Gijs Van Winkelhof has always had an ear for a good Disney song. Having taught himself how to play piano at 3, Gijs has spent his life at the keyboard, plucking away at any song after listening to it once or twice. Like many of us, he’s found himself humming Disney theme park music long … Read more
We’ve all taken journeys to visit places that connect us with moments in history we love. For many Disney fans, that can include Walt’s home town of Marceline and, of course, his original theme park – Disneyland. But those places only bookend Walt’s life – leaving many experiences in between. That’s where Christopher Tremblay comes … Read more
Adam Kreutinger makes magic one stitch at a time. Through his passion of puppet making, he has both created a slew of lovable characters and shared his creative process on his Youtube channel, even in real time, for all who have interest. But when Adam was tasked with creating a certain dragon of royal purple … Read more
Much like Walt Disney World Resort, select essential Cast Members remain carrying out necessary duties across Disneyland Resort, like ride maintenance and landscaping, to ensure that the parks are in tip-top shape for their eventual reopening. Among those overseeing the parks during the closure is Disneyland Resort President Rebecca Campbell, who recently took to her … Read more
Whether for television, film, or theme parks, Kirk Hanson has used a pencil and a little ingenuity to create some of the most beloved stories of our time. As a story artist for Disney Feature animation, Kirk helped bring to life Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. He’s also found himself over at Imagineering … Read more
If there is one cultural touchstone that Disney theme parks might have helped bring back from obscurity, it’s Tiki culture. While the Enchanted Tiki Room was in response to the burgeoning craze of the late 50’s early 60’s, when all the bars and rum joints closed down over the years, the Tiki Room kept the … Read more
While nearly all of Walt Disney World is closed due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, legendary Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde is offering a different kind of tour of some of his work. In a series of post on his Instagram account, Rohde explained the thesis behind the design of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Tree of … Read more
Are you ready for a chance to win some free Disney art? WDWNT and Disneyland News Today have teamed up with hobbyist Disney photographer Joseph Jurado (@josephjurado) on Instagram for a fun giveaway where you can win a deluxe canvas print of any of Joseph’s amazing photos, spanning from Disneyland to Walt Disney World, and everything … Read more
From the mountains of China, to the plains of Kenya and even Moscow’s Red Square, filmmaker Jeff Blyth has focused his camera on all sorts of wonders of the world. Well…more like cameras… nine to be exact. Throughout his career, Blythe has directed six circle-vision films for Disney, including Portraits of Canada, Wonders of China, … Read more
Skipper David John Marley used to sail the rivers of the world for the Jungle Navigation Company at Disneyland. Now a history professor, he’s compiled “Skipper Stories” – two volumes of the best jungle cruise stories money can buy. Marley sits down with Nathan to chat about what it takes to be a great skipper, … Read more
There are Disney theme park megafans and then there are those that transcend the title to become pillars for what the entire fan culture sits upon. Martin Smith is one of those fans. Known worldwide as the “Ken Burns” of Disney parks history on Youtube and across the internet, Martin’s documentaries about attractions, pavilions, and … Read more
Believe it or not, there was once a time where theme parks were rather humorless. Then artist and Imagineer Marc Davis came along and changed the game. If you like the dog holding the prison cell key in Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the gags on the Jungle Cruise, that’s all Davis and it’s safe … Read more
Evan and Britta Kasperzak have quiet the history of acting, dance, and Disney. Having met in college, the two’s journey led Evan to perform on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” and Broadway’s Newsies while later acting as choreographer for Disney World. At the same time, Britta found herself training young Jedi at Hollywood … Read more
In the late 70’s Mark Eades found himself juggling an internship with Disney productions while also working nights at Autopia in Disneyland. But his work paid off and soon he found himself helping on a little film called Tron and then joining the editorial team for Epcot Center. For Epcot, Mark worked in post-production on … Read more
For Scott Curtis, Disney fans hold a special place in his thoughts. Mostly because they’ve well… been in his head. As a child actor, Scott played both Bobby and the voice of Buzzy in Epcot’s much-loved, now-defunct Cranium Command inside Wonders of Life. After hearing of the theft of the Buzzy animatronic, Scott reached out … Read more
In the early 1950’s Bob D’Arcy had just got back to California from playing in the Army Band and was looking for work. Fortunately his father had just been hired at a place that needed someone to tour big-wigs and celebrities around – a still under-construction Disneyland. From there Bob became the very first tour … Read more