Bob Gurr is a well-known and my favorite Disney Imagineer. He started his career as an industrial designer out of college, but soon went to work for Disney. His imprint on the company can mainly be seen in the theme parks, where he had a hand in designing many of the rides. Here is Bob’s story, both at his Disney career and beyond it.
Tag - Disneyland
Walt Disney did not just do movies. He also ventured into television in the 1950’s. His brother Roy thought as early as 1950 that TV would be an excellent medium for the company, and he was correct. Walt’s impact on television was groundbreaking and lasting. Here is the story of Walt Disney and television.
Tommy Cole is a former Mouseketeer who was on the show for all three of its original seasons. A singer, musician, and actor, he had to work on his dancing skills, which paid off by getting him promoted to the Red Team halfway through the show’s first season. He later became a makeup artist, a dad, and a husband. This is his story.
Lynn Ready was a third season replacement Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club. He was the only cast member whose family was not already living in California when he was hired to be on the show. While he did not get many opportunities to perform on the show, he did get a few notable ones. This is his story.
Lonnie Burr was one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club. With a contract with the Disney Company, Lonnie was on all three seasons of the show. After the show, he went on to have several successful careers, being a performer, author, poet, and choreographer. This is his incredibly fascinating showbiz story.
Don Agrati was a third season replacement cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club. Unlike other cast members, who stayed with the Disney company after leaving the show (at least for a while), Don immediately jumped into other acting projects, and is best known for an eleven-year stint on the TV show, My Three Sons. This is Don’s unique story.
Main Street USA is the “opening act” at all Disney parks, being the part of the park guests walk through before going through the castle to the primary part of the parks that includes the rides and shows. It originally appeared at Disneyland in California, and all the other Main Street USA sections or their equivalents are similar to the first one at Disneyland. This is the story of Main Street...
Cruella de Vil is the villain of the Disney cartoon 101 Dalmatians and the novel upon which it is based. She is an innately villainous character, seemingly born that way, with no motive other than to get what she wants, and no empathy. A classic narcissistic sociopath, Cruella is an iconic villain in modern fiction. Read more about this Disney villain here.
The monorail was constructed as an attraction for Tomorrowland at the original Disneyland theme park. It was intended to be a ride attraction at first, as an example of what transportation in the future would look like. Later, it became an actual method of transportation in the park. There is now a monorail in every Disney park. This is the story of the Disney Monorail System.
Holidayland is a lost part of the Disneyland park in California. It was only open for a few years in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but it is still remembered fondly today by those who went to it (unless they were little kids at a company picnic). This is the story of Disneyland’s lost park, Holidayland.