The honorees were feted with lobster corn dogs, shrimp scampi pizza and unlimited food, drink and rides at the Anaheim theme park.
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>>New Disneyland president Rebecca Campbell thanked 1,700 of the Anaheim theme park’s cast members for their 10 to 55 years of service during a soiree Thursday night, Nov. 21 at Disney California Adventure that included a seemingly endless buffet of food, cocktails and rides.
“There’s not too many companies that do this in celebration of their employees,” Campbell said during the service party. “But as I have said for a very long time, the Walt Disney Company is a very special company. Because we know that we would not be the number one entertainment company in the world if it was not for our cast members.”
Disney’s Celebrate You service celebration shut down California Adventure at 5 p.m. for a party that went until midnight.
The 1,700 honorees were feted with lobster corn dogs, shrimp scampi pizza and free food and drink at the
Festival of Holidays booths lining the park’s main promenade. There was even a special presentation of the “World of Color” nighttime spectacular with the cast members’ faces projected on the water show’s mist screens.
Mike Larson of custodial guest services was the longest-serving employee in attendance with 55 years working at the parks. Five other employees celebrated 50 years of service: Helen Burkert (parking), Bob Sendzik (entertainment), John Lawson (sound), Ginny Bullock (kennel) and Kathe Lovegren (recently retired).
“To all of you, and on behalf of all of our leaders here at Disneyland resort, tonight we celebrate you and tonight we get a chance to say thank you,” Campbell said.
Campbell takes over as the
new president of the Disneyland resort from Josh D’Amaro, who is already in his new post as president of the Walt Disney World resort.
Campbell is the kind of person who grabs you by both shoulders when she speaks with you. Makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room. And the most important. Recalls stories and anecdotes about her time in London. Where she was president of Disney’s Europe, Middle East and Africa segment. Tells jokes about still wanting to kiss you on both cheeks like they do in England.
She speaks with the ease and poise of a local TV news anchor, befitting her early background in television journalism in places like Allentown and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She then moved to the management side of the media business and up the ranks of Disney’s ABC Television.
Campbell is relatively new to the theme park side of the business. But she seemed perfectly comfortable at Disney California Adventure, wearing a Gucci Mickey Mouse sweater, posing for photos in front of the Carthay Circle Theater marquee with the guests of honor and hosting long-time cast members with 40 or more years of service during a luxe dinner at the upscale Carthay Circle restaurant.
She’s a lifelong fan of the parks who’s now in charge of 31,000 cast members and running the house that Walt Disney built. She’s responsible for shepherding two parks, three hotels and an outdoor shopping mall that attract in excess of 28 million visitors annually.
She is the kind of person who is confident and comfortable speaking with powerful men named Bob — as in Iger, Disney’s CEO and Chapek, the Disney parks boss.
Campbell’s new role is to be the ambassador and face of Disneyland for cast members, for Anaheim’s sister theme parks and for the Disney brand as the theme park resort charts its course heading into the new decade.<<
