Cynthia Harriss at NFFC,

Cynthia Harriss at NFFC
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by Staff
July 31, 1999
At the NFFC convention in mid-July, Cynthia Harris, along with two other Disneyland executives, spoke on the near future plans for Disneyland.

Disneyland Announces Some Immediate Plans

On Wednesday, July 21st, three executives spoke to the NFFC Convention about Disneyland's immediate plans. On hand were Cynthia Harris, Executive Vice-President of the Disneyland Resort, Tim Runco, Vice President, Entertainment, and Tony Garrison, Brand Manager at the Disneyland Resort.

The first item talked about was an expansion of the holiday season at Disneyland. In addition to it's a small world Christmas, Tim Runco said Toontown, New Orleans Square and the Mark Twain will likely get Christmas treatments this year as well. There will also be more lights around the hub and more trees around the Castle moat. To paraphrase Tim Runco, people and characters live in the lands of Disneyland, so it's natural they would want to decorate for the holidays. During the question and answer Cynthia Harriss confirmed that New Year's Eve will not be a special ticketed event this year. However, they will close the gates when they reach capacity.

Also announced was the formation of a Disneyland guest community to be involved in changes at Disneyland. It will include a wide spectrum of types of guests. It will be composed of approximately 25 people, and meet quarterly to discuss special events, promotions, projects in development, etc. It was stressed that this will not be a simple focus group. The goal is to have the committee formed and have a first meeting in September or October. Mailing list cards were handed out at the convention so those who wanted to be considered could turn them back in. There was no other word on how to get one's name into consideration.

Also announced was an upcoming new exhibit for the Disneyland Gallery. In celebration of the new Chevron Autopia coming next Spring, in August the Disneyland Gallery will begin installing an Autopia exhibit showing the past and future of the Tomorrowland attraction. Set to go down for rehab after Labor Day, the New Autopia will feature an entertaining queue where the "Chevron Cars" talk to one another about what it means to be an Autopia car. Three new car styles, cute, SUV and sporty will travel the Autopia taking in all new themed scenery.

Tony Garrison announced some upcoming merchandise events. On August 9th, the Haunted Mansion's 30th anniversary, a $65 anniversary lithograph will go on sale. On August 21st Howard and Amy Green will have a signing of their new book Remembering Walt: Favorite Memories of Walt Disney. On August 28th the first Disney's California Adventure lithograph will be released tentatively followed by a tour of the Preview Center with DCA Imagineers. Donald Duck 65th birthday merchandise will go on sale in the Disneyana shop in August. September 18th will be the Sleeping Beauty Sculpture event. October will see commemorative Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Marquee merchandise released. And tentatively scheduled for October 23rd, the 50th anniversary of the release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, is a special after hours Enchanted Evening featuring a Mr. Toad birthday party in Fantasyland. December 10th through 12th will bring the First Disneyland Christmas Collectibles Event which has proved very successful at Walt Disney World. Also on hand for a day in December will be some limited edition artists including Christopher Radko and Margaret Furlong.

Important Note: As always with Disneyland, everything annouced here is subject to change at any time for any reason without any notice.