Ron Schneider’s “From Dreamer to Dreamfinder” is a hilarious & informative insider’s view of the themed entertainment business

Jim Hill

12 years ago

My apologies, folks. I know that JHM has been extremely
light on content this past week or so. But I have been traveling. Dear Lord,
have I been traveling.

I wonder how many Frequent Flyer miles The Dreamfinder racked up
while he was flying this contraption around EPCOT Center’s Kodak
pavilion? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

First I flew out to LA to take part in a two day-long “Wreck-It Ralph” / “Secret of
the Wings” press junket. Then it was back to New Hampshire so that Nancy
& I could drive Alice down to Massachusetts so that my 18 year-old daughter
could get some additional face time with my parents & her cousins before she
then had to return to Southern California to begin getting ready for college.

Alice and I made that trip together this past Friday morning.
And then — after spending the weekend at the Disneyland Hotel covering D23‘s
Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features event — my Ex and I accompanied
our daughter to college on Monday morning to begin the registration process. And
once that was done, I headed off to the
airport again to fly back to New England. Where a week’s worth of phone
interviews (EX: Just yesterday, I spoke with Disney Legend Richard Sherman
about what it was like for he & his brother Robert to write songs for
“The AristoCats“) awaited.

And given that there’s really no such thing as a direct
flight between Manchester, NH and … Well, anywhere, , I did what I thought
was a very smart thing. I brought along a copy of Ron Schneider‘s new book,
“From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years
Behind a Name Tag” (Bamboo Forest Publishing, July 2012) to read.

And thanks to Ron and all of the terrific tales that he had
to share about his days in themed entertainment, being crammed in the middle
seat didn’t seem quite so bad anymore. I could ignore the hyper-active toddler
seated directly behind me (who howled all the way from Detroit to Salt Lake
City) by immersing myself in the tale of how this kid from Inglewood, CA who
dreamed of someday climbing up onstage at the Golden Horseshoe and playing the
comic’s role in that long-running Disneyland revue to actually filling Wally
Boag‘s shoes in that Frontierland show.

Ron Schneider in the Pecos Bill outfit that he used to
wear for the finale of Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe
Revue show. Copyright Bamboo Forest Publishing.
All rights reserved

Or — for that matter — disregard the
turbulence we hit coming out of Chicago by burrowing down into the part of this
300 page-paperback which discussed how Mr. Schneider (way back in the Fall of
1982) wound up becoming the very first WDW Cast Member to portray The
Dreamfinder in that Resort’s newly opened theme-park-of-the-future, EPCOT
Center.

“Say ‘Hello’ to my little purple friend.” Copyright
Bamboo Forest Publishing. All rights reserved

Mind you, I’m not just saying “From Dreamer to
Dreamfinder” is a great read because — in this book’s acknowledgments —
Ron is kind enough to say that

The first bow must go to Jim Hill (of JimHillMedia.com) who
started this whole thing with his comment back in 2007; after hearing me speak
about my career at an NFFC meeting, he remarked, “That’s a book.” Jim
has been an enthusiastic booster of this project all along, even before there
was a project to boost.

… I’m saying this because “From Dreamer to
Dreamfinder” is loaded with genuinely entertaining stories that take you
behind-the-scenes at some of the world’s most popular theme parks (i.e. WDW’s
Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios Florida and Six Flags Magic Mountain, to name
just a few). Not to mention the good practical advice that Schneider has folded
into this book. Which should now be considered essential reading for anyone
who’s thinking of possibly making their career in the field of themed
entertainment.

Ron back during his Magic Mountain days, when he played Professor
S.J. Spillikin, that theme park’s tricky traveling salesman.
Copyright Bamboo Forest Publishing. All rights reserved

I mean, where else on the planet are you going to find a
book that tells you what it was like to race through the corridors of Walt
Disney Imagineering (which Ron did while he was shooting a never-released Mike
Jittlov film. Which the Wizards of WED rushed into production when it appears
that “Magic Journeys” — that 3D movie which used to be screened at
EPCOT Center’s Kodak Pavilion — wouldn’t actually be ready in time for that
theme park’s grand opening) as well as giving you good practical tips about the
best ways to improvise while playing a character in a theme park setting.

Whether you’re 30,000 feet up in the air or just crashed out
on the couch at home, I’m sure that you’re going to discover — as you page
through this paperback — that “From Dreamer to Dreamfinder” is really
one dream of a book. Full of terrific never-before-told stories that offer Ron’s
genuinely unique take on the themed entertainment business. Which is why I’m
hoping that this will be the first of many tomes from Mr. Schneider. So that — in the years ahead — he can share
even more of his hilarious & often quite touching tales of what it’s
actually like to work in “Cast Members Only” Country.

Here’s a quick story from Ron’s “Dreamfinder” days
that (I think, anyway) will serve as a great example of what you can expect to
find in this book:

One day I’m wrapping up my last set (as the walk-around
version of The Dreamfinder who used to be found greeting Guests at EPCOT
Center’s Journey into Imagination pavilion) and heading back to my dressing
room to pack up the dragon and go home. I’m moving quickly through the crowd
and find myself face-to-face with an adorable five-year-old boy.

He’s by himself, gazing up at (Ron and the Figment dragon
puppet which Mr. Schneider used to work with while he was playing The
Dreamfinder) with a look of total wonder. Assessing the situation I determine
I’m safe stopping for a minute to chat so I kneel down and introduce him to
Figment. I ask (the little boy) if he’s having fun, how he liked my ride,
where’s he from — but can get nothing out of him except an astounded look.
Finally I stand and tell him, “Well I gotta go now … Goodbye!”

That’s when he finds his tongue. “Bye-bye, Jesus.”

If moments like that are enough to make you happy, you’re
going to love working in the parks.

And if reading a brief excerpt like that just made you
smile, you’re going to love the rest of “From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A
Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag,” Ron Schneider’s hilarious
& informative insider’s look at the world of themed entertainment.