Bob Gurr Goes to Paris
Page 1 of 1
Bob Gurr Goes to Paris
by
Bob Gurr
The highlight of a Baltic Sea Cruise was a visit
to Disneyland Paris during a stay with my Paris Disney Fans at their French
home. Disneyland would be a perfect dessert to a main menu that featured
Copenhagen, Berlin, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden.
Legendary Imagineering Ambassador to The World, Marty Sklar, had made
arrangements for me to visit the Imagineering Office at Disneyland Paris for a
chat with the Disneyland Paris Imagineers. As it turned out, two visits had been
planned, since my Paris friends are rabid Disneyland fans, and are good friends
with George Kalogridis, Directeur Adjoint Operations. George hosted a private
breakfast for us at the Club Level of the Disneyland Hotel at the Park. He then
introduced Imagineer Laurent Cayuela who hosted a day long visit to both
Disneyland and the Studio Park, including a fine French lunch at Walt's
Restaurant.
The next day I was invited to meet with Peter McGrath's Imagineering group and
show the Disneyland Cast TV program "Bob Gurr, Disneyland's Motorman". We then
had an hour Q&A. The program was video taped for later sharing by those off on
assignments. The Paris folks are a real live wire gang, and invited me up to
their work cubicles...just like old WED there. And Laurent hosted yet another
fine French lunch for us all.
I was not prepared for the shockingly gorgeous Disneyland Paris! I was thrilled
to stroll thru gardens and area development that Walt would love. And every cast
member we met was super nice. Laurent was startled at my old Anaheim habit of
picking up trash as I walked the Park...even got him to pick up some stuff too.
It's MY Park you know!
Did lots of attractions including Big Thunder,
Space Mountain and the Crush Coaster...a simple but diabolical torture! Always a
two hour wait every day, but we cheated with a VIP Fast Pass host.
The current beautiful condition of the Park is a tribute to the hard work that
George Kalogridis' crew has performed in the past year or so, with excellent
budget support from corporate. George has the same Walt passion and spirit that
Disneyland's Matt Ouimet displayed during his tenure in Anaheim. Paris
Disneyland is a must-see for anyone visiting Europe. I was personally thrilled
to see that Walt's original Anaheim dream lives on after over fifty years in
Paris today.
The week I enjoyed in my friend's Paris suburb home was a royal treat. A day at
the Versailles Palace and Gardens, exploring the finest Champagne vintner,
Ruinart in Reims, where we sampled a $130 Brut, then many days exploring all the
great wonders of Paris filled me with so much respect for all things Francais. I
must have walked 25 miles. Had fun getting about by myself on the Paris Metro.
The highlight was the night time view from the top of the Eiffel Tower at
midnight on a crisp clear full moon night. No wonder Parisians see no need to
travel elsewhere.
But what I enjoyed best was the daily trot to the local shops for fresh food,
living with the locals to absorb daily French life and see first hand what
American village life must have been like back in Walt's day. Had I been staying
in a fancy hotel, I would have missed all this.
Roberto Gurrini...(European stage name)
Enjoy photos of Disneyland Paris: Go to:
http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q132/gurrini/
Select the album, select view all, then view the album as a slideshow. Pause
anytime, download any that you like.
Discuss It
Related Links
-- Bob Gurr
Bob Gurr began working with Disney in 1954. He retired in 1981 but occasionally consults for the Company. Since Disney he's worked on the sinking ship at Las Vegas' Treasure Island, Universal Studios' King Kong, Godzilla for the film by the same name and much more. Among his proudest accomplishments he lists "making Walt tickled pink that some of the things he wanted to build actually worked. You could tell how proud he was when he would show off things to his friends and the press. Lincoln and the Monorail were two big ones for him."
Designer Times is normally posted the second Wednesday of each month.
The opinions expressed by Bob Gurr, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted August 14, 2007
Advertisement
MouseEarVacations.com
Where Magic Begins!
Concierge Style Service
at No Extra Charge!
Visit our website for more info!
LP Live Recent Picture
Off to Neverland (pool)!
Posted: 11/22/09
Antenna Toppers and Accessories
Antenna Toppers of all styles including sports, holiday, animals, occupations and more. Hundreds to choose f rom.
Now Playing
Welcome
Phil Collins / Brother Bear Movie Soundtrack (Brother Bear)