When you know as much stuff about Disney history as Jim Korkis does, you get asked a lot of questions. Sometimes it’s pretty basic like “When did Disneyland open?” Other times it’s more obscure like “When did Mickey Mouse start wearing gloves?” Then there’s the question that’s totally off the wall like “How much does Walt Disney World weigh?” No, really, someone asked him that once.

By the way, the answers are July 17, 1955, in the 1929 cartoon The Opry House, and haven’t got a clue. But, I digress.

Jim is back in the Lounge once again, finishing up a conversation we started last week. We heard all about his latest book, Secret Stories of Walt Disney World. Today, we take a look at his other recent publication, The Vault of Walt: Volume 4. Jim always has terrific stories to tell about Disney. Today is no different.

Earlier this month, I took a trip up to the San Francisco Bay Area and paid a visit to my friends at the Walt Disney Family Museum. I finally got to see their special exhibition Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination. By all means, go see it. It runs through January 3. While I was there, I was also invited to drive an hour down the road to San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House. Now, unless you’ve lived in the Bay Area, like I once did, you may not be familiar with the Winchester Mystery House. It’s a sprawling Victorian mansion in San Jose once owned by the widow Sarah Winchester. Sarah’s late husband, William Winchester was heir to the Winchester firearms fortune. Sarah was quite well off financially.

In 1884, Sarah purchased an unfinished farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley and commenced adding onto it--for the next 38 years. At the time of Sarah’s death in 1922 the house spread over six acres and contained 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens. Why Sarah kept building all those years remains a mystery. Was she distraught over the deaths of her husband and a daughter in infancy? Did she believe that continually building would somehow appease evil spirits? Was she just a kindly woman who chose to spend her money supporting local builders, carpenters, landscapers and artisans? Whatever the reason, the continuous construction resulted in a labyrinth of rooms and hallways, staircases running into ceilings, doorways leading to nowhere and all manner of building oddities.

You can still tour the house today and marvel at its mind-boggling construction and design. Visit during the holidays and you can see the house decorated in Christmas finery with over 20 custom designed Christmas trees. On select nights you can enjoy, like I did, the Spirit of Christmas with carolers, festive beverages and holiday treats. Don’t be surprised if you see some snow fall too. Here to tell us more about the Winchester Mystery House is Janan Boehme.

Enjoy!

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We are just days away from the release—finally—of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the Star Wars saga and the first since Disney plunked down $4 billion to buy Lucasfilm and its assorted intellectual properties. It’s been ten years since we saw a new Star Wars film in theaters and—let’s be honest—32 years since we saw a really good one. The Force Awakens comes with ridiculously high expectations from older fans who grew up with Star Wars as well as generations of younger fans gearing up for the next wave of new Star Wars films that will be coming out every year until at least 2019.

No pressure, but the future success of the franchise really hinges on how good a film director J.J. Abrams delivers this week. Certainly $100 million in advance ticket sales and early positive reviews aren’t hurting The Force Awakens one bit. We’ll see if the fan base embraces it as well. I’m catching it Thursday night and I cannot wait. I especially can’t wait until you see it so we can have dorky conversations without worrying about spoilers.

Anyway, flashback to Monday night for this special edition of The Mouse Castle Lounge. We are eavesdropping on the red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard for the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Now, in the annals of Hollywood world premieres, this ranks up there as one of the biggest if not the biggest ever. The red carpet stretched about four blocks—a quarter of a mile—in front of the El Capitan, Dolby and Chinese theaters, all three of which screened the film for celebrities, invited guests and lucky fans. The majority of the red carpet was covered by tents which housed an after-party following the screenings. It was an epic night for the latest installment of the epic Star Wars saga and we’re about to hear from the cast right now in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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This week, the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank unveiled and rededicated the restored office suite of Walt Disney. It was a painstaking labor of love by Disney studio employees and archivists to recreate Walt’s office exactly as it appeared at the time of his death. It was authentic down to the actual furniture and personal items that were there in 1966. On hand for the dedication were Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, Walt’s granddaughter Joanna, and Disney Legends Richard Sherman and Dave Smith. We’ll be hearing from all of them in today's show.

Before that, though, we welcome the return of Disney historian Jim Korkis to the Lounge. Jim is a meticulous researcher and a marvelous storyteller and his two most recent books, Secret Stories of Walt Disney World and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, belong in your collection, as do Jim’s many other books. Please welcome Jim Korkis, Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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On December 17, PBS SoCal will air the musical special Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime. It’s a one-hour studio performance by the songwriter and Disney Legend. Just him, a piano, and a few friends to sing along. It celebrates the decades-long musical collaboration that was the Sherman Brothers and it’s certain to include tunes from such classic Disney and non-Disney films like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and so many others.

Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime is produced by Tim's guest today, a gentleman who’s also made significant contributions to the Disney legacy. Don Hahn’s producer and executive producer credits include Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Emperor’s New Groove, Waking Sleeping Beauty, Frankenweenie, Maleficent, and the Disneynature films Oceans and African Cats. Don is a respected author, whose latest book, Before Ever After, recounts in exquisite detail the history of the artists’ training program at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s and ‘40s. Don is also a tireless supporter of preserving animation and film history. You know, someone should probably give him an award for that. Don Hahn is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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Disney is returning to the Pride Lands for a new Disney Channel animated series based on The Lion King called The Lion Guard. The series itself will get underway in January, but you can get your first look at the next generation of Lion King characters when The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar debuts on Disney Channel on November 22 at 7:00 p.m. It’s a one-hour movie that introduces us to Kion, the second-born son of Simba and Nala—if you’ve ever seen the direct-to-video Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, you might recall Kion already has an older sister, Kiara.

Kion is tasked with forming the Lion Guard, a group of young animals responsible for protecting the Pride Lands. And while the Lion Guard has traditionally been an all-lion team, Kion opts to include a variety of animals with their own special strengths. So you have Bunga, a brave honey badger; Ono, an intellectual egret; Fuli, a confident and very fast Cheetah; and Beshte, a good-humored and well-connected hippo.

Enjoy!

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If you’re a collector of rare and unique Disney memorabilia, or even if you just want to see some pretty amazing stuff, November is the perfect month for you. There are two auctions scheduled for later this month that you really need to check out. On November 21, Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California, is auctioning off a massive assortment of Disneyland items, some dating back to the park’s opening in 1955. This is the second time this year that Van Eaton Galleries has had a Disneyland auction of this magnitude. Looking for a Space Mountain ride vehicle? They’ve got one. A Skyway bucket? Yep. How about a PeopleMover car? Tim might fight you for that one.

This auction isn’t just big-ticket items either. There are plenty of more affordable things like Disneyland brochures, menus, ticket media, park guides and maps to satisfy any collector’s curiosity. All told, there are over 800 items in the collection.

Also this month, the auction house Bonhams is partnering with Turner Classic Movies to present Treasures from the Dream Factory. It’s a collection of nearly 400 items of movie memorabilia, with some pretty amazing pieces like Judy Garland’s dress from The Wizard of Oz, a replica Rosebud sled from Citizen Kane and an authentic golden ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. For Disney fans, though, the prize of this collection is an assortment of original signed photos of Walt Disney taken in Europe during his Red Cross service at the end of World War I. Included among these items is a scrapbook of signed cartoons drawn by Walt around the same time. It’s believed that never before have this many items with this much historical significance in Walt’s early life ever been sold at auction. Not surprisingly, they come with a heavy price tag too. The photos are priced as high as $60,000 each and the scrapbook between $250,000 and $300,000. It will surprise no one if these items end up selling significantly higher.

Joining Tim in the Lounge today from Bonhams is Catherine Williamson, director of entertainment memorabilia. Following her we’ll hear from Mike Van Eaton with Van Eaton Galleries. It’s all about history, auctions and vintage Disney collectibles today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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You’d be hard pressed to find a more prolific Disney writer than Jim Fanning. For over 30 years, Jim has written countless articles for publications ranging from Disney News to Disney Magazine to Sketches to Disney twenty-three. He’s contributed stories to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney Newsreel and Persistence of Vision. His work internally at Disney has spanned nearly every division including Feature Animation, Home Video, Publishing, Interactive, Online, Educational, Character Voices, Disney Stores and Consumer Products. Not bad for a kid who started his career at Disney in the mail room.

Jim has written a number of books and his latest is a compendium of Disney history called The Disney Book: A Celebration of the World of Disney. It reads like a greatest hits package, spotlighting the many watershed moments of Disney animation, live-action film, television, theme parks and merchandising. It takes us from Walt’s humble beginnings as a cartoonist and animator in Kansas City all the way to the gargantuan construction of the Walt Disney Company’s latest resort enterprise, Shanghai Disneyland.

Pretty much everything in the book is the glossed-over “official” version of Disney history, which is unsurprising given the book was published by DK, an official licensee of Disney. Nevertheless, it’s an enchanting read with plenty of photos and artwork that serve as a perfect introduction for those new to Disney, and a nostalgic reminder to the rest of us of how Disney magic hooked us in the first place. Today, Jim talks about the creative efforts it took to bring The Disney Book to life, the many Disney Legends he’s gotten to know over the years, and why some of his projects you may never quite understand. Jim Fanning is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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Disney historian Didier Ghez is once again paying a visit to the Lounge—this will be his fourth time. He just can’t get enough of us.

It’s always a pleasure to have Didier on the show and today he’s here to talk about his latest project, They Drew as They Pleased, a book series celebrating the great concept and story artists of Disney’s past. 

Before an animator begins to work magic with a character, he or she draws inspiration from the sketches and designs of concept artists. The Disney Studios set the standard for this artistic collaboration beginning in the 1930s, bringing aboard major talents such as Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie. Didier’s first volume shines the spotlight on these artists, whose influences can be seen in numerous Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony short cartoons of the era as well as feature films like Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia.

Much of the art Didier has compiled comes from rarely seen private collections or from deep inside the vaults of the Disney Animation Research Library. It’s a genuine treat to be able to see them publicly for the first time. Just as fascinating are the book’s biographical notes, which give a compelling look not only at the talent and temperament of the artists profiled, but also insight into what it was like to work for Walt Disney at the beginning of the studio’s first golden age. We cannot recommend They Drew as They Pleased enough and we cannot wait to see what the future volumes hold.

Here today to talk as he pleases is Didier Ghez, Tim's guest in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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For over 50 years, the Children’s Hospital of Orange County has provided state of the art pediatric care to children throughout Southern California. Walt Disney himself was among the many community leaders who championed the need for an area children’s hospital in the early 1960s and helped make it a reality. CHOC Children’s, as it’s known today, has grown from a 62-bed children’s hospital into a complete pediatric health care system with numerous facilities serving multiple counties. CHOC Children’s has been recognized nationally for both its critical care and nursing excellence.

Each year, the Disneyland Resort partners with CHOC Children’s to put on the CHOC Walk in the Park, the largest single pediatric fundraising event in the country. It’s a three-mile stroll through Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney that draws thousands of participants annually. Since 1990, the CHOC Walk has raised over $24 million to support the health and well-being of children. Joining Tim in The Mouse Castle Lounge today is Zach Abrams, director of special events and corporate relations for the CHOC Children’s Foundation. He’s going to tell us everything we need to know about this year’s event coming up on October 11th.

Before we get to Zach, though, Tim wraps up part two of his fascinating conversation with author, historian and former Disney animator Tom Sito. Last week, Tom shared stories about his memorable animation career, where he worked alongside many of the greats including Richard Williams, Shamus Culhane, Art Babbitt, Glen Keane and Eric Goldberg. Tom appeared recently on the PBS American Experience documentary “Walt Disney” and last week he talked at length about the documentary and its portrayal of Walt, his life and his legacy. Tim and Tom pick up that part of the conversation by looking at one of more persistent—and false—rumors that continues to dog Walt Disney’s reputation. 

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Tom Sito has devoted his life to creating animation and preserving the animation profession’s rich history. Tom was an animator and story artist at Disney during the studio’s second golden age, contributing his talents to classic films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas. In the years that followed, Tom spent time at both DreamWorks Animation and Warner Bros. His credits at those studios include The Prince of Egypt, Antz, Shrek, Osmosis Jones and The Looney Tunes Movie.

Tom served three terms as president of the Hollywood Animation Guild and his fascination with union history, particularly the 1941 Walt Disney Studios strike, resulted in Tom’s 2006 book Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson. Tom is a former vice president of ASIFA/Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society, and in 2010 he received one of the organization’s highest honors, the June Foray Award, in recognition of his significant lifetime contribution to the animation industry.

Tom is currently professor chair of the School of Animation and Digital Arts at USC and he recently appeared in the PBS American Experience documentary, Walt Disney. Tom is a consummate storyteller and in part one of our two part conversation, he shares with us some of the highlights of his animation career. Tom Sito is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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Nearly 50 years after his death, Walt Disney continues to fascinate us. A giant entertainment and media company that he co-founded thrives under his name, and dozens upon dozens of fansites, blogs and podcasts—including this one—exist because of what Walt created: a universe of fantasy and adventure where wishing on stars makes dreams come true and anything is possible with a little faith, trust and pixie dust. While many respect, even idolize Walt, he wasn’t without his detractors—no one who achieved as much success as he did is beyond reproach. For all his talent, creative vision and charisma, he could also be stubborn, short-tempered and distant. In other words, human.

Much has been documented of Walt’s myriad accomplishments in animation, live-action film, television and themed entertainment. That’s the easy part. More complicated is understanding what made Walt tick. What fueled his ambitions? Was his true nature that of the avuncular host TV viewers saw every week, or did he just use it to hide a deeper, darker persona? Many a historian and researcher has attempted to answer these questions with varying levels of success. Filmmaker Sarah Colt is the latest person to join the conversation. Her four-hour documentary, Walt Disney will air over two nights September 14th and 15th on PBS as part of the network’s American Experience series.

Sarah has worked in public television for nearly twenty years. She’s an Emmy Award winner whose directing and producing credits include the documentaries Henry Ford and The Polio Crusade, both for American Experience. In their conversation today, Tim and Sarah talk about how her Walt Disney project came to be and how she managed to make her film with the cooperation--but without the interference--of the Walt Disney Company. We also explore Walt Disney’s legacy and discuss how best to judge his 20th century persona through a 21st century filter. Sarah Colt is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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We hope you're having a great Labor Day weekend. Tim is at the Disneyland Resort this weekend, not only for Force Friday--did you get any cool Star Wars Merchandise?--but also here for the 10th anniversary of the Disneyland Half Marathon. His guest in the Lounge today has nothing to do with either of those events, but you're really going to like him. He's Disney Legend Bill "Sully" Sullivan and you're going to hear part two of Tim's conversation with Sully about his nearly 40 years with Disney.

Sully started out as a ticket taker on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland in 1955 and finished his career in 1994 as vice president of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Between those times, he got to know both Walt and Roy Disney. He worked at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley in 1960 and the New York World's Fair in 1963 and '64. Last week, Sully told us much about those adventures and in part two of our conversation, he picks things up in October 1971 as Walt Disney World is closing in on its Grand Opening.

Sully also shares some of his fondest memories of both Walt and Roy, as well as the day he got the biggest surprise of his career: the letter from Michael Eisner telling him he'd been named a Disney Legend. It's part two of Tim's conversation with Sully Sullivan in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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In the summer of 1955, William “Sully” Sullivan got a job at Disneyland, just days after he watched the park’s grand opening on television. It was the beginning of a career with Disney that lasted nearly forty years. Sully started out as a ticket taker on the Jungle Cruise before becoming a Jungle Cruise skipper. And that was just the beginning. Sully moved up the ranks at Disneyland, with side trips to the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York. He got to know both Walt Disney and Roy Disney. He even met his future wife in Adventureland. Sully ended his career as vice president of the Magic Kingdom in Florida, and in 2005 was named a Disney Legend.

In his memoir, From Jungle Cruise Skipper to Disney Legend: 40 Years of Magical Memories at Disney, Sully talks about the many adventures he had during his lengthy career, and he’s going to share a few of them with us today. In part one of our two-part conversation Sully tells us about Walt, the early days of Disneyland, and the four principles that guided Sully throughout his career. Sully Sullivan is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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Another D23 Expo has come and gone. Hopefully you caught our slightly inebriated recap of the festivities on Inside The Mouse Castle. Today, we’re going to sit down in the Lounge with some of the people who were part of the Expo. Tim's got Kaye Malins and Peter Whitehead with the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Walt’s boyhood home of Marceline, MO. They’re going to talk about their ambitious fundraising efforts to restore the Midget Autopia, which was relocated from Disneyland to the city of Marceline in 1966. It operated in Marceline for a number of years before falling into disrepair and now the Museum wants to bring it back…and you can help.

Another great cause to support is the Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago. It’s the actual home designed and built by Walt’s parents in 1893 and the very place Walt was born in 1901. The Birthplace is undergoing an extensive restoration and Todd Regan will be here to bring us up to date on how it’s progressing.

Before we get to that, though, we’ll be joined by the former director of corporate synergy with Disney, Lorraine Santoli. She’s also an author who’s had a long time association with the original Mouseketeers. In fact, Lorraine hosted a celebration of 60 magical years of the Mickey Mouse Club at the D23 Expo. She was joined on stage by the likes of Sherry Alberoni, Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Tommy Cole, Darlene Gillespie, Cubby O’Brien and Doreen Tracey. It was a delightful presentation.

Before the Expo, Tim and Lorraine chatted on the phone about her latest book, a memoir of her 22 years at the Walt Disney Company, Inside The Disney Marketing Machine. In it, Lorraine recalls the many memorable events she was part of in the 1970s, 80s and 90s including Mickey Mouse’s 50th birthday, Donald Duck’s 50th birthday and Disneyland’s 30th anniversary. She also talks at length about the leadership styles of Disney’s top executives during that time, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. It’s an insightful look behind the scenes of an entertainment company on the verge of becoming the media giant it is today. 

Enjoy!

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Randy Thornton is a long-time producer and restorer of Disney music. In his nearly 29 years with Walt Disney Records, he has received numerous recording industry awards including ten Gold Records, four platinum records, six Grammy nominations and one Grammy win. Randy is the producer of the "Lost Chords," a collection of songs originally written for classic Disney animated films like "Peter Pan" and "Cinderella" that never made it into the final productions. Some of those "Lost Chords" found their way into one of Randy’s other projects, "The Legacy Collection."

"The Legacy Collection" is a series of collectible CDs celebrating the anniversaries of great Disney films like "Fantasia," "Pinocchio," "Lady and the Tramp" and "The Lion King." They’re available online from Amazon and at www.DisneyMusicEmporium.com. Currently available only at the Disneyland Resort is the "Disneyland Legacy Collection" set, three CDs celebrating 60 years of Disney theme park magic. Can’t make it to Disneyland? No worries. The set will be available online later this month. Each "Legacy Collection" set is handsomely packaged with original cover art by Disney artist Lorelay Bove. The sets also contain song lyrics, concept art and extensive liner notes rich in Disney history.

Randy Thornton is an artist who takes great pride in his work. In his conversation with Tim Callaway, he talks at length about his career and his passion for preserving Disney’s great music legacy. Randy is Tim's guest today in "The Mouse Castle Lounge."

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It was inevitable—call it destiny, if you will--that the creative paths of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali would one day cross. Both men were born in the early 1900s, and although they were continents apart, they shared similar upbringings. Both had artistic ambitions and both would eventually become the standard-bearers of their respective mediums: Walt in animation and visual storytelling, Dali in fine art and the surrealist movement.

Their personalities could not have been more different. Dali was the flamboyant eccentric, Walt the more reserved, but no-less driven, filmmaker.  Each saw the other as a kindred spirit, though. And what began as a distant mutual admiration, evolved into a creative collaboration and later a lifetime friendship.

In the late 1940s, Dali would come to the Disney Studios to help craft "Destino," a surreal short film intended to push the limits of animation and storytelling.  It was not to be, however, What Dali called “a magical exposition of life in the labyrinth of time,” Walt called “a simple love story—boy meets girl.” It was there the two artists remained at odds. After less than a year’s work on the project, "Destino" was shelved. Decades later, the Walt Disney Studios would resurrect the film from more than 150 surviving story sketches by Dali and Disney artist John Hench. The resulting film would be released in 2003 to critical acclaim, winning numerous film festival awards and being nominated for an Academy Award.

The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco is hosting an exhibition about the two friends and showmen. “Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination” explores the artistic collaboration between the two men, showcasing not only original works of Dali, but also that of Disney artists Mary Blair, John Hench, Eyvind Earle and Kay Nielsen. Ted Nicolaou is curator of the exhibition. As a filmmaker, Ted has directed a number of horror films including cult favorites "Terrorvision" and "Subspecies." He’s also created a number of DVD and Blu-ray bonus documentaries for Walt Disney Home Entertainment, most notably “Dali & Disney: A Date with Destino” which was included on the 2010 Blu-ray release of "Fantasia 2000."

Ted Nicolaou is Tim's guest today in "The Mouse Castle Lounge."

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Eric Larson was truly one of the greats of Disney animation. He was one of Walt's Nine Old Men and was best known for animating Figaro in "Pinocchio," Friend Owl in "Bambi" and Peg in "Lady and the Tramp." He also worked on other classics including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Fantasia," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan" and "Sleeping Beauty."

His greatest legacy, however, may be as the teacher and mentor to an entire generation of young animators that joined Disney in the 1970s and '80s. He had a passion for his art and a commitment to uphold the standards established by Walt Disney. Eric's memoir, "50 Years in the Mouse House," is a fascinating and heartfelt testament to that passion.

His book, however, was almost lost forever, and the story of Didier Ghez's search for the missing manuscript is nearly as compelling as Eric Larson's life itself. 

Didier edited Eric Larson's original manuscript and combined it with material taken from interviews Larson gave and lectures he presented at the Walt Disney Studios. Didier adds "50 Years in the Mouse House" to his impressive output of historical Disney works including all 16 volumes of "Walt's People" and his upcoming tribute to Disney concept artists, "They Drew as They Pleased." Didier Ghez is my guest today in "The Mouse Castle Lounge."

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Ron Diamond is passionate about animation. He’s executive producer of Acme Filmworks, a commercial animation studio that utilizes the talents of gifted filmmakers and animators from both the U.S. and abroad. Ron’s pet project, though, is the Animation Show of Shows. For over 16 years, Ron and his show have had one purpose: to bring the best animated short films from around the world to the attention of major animation studios like Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks. It’s an opportunity for independent filmmakers, with otherwise limited reach, to have their work seen by respected and influential artists and industry leaders. The Animation Show of Shows has largely been a private enterprise over the years, limited to animation professionals and mostly unseen or heard of by the general public. That’s about to change.

Earlier this month, Ron completed a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $100,000 to fund the Animation Show of Shows and help it reach an even larger audience. The Animation Show of Shows is now a registered non-profit organization with the long-term goal of being seen by audiences around the world while still honoring its mission to showcase the best work of animators everywhere. Ron Diamond is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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Relive Disneyland's 24-hour party with Team Mouse Castle. Throughout the resort's 60th anniversary Diamond Celebration kickoff on Memorial Day weekend, Tim and his friends recorded as much of the craziness as they could, sharing their thoughts and experiences. Hear them take on the Hatbox Ghost, Harold the Abominable Snowman, parades, fireworks and crowds, crowds, crowds. What did they think of "Disneyland Forever" and "Paint the Night"? Did they get trapped in Disney California Adventure? It's an incredible day and night of good friends and insane Disney fun in The Mouse Castle Lounge. 

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In 1923, Walt Disney's first California animation studio had the humblest of beginnings in a small garage owned by Walt's Uncle Robert. Decades later, efforts to save the garage from demolition were undertaken by a determined former Disney employee, Arthur Adler. He wrote a book about the experience, "Walt Disney's Garage of Dreams." Sadly, Arthur passed away last year at the age of 82, just prior to the book being published, but not before he befriended another former employee of Disney, Bob Bowman. Bob spent 25 years as a merchandising executive and wrote the Foreward for Arthur's book. He also contributed a chapter recounting his own experiences with the Walt Disney Company. In "The Mouse Castle Lounge," Tim Callaway talks with Bob about his career and about the persistent efforts of one man, Arthur Adler, to save a seminal piece of Disney history.

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After a 45-year hiatus, the legendary Hatbox Ghost is returning to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion this weekend. Talking about the new arrival is Tim's guest, Haunted Mansion expert Jeff Baham. Jeff runs the popular Mansion fansite DoomBuggies.com and is author of the book "The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion." Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now.

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Disney artist Dave Avanzino is Tim's guest today in "The Mouse Castle Lounge." Dave's dimensional art and fanciful letter designs sold in the Disney parks have made him very popular with fans. Dave talks about his work, who and what inspires him and what we might expect from him during Disneyland’s upcoming 60th anniversary celebration.

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What happens when a group of "Star Wars" nerds swap stories over cocktails about Star Wars Celebration? This episode of "The Mouse Castle Lounge." Join us as we relive the memorable moments from last weekend's fan event at the Anaheim Convention Center: the new Episode VII trailer, J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Carrie Fisher, "Star Wars Rebels," "The Clone Wars," cosplay, parties and booze, oh my!

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The Mouse Castle Lounge invades Star Wars Celebration at the Anaheim Convention Center. This four-day event devoted to a time long ago in a galaxy far, far away has all manner of celebrity guests, presentations, costumes, vendors and exhibits. The biggest news from day one on Thursday was the appearance of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy. They premiered the film's news teaser trailer which delighted fans worldwide. In the Lounge, host Tim Callaway joins with his good friend Scott Linder in a recap of yesterday's activities and what there is to look forward to this weekend. It's not a trap. It's Star Wars Celebration in The Mouse Castle Lounge. 

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In part two of his conversation with Tim Callaway, Disney artist, animator and cartoonist Floyd Norman talks about what it was like to work for Walt Disney, John Lasseter and Steve Jobs, what makes a successful leader and why he respects Michael Eisner to this day. Floyd also shares how he saved Thunderbolt the Wonder Dog from certain death in the Blu-ray release of "101 Dalmatians."

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Floyd Norman is a rare artist who had the opportunity to work for both Walt Disney and John Lasseter. Floyd's career began at Disney in 1956 when he was hired as an in-betweener for television and short theatrical cartoons. He eventually moved to feature animation, contributing his talents to "Sleeping Beauty," "The Sword in the Stone" and "The Jungle Book." He left Disney in 1966, shortly after Walt's death, and became an independent filmmaker. He returned to Disney in the 1970s to work on "Robin Hood" before spending many years in TV animation. Floyd discusses his early career in part one of a two-part conversation with host Tim Callaway. 

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James Lopez has spent over 25 years in animation, including many years at Disney where he worked on films including "The Lion King," "Pocahontas" and "Hercules." In part two of Tim's conversation with him, James shares stories about the making of "The Emperor's New Groove," which began inauspiciously as "Kingdom of the Sun." He also talks about his current project, a series of crowd-funded films called "Hullabaloo," which combines two of James' favorite things: 2D animation and steampunk. www.TheMouseCastle.com

James Lopez is a master of 2D, hand-drawn animation and has been in the business for over 25 years, including a lengthy stint at Disney. He worked on classic animated films such as "The Lion King," "Pocahontas," "The Emperor's New Groove" and "The Princess and the Frog." In part one of a two-part conversation, James tells host Tim Callaway about his early career working for Disney and Don Bluth and how he learned much of his craft on the job. www.TheMouseCastle.com

Team Mouse Castle is in Hollywood previewing the Oscars. Or, as we like to put it, just another excuse to get together and drink wine. Tim Callaway and the Mouse Castle crew take over Trastavere at Hollywood and Highland and give their predictions on who'll be the big winners Sunday. Will it be "Boyhood" or "Birdman"? Keaton or Redmayne? Julianne Moore or Julianne Moore? It's a Mouse Castle Oscar party and you're invited. And did we mention there's wine? www.TheMouseCastle.com

You can own a piece of Disneyland history this month when Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California, auctions off more than 1,000 items from an extensive private collection of unique Disneyland vintage memorabilia. An audio-animatronic skeleton from Pirates of the Caribbean, original dolls from it's a small world, panels from early Monorail trains, and a miniature pot-bellied stove handcrafted by Walt Disney himself are among the big ticket items to be bid on. More reasonably priced items include all manner of artwork, shopping bags, guidebooks and other souvenirs. On hand to discuss the significance and history of many of these items are Mike Van Eaton with Van Eaton Galleries and Disney Imagineering Legend Bob Gurr. www.TheMouseCastle.com

Tim meets Tim when Tim Callaway interviews Disney historian Tim Susanin, author of "Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919-1928." The 2011 book is a detailed account of Walt Disney's early career in art and animation from the time he returned from France after World War I until the birth of Mickey Mouse in 1928. It was a period of Walt's life that Susanin says had not been previously explored in detail, yet it was arguably the most critical ten years in Walt's life, a period when the would-be filmmaker found some success but also experienced a series of career failures and life lessons. It's a great story that would make for an interesting movie, and it's about to do just that. "Walt Before Mickey," the film, will be released this April. www.TheMouseCastle.com

Glen Keane is a gifted animator, filmmaker and Disney Legend. Most importantly, though, the man who brought to life such great characters as Ariel, the Beast, Tarzan, Pocahontas and Ratigan is an artist. After 40 years in animation, he remains passionate and humble about his craft and takes no time to rest on his laurels. Still championing hand-drawn animation while embracing new animation technology, Glen has animated and directed "Duet," a short film that's been nominated for an Annie Award and could be nominated for an Oscar. Tim Callaway talks to Glen about "Duet" and his legendary career at Disney. www.TheMouseCastle.com