Q : An old family friend who recently passed away said he had worked at Disneyland. I don’t doubt this but was wondering if there was any way to find the years he worked and what projects? His name is Otto Garst and he would have been there either prior to the opening of Disneyland or just after.
Don, Vancouver, Washington
A: The Archives does not have Disneyland personnel records, but I did find that Otto Garst worked in the machine shop at The Walt Disney Studio in Burbank from 1957 to 1961. During that time, he most likely worked on some Disneyland projects, but we cannot determine which particular ones.
Q : There is this great little Disney facts book I would love to add to my Disney collection! I’m hoping you can help me figure out the title? I want to say that it came out in the early 2000s. It’s a small book packed with different fun facts ranging from character details to the openings of the Disneyland and Walt Disney World parks. It was being sold at the parks up until a few years ago. Do you have any idea which one that would be?
Tara, Bohemia, New York
A: Perhaps you are thinking of the Imagineering Field Guide series, written by Alex Wright and the Imagineers; the first was on the Magic Kingdom in 2005. Others have been on Epcot, Disneyland, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Q : Certain aspects of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride were changed at Disneyland and Walt Disney World after the release of the films. Were any other rides or attractions changed after the release of a particular film? For instance, since the Haunted Mansion ride predates the 2003 film, did any aspect of it change to reflect the film?
Ian, Lakewood, Ohio
A: I don’t believe there were any changes to Haunted Mansion to match the film, though the original Madame Leota now floats (as the film version of that character did). At one point, the world of Tron was incorporated into the PeopleMover at Disneyland. There is Tarzan’s Treehouse, which took the place of Swiss Family Treehouse at Disneyland after the release of the Tarzan film. Tom Sawyer Island received a pirate overlay, becoming Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island tied in with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and the Submarine Voyage became the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Iago and Zazu were added into the Tropical Serenade attraction at Walt Disney World, and at Epcot, Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba host Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable at The Land, while The Living Seas is now The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
Q : On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, there were two pirates at the end of the ride who were trying to carry a giant sack of gold, but couldn’t move it. Then after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest came out, the ride was changed and instead of the two pirates trying to move the sack of treasure, it was replaced with a scene of Captain Jack Sparrow in a treasure room singing “Yo Ho (A Pirates Life for Me).” Whatever happened to those two pirates?
Avi, Irvine, California
A: The mechanical parts of Audio-Animatronics® characters, after they are taken out of attractions, are usually reused by Imagineers for other figures. That is probably what happened to the two pirates.
Q : I recently acquired a copy of The Disneyland News newspaper from July 1955. The copy that I have seems to look old enough, but the headline doesn’t look right. The newspaper that I have reads, “Vol 1, No.1″ July 1955, along with a headline reading, “The R.L. Purdys Visit Disneyland.” Of course, the newspaper that I am familiar with and have seen many times, has a headline that reads, “50,000 ATTEND GALA PARK OPENING.” Were there two different headlines for the same paper, or is the one I have a fake?
Peter, Monrovia, California
A: Guests to Disneyland in the mid-1950s could get their own headline printed on The Disneyland News.