The year was 1972, and the candidates in the presidential election were Richard M. Nixon and George McGovern. That was unless you were visiting Disneyland, where beginning on this day that year, there was a new contender. The three-day Winnie the Pooh for President event featured a ticker tape parade and stage show with America’s favorite bear running for our country’s top office. Marilyn Magness, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment Portfolio Leader for the Resort, fondly recalls working on the event. “Pooh for President was a fun campaign, the first time Winnie the Pooh ran for president was a fun concept to put together. At that time, what a risk! But what fun to write the music and to overdress Pooh in his Uncle Sam hat and his little vest and have Tigger be his campaign manager. Those were fun early shows because we were stretching the brand. Anytime we could stretch the brand and try to find out when the guests would go with us and when they wouldn’t go with us… learning that was a great opportunity.”
