Jack Lindquist was hired by Walt Disney as Disneyland’s first advertising manager, and eventually played a key role in making the park a world-famous tourist attraction. From marketing the original “E tickets” to lobbying for Disneyland’s expansion, Jack was involved in nearly every aspect of the theme park.  During his 38 years with the company, he spearheaded a myriad of Disney projects including, Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom Club, Disney Dollars, the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, the Ambassador Program, and Grad Nites.  He served as Disneyland’s first president from 1990 until he retired in 1993.  He was named a “Disney Legend” in 1994.

Jack was recently asked which attraction is his favorite and says it is “it’s a small world” because “no one comes out of that ride without a smile on their face.”  He is also fond of it because he was involved in the debut of the attraction at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.  He also disclosed another piece of “it’s a small world” trivia. Originally the figures sang the national anthems of the countries they represented but it was too disjointed, so Walt Disney tagged the Sherman Brothers to pen the now famous theme.

While discussing attractions, Jack also shared a great story about “Peter Pan’s Flight.”  Once there was an elderly man riding the attraction by himself.  Towards the end of the ride the “ship” he was in came off the track and fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces around him. The ride was stopped and cast members rushed to the man’s aid. The man was unhurt but exclaimed, “That is one heck of a ride but how can you afford to pay for a new ship for each person?!”