Join us for our 23rd episode of the Theme Park Trader Podcast!
Show Notes:
We are absolutely delighted to be joined on the podcast this week by RJ and Suzanne Ogren who worked at Walt Disney World during the 70s, 80s and 90s.
We talk to them both about just some of their memories of their times working at the parks, specifically The Magic Kingdom and they tell us a couple of their favourite stories from their book, Together In The Dream.
Although starting out as a monorail pilot, RJ moved onto to be one of the four original management artists in charge of creative control at The Magic Kingdom in the 1970s and worked under the guidance of Disney Legends that include Marc Davis and Leota Toombs.
His work, alongside the other three artists included the creation and refurbishment of:
- Audio-animatronic figures
- Sets
- Props
- Murals
His work was seen by guests across several attractions and lands at The Magic Kingdom but notably:
- The Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Country Bear Jamboree
- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- The Carousel of Progress
- The Hall of Presidents
- The Jungle Cruise
Suzanne also had her beginnings at Walt Disney World as a monorail pilot before moving onto playing many beloved costumed characters that included:
- Sleepy the Dwarf
- Mr. Smee
- Bianca
- Bernard
- Robin Hood
- White Rabbit
- Cinderella’s Mice
- Every other Dwarf from Snow White at some point!
Suzanne then moved into entertainment management at Walt Disney World.
I don’t want to give too much of their time at WDW away so I would encourage you purchase their fantastic book, Together In The Dream here and find out more on their website at Rjogren.com.
The stories in it are fantastic and any Disney or theme park fan will find it wonderful to read. They are working on a new book together that is set to be released before the end of the year so we will be sure to invite them back to the podcast again in the near future!
If you enjoyed this weeks podcast, have ideas for future shows or have any questions about any of the stories then feel free to leave us a comment below! Oh and if you agree or disagree with our lists, we would love to know!