cast members reminisce about the good old days over lunch. From the left are Bill Sullivan, Bill Hoelscher, Ted Kellogg, Tom Nabbe and Dwight Dorr. [Courtesy of Tom Nabbe] In the late 1960s, word filtered through the ranks of cast members at Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studios in California that … Continue reading "Ted Kellogg’s fascinating life stories will come to life in new book"
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Until Shanghai, railroads have been chugging through Disney parks since 1955

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Walt Disney, left, proudly surveys Disneyland as the E.P. Ripley pulls into the station on opening day, July 17, 1955. With him are then-California Gov. Goodwin Knight, center, and Fred Gurley, president of the Santa Fe Railroad. When Shanghai Disneyland opened to the public on June 17, there was one classic Disney attraction conspicuous in … Continue reading "Until Shanghai, railroads have been chugging through Disney parks since 1955"
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A long-time Disney fan passes away: This is Alice’s story

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Alice, right, and her sister Estelle – Mickey plush in hand – posed for a photo in the lobby of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge in 2010. Her name was Alice. She was born in 1924, the third of four children whose immigrant parents came to this country from eastern Europe [specifically, Ukraine and a long-forgotten nation … Continue reading "A long-time Disney fan passes away: This is Alice’s story"
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