Will, Wheat Ridge, Colorado

It was just for fun. Tom Scherman’s Iron Man from the early 1980s was non-functional and was used for photo ops that day posing next to Ward Kimball’s Chloe locomotive, supposedly to have a race. For more information on the Iron Man, see the Tom Scherman blogspot http://tomscherman.blogspot.com/2010/10/tom-schermans-iron-man-and-great-race.html. Scherman is best known for intricate models …

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Steve, Rochester Hills, Michigan

Supposedly Dick Van Dyke very much wanted to play Mr. Dawes Sr., just for fun, and even prepared a screen test to show Walt Disney that he could believably portray the old man.

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Elizabeth, Illinois

Discovery Island closed in 1999 soon after the newly opened Disney’s Animal Kingdom provided a better venue for showcasing animals.

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Rush, Madison, Alabama

That independently produced film has no association with The Walt Disney Company.

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Eric, Lemon Grove, California

There is a report on that trip in the Disney Twenty-three magazine from Summer 2010 (“In Search of Disney,” by Dave Smith as told to Steven Vagnini).

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Tom, Claremont, California

Cubby has a Facebook page.

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Lissa, Houston, Texas

The first film you recall is The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) starring Meredith Salenger and John Cusack. The other film may be The Watcher in the Woods (1981) with Bette Davis playing the old woman/witch and Carroll Baker the girl.

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Rebecca, Santa Maria, California

There are indeed plans for a fourth edition of Disney A to Z; it should be out early in 2015.

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Ron, Ocoee, Florida

Walt Disney smoked Lucky Strikes in the 1940s and French cigarettes, Gitanes, later in his life, but he never wanted to be photographed with a cigarette as he felt it set a bad example for children. He was a heavy smoker, and, in fact, died of lung cancer.

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