Some of the fun things that happened over my almost 31 years here.

The times when Clarence Nash used to come in. He would do his Donald Duck voice. He'd sit by the piano at the table and do his quacky voice and kids would just come and hang around him all the time while he did it. It was a lot of fun. And he'd draw little Donald Duck cartoons and he'd give them to kids, just on the napkins at Coke Corner - I've got a couple of them at home.

What was always fun is about every couple of months he'd bring Ed Wynn in with him who did the funny laugh in Mary Poppins and was the voice of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. But his laugh, that was how he really laughed. And one day they brought their wives and Clarence was just going crazy with his Donald Duck voice and his wife says "Clarence, you're not working now" and I said "oh leave him alone, we're having fun" And in his Donald Duck voice he says "yes that's right sweetheart. You leave me alone." Of course Ed Wynn would just do his laugh and the more he would laugh the more everybody else would laugh and pretty soon it was just hysterics. That was always fun, they would come out quite frequently.

When the Mousekateer thing was big, Bobby Sherman was out here. He'd come and sit over here and we'd play piano together - do some little four hand things. He was also Robby on my 3 sons. Richard Carpenter - he'd come in once in a while. He actually worked at Coke Corner at one time, back in 66 or something. We'd play little things like Baby Face or Margie together.

Then when they had Elizabeth Taylor's birthday party, they moved the piano over on to the sidewalk, right by the street, and we got to see all the movie stars go by. They'd all come out - Roddy McDowall stood there about 15 minutes and watched me. He said "I'm sure glad I'm an actor, I don't have to work as hard as you do." Then later on he comes back with a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. At that time we didn't have Mickey Mouse ice cream bars in the park, they had them at Walt Disney World. So they flew a whole bunch of them up just for the party. It was the first time we'd ever seen them, so he brought me one.

I used to play in the Golden Horseshoe, probably 25 years ago. When Wally Boag was still here he wrote a show that we did on Sunday nights in the summer. It was called Chicken Ranching for Fun and Profit or Many a Nan Has Gone to the Dogs Chasing a Chick and Wally was the villain and we did an old vaudeville type show.

Don and Blanche Miller I met the first day I started here, They walked in and I said "My God you look like my grand parents". I said my last name is Miller and they said "so is ours". So they were the first people I saw. Dustin Diamond, Screech from Saved By The Bell, has been coming for a long time. I've got a picture of him where he's like strangling me from before he was famous. We used to go play Checkers at the Market House all the time.

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I have this memory of a few years ago when Tom Hanks and his family came to the spooky house. They were a small group, maybe five people, and they had two tour guides with them. It seemed strange to have such a small group with two Tour Guides. So I wanted to do some spooky stuff for the Tour Guides, actually. I wasn't paying too much attention to who the guests were. And so I did my spooky stuff and the little kid started to get upset and so the father started to walk him out and I look up and it's Tom Hanks with a little goatee and a baseball cap. This was after Forrest Gump had come out and just as Apollo 13, I think, was coming out soon. So we were around the side of the house then I was bumped from that position. Then I saw him on the side of the house and I thought "I must be in hot water now" because the little kid was kind of upset. But Tom Hanks was smiling all along, even when he was in the Stretching Room leaving with the kid. And he said "oh no, you were great. Can you do that eye thing again" and he bugged out his eyes. Then the little kid had his hands over his eyes. So I said "hey there little guy" and I ruffled up his hair a little bit and Tom was smiling. And I said "would you like to hear some cartoon voices?" So I did some cartoon voices. And then the little kid, he had his hands over his eyes, and as I was doing the voices he separated his fingers so he could peek with one eye. Then he was kind of like smiling and stuff at the end of it. And Tom was very friendly and good natured through the whole thing.

One time at the Tiki Room my Tiki Brother [Maynard refers to each of his attraction characters as brothers] told me about this story where Robin Williams came in and the people were really pressing against him and his family and he actually separated from his daughter. They were concerned about that so security actually walked him into the lanai. So, my Tiki Brother went ahead and did his Tiki dance around the fountain and all that. And afterward Robin was the last person in the Tiki Room and he looked very sincere - super sincere, it's hard to even describe - and he said "Thank you." and just looked right into my eyes. It was very nice - hard to describe. A little later he was walking by with one of his kids on his shoulder and my Tiki Brother was outside the front there and he said "wiki wiki" and Robin Williams turned and he went into this crazy cannibal talk "uga, buga ..." and it was sort of like two grown up children ready and wanting to play and in the same mindset. However, there was a security guard there and so both of us were mindful of the parental authority and so we both pulled back and mellowed out. And he went away with a big smile on his face and my Tiki Brother  stood there doing his hula dance.

Unlike most Disneyland fans, I've never been a huge fan of the Main Street Electrical Parade. I understood how groundbreaking it was and have fond memories of it from my childhood. But when Disneyland announced it would be glowing away, I didn't feel it was any big loss. Nevertheless, I saw it dozens of times that final season in 1996 and waited all-day-long for the final performance on November 25th. And with that performance I gained a much greater understanding of just what the parade meant to people and the influence Disneyland could have on people's lives. For that reason, my Magical Memory comes from November 25, 1996 - the final performance of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade. But rather than try to recall that day nearly four years ago, I'm going to reprint (word for word) a short report I first wrote eight days after the final performance for a website I had at the time:

Doobie and friends at the final performance
The letters on the foreheads are "M-S-E-P"

First came a small parade of characters and some of the Main Street vehicles carrying some of the children who are benefactors of the light bulb sales. Then Paul Pressler gave a speech, presented a check for over $700,000 to the charities and he and the kids threw the switch to start the first of the night's parades. The children were given a perfect seat right in front and Chip and Dale accompanied them as they watched the parade. Of course all the performers saw them there and gave them special performances. From what I hear Mickey was there at the exit door to wave goodbye as they went off, but I didn't see that part. 

Then the first parade ended and the realization came that there was only one more left. A special announcement with Mickey and Paul Pressler announced it then the MSEP made its way back up Main Street for the final time. As it passed us we grad our stuff and got behind it, along with hundreds of others, and walked up and out the door.

Those are the facts, here are my feelings:
I'm glad it's over. I wasn't attached to the MSEP the way so many others were. I remember it from my childhood, but wasn't especially fond of it. When I started going to Disneyland again last year I saw it a few times and appreciated it more, but it couldn't hold a candle to my favorite show, Fantasmic!. When Disneyland announced it was leaving, I felt sad for all of those who loved it so much, but felt it was the right thing to do. I remember seeing sparse crowds lining the parade route last year. I think the time was right for a change.

I know many of you hated the crowds this year, but I for one loved the atmosphere at Disneyland as thousands of people came to say goodbye. It was touching to see how "thousands of sparkling lights" could affect so many. This feeling built to a climax on November 25 when thousands of fans came out to say the final goodbye. I expected it to be a sad night, but it wasn't. It was a fun night. Everyone was a huge Disneyland fan. Everyone was in a great mood. Despite the long wait, no one was impatient, no one was pushy. We all applauded, cheered and waved like never before. Before the second parade four of us got M-S-E-P painted on our foreheads in glow in the dark paint. After the second parade we all followed the parade down the street. There were hundreds or even thousands of people following the parade in a very small space, yet no one complained. No one got pushy. Our group was even able to stay together. Each time the parade would leave a zone and the final fanfare played the crowed went nuts. It was a feeling like I've never had a Disneyland. A truly magical feeling. And when the parade finally left by Small World and the lights went out, no one wanted to leave. Cameras and camcorders were everywhere. We sang songs, did the na na na na na thing, it was something special.

I've always said I wouldn't miss the MSEP. I was wrong. I'm very excited about Light Magic. But after November 25, I can say without any doubt, there will never be another Main Street Electrical Parade. Ever. Nothing can fill the place the MSEP held in thousands of people's hearts. The MSEP was a symbol of all that is good about Disneyland. Children watching in awe. Adults becoming children again. Characters dancing and shaking hands. Waiting on the curb. Brazzle Dazzle. Even a touch of patriotism. And the view down Main Street from the Train Station as the parade files down with the Castle in the background, one of the most beautiful sights I've seen. I look forward to Light Magic, but I already miss The Parade. Goodbye.