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

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

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Wonders of Wondercon 2014

by Mark Eades April 20, 2014

One of the fun things about attending Wondercon, besides seeing all folks dressed up to Cosplay as their favorite characters, is seeing some of the fun ideas that artists and writers have developed.

What’s more, because there is more space for the artists and small press, there are more of them, something I very much welcome.

Chris Ayers, creator of “The Daily Zoo.”

One of the first I saw is a gentleman I first met at San Diego’s Comic-Con a few years ago, Chris Ayers. He was at Wondercon with several of his books, including his first entitled, “The Daily Zoo.”

The story is a series of cartoons that Chris drew a year after being diagnosed with Leukemia. One year after being diagnosed, Ayers realized he needed to do something to keep from getting too depressed, so he started drawing, making a commitment to himself to draw a cartoon animal a day.

Subtitled, “Keeping the Doctor at Bay With a Drawing a Day,” the book contains all the cartoons he drew from that year and are a reflection of what he was going through, and was published in 2008. Ayers has been in remission for many years now, but continues to celebrate every day by drawing constantly.

He has published several more books, including succeeding years of “The Daily Zoo.” I recommend his books; they are filled with images of joy, as a terrific escape for anyone suffering from long-term illness.

The indomitable Jeff Tucker, Creative Director of Entertainment at Knott’s Berry Farm, and in his spare time, an author. He has written three books so far, starting with “The Sixth Key: From the Secret Files of The Magic Castle.”

Another terrific author at Wondercon 2014 was Jeff Tucker. By day, Jeff is a Creative Director for Entertainment at Knott’s Berry Farm, where he works on coming up with new scary things for its annual Halloween Haunt and more. In his off hours, when not being a loving husband and father to his children, Jeff writes.

He’s written three books now, part of a six-book series he tells me, the first of which was “The Sixth Key: From the Secret Files of the Magic Castle.” Now I’ve been teasing Jeff since the publication of that first book in 2012 about wanting to know where the other five keys are located. All he will say is read the rest of the novels when they come out.

He’s since published the second in the series, “The Lost Station: From the Secret Files of Engine 17.” He also has the third novel in the series coming out this year. Now Jeff won’t tell me anything more, nor will he tell me what I might see in “Trapped” at the Haunt or other devious plans he has for the Haunt, such as who will be hung at the annual tradition of “The Hanging.”

But I can tell you Jeff has the right spirit of fun, mystery and mischievousness that I like.

You can click here to read more at Inside the Magic of my overall take on Wondercon 2014.

If you like looking at this year’s Cosplay, check out the photos I took at Outside the Magic.

April 20, 2014 2 comments

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