Special Column: The West Side of the Kingdom
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The most recent attraction project that Bob was involved with was the design and installment of Tarzan’s Treehouse at Disneyland, replacing the original Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in Adventureland. It was the best project he’s ever worked on at Disney, according to Bob in an interview that will be featured in the next issue of Theme Park Adventure Magazine. Most everyone on the team at Disney agreed. It was fun, challenging and the end result is breathtaking.
Bob’s next plans were to take care of fixing all of the problems plaguing both Tom Sawyer Island as well as Frontierland - which included the possibility of a major attraction addition to the area that has been rumored for some time now in different enthusiast gossip circles - Geyser Mountain (actually, that name has always been incorrect, but we’ll leave it as is). Baranick seemed very worried that the entire experience of Tom Sawyer Island is in jeopardy and was anxious to get to work saving the elements of the Island.
That is why his telephone call about two weeks ago caught me completely off-guard. I was just watching the end credits of The Sixth Sense when I received a page from Bob. I could tell that there was something not quite right in his voice; instead of the usual joke or wild message, he simply said, “Rick, this is Bob - can you give me a call as soon as possible?”
I was sure that I had upset someone with something I’d written (no difficult task these days) and that Bob wanted to give me a friendly “heads-up.” I rushed home and when I called, we spoke for a few minutes about the movie I had just seen (fantastic, by the way - see it if you get the chance) and then the conversation took a turn into Seriousland. “There’s something I want to tell you before anyone else does,” Bob said. My heart skipped a beat. “Yeah?” I asked. There was a very brief pause and then, “I’m leaving the Company, and I wanted you to hear it from me before someone else does because I have told several people already.”
My heart sank into my stomach. One thing that is evident in everything Bob does is that he truly is in love with his work - and he adores Disneyland. As though he could read my mind, he began to explain. “It’s my own choice; I have actually given this a lot of thought and it’s something I want to do.” Bob continued to explain his plans and reasons - which will remain a personal item between the two of us at this point - and told me not to feel down, that there would be another “Keeper of the Flame” as I always said, to replace him and do a fine job maintaining Disneyland’s attractions.
We continued talking about the future and I assured him that he’d be terribly missed and that TPA would fully support his decision and follow his career wherever it takes him. I will say that he’s got some fantastic plans and we’re totally excited about the future for Bob Baranick. Fans have not heard the last of him in the slightest.
That still did little to fill the immediate loss I felt for Disneyland. We concluded our conversation and I hung up the phone. Half way to my computer desk, I began to weep. It surprised me absolutely. It was overwhelming that Bob was leaving Disney and I felt very sad for the Park and the attractions that he fought so hard on a daily basis to maintain. I think I wept for the inevitable - that it’s going to get worse at Disneyland before it gets better. The future of Tom Sawyer Island is now uncertain. The probability that Frontierland will receive its new mountain is now just below zero percent. There are a lot of things that Bob’s departure spells out for Disneyland, and it is not a very positive picture.
Sure, someone will soon be sitting in his office at his desk where he spent so many hours creating magic and fighting battles. Hopefully, that person is half as skilled and talented as Bob Baranick.