Guest Relations - Nov 19, 1999

Guest Relations
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by Chris Reed (archives)
November 19, 1999
Chris gives his opinions on the Skyway, Dogma and Disney protesters then tops it off with a Tommy Trojan history lesson. What a guy!

Sky Bye Bye

It took long enough.

It seems that whenever one of the Magic Kingdoms makes a big change, the other follows suit.

It took five years for Walt Disney World to duplicate Disneyland's closing of its Skyway.

There is usually some nostalgia and lamenting when an attraction closes. You may still be missing America Sings and Mission to Mars.

Still, I was never a huge fan of the Skyway. It didn't do much more than transport you from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, and vice-versa. There wasn't any magic. It was just a cable car with cute colors.

There will be talk around the net by people about how they're outraged about the closing of the Skyway. To them, I ask only this one question: How many people ever went to the Magic Kingdom just because they wanted to ride the Skyway?

I miss the people above waving to you with smiles as they flew on by.

I don't miss the people throwing spitballs down at you and teasing folks as they passed by.

As a regular visitor to Disneyland who has spent the last five years without a Skyway, let me assure you that you will get over it.

It’s the Peoplemover you’ll miss.

Disney Dogma: Driving down Katella and passing by Disneyland the other day, I saw before me a throng of protesters outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

It wasn’t the homeless Swiss Family Robinson seeking work for food or those still miffed the Main Street Electrical Parade was shut down.

They were protesting the movie Dogma.

As much as Disney tried to distance itself from the movie by creating a distributor that had neither its name or Miramax on it, there the protesters were with signs like "Disney is Blasphemous" and "Mickey Mouse Doesn’t Believe in God."

My problem isn’t with the protesting – it is a public street – but with the very fact that none of them seem to have seen the movie.

I saw the film over the weekend and left with a feeling that the protesters wouldn’t expect. I was saying to myself, "God is cool."

Dogma is far from an anti-Religion or anti-Catholic movie as one can get. If anything, its one of the better religious movies I have seen … if anything because it doesn’t preach to you.

One of the main points the movie tried to make is that religion shouldn’t be somber or without a sense of humor. Religion is about believing, not in what someone wants you to believe.

I’ve always had a problem with people who criticize something without trying or seeing it for themselves. It was the Bible that said, "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."

If one wants to be ignorant, that’s fine. Just don’t take it out on kids on their way to see Mickey Mouse.

Something Disney Fans Would Like to See: The go.com logo replaced by legal action with a hidden Mickey.

Something Disney Fans Would Not Like to See: The go.com logo replaced by legal action with Pokemon.

Really?: Here's something you may have not known. Tommy Walker, the first entertainment director that Disneyland ever had, composed one of the most well-known musical pieces in American history.

Despite it being only six notes in length, you have probably sung along with it, or heard it more often than any other song … especially if you regularly attend sporting events.

Walker composed the trumpet piece entitled simply "Charge." As in "Ta da da dah da dah … charge!"

He wrote the piece in 1947 while a member of the USC marching band as a way to cheer the school's football team on.

He had good reason, as he is also the only person in USC football history to be a part of the football team and the band at the same time. When he was needed, he would shed his uniform, come out of the stands and kick extra point field goals for the Trojans.

Walker soon earned a nickname that would forever place him in school history as "Tommy Trojan." Eight years later, Walt Disney appointed him as the man to oversee entertainment at his new amusement park.

Later on, Walker went into business on his own, putting together the halftime entertainment of several Super Bowls and being the main entertainment handler for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Now you know where my day job as a sportswriter has its advantages when writing this column.

What if It Was a Disney Movie: Sleepy Hollow would be Sleepy Hollow and Mr. Toad. The main feature would be proceeded by a film about an audio-animatronic toad disappointed that a certain ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom was closed a year ago.

Until next time … No more kinky stuff on the Skyway.

Chris Reed, who draws protests whenever he goes to Disneyland, is usually a sportswriter who can also be seen on the Internet at StreetZebra Online. Picket lines can be set up by contacting [email protected] or entered below.

Guest Relations is normally posted every other Friday.

The opinions expressed by Chris Reed, 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.