Celebrating 55 Years of Magic ~ Sept 18th 2010

Celebrating 55 Years of Magic ~ Sept 18th 2010
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by Bill Gurber
July 28, 2010
A look back at past 1313 Club events and forward to the next event - Marvelous Mechanized Magic to be Held September 18th with legendary Disney Imagineers and hosted by Neil Patrick Harriss.


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It has been about 1 1/2 years  since the 1313 Club honored Wally Boag & his legacy at the Golden Horseshoe Revue.  I�m guessing there were over 400 people at the Anaheim Sheraton Hotel where the event took place. There were so many great talents present. One of them was Marty Sklar. Marty spoke about Wally Boag�s history at the Golden Horseshoe. Then there were the Dapper Dans. And, of course, Wally Boag addressed the gathering. Being at this event just brought back a flood of memories. This was because my parents were Disneyland shop lessees from 1956-59. They had a shop in Town Square and actually knew Wally Boag over the years. Having had the privilege of meeting him myself, it was a chance to renew all those fond memories that I treasure.

        

Last year, The 1313 Club celebrated and honored the 1959 opening of the three interconnected Disneyland attractions; The Monorail, Matterhorn and Submarine. The guest speakers were Bob Gurr (Legendary ride designer), Keith Murdoch (Anaheim City Manager in 1955), Ron Dominguez (Marketing Chief), and Garner Holt (Audio Animatronics Guru). In 1959 I attended the Opening of the three attractions, being one of the specially chosen children to ride the attractions first. When I read that The 1313 Club planned on celebrating the three 1959 attractions, and were the only organization who was paying tribute to these remarkable attractions, I found the compelling need to be there at the 50th celebration. 

                

The evening started when I arrived early to view historical images and attraction pieces. Catching my eye as I came into the foyer was a live mermaid on a prop rock that reminded me of when there were mermaids in the lagoon and how sailors would jump into the water to swim out to meet them. Low and behold, this mermaid just happened to be sitting on an original piece of the submarine lagoon�s landscape. I just found it remarkable that The 1313 Club captured my excitement so quickly. Inside, the evening started with a great dinner and invigorating conversation. The Walt Disney Company allowed Carlene Thie to compile a vintage film of the three attractions being built from the ground up. This was remarkable footage that I had never seen before. Then the evening speakers were introduced. The first speaker, Bob Gurr, talked about ride vehicles.  He wowed us with the story about building the Matterhorn from the top down for the visual effect when it was viewed from outside the Park. Finally, he relayed the story about driving the Monorail with Vice President Richard Nixon and his family.  
 
Keith Murdoch, who was the Anaheim City Manager in 1954, discussed how Walt Disney came to purchase the land where the park would be built. Keith dovetailed into Ron Dominguez� discussion since Ron�s family owned some of the property that became Disneyland. Ron�s home was one of the first office buildings used during the construction stages. Ed Hobelman, from the Walt Disney Company, even shared how he really enjoys the 1313 Club events and how the Disney Legends are being remembered. 

The last speaker was Garner Holt. He talked about his youthful goal of building mechanical amusement devices. Garner started designing animatronics in his backyard for his friends. He went on to explain how his youthful experimentation has developed into a company with an industry leadership role.
 
Now, this year, the 1313 Disney Club has begun to roll up their sleeves to again create an amazing evening of entertainment. The Club members are Celebrating 55 Years of Marvelous Mechanized Magic on September 18, 2010.  The event honors Walt Disney's animatronics / MAPO. Walt Disney�s imagination has developed into a world wide industry. Garner Holt will be displaying some of his own animatronic characters. Some will be �plugged in� and functioning. Some of the greatest hands that worked on these creations will be there from Rolly Crump �Berry Tales� to �Star Wars robots� and vintage Disney animatronics. The very famous X Atencio will be gracing us with his stories involving animation and attraction design. We will be hearing from Kathryn Beaumont who portrayed Alice (�...Wonderland�) and Wendy Darling (�Peter Pan�). That should fill the evening, right? No, there is more. To round out the evening there is the fantastic artist Floyd Norman. Alice Davis, the original �designing woman� will be wowing us with her stories of clothing Disneyland characters from Small World to Pirates. And finally, the ever entertaining, the legendary, Bob Gurr will join us by being transported by a 5/8 scale Monorail. He will continue to illuminate the darker recesses of the transportation side of the Park. 

So is that all that is in store for us this coming September? Nope!!

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-- Posted July 28, 2010