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.

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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Tom Nabbe, Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer, had a big hand in bringing Walt Disney World’s monorail system to life

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Tom Nabbe poses for a photo in 1957 on Tom Sawyer Island. [Courtesy of Tom Nabbe] CHUCK SCHMIDT / Still Goofy about Disney AllEars.Net Guest Blogger To many people, riding the monorail at Walt Disney World is one of those must-do experiences when they make it down to the Vacation Kingdom of the World. For … Continue reading "Tom Nabbe, Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer, had a big hand in bringing Walt Disney World’s monorail system to life"
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Jack Lindquist: A rich legacy and a fun-filled career with the Walt Disney Company

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Jack Lindquist and Mickey Mouse appear at a function held at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., where Jack was a trustee. [Courtesy of Chapman University] CHUCK SCHMIDT / Still Goofy About Disney AllEars.Net Guest Blogger In May of 2011, at Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary celebration, Jack Lindquist had this to say about fellow Disney … Continue reading "Jack Lindquist: A rich legacy and a fun-filled career with the Walt Disney Company"
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Another school of thought regarding the Walt Disney-C.V. Wood feud

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The entrance to PS 160 in the Bronx, aka The Walt Disney School, just across the highway from the site of Freedomland. CHUCK SCHMIDT / Still Goofy About Disney AllEars.Net Guest Blogger Our last blog, dealing with the contentious relationship between Walt Disney, C.V. Wood and the creation of the Freedomland park in New York … Continue reading "Another school of thought regarding the Walt Disney-C.V. Wood feud"
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