Ep. 748: Disney California Adventure's First Quarter Century

This week, Jeff and Julia (from the Pal Around Podcast) go back in time to 2001 and take a stroll through the opening days of Disney's California Adventure in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Listen to our memories, anecdotes, and a few rare sound bytes as we pay homage to Anaheim's second Disney gate. As a special bonus, we take a quick trip back to the 2013 PNW Mouse Meet to revisit a classic Mousetalgia interview with Imagineer Kevin Rafferty about his work developing Cars Land for DCA. All this - and much more!

This week, Jeff reports on the holidays at Disneyland and Candlelight weekend, and talks about the holiday eats and treats, experiencing the park during the Christmas season, and trying to find an opportunity to view this year's Candlelight Processional, which featured Benjamin Bratt as the guest speaker. Also - a look at the Christmas Fantasy on Parade from 1965, and a recipe for Walt Disney's "favorite" chili... could this be the one? Plus - Jeff will be speaking about the Haunted Mansion on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at Mouse-Con Bakersfield. Visit mouse-con.com for more information. 

This episode, Jeff and co-host Julia discuss two events held recently at the Walt Disney Family Museum celebrating Disneyland's 70th anniversary and the new exhibit titled "The Happiest Place On Earth: The Disneyland Story." Curated by Don Hahn, the new display at the museum features a number of rarely seen artifacts and photos from the development and design of Walt Disney's original Magic Kingdom. The events featured Don Hahn, Tony Baxter, and Tom Morris, and we share some of the insights and secrets from the recent nights at the museum. Plus - collecting Disney prints and art - where to begin? Where to look? We have some ideas.

Happy Halloween! On this week's special spooky episode, Jeff welcomes Julia back to the show to discuss a few frightningly fun topics, starting with Jeff's review of Disneyland's new Happiest Haunts Tour ("The Villains' Trail"), and we look at the new features for this year and compare it with tours in years past. Then, we discuss Ray Bradbury and his relationship with both Walt Disney and the Disney Company, including a closer look at The Halloween Tree, his book that inspired the Halloween Tree in Frontierland. We also dive into "Something Wicked This Way Comes," Bradbury's cult-ish film produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1983 and we look at its inspiration, the story of its production, its genre (horror? Dark fantasy?), and its place in horror story culture. Finally, we give a quick review of Tron: Ares, while wishing it was doing better at the box office. 

This week, Jeff welcomes music editor, conductor and arranger Shawn Degenhart to the show to discuss his book "Walt Disney's Cinderella in Full Score," a huge tome which celebrates the history of Cinderella with essays, images, lost songs and that incredible score. Degenhart also shares about his experience working on a Sherman Brothers musical. Plus - Jeff gives a collectibles update, we talk about collecting and framing artwork, Jeff reports on a talk by historian Michael Campbell at the Walt Disney Family Museum about Walt's trains - and more!

This week, Jeff and his pals Julia and Tina talk about 70th birthday week at Disneyland - and what an eventful week it was! Jeff was on property Monday through Friday and has a plethora of reports and reviews, and Tina and Julia were at the resort much of the week as well, so we have a lot to talk about. Jeff's family utilized Lightning Lane Premier Pass for their first full day in the parks, and Jeff reviews the experience, the value, and the important questions to answer before you consider this pricey option. We all were able to watch "Walt Disney - A Magical Life," and we break down the controversy surrounding this brand new show which features an Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney, and offer our own reviews of the attraction. We all also tried the latest version of the World of Color dessert party, and we review the dessert experience as well as the latest World of Color show, "Happiness." All this - and more! I'd love to hear from you! To contact Jeff, email [email protected].

In this week's loaded Mousetalgia, Jeff welcomes former Skipper and Mansion Maid Emma Mosier back to the show to discuss the past 7 decades of Disneyland. We also welcome two special guests this week: Andrea Roberts joins us to talk about her father, Larry Lifchis Roberts, who was an Imagineer with MAPO who worked directly with Walt Disney on Audio Animatronics for Disneyland; and Genevieve Buchanan joins us along with her grandmother Yvonne, who is a Disneyland '55er (an original employee from Disneyland's opening year.) Yvonne worked for Disneyland before the park even opened and shares some stories. Plus - we review the Disneyland 70th walking tour ("A Story of Celebration,") and we have a Haunted Mansion moment. 

This week, we take a look at the collapse of Elio at the box office and discuss the circumstances that may have led to its failure to grab family movie-goers, and then Jeff (and wife Julia) offer our own review. Plus, Jeff welcomes Kurt Pfeifer back to the show to talk about his role developing the interactive elements in the Walt Disney Family Museum's ongoing Mary Blair exhibit; and Jeff gives a recap of a celebration of 70 years of the Jim Henson Company held on the Lucasfilm campus.  Stay tuned for our super-special DIsneyland 70 episode coming July 13! Reach us at [email protected].

This week, Jeff invites Julia Layne and Tina Biles to the show to discuss the recent D23 Gold Member preview tea and preview of "Mary Blair: Mid Century Magic" at the Walt Disney Family Museum. We also talk about our Star Wars Day adventures at the LEGO Store and at a special orchestral performance by Alphabet employees, and Jeff takes a deep dive into the "problem" with Mary Blair. Keep in touch - [email protected].

Welcome to the Return of the... Mousetalgia potpourri! This week, Jeff and guest co-host Julia Layne welcome the first week of May with some Star Wars talk, including a review of Disneyland's Season of the Force (29:00) and the new show "Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga." We also talk about a new exhibit coming to the Walt Disney Family Museum (15:35) called "Mary Blair: Mid-Century Magic," and discuss some of the latest things we've been watching (shout out to Bluey!) Jeff also gives a brief Knott's Berry Farm trip report (35:35), and welcomes Chris Merritt back to the show to discuss his new book "Knott's Bear-y Tales: The Complete History of the Whimsical Attraction" (49:55). We talk about the history of the ride, the story of '70s Knott's, and how Rolly Crump developed the story of the beloved experience. Contact us at [email protected]