Bob Penfield - my 402nd pick to be named a Disney Legend

Bob Penfield and current Disney Legend Ron Dominguez rode at the head of the parade fro Disneyland's 60th anniversary

Long-time Disneyland employee Bob Penfield is my 402nd pick to be named a Disney Legend. He was the last of the original opening-day employees to retire. Below is an article which ran in 1997 on the ENews! website:


Bob Penfield's first job at Disneyland was as a ride operator on the King Arthur Carousel in Fantasyland. He started working there four days before opening day, July 13, 1955. "I had orientation and was walking down Main Street where they were pouring asphalt, and I saw Walt Disney! What a thrill! He was the first famous person I had ever seen," recalled Penfield, who retired today from 42 years of service at the Happiest Place on Earth, the last original park employee to do so.

Another famous person, uh, rodent, Mickey Mouse, was on hand Thursday, not to present the retiree with a gold watch but to show off a uniquely Disney honor--a Main Street store-front window inscribed with Penfield's name. Penfield also fulfilled a long-time secret wish--to conduct the park's brass band.

Penfield, now 60, was born in Burlington, Iowa, but moved to Anaheim, California, as a teenager. Disneyland was always an important part of his life: Mom worked there, too, as the first Baby Station Matron, and he met wife Judy at the park. Their son, Chris, worked at the park while attending high school and college.

Penfield's starting salary was a whopping $1.65 an hour. He only worked on the carousel for three days, then moved over to become foreman of Snow White's Scary Adventure. In the mid '50s, he was promoted to operations supervisor and was loaned out by Disney to work at the l960 Winter Olympics, on construction projects during the New York World's Fair, and the development of Walt Disney World in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. He retired as construction field superintendent.

He retires as a member of Disneyland's exclusive Club 55--a group of ex-workers who were at the park on opening day and worked through at least l970. Membership was once over 200 but is now reduced to, appropriately enough, 55.

The type of loyal employee Uncle Walt would have appreciated, Penfield collects Disney memorabilia and is a fan of the Mighty Ducks. He says he wants to write a book about Disneyland and maybe do some consulting work for the Magic Kingdom.