Tag: Tom Nabbe

Fun Camaraderie Still On The Menu At WDW Retirees’ Luncheons

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
For years, they called them Meatloaf Thursdays. Every few months, a group of retired Walt Disney World cast members convened at an establishment called Miller’s Ale House in central Florida, where the guys would swap stories of working during WDW’s early days, savor a tasty lunch and simply enjoy each other’s company. We’re happy to report that the luncheons – now held at Servando’s Mexican Restaurant in Winter Garden – are still going strong.
One Comment

DISNEYLAND AT 70: Tom Nabbe Was On The Outside Looking In When The Park Opened

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
Thanks to TV star Danny Thomas, furture Disney Legend Tom Nabbe was able to secure much sought-after admission tickets to Disneyland on July 17, 1955 -- opening day. Once inside, Tom discovered that most of the attractions were malfunctioning and "there was trash heaped up on the ground. In my decades and decades with Disney, that was the trashiest I'd ever seen the park."
2 Comments

DISNEYLAND AT 70: Marty Sklar Went From Media Go-Fer To Emergency Horse-Whisperer

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
When July 17, 1955, dawned, Marty Sklar was very much behind the scenes, assisting the throngs of media members on hand for the big event. “My assignment for the morning was actually in our PR offices in the original administration building – part of which had come from Ron Dominguez’s home on the site,” Marty told me. “Our offices had been turned into a press facility, and of course, as the ‘kid’ – I had been working ‘professionally’ all of one month by then! – I was basically a go-fer for the media.”
One Comment

The Many Adventures Of Tom Sawyer Island

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
The first time I saw Tom Sawyer Island in Walt Disney World, it was a mess. A little more than a year after WDW opened, in the fall of 1972, the future Frontierland attraction was a work in progress. It was, in fact, a busy, somewhat chaotic construction site. Heavy construction equipment was parked in … Continue reading "The Many Adventures Of Tom Sawyer Island"
2 Comments

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT DISNEY: My Main Street Friends

Posted on by Chuck Schmidt
During my 45-plus years of covering the wonderful world of Disney, I’ve had the distinct honor of striking up relationships with a good number of Disney’s more prominent cast members, whose careers are memorialized on windows along Main Street USA in California, Florida or France. Whenever I return to a Disney park, I make sure to renew acquaintances with my Main Street buddies.
No Comments