Disney legend Bob Gurr shares personal memories of his interactions with Roy and Edna Disney during the late 1960s. While working on Walt Disney World development, executives frequently traveled between California and Florida, sometimes using the company’s Grumman Gulfstream G-1 aircraft. During one particular flight, Gurr sat near Roy Disney while Edna occupied a quieter rear section of the plane with him. The following morning at Orlando Executive Airport, Edna invited Gurr to breakfast where she clipped coupons from a local newspaper and visited a five-and-dime store called J.J. Newberry. This experience reminded Gurr of spending time with his grandmother in the Midwest during the 1930s. Earlier that year, Roy Disney had decisively rejected an over-budget Autopia car design for Disneyland, demonstrating his minimalist decision-making style. That same budgetary issue was later used to cover cost overruns on the Swan Boat project at Walt Disney World. Gurr notes he will discuss the upcoming transition from gasoline to electric vehicles in future writings about Disney attractions.
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