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.

Marty Sklar to be honored by Walt Disney Family Museum

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Marty Sklar accepts a donation, bound for Ryman Arts, from Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet founder Don Morin, left, and Beci Mahnken, president of Mouse Fan Travel. [Courtesy of Don Morin] If Marty Sklar knew how hectic retirement was going to be, there’s a chance – albeit a slim chance – he might have eschewed jetting … Continue reading "Marty Sklar to be honored by Walt Disney Family Museum"
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Disneyland Park in Paris: A magical destination with a mix of classic attractions and stunning attention to detail

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
The entrance to Disneyland Park is located under the beautiful Disneyland Hotel. [Ginny Osborne] The Main Streets we’ve come to know and love in Disneyland and Walt Disney World were designed to replicate Walt Disney’s hometown in Marceline, Missouri. When Disney’s planners were designing the chief thoroughfare at Disneyland Paris, they could have ditched the … Continue reading "Disneyland Park in Paris: A magical destination with a mix of classic attractions and stunning attention to detail"
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Walt Disney Studios: It’s Hollywood Studios, with several wonderful exceptions

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Guests aboard their “ratmobile” take off for an exciting trip into the world of Ratatouille on Remy’s Totally Zany Adventure. [Disneyland Paris] As you walk through the entrance of the Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris, there’s a feeling of deja vu … you know, it seems as if you’ve been here before. The Walt … Continue reading "Walt Disney Studios: It’s Hollywood Studios, with several wonderful exceptions"
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Disney Village in Disneyland Paris offers guests a rootin’, tootin’ good time

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The Disney Village in Disneyland Paris is a scaled down, but no less enjoyable entertainment venue based on similar shopping districts in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. [Disneyland Paris] Europeans, in general, and the French, in particular, seem obsessed with America’s rootin’, tootin’ cowboy past. There are signs of America’s Wild West days sprinkled throughout … Continue reading "Disney Village in Disneyland Paris offers guests a rootin’, tootin’ good time"
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Upcoming series will take readers to Disneyland Paris

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The entrance to the Marne-la-Vallee/Chessy train station outside of Disneyland Paris. It seems everywhere you turn, there’s Paris. Watch just about any television channel and inevitably, there will be a commercial — be it for a high-end automobile, an expensive fragrance or a popular travel website — with The City of Lights serving as a … Continue reading "Upcoming series will take readers to Disneyland Paris"
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Guide Maps: A Roadmap Through Disney Parks History

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In a recent AllEars.Net blog, I alluded to my odd quirk of getting my hands on guide maps each and every time I enter a Disney theme park. I will usually grab three — one for actual use during the visit, another to save for posterity and a third one just in case something happens … Continue reading "Guide Maps: A Roadmap Through Disney Parks History"
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Wayne Hunt and Hunt Design: As Disney as a non-Disney company can be

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New signage at the San Diego Zoo was designed by Hunt Design of Pasadena, Calif. [Courtesy of Hunt Design] For most of his working life, Wayne Hunt has made a name for himself by telling people where to go. Really. Hunt, the principal founder of Hunt Design, a California-based graphic design company that specializes in … Continue reading "Wayne Hunt and Hunt Design: As Disney as a non-Disney company can be"
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Disney Legend Marty Sklar on Shanghai Disneyland: ‘It’s the best Disney park’

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The first time Marty Sklar walked down the main thoroughfare of a Disney theme park -- Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A., on July 17, 1955 -- he was a 21-year-old intern working in the park's public relations department and was, for all intents and purposes, just another face in the overheated crowd on that momentous opening day. The most recent time Marty walked down the main thoroughfare of a Disney theme park -- Shanghai Disneyland's Mickey Avenue, on opening day, June 17, 2016 -- he was an 82-year-old retiree who was far from just another face in the crowd.
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Disney fan clubs have captured people’s imaginations, and fueled their passion, for years

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The Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet planning committee. That’s founder Don Morin, second from the right. [Courtesy of the Northwest Pacific Mouse Meet] CHUCK SCHMIDT / Still Goofy about Disney AllEars.Net Guest Blogger During the weekend of May 14-15, 2011, I attended my first Disney fan convention. I walked through the doors of the Contemporary Resort’s … Continue reading "Disney fan clubs have captured people’s imaginations, and fueled their passion, for years"
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Waxing nostalgic about Disney memorabilia

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The cover of a long-playing Mickey Mouse Club record. The album features 21 hit Mouseketunes. [Chuck Schmidt Collection] CHUCK SCHMIDT / Still Goofy About Disney AllEars.Net Guest Blogger What do you think of when you think of Disney? World-class theme parks, with so many iconic rides and attractions, to be sure. And all those classic … Continue reading "Waxing nostalgic about Disney memorabilia"
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