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animation

A review of Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream

by Mark Eades December 20, 2018

My wife and I got a chance to see Feld Entertainment’s “Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream” and I must say it is an incredible show.

Any Disney fan, and especially those with kids, will thoroughly enjoy this ice skating extravaganza.

It features appearances by Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, but the real show stoppers are the big productions based on Disney’s animated feature films.

The show opens with the song “Remember Me” from “Coco,” featuring only four skaters on ice, but it grows from there.

The song “Remember Me” from “Coco” is performed on ice during Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream. Photo by Mark Eades

“Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and Beast” has skaters dressed as Lumiere, Cogsworth, dishes and spoons. It is well staged and everyone in the audience sings along.

The “Be Our Guest” production number based on Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” in the ice show “Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream.” Photo by Mark Eades

A wonderful number based on “Cinderella” features absolutely spectacular skating by Cinderella and the Prince.

The skaters for Rapunzel and Flynn Rider take to the air above the ice at times during the production set based on “Tangled,” and brought the audience to its feet afterwards.

The same movie had a 20-plus set of skaters in the sequence based on “I Have a Dream.”

“I Have A Dream” is a real show stopper during “Disney on Ice – Dare to Dream.” Photo by Mark Eades

And the finale with the lanterns brought tears to many of the lady’s eyes.

After the intermission, the production did not slow down as it told the story of “Frozen.” Yes, many of the ladies and girls sang along to two of the movie’s songs, “Love is an Open Door,” and of course, “Let It Go.” But the production values of “Let It Go” are as good as Disney’s live show at Disney California Adventure.

Olaf and Anna skate during the “Frozen” production number of “Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream.” Photo by Mark Eades.

The final number is based on “Moana” and the spectacular skating continues here as they do an ice skating version telling of the film’s story.

I highly recommend seeing Disney On Ice – Dare to Dream to anyone who likes Disney movies, and to anyone who wants to see some great ice dancing and a great production.

December 20, 2018 0 comment

Helping Ryman Arts

by Mark Eades December 19, 2018

For the past few years I’ve had the pleasure of serving as treasurer of the Disneyland Alumni Club, which is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit dedicated to helping current and former Disneyland Resort Cast Members stay in touch, and also give back to the community.

During my time we’ve instilled a strict financial discipline on the organization so that for the first time in a couple years, we’ve been able to give back. So, our first donation in a while was made to Ryman Arts. We’re going to continue this effort this year and beyond.

Diane Brigham of Ryman Arts, receives a $500 donation from the Disneyland Alumni Club. Pictured (l-r) are: Mark Keiser, president of the club, Brigham, Richard Ferrin, vice-president of the club and Mark Eades, secretary and treasurer of the club.

Here is more about that donation:

It was a beautiful Sunday at Walt’s Barn in Los Angeles, a perfect day and place for a special moment.

The moment was when Diane Brigham, executive director of Ryman Arts, stopped by to receive a donation of $500 to the Ryman Carroll foundation from representatives of the Disneyland Alumni Club.

Mark Keiser, president of the Disneyland Alumni Club, along with Richard Ferrin, its vice-president, presented her with the check.

“This check will help fund art supplies for a number of students accepted into our program,” Brigham said.

The donation came about thanks to the generosity of club members, and a disciplined approach to spending by the club.

“The legacy of Ryman Arts is part of the very foundation of Disneyland, Walt Disney and the man who helped Walt develop the first concepts for our Magic Kingdom,” Keiser said.

Keiser added that Ryman Arts commitment to providing solid training for young artists fits in with the Club’s mission to promote the spirit of Disneyland.

Vice-president Ferrin echoed those remarks saying, “The magical qualities that make Disneyland special are the magical qualities programs like those of Ryman Arts instills in budding artists.”

Ferrin, an artist and designer, also said Ryman Arts will be a part of the Club’s plans for its big Disneyland 65th anniversary reunion in 2020, and in 2019.

Ryman Arts was founded by friends and family of Disney artist and Legend Herbie Ryman after his passing in 1989. It was established to carry on his philosophy of teaching the foundational skills of drawing and painting to young artist to help them reach their full potential.

It primarily achieves this goal through a series of art classes taught by professional artists on weekends at Otis College of Art & Design and California State University, Fullerton. None of the students (mostly high school age) have to pay for the classes or the cost of their art supplies, thanks to the donations the foundation receives.

Founders included the late Marty Sklar, and Harrison “Buzz” Price – both Disney Legends, along with Sharon Disney Lund, Walt Disney’s adopted daughter.

The Disneyland Alumni Club was started by Disney Legend Van France who, along with Dick Nunis, wanted to create a group that would help current and former cast members stay in touch after leaving their positions at the Disneyland Resort. Additionally, it works to improve the community through its actions and donations to other organizations.

The Club’s motto is, “Always part of the Magic!”

Both organizations, along with Walt’s Barn through the Carolwood Foundation, are 501 (c) (3) non-profit organizations.

Walt’s Barn in Griffith Park.

The club plans to continue its efforts to give back in 2019, with several more $500 donations all ready approved by its board of directors.

December 19, 2018 0 comment

Tim Strauch II on his first day as a Disneyland character. Here he is dressed as Br'er Fox. Used by permission.

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A Real Disneyland Character

by Mark Eades July 29, 2014

Some teachers in school are real characters. In Tim Strauch II’s case, he was one—a Disneyland character that is.

Tim Strauch II on his first day as a Disneyland character. Here he is dressed as Br’er Fox. Used by permission.

Actually Tim, 44, played several Disneyland characters during his time as a Cast Member in the Entertainment Department from November 1996 to January 2001, including Pluto, Buzz Lightyear, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Eeyore, Rafiki, Geppetto, C3P0 and his first one, Br’er Fox.

Tim got the performing bug from his father, who was a professional clown for parties and events while also working as a teacher by day. At the age of two, Tim first visited Disneyland. Even though he lived in the Sacramento, Tim loved Disneyland so much that as a Cub Scout he sold enough “Scout-a-rama” tickets to win a free trip to Disneyland four years in a row. He even told a cousin who went with him on one trip that one day he was going to work there.

Tim Strauch II is dressed as Pluto in this photo. On the left is his grandmother, on his right is his mother. Used by permission.

In 1989, Tim submitted his first Disneyland application while attending junior college, planning to get a job there and finish his schooling at California State University, Fullerton. But that dream did not happen, so he went back home to Sacramento and attended California State University, Sacramento instead. After graduating with a degree in Communications, Media Production, he set off for Hollywood to find a career in show business.

Initially, Tim got a job in Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Character Department, while going on job interviews and auditioning for roles in television and films. Thanks to that experience, in 1996 he landed an audition to be a character at Disneyland.

“I’ve never felt more confident in an audition,” he said. He got the job and was made a Cast Member in Disneyland’s Entertainment Department. His first day as a Disneyland character on stage was his birthday in 1996, in the role of Br’er Fox.

Tim Strauch II is dressed as Pluto in this photo. Used by permission.

Meanwhile, Tim continued to audition for acting roles or a position in television production, but that proved to be a struggle. “I knew it would be a hard field and I gave it my best. But I wasn’t as successful as I thought I could be,” said Tim.

Tim had done some teaching side by side with his dad, Tim Strauch, Sr. and decided it was fun, so he went back to school to get his teaching credential. He moved back up north, and started teaching at Community Outreach Academy Elementary School in McClellan, California, where he lives today with his wife of 14 years. As a teacher, he’s received a Teacher of the Month award handed out by the local ABC News affiliate, along with other honors.

Tim Strauch II is dressed as Eeyore, and is pictured with his father, Tim Strauch I. Used by permission.

But Disneyland is still in his heart and he fondly remembers his time in his many Disney character roles. “The experience is one that will never leave me,” he said. “I wear my Disneyland Entertainment ring everyday and I’m proud to say I worked there.”

This profile is part of a series featuring former Disney Cast Members being written for the Disneyland Alumni Club. These stories reveal the role working for Disney has played over the years in shaping the lives of the people who help “make the dream a reality,” as Walt would say.

In honor of the 60th anniversary year of Disneyland in 2015, the Disneyland Alumni Club is reaching out to former employees, whether retired or younger, who may not be aware of the organization. The Club was started in 1983 by Disneyland executives Van France and Dick Nunis as a way to help Cast Members stay in touch after moving on to other careers. Is that you? If so and you’d like to take part in the Club’s private celebration next August—or participate in their many other activities and benefits, please visit www.disneylandalumni.org and join today!

Want to read articles about some other Disneyland Alumni? Click on the links below.

Lifelong bonds formed working at Disneyland

John Waite Loves Theme Parks

Caretaker of Walt Disney’s Family Film Legacy

Tim Strauch II is getting ready to play C3P0 in a Disneyland nearby. Used by permission.

July 29, 2014 3 comments

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Artistic wonders at Wondercon 2014

by Mark Eades April 21, 2014

The artistry on display at Wondercon 2014 makes my words on this page pale by comparison.
The images drawn by all the artists’ hands constantly amaze me.

Steve Feicht, creator of “Tiny Nightmares,” characters that kids encounter in their dreams, with his daughters Katie, 11, (left) and Devon, 15, (right).

One of the artists there, Steve Feicht, I’ve known since 1977 when we both worked at the Riverbelle Terrace at Disneyland together. We went our separate ways, but have always stayed in touch.
Steve eventually went into toy design and went off to New York to work for several years. Walt Disney Imagineering, where I was working in the creative division, was on a hiring spree in the mid-1980s.
One day I heard a familiar voice in the hall, it was Steve. He’d been flown in with his portfolio for an interview with management, including my boss and Disney Legend, Randy Bright. Steve and I had a nice lunch together where he showed me his design portfolio.
Later that day Randy asked me about Steve, and I gave him a solid recommendation. I think it helped.
Anyway, Steve was soon hired into WDI. We worked on several projects together there.
Eventually both he and I left WDI for other things, he went back to the toy design industry and I went into the journalism business, but we’ve always stayed in touch.
Every year he sends our family a hand-drawn Christmas card. He even created my business logo.

Tiny Nightmares showed up at Wondercon 2014. Image courtesy: Tiny Nightmares & Steve Feicht.

Steve has designed some really fun toys and other things over the years, and now the father of two lovely girls has come up with a really fun concept – Tiny Nightmares.
It was a concept inspired by stories he would tell his daughters to help them sleep. Other friends, parents of small children, inundated him with requests for their own Tiny Nightmares creatures.
According to Steve: “The Tiny Nightmares are the gruesome gang that defends your dreams. They use their special powers to fight the nighttime nasties who spoil your slumber.”

Tiny Nightmares showed up at Wondercon 2014. Image courtesy: Tiny Nightmares & Steve Feicht.

He and his daughters had a booth at Wondercon 2014 where people could check out the characters he created.
It debuted in 2010 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and has been steadily growing as a business, and a wonderful concept.
Hopefully it will be an animated television show soon too. I urge you to check it out at the Tiny Nightmares website.

You can read about my overall impression of Wondercon 2014 here at a post on Inside the Magic.

If you’re into the Cosplay at Wondercon 2014, you can click here to find more photos.

Earlier I wrote about some of the writers I met up with at Wondercon 2014.

I also wrote about some of the other wonderful weird concepts I saw, and you can click here to read about them.

April 21, 2014 0 comment

Where else but at Wondercon would you find Pokey and Gumby together with Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent.

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Wonderful Weirdness of Wondercon 2014

by Mark Eades April 20, 2014

Nightwing and Deathstroke are threatening Batgirl, while Superman tries to protect her, while a child and father watch the “action” out in front of the Anaheim Convention Center at Wondercon 2014.

Wondercon 2014 brought out some wonderful weirdness in its Cosplay as seen in this link, but it also brought out some wonderful weirdness in some of the concepts seen on the exhibition floor at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Really? Zombie bunnies?

The first are Zombie Bunnies. I got my first hint of the dangers of bunny rabbits when I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975.

Now with the world being threatened, at least according to some successful television shows, to be overrun by zombies, it was only a matter of time before other creatures would become part of the walking dead world.

In fact, there is a whole kingdom of Zombie Bunnies, and they have their own Facebook page. We really have gone down a rabbit hole haven’t we Alice?

Of course it makes me wonder how Elmer Fudd would fare in this world? Would there then be zombie coyotes and more? Would the Roadrunner become a zombie too?

The thoughts stagger my cartoonish mind.

The character on John Merritt’s head is Tentacle Kitty.

In that vein, weird crossbreeding is the next item in “Tentacle Kitty,” a cross between an octopus and a cat.

Now how this happened I do not know. We all know how cats are terrified of the water; perhaps it was some poor cat’s chance encounter with an octopus leading to this.

Or maybe it was an effort by the society of Octopi to overcome the fear engendered by SciFi and horror filmmakers. Everyone knows cats are cute, insidiously so, whereas octopi do not seem to get the same kind of loving oohs and ahs from humans.

So maybe it was a plot to create a crossbred creature by the octopi to gain the loving trust of humans.

I do have to wonder, though, what kind of purring sound a Tentacle Kitty would make – would it sound like tiny bubbles wafting through water?

Would Tentacle Kitty like the water and can it swim?

I also found some wonderful authors at Wondercon 2014; learn more about them by clicking here.

Here is where you can find my overall take on Wondercon 2014.

April 20, 2014 1 comment

These three girls sang an impromptu performance of "Let It Go" from the Walt Disney Animation film "Frozen" at Disneyland's Coke Corner with the Ragtime Pianist.

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Impromptu “Let it Go” at Disneyland’s Coke Corner

by Mark Eades April 16, 2014

These three girls sang an impromptu performance of “Let It Go” from the Walt Disney Animation film “Frozen” at Disneyland’s Coke Corner with the Ragtime Pianist.

I was meeting a friend at Disneyland today, when I heard the familiar refrain of “Let it Go” coming from Coke Corner.

I wandered over in time to hear three teenage girls singing the song with the ragtime pianist.

So I got out my camera and started shooting.

Enjoy.

April 16, 2014 0 comment

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Writing about Disney and other theme parks

by Mark Eades February 28, 2014

If you’re wondering why you don’t see much in the way of stories about Disney here, it’s because I am writing about Disney and other theme parks for Inside the Magic.net.

Its owner, Ricky Brigante, and I have become pretty good friends over the past few years. When I was laid off by the Orange County Register in January, he reached out to me and we reached an agreement.

So, I will mostly be writing about the Disneyland Resort, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood and other theme park related stories for him.

Stories should appear weekly, and I will provide links here.

Below is a list of my first five stories:

This is me, Mark Eades, outside the entrance to Star Tours at Disneyland.

Finding a Voice for Star Tours.

A “Marvel” ous plot at Disneyland?

How I became an Imagineer.

Why no Frozen attraction at the same time as the movie?

How the Golden Dream in American Adventure was almost a nightmare.

I hope you enjoy them. Meanwhile, look for more from me about other things here at this website.

February 28, 2014 0 comment

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Working with some very talented people

by Mark Eades February 27, 2014

I’ve worked with a lot of very talented people over the years, and some of them helped out with this web page.

Susan Lustig is a former Imagineer. She was a show producer at Universal Creative and at Walt Disney Imagineering. Like many, she is now out working on the world wide web and designs web pages, among other things. She is the one responsible for the design of this web page. (I’ve actually known her husband, Bob Dahl, longer than I have Susan. Bob is a principal at September Entertainment.)

You can check out more of her work at Acme Digital Design.

She was terrific to work with, and answered a lot of question. A very patient woman, but also talented and knows how to deal with coding issues.

She instinctively knew what photos to pick for the initial launch, and the color scheme for things.

Having a background in theme parks, like me, probably helped a lot too.

Susan, thanks for your terrific work.

Another former Imagineer I have known for a long time is a gentleman by the name of Steve Feicht.

We first met at Disneyland, then went our separate ways. He was a toy designer based back east for a while.

We hooked up again when he showed up one day at Walt Disney Imagineering, interviewing for one of the many designer positions they were hiring for at the time. My boss, Randy Bright, a Disney legend, asked me what I thought. It was simple, I said, “Hire him.”

We worked on a few projects together there, and after leaving WDI, on a couple other projects.

Steve is designing toys again, but when I asked if he could help me out, he designed the logo for my website, markeades.com.

You can learn more about Steve at his website, tinynightmares.com. Don’t be scared off by the name, they’re a bunch of really cute characters he designed to help get his daughters to go to sleep.

Steve has a great sense of humor.

Steve, thanks for the logo design.

February 27, 2014 0 comment

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