On Tony Baxter and His Window Dedication Ceremony

Everybody's Got a Laffin' Place

Who else but a Disney theme park enthusiast says, “I’m so excited about going to a window dedication!”?

If you don't yet know, a “window”, in this case, refers to the widows on the second and third levels of Main Street, USA at Disneyland. The names of the people on those windows, along with their fictional business names, honor people who built Disneyland.

One of the reasons Disney remains special and has the kind of staying power and influence that it does is that it maintains a self-promotional institutional memory, in part by honoring the people who have significantly contributed to the legacy the organization continues to tout and call on its workforce to reinforce. With Disneyland, a high honor that evokes the past is being awarded a window on Main Street, USA. Disneyland enthusiasts can pass the time on a busy day looking up at the various windows and thinking about the contributions of the people whose names that appear there. Cast Members can swap memories of times gone by when that person was working at the Resort. Things like a window on Main Street and the ceremony to

unveil one can be important reminders and rituals that provide constancy, meaning, and a sense of history. Honoring the past can help those in an organization keep proper perspective on the present and grow into the future.

One Little Spark

When a notice arrived in our electronic inbox inviting us to Tony Baxter's November 1, 2013 window dedication ceremony, I called to respond immediately. Almost nothing could keep us away from this.

At first, I figured we’d received the invitation as a result of being on various Disneyland mailing lists. During the phone call, I realized that we had received the invitation because Tony has our personal contact information and wanted us to be there if we could make it.

I detailed in my first written piece presented on LaughingPlace.com and in an edition of The Sweep Spot podcast how I first came to know Tony. Not only was he one of the guys responsible for the object of my one-time obsession – Splash Mountain - and someone who was working successfully as a Disney Imagineer, which by then I wanted be, but he was very approachable and someone who was genuinely a Disney and theme park enthusiast himself. So like so many others who have crossed his path, I established an ongoing friendship with him, centered on a mutual interest in, and enjoyment of, Disney, theme parks, movies, entertainment in general, and people who make such experiences special.

Hang On to Them Hats and Glasses

Tony’s timing was part of his success. As a boy, he watched the Disneyland television show and the opening of Disneyland, and then would visit the place to marvel at what he experienced there. He worked at the park in front-line operations while Walt Disney was alive and interacting with the Cast. He worked as an attractions operations host in the newly overhauled Tomorrowland of 1967, which was an education all in itself. When the Imagineers of the first generation were installing such hallmark attractions as Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, he was around to watch. He was able to find mentors in those original Imagineers due to the differences in their ages and their stages of their professional careers. They were the seasoned, retiring veterans and he was eager youngster, just starting out.

With park operations experience, formal education in theatrical design, a design portfolio, and a gifted imagination, he was promoted to WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering).  He worked on the opening of Walt Disney World and was around for the creation of EPCOT Center. After surviving through the end of the first phases of EPCOT Center and Tokyo Disneyland, he was there when Michael Eisner and Frank Wells brought new leadership to the corporation and they supported him enough that his projects became part of the revival of Disney, changing the skyline of Disneyland and inspiring additions to other Disney theme parks.

Time to Be Movin' Along

Unfortunately, as he gained by the corporate fortunes he also lost by them. After completing the Indiana Jones Adventure, there would not be another project of that scope, innovation, impact, and success that he had such a strong hand in creating. The WestCOT project had been scrapped and others would oversee the opening of the replacement concept, California Adventure. With Disney parks taking a different direction, with so many of the people Tony worked well with having retired, moved on to other ventures, or passed way, with full years of service behind him and retirement age meeting him, he officially retired in early 2013.

Looking back over his run as a WDI employee, there were large projects and small. Here’s a good, but incomplete list of his involvements:

Opening Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom – Fantasyland dark rides, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Discovery Bay concepts* Big Thunder Mountain (original at Disneyland) The Living Seas concepts The Land concepts Journey Into Imagination Disneyland New Fantasyland 1983-1984 Star Tours The Disney Gallery Splash Mountain/Critter Country (original at Disneyland) WestCOT concepts and development Port Disney/Disney Seas concepts and development Tomorrowland 2055 and subsequent Tomorrowland renovation concepts Disneyland Paris theme park Little Mermaid Area concepts (for Disneyland, where Mickey’s Toontown ended up being built) Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye/Disneyland Adventureland renovation Disneyland Tomorrowland 1998 Tarzan’s Treehouse Disneyland Autopia 2000 Soarin’ Over California (concept) Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage California Adventure overhaul concepts Third Anaheim Gate concepts Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle 2008 re-opening with new show The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Captain Eo Tribute 2010 Star Tours 2.0 Disneyland Fantasy Faire

That's just theme park attraction stuff and doesn't include any of the special events, books, artwork, or other collectibles and media he helped bring to the public.

(*I include some concepts - there are many more not listed  -  in the list because things have a way of eventually being developed, if in another form. For example, although Disney didn’t build the project in Long Beach, California, eventually a “Sea”-themed park was built as the second theme park for the Oriental Land Company’s Tokyo Disney Resort.)

With that body of work, it is not surprising that Tony Baxter is a Themed Entertainment Association Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. It is fitting that he was named a Disney Legend this year at the D23 convention, where it was announced he'd also be getting a window on Main Street. Both honors came at with what is, as far as I know, unprecedented immediacy.

You Can't Run Away From Trouble - There's Ain't No Place That Far.

Window dedications, and Disney Legend induction ceremonies, like many other events honoring someone for a body of work, are blackslapping lovefests, with accolades aplenty, and Tony has many admirers and fans. However, like all groups of people, especially involving big business and creativity, The Walt Disney Company’s Park & Resorts division has always had personality and ego clashes, squabbles and skirmishes, not-so-friendly rivalries, and politics. Could anyone have a career with the longevity or list of completed projects like Tony's without stepping on some toes, rubbing a few people the wrong way, or having some clashes? Having been with the same organization for so long, and having been involved in so much, there are inevitably some misses along the way (Walt himself had some), things with which some people legitimately find fault. Perhaps the biggest target is the 1998 overhaul of the Disneyland Tomorrowland.

The subject of the 1998 overhaul of Tomorrowland could probably fill a book. Plans for a thorough, exciting, comprehensive 1992 re-do (which would have been just five years after the original Star Tours opened) were delayed and then modified and cancelled. I could see trouble ahead back then, and in retrospect I was right (I still have, in good condition, a Tomorrowland 2055 jacket). Then came the mid-90s problems with Resort and corporate management, and many other factors that, like I said, could fill a book, and we ended up with what we got in 1998. Much of the 1998 version of Tomorrowland has since been altered or replaced piecemeal.

While there were some misses in what was built, many of the projects Tony worked on that were not constructed could very well have left Disney (and Anaheim, and Long Beach) better off. WestCOT, for example, was dumped and the less ambitious California Adventure was built, which later required a coordinated semi-closure for a ten-figure overhaul and expansion, with questionable connection to the park’s theme, to "fix" it.

It might not bother some of his strongest critics to know that, as much appreciation as he's been shown, Tony has experienced his share of professional frustration, rejection, and slights, as just about anyone has.

That didn’t stop him from being one of, if not the, most successful and influential theme park designers ever. Without a doubt, Disneyland would not be anything like it is today if it hadn’t been for Tony and his teams, and many of the other Disney parks would be different, too.

Pretty Good Sure As You're Born

Love him or not, he's changed the landscape of Disneyland, bringing a theatrical flair to many of his projects that catch the attention of those who aren't even riding the attraction. Consider: while Pirates of the Caribbean is regarded by many to be a pinnacle in theme park attraction design, has an exterior at Disneyland that is not engaging, even if beautiful. However, you can't walk by Big Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain without getting a show. Just standing still in the middle of Fantasyland at Disneyland, there is so much to see and hear, both big and small.

What has made Tony such a fan favorite? It isn't just his talent and many accomplishments or that he worked his way up from the equivalent of the mailroom to be a star designer. It is that Tony is a fan himself, someone who has long demonstrated a genuine enthusiasm for making magic and telling stories, especially when it comes to Disney, but not only when it comes to Disney. Heck, even his own well-decorated home is legendary, being of his own design, having been featured in at least two legacy media publications, and Tony has graciously provided guided tours to people as their jaws dragged on the carpet and he regularly hosts a wide circle of friends (full disclosure... okay, gloating: including us) for viewings in his to-die-for home theater. Tony appreciates excellent design, showmanship, and clever use of use of technology wherever it is found, and he'll talk with anyone and everyone about another park's great attraction, or another studio's engrossing film, or an experience they should try. He's been accessible, friendly, generous with advice, and it doesn't hurt that he's media-friendly/savvy and adept at self-promotion. How very Disney.

Disney has not been "just a job" for Tony. As the late Imagineer and author Bruce Gordon said, Walt built Disneyland because he wanted one. Tony did projects because those projects allowed him – and us – to do things he’s always wanted to do: fly in the trench of the Death Star on a mission to ward off the evil Empire, visit the Laffin’ Place, escape a booby-trapped ancient temple with Indiana Jones.

Is there anyone from his generation whose name is more appropriate for a Main Street window?

My, Oh My, What a Wonderful Day

Friday, November 1 arrived and I donned the shirt my wife had ordered for me in anticipation of the window dedication.

Embroidered over the heart:

Kenny An Original Splashtranaut

On the sleeve:

Thank You TB-BG-JS 6/16/89

That’s a reference to Tony Baxter, and the late Bruce Gordon and John Stone, who were instrumental in the building of Splash Mountain, and the date Tony and Bruce took us on our first ride.

Having been to the Disneyland Resort as a guest literally thousands of times, there are some visits that stand out more than others, such as (in chronological order):

The time I became an Original Splashtranaut The two 35th Anniversary celebration media days (the kickoff in January and the July 17 event) The 40th and 45th Anniversaries My first date with the woman who became my wife The date we had on which I proposed to her The 50th Anniversary

Now there's another special day to add to my list: the day TEA Lifetime Achievement Award honoree and newly inducted Disney Legend Tony Baxter got his window on Main Street, USA.

If I hadn't been an original Splashtranaut, there's a good chance this wouldn't have been as special a day for us.

We were invited to use complimentary valet parking at the Grand Californian starting at 7:30 a.m., and we arrived promptly, right behind a vehicle with a personalized license plate I recognized as that of Tony’s longtime assistant and the Imagineer she married.

We checked in, got our wristbands and tickets, and gathered in the lobby, where people were catching up with each other. Guest Relations Cast Members (in signature plaid) escorted us to the Disneyland Main Gate. As we were walking through Downtown Disney, “Zip a Dee Do Dah” was playing as area music.

Once we were let in, we quickly made our way to the roped-off area where white wooden folding chairs were lined up facing the Magic Shop, where there was a lectern. To our left, there was a red velvet curtain covering what was sure to be the replica of the window. Above, the actual window itself was covered by a similar curtain.

We were sitting in the second center row.

A who’s who of Disneyland personalities was gathering, including songwriter Richard Sherman and his wife, and such retirees as Disneyland President Jack Lindquist, Walt Disney Imagineering chief Marty Sklar, and Disney Archivist Dave Smith. Film critic and author Leonard Maltin was there, as were some key voice actors, Imagineers, and friends and family of Tony. Fans and news media surrounded the invited guests. As I would throughout the day, I saw and greeted people I used to work with who are still working there. It's always good to see them.

Kori was able to get a picture with Richard Sherman.

It was a beautiful day, the sky clear and blue, with the park decorations being transitioned from Halloween themes to Christmas themes. The Disneyland Marching Band was seated left of the shrouded replica window, facing the guests.

The band played, and Tony was introduced and arrived on a horseless carriage, being greeted by various people in the crowd.

Current Disneyland Resort President Michael Colglazier, his boss, Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, and Walt Disney Imagineering Chief Creative Executive Bruce Vaughn all spoke before the window was unveiled with music and blast of (that evil, evil) confetti.

 

The window reads:

Main Street Marvels Tony Baxter Inventor Imagination is at the heart of our creations

The last line alludes to the original Journey Into Imagination attraction at EPCOT Center, of which Tony was Show Producer. It is a modified line from the attraction’s theme song. “Marvels” can have at least three meanings, given that the character that became Dreamfinder in the attraction originally had the name of Marvel, and two things Tony had been involved with just before his retirement.

When it was time for Tony to speak, he pretended he was going to give quite the long speech, having someone hand him a larger stack of papers. Tony ended up talking about his personal journey, but spending the bulk of his speech focusing on teamwork, including talking about teachers, mentors, leaders and managers, partners and peers, and those he has mentored, mentioning many people by name. As good as Tony has been about speaking up for himself, he’s also been quick to give credit to others and highlight their contributions, and his comments reflected that. In a bittersweet moment, he mentioned Randy Bright, Bruce Gordon, and John Stone, three Imagineering peers of his who left us too soon and should have been there to celebrate.

After the ceremony, people were gathering to get pictures and interviews. Rather than standing around in that crowd, we quickly made our way to the private reception in the lobby of the Disneyland Opera House. It took a while before everyone, including the Guest of Honor, trickled into the reception.

We were able to pull Richard Sherman aside and thank him for having taken the picture with us, and to relate to him a story I could barely get out because I was choking up. Long before I knew my lovely bride Kori, she was stricken with a mysterious disease at age nine. Nobody, not even the experts, knew if this daughter of a medical doctor and a registered nurse was going to live or die as she frustratingly lost her ability to speak, her physical coordination, and her energy. She had trouble going to sleep at night because looming over her head was the entirely realistic notion that she might not wake up. To ease her into slumber, her sister would sing her to sleep with the Sherman Brothers song “Fortuosity”. Richard was touched.

That was just one of those special moments made possible through our friendship with Tony.

However, the day was just getting started!

It's a Time For Celebratin' Today

We waited until the reception ended and those of us remaining moved on to the Plaza Inn restaurant for lunch and more conversation. Plaza Inn was where Kori had worked in 1996 and 1997, having recovered enough from her illness to become a Cast Member, complete her studies, and become a registered nurse like her mother before her.

From there, escorted by a “suit” and a “plaid”, we went to enjoy Star Tours, riding twice in a row without having to leave our seats, then on to the Indiana Jones Adventure, Haunted Mansion Holiday, and Splash Mountain, where much of the animation and lighting were not operating as designed. As Tony and I discussed that, I reminded him that one of the first things he ever said to me was an expression of his frustrations, relating to Splash Mountain. From there, it was onto get a close look at Fantasy Faire, and finally the new Thor meet-and-greet in the Innoventions building. We did all of it without waiting. Along our privileged, escorted travels through the park as a parade of current and former Cast Members, Imagineers, and enthusiasts (and family), at least one passing guest recognized Tony, stopped to shake his hand, and then moved along, a smile on his face and a hand to his heart like he’d just crossed a major item off his bucket list.

Our celebratory Disneyland tour was concluded so as to allow us to make our way back to our automobiles and make our off-property dinner reservations, where over a couple dozen of us ate and chatted for three hours or so, which is not unusual for a dinner out with Tony.

To my surprise, after such a long and exciting day, Tony still did his habitual thing: he invited everyone back to his place to enjoy some home theater viewing.

However, I had a prior commitment to record for podcast an interview with Bob Gurr. I’d seen Bob at the event earlier in the day and had talked a bit with him then.

You know you are living a dream day for a Disneyland enthusiast when you have to bow out of an invite to Tony Baxter’s house so you can talk with Bob Gurr. The only thing missing was hanging out with the Moseleys.

We did have the option of re-joining the group at Tony’s after the podcast recording was completed, but Kori and I were exhausted and opted to call it a day,

Once again, we'd had a magical day because of Tony Baxter. I share such details with you here to point out that even after all of these years, Tony still enjoys Disneyland and talking about it with others. Well, that, ...and so you can eat your heart out. Other than when other people think about to whom I’m married, it isn’t often that I get the feeling of being envied.

Thanks, Tony!

“Don't tell me that wasn't big fun!”

-- Ken Pellman

Ken Pellman is a Public Information Officer, ghost/freelance writer/editor, frequent co-host of The Sweep Spot podcast, and Disneyland Annual Passholder with 15 years of experience as a Disneyland Cast Member. He has a BA in Thematic Environmental Design from California State University, Fullerton and resides in Anaheim with his wife, two kids, and dog. Ken can be followed on Twitter @kenversations and found online at www.Pellman.com

The views, opinions and comments of Ken Pellman, and all of our columnists, bloggers, and reviewers, are not necessarily those of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

Text and pictures ©2013 Ken Pellman, all rights reserved. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.