Shani Wolf, vacation planner specializing in Disney Vacations
The classic publication, Reader’s Digest, recently wrote an article about “Insider Secrets for the Best Walt Disney World Vacation,” and they approached Shani for her expert advice.
Shani didn’t want to post this because she didn’t want to “brag,” so I’m bragging for her. I’m very proud of her, and I’m thrilled that a publication as reputable as Reader’s Digest realized that Shani’s Disney background is far more than just the intense training they give her to be certified as a vacation planner specializing in Disney vacations, but also her years working for Disneyland, the Walt Disney Studios and The Disney University. She was also responsible for training thousands of new Disneyland employees in their orientation.
Shani’s clients know that they not only benefit from her great knowledge of Disney and Disney travel, but she truly cares about them, and you can’t beat her Disney-style customer service.
Although he’s skilled in the media, having had his own television shown and movie appearances, he has no political experience, zero knowledge of foreign polices, he’s not up on the latest technology, and, well, he’s got very-little brains. Yet, I believe this candidate could actually have a chance if he ran today. Of course, I’m talking about Winnie the Pooh. Back in 1968 (above, left), Sears stores launched a Pooh-litical marketing campaign, as it was the main headquarters of Winnie the Pooh merchandise. In 1972 (above, right), Disney took “Pooh for President” to a whole new level, with Disneyland events and even a national tour! (See images below)
Pooh for President at Disneyland
In connection with the 1972 Pooh for President marketing campaign, Sears sent sweepstakes winners to Disneyland and Walt Disney World
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I want to let you know about this cool event! The La Mirada Symphony will present the first annual Golden Clef Awards Gala Saturday, August
20, 2016 in California at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. The event honors individuals and organizations that have made a significant and lasting impact on concert music and the musical arts. Honored include performer Shirley Jones and composer Paul Williams. Roy Disney will be honored posthumously, represented by the Disney family with special guest, Dave Bossert and a special screening of the animated short “Destino.” Supervisor Don Knabe will also be honored for his lifetime support of the arts over the course of his public service career.
Broadway performers Rex Smith and James Mulligan along with Carly Bracco, Impressionist, Paul Boland, and Richard Allen at the piano will provide a musical tribute to the honorees. An after show reception will be held for patrons to meet the honorees.
Hostess for the evening will be actress, speaker, Morgan Brittany.
All proceeds support the admission free concerts during the La Mirada Symphony season. Since 1963 the La Mirada Symphony has been providing classical music and arts education to the Southern California community.
For more information or an interview contact La Mirada Symphony Board President and event coordinator, Joseph Yakovetic at 909-241-6088
or his email address at yak_pro@yahoo.com.
I want to let you know that I changed servers for my podcasts and as a result you may not be seeing all of the interviewss. Although it may still show that you are subscribed, be sure to go to the iTunes Store and resubscribe. You will see all the interviews I’ve already posted and a couple new ones, too! And I’ve got plenty more to come as well!
I thank you so much for your support and allowing me to share the wonderful stories of these fantastic people with you!
Thought I’d share my newest treasure. This button that reads “I’ve had Fun with Music” was given to elementary and middle school students in the mid-1970s, who attended a very special private show in Disneyland in the original Fantasyland Theatre (previously the Mickey Mouse Club Theater – about where the Pinocchio attraction and Village Haus reside now.)
The theater was open to the public, and was used to show Disney short animated films, guest performers, and also for private company events. With the title borrowed from one of the days of the “Mickey Mouse Club” television series, “Fun with Music” was exclusively for students on an exciting field trip and, with the help of characters Father Time and Melody, Harmony,Rhythm and Boogie Man, it formed an appreciation of music by teaching the basics. The show was written by Larry Billman, who wrote, directed and produced hundreds of live shows for Disneyland, Walt Disney World and the international Disney resorts.
The band was led by Bruce Healey, who would become the Senior Music Producer/Director, Disneyland Entertainment and is responsible for much of the music you hear in Disneyland’s parades and shows.
Father Music was portrayed by Jim Adams. Although Jim wore a number of hats (literally, as an entertainer, and figuratively) during his time as a performer in Disneyland, he is best known as Pecos Bill from the Golden Horseshoe Revue from 1970 to 1982, alternating performances with the legendary Wally Boag.
Besides the show, students got to learn more about music by attending a concert performance of the Disneyland Band and visiting the attractions “America the Beautiful,” “Country Bear Jamboree,” “America Sings,” “Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room” and “It’s a Small World,” which is pictured on the button.
Although most Disneyland park Guests are not aware this program existed, the cast and crew were comprised of Disneyland’s greatest! (In addition to the names above, some of you might be familiar with some of the other participants such as Jim Christensen, Dick Cook, John Anello, Judy Nuzum, Reid Shibata, Greg Killingsworth, Terry Robinson, Joyce Hodges, and Chellie Campbell!)
I hope to bring you much more about the very unique, but little known “Fun with Music” show in the future, but I just had to share this photo of my newest treasure.
During the Disney employee Christmas parties which were held at Disneyland, you never knew who might be working or where they’d be. I took this photo in 1993 when Jack Lindquist was driving passengers on a Main Street vehicle. The party hadn’t started and Jack was just sitting in the vehicle waiting. I was in, since I was also going to work on an attraction and I asked him for a ride. This was the first time I got to talk with Jack, being driven by him up and down Main Street in Disneyland.Jack Lindquist and Scott Wolf, with some pretty snazzy shirts on!
We’re so sorry to hear about the passing of our friend Jack Lindquist. We’ll sure miss getting together with him and hearing his wonderful stories, but we’re pleased to share some of them with you below! He was truly Disney royalty!
Jack Lindquist was Disneyland’s first advertising manager, beginning in 1955. He continued with the company in marketing for Disneyland. Walt Disney World and international Disney resorts. His many accomplishments include the creation of the Disneyland Ambassador program, the creation of the Walt Disney Travel Company, the international waters ceremony for the opening of the it’s a small world attraction, Disney Dollars, and in 1990 Jack became the first president of Disneyland.
Below are links to four conversations I had with Jack, that I think you’ll really enjoy!
Robert B. Sherman was born on December 19, 1925. With his brother, Richard M. Sherman, he wrote some of the most well-known songs in the world. The songs for Disney’s “Mary Poppins,” “Winnie the Pooh,” and such theme park favorites as “The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” and “It’s a Small World” are just a very small sampling of the great scope of their work.
Today, I remember Bob, on what would have been his 90th birthday.
I remember the first time I went to Bob’s house. I rang his doorbell, which played the first few notes of “It’s a Small World,” before Bob answered the door. I had some photographs for him that he had requested. We sat in a room and he was happy to answer my questions about his Disney days. He told me how he and his brother Richard wanted to donate their proceeds from “it’s a small world” to Unicef, but Walt told them no, Walt was making sure Unicef gets a good donation, but “it’s a small world” was going to put their kids through college!
Right from that first time, Bob felt like an old friend or favorite uncle, which made it easy to forget the awards next to us on the mantle, like his Grammy and Academy Awards.
We had a wonderful conversation and I was sure I was close to overstaying my welcome, but Bob offered me a cup of coffee. I didn’t drink any caffeine at that time, but I said, “Sure!” and knew that would buy me some more time. Somehow we got to talking about some of my favorite singers and I mentioned Michael Feinstein. Bob moved me into another room where he then played several then unreleased Sherman Brothers recordings by Michael, “The Ugly Bug Ball” from “Summer Magic,” a duet with another one of my favorites, Rosemary Clooney on “Ten Feet Off the Ground” from “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band,” and “The Eyes of Love,” written for Mary Poppins, but which did not make it to the film. Boy, was I glad I had that cup of coffee!
Then there was the time that I introduced B0b to Shani and he so sweetly and sincerely said to her, “You’re name means beautiful… and you are.” I also remember him telling me that both he and I had something in common, that the first time we went out with our wives, we both talked about marriage. Shani and I agreed we were going to get married on our first date, and Bob asked Joyce to marry him on their first date. She said yes on their second date.
One time, I was having lunch with Bob and his son, Robbie, along with our mutual friend, Randy Thornton, a producer for Disney Records. We had lunch at the Garden Terrace restaurant on the Disney Studios lot. Randy was telling us his proposed playlist for the Sherman Brothers CD set he was working on at the time, and he mentioned the song “On the Front Porch” from the film “Summer Magic.” That’s when we learned that was Bob’s favorite song! Bob started singing it, and I just had to join in. Then all of us were singing “On the Front Porch” at our table in the Disney Studios. Later, when Randy produced another Sherman Brothers CD collection called “The Sherman Brothers Songbook,” he included that story in the liner notes as one of his favorite memories.
Robert Sherman and Scott Wolf
In recent times, I’ve heard people who never met Bob describe him as “dark” or “grumpy.” Perhaps it’s because although Bob cherished his Disney days, he didn’t care for the spotlight, unlike his brother, Richard, who is a natural onstage entertainer. I believe that Bob’s lack of desire for public attention translated into the public thinking that he was distant to people, but I never felt that way. He was proud of his work, but very humble and he was always happy to talk about his Disney days with me.
As time marches on, people, particularly those in the public eye, are sometimes remembered in ways that were not reality, but the Bob I was fortunate enough to be friends with was kind, funny, warm and generous, and that’s the way he should be remembered.
The day Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman received Disney Legends AwardsIt was always a treat to hear Richard and Bob sing their songs
The Pecos Bills of the Golden Horseshoe Revue Wally Boag (left) Dick Hardwick, Jim Adams, Dana Daniels (right)
The Golden Horseshoe Revue performed a record-breaking 47,250 performances at Disneyland, and was a staple in Disneyland from its opening until 1986.
Wally Boag (pictured, above, left) originated the role of the traveling salesman who would break up the audience with his antics, and then return later in the show as Pecos Bill. During a song, a fellow cast member would “hit” him and he proceeded to spit out his teeth. In reality, they were beans, and he spit out more beans in each performance than the human mouth has teeth! With each bean, the audience roared more and more!
As the years went on, Disneyland was open seven days a week, not just five, and starting in the 1960s, it was even open after dark! While Wally is best remembered in the role and was certainly the longest running performer of the role, there were a number of others who filled in as the rootinest, tootinest cowboy in the Wild West!
Pictured from left to right are Dick Hardwick, Jim Adams and Dana Daniels, all of whom I’ve had the chance to get to know and interview for Mouse Clubhouse, so watch for that audio in the future! For now, I thought it would be fun to catch up with each of these gentlemen and find out what they’re up to now!
Dick Hardwick
Dick Hardwick took over the role of Pecos Bill when Wally left in 1982 and continued with the show until its final performance in 1986. After Disney, Dick continued performing and even won on Star Search in the category of comedy. He toured with the likes of Reba McEntire and Johnny Mathis, and has made multiple tours to entertain the troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the Middle East. Dick recently became a became a coveted “Navy Tail Hooker” having been flown out to, then launched off of the USS Stennis aircraft carrier where he performed somewhere off the coast of Mexico. In 1996, Dick hosted the Fruit of the Loom All-Star CountryFest ’96 to a record-breaking crowd of an estimated 275,000! He also received an Honorary Doctor of Performing Arts from Westfield State University in Massachusetts. Interestingly, Dick started out as a musician in Disneyland, and he continues to have a parallel career in music today. In fact, he received a Grammy Certificate for Best Folk Album for his participation playing the washboard on John Prine’s record, “The Missing Years.” His handprints and signature in cement are on display at the Nashville Music Walk of Fame. In recent years, Dick is still going strong, performing for corporate events, celebrity golf tournaments, conventions, on cruise ships and even at several Disney events.
Dana Daniels
Dana Daniels performed in the Horseshoe from 1983 to 1986. After the Golden Horseshoe Revue ended, Dana had his own one man show in the Horseshoe, and eventually took that show on the road. His longtime partner in the act, Luigi, continues with him today. Oh, Luigi is a parrot. And a “psychic parrot” at that. Dana has opened for such stars as Ray Romano, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Randy Travis, and Charo. He’s appeared on shows such as Evening at the Improv, CBS Morning Show, The Golden Girls, and Masters of Illusions. His blend of comedy and magic has earned him accolades including Comedy Magician of the Year and two time Stage Magician of the Year from the Academy of Magical Arts. A regular at the famed Magic Castle in Hollywood, California and Warren and Annabelle’s in Maui, Hawaii, Dana most recently joined the cast of The Illusionists 1903, as The Charlatan. The show is the most successful touring magic show in the world, and both Dana and Luigi will be touring from Sydney to Dubai.
Jim Adams
Jim Adams began subbing for Wally Boag in the Horseshoe in 1970 and continued with the show until 1982, when he and Wally both left to pursue new projects, including work on an animated movie together. Jim had been working at Disneyland in the Entertainment department when he decided to knock on Wally’s dressing room door, simply wanting to learn how to do the show. He ended up filling in for Wally for the next 12 years. Before leaving Disney, Jim appeared in numerous television productions and commercials, as well as traveling on national tours for Disney. Since then, he has had several educational shows including “Adventures in Reading” and “James and the Professor,” which he has performed across the country and abroad. Today, Jim continues to entertain with his one man show of comedy, ventriloquism and music, and he recently performed for the Disneyland Alumni Club’s 60th anniversary gala.
Jim told me all the cast and crew of the Golden Horseshoe Revue would give him little hints during his days in the show, “Mainly though, it was Wally and Fulton (Burley, Horseshoe co-star) that helped me all the way! They were incredibly generous with their time and efforts! I never would have made it without them!”
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I just posted my interview with Connie Swanson Lane on my Mouse Clubhouse website. In this conversation, Connie discusses Walt Disney, and her time as the 1966 Disneyland Ambassador to the World, including the grand opening of it’s a small world. CLICK HERE for the interview
Learn about the resurgence of Disney marketing after Walt, from an author who lived it! I first learned about Lorraine Santoli when I was working for Disney in the ’90s, and I’d receive the weekly Corporate Synergy communications. That let us know all the latest happening within the company to see if there were opportunities to work any of it into our own products in our department.
It was such an exciting time at Disney! After Walt passed away in ’66, the company kept going, but not really strong. With a new President, Frank Wells, and CEO, Michael Eisner, the company started to become alive again.
Lorraine’s new book, Inside the Disney Marketing Machine – In the Era of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, reveals, through exclusive access to top-tier Disney management, how the magic was made in an era of explosive company growth.
Focusing on the “Disney difference,” Inside the Disney Marketing Machine not only details how marketing concepts were derived, executed and sold to consumers at that time (Part One, Marketing Outside the Company), but how corporate priority projects were marketed internally across all Disney business segment boundaries through a never-before-revealed synergy process (Part Two, Marketing Inside the Company).
The story begins when Lorraine arrives at Disney in the late ‘70s (her tenure was from 1978-2000) when the studio that Walt built was in a rut turning out formulaic films mostly targeted to kids. The arrival of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells in 1984 brought revolutionary change to how the company operated and, more importantly, how it marketed its products that were derived from its over fifty diverse business segments from Motion Pictures and Television to Theme Parks, Theatrical Productions, Home Entertainment, Consumer Products and Sports, among others.
(1990) Disney CEO, Michael Eisner and Disney President, Frank Wells
Eisner and Wells were in fact the first Hollywood executives (only after Walt Disney himself) to aggressively cross-promote from within using synergy in addition to employing traditional marketing strategies. By adding a synergy component to marketing plans across business segments, the root product, whether a film release, theme park event, corporate celebration or other company priority, became more profitable than it would ever have been standing alone. For Eisner and Wells 1 + 1 = 3.
Following the pair’s directives, a corporate synergy program was developed and led by Santoli (under the guidance of a synergy VP). She held that role for a decade, from 1990 to 2000, and managed all internal marketing communications across every business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The process ultimately eradicated the business-binding mentality of silo-based thinking. The successful operation of that Disney synergy process is detailed in this book.
Overall, Inside the Disney Marketing Machine shows you what it was like to reshape a faltering and much-loved company into a media juggernaut. Her humorous anecdotes and stories, along with exclusive contributions from senior Disney management takes readers inside the world’s most powerful marketing machine in a special time when it felt like everything that Michael Eisner and Frank Wells touched, turned to gold.
