Chuck Schmidt

Jan 16, 2025 | allears.net | Chuck Schmidt

My road racing “career” began in 1981, when I took part in a five-mile footrace in central New Jersey. I huffed and puffed my way through the hilly course at what seemed like a snail’s pace. I was exhausted when I crossed the finish line, but from that day forward, I was hooked on running. Over the years, I’ve completed the New York City Marathon [1982], the Marine Corps Marathon [2004], two half-marathons and a boatload of five-milers and 10-kilometer races.

Dec 9, 2024 | allears.net | Chuck Schmidt

One of my favorite things to do when I visit a Disney theme park is to seek out all the hidden gems. While most other park guests are making a beeline to the next attraction or show – heads down, dodging strollers and wheelchairs with the skill of an NFL running back – I can be found checking out the smallest detail, the tiniest nugget left behind by those clever folks at Walt Disney Imagineering. I’m fascinated by things that are hidden in plain sight.

Nov 11, 2024 | allears.net | Chuck Schmidt

Walt Disney was all about family, in his life and in his life’s work. When he created award-winning animated films, it was with family entertainment in mind. And when he conceived Disneyland, the world’s first theme park, the impetus was to build a place where parents and their children could have fun together. So it should come as little surprise that when it comes to the people who worked for Walt – the men and women who are known as Disney cast members – there are quite a few with family ties.

Oct 28, 2024 | allears.net | Chuck Schmidt

Disneyland Paris “is an absolutely beautiful park, one of the most beautiful in the world.” That’s what Jay Rasulo told me during an interview in 2009. Rasulo, then the Walt Disney Company’s Parks and Resorts Chairman who was about to become the company’s Chief Financial Officer, had perhaps his most career-defining moment years earlier when he was tasked with reversing the fortunes of Disney’s one and only European theme park, located 20 miles east of Paris in the town of Marne-la-Vallee.

Sep 30, 2024 | allears.net | Chuck Schmidt

With the announcement that It’s Tough to be a Bug! in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is closing in favor of a Zootopia-themed show, we thought it might be a good idea to go back to It’s Tough to be a Bug!’s roots, to learn how that attraction came to be. I’ve bugged retired Imagineering Creative Director Kevin Rafferty a lot over the years.