All Ears® Guest Blog - Page 15 of 107

This Popular Arizona Tourist Attraction Has a Strong Disney Connection

May 31, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

The second most popular tourist attraction in the state of Arizona, after the majestic Grand Canyon, has a strong Disney connection. The London Bridge, located on the banks of Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, draws visitors from far and wide to check out what is arguably one of the most unique destinations in the world. The bridge, as well as the city itself, were the brainchild of Robert McCulloch and C.V. Wood, who was a key figure in the construction of Disneyland.

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A Stroll Down Memory Lane: Marty Sklar’s Disneyland-Themed Retirement Party

May 18, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

When Marty Sklar retired from the Walt Disney Company on July 17, 2009, after 53 years of service, he received the type of sendoff that was worthy of … well, Marty Sklar. The night before his official retirement date, family, friends and colleagues gathered for a party at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Glendale, California, campus. The night was filled with laughter, nostalgia and good-natured fun … with a smattering of emotion sprinkled in for good measure.

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Disney’s Decades Long Near Obsession with Dinosaurs

May 3, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

In the make-believe world of a pre-school boy, there’s one thing that’s pretty much a sure thing. He’s obsessed with dinosaurs. And the Walt Disney Company has had a big hand in that.

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Extra! Extra! Read All About Disney’s Decades-Long Connection With Newspapers

April 19, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

Newspapers – at least newspapers in their heyday – played a prominent role in the lives of many key people within the Walt Disney Company ranks over the years.

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Kevin Rafferty Pumps the Brakes on His Illustrious Imagineer Career

April 5, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

On April 1, Kevin Rafferty – one of the most prolific members of Walt Disney Imagineering – pumped the brakes on his daily trek, as well as his heralded Disney career, leaving behind a legacy that few, if any, will ever match.

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THE FIRST TIME I VISITED: Disney’s Animal Kingdom

March 29, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

April 21, 1998, dawned warm and sunny in central Florida … perfect weather for the dedication of a new park on Walt Disney World property. I was fortunate to be in attendance as Disney's Animal Kingdom – proudly dubbed “a new species of theme park” – swung open its gates for thousands of invited members of the press [the park officially opened to the general public on April 22, which is Earth Day].

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THE FIRST TIME I VISITED: The Disney/MGM Studios

March 16, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

Underwhelming. That's what I thought after our first visit to the Disney/MGM Studios in August of 1989. Where it took several days to see and do most of the attractions at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, it took just a few hours to take in the limited number of adventures in the park, which was based on Hollywood, and specifically, movie and television production.

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THE FIRST TIME I VISITED: Epcot

February 24, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

When we first visited Epcot Center during the summer of 1983, about 10 months after Walt Disney World’s second theme park opened, The Ball [aka Spaceship Earth] was all people talked about.

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THE FIRST TIME I VISITED: The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World

February 8, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

We visited Walt Disney World – which, at the time, consisted of just the Magic Kingdom, two resorts and a campground – for the first time in November of 1972, about 14 months after the Vacation Kingdom of the World opened. The park was shell of what it would become ... yet we had the time of our lives!

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It Turns Out The ‘Original’ TV Version Of The Mickey Mouse Club Was A Sequel

January 26, 2021 by Chuck Schmidt

For many Mickey Mouse Club fans, it was a misconception that what we saw on our TV sets in the 1950s was the original Mickey Mouse Club, particularly when several “new” MMC revivals popped up on The Disney Channel decades later. It turns out that there were scores of Mickey Mouse Clubs located throughout the United States during the 1930s.

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