Disney fans and D23 Members have already sent us dozens of questions for Disney Chief Archivist Dave Smith. Here are Dave's answers to recent set of your questions. Check back every couple weeks we'll be publishing more of our beloved Disney Legend's answers to your questions about Disney history!
Q: Who bought the first tickets to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom… the Company or guests?
Alex, Saint Augustine, Florida
A: Ticket number one for Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, as
well as for Hong Kong Disneyland, are in the Walt Disney Archives. Roy O. Disney bought the original Disneyland ticket; the others were
provided to the Disney Archives by the parks.
Q: Were there any other canceled Disney parks besides Disney's America, and did Disney have any plans for what attractions were going to be inside of them?
Ryan, Huntington, Maryland
A: There were plans for ski resorts at Mineral King and Independence Lake [in California]. At one time, there was a tentative plan for a park in Long Beach, California, but events changed and the proposed park became Disney's California Adventure. Some of the theming proposed for the Long Beach park was eventually used for Tokyo DisneySea. Disney doesn't throw away ideas for parks or attractions even though they may get moved to the back burner, there is always the chance that they may be resurrected someday.
Q: Is it true that Mickey Mouse once appeared in a non-Disney movie with the Disney Studio's permission? If so, how did that come about?
Tom, Seattle, Washington
A: Mickey Mouse animation was done by Disney, under contract, for the 1934 MGM film entitled
The Hollywood Party. Mickey appears with Jimmy Durante in a scene introducing a quasi-Silly Symphony cartoon called
The Hot Choc-late Soldiers. Other films have had scenes with Mickey cartoons showing in a movie theater, though this did not constitute new animation.
Q: OK, so I'm a HUGE Walt Disney World fan, and I just wanted to know if there are any summer programs for teens who want to work as an Imagineer when they grow up?
Heather, Texas
A: You didn't mention if you are a high school student Disneyland and Walt Disney World have excellent college programs for college students interested in temporary learning jobs at the parks, but there is no similar program for high school students. Walt Disney Imagineering has the annual ImagiNations design competition for college students. You can find out about all these programs on the Internet.
Q: I have long been a fan of Swiss Family Robinson. Where was the movie filmed and what other Disney films has the youngest Robinson, Francis, played by Kevin Corcoran, played in? I have also heard that there may be a remake in the works. Is that true?
Andrea, Spokane, Washington
A: Swiss Family Robinson was filmed on the island of Tobago in the Caribbean. There are plans for a remake, to be directed by Jonathan Mostow, tentatively scheduled for release in 2012. Besides a number of television films, Kevin Corcoran also appeared in
Old Yeller,
The Shaggy Dog,
Toby Tyler,
Pollyanna,
Babes in Toyland,
Bon Voyage,
Savage Sam and
A Tiger Walks.
Q: Could you tell me a bit about Marc Davis' proposed animated feature Chanticleer? I know Mel Leven wrote a few songs for the picture and actress Robie Lester was signed on to voice one of the principle characters. Any other names who worked on the picture during its long and ultimately tragic pre-production?
David, Birmingham, Alabama
A: According to Charles Solomon's book
The Disney That Never Was,
Chanticleer was first discussed at the Disney Studio as a possible animated film in 1937. Preliminary story work continued on and off for three decades, with Ken Anderson and Marc Davis working on it in the 1960s. The concept was finally dropped for budgetary and other considerations, such as the complaint, "You can't make a personality out of a chicken!" Mel Shaw was unsuccessful in trying to resurrect the idea in 1981. Much of Marc Davis' artwork for the proposed film ended up in a 1991 book from Disney Press entitled
Chanticleer and the Fox.