With great sadness, I just learned that Paul Castle, 86, the main Mickey Mouse at Disneyland for 25 years, passed away January 23.

After making his mark as the 4’6” Mighty Mite in the Ice Capades, Paul was hand-picked by Walt himself in 1961 to play Mickey Mouse for special appearances and at Disneyland. In those days, the park didn’t have a big Character Department. Paul was one of only a handful of year-round costumed performers; most just hired on part-time, during parade season....

Calm has returned to the Disneyland Resort, following a tumultuous few days. No, the chaos wasn't related to extreme weather or enormous crowds or unforeseen problems. It stemmed from the first official visit to the resort by Tom Staggs, who a few weeks ago swapped titles with Jay Rasulo to become the new chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

On Monday, the day before Staggs was to arrive, managers ordered stockrooms, workshops and offices to be cleaned, as they hurriedly tried...

An Entertainment cast member fills us in on the latest character changes at the Disneyland Resort:

"On February 1st, the Princess Tiana face character will be moved to the Princess Fantasy Faire in Fantasyland. Prince Naveen will join the other princes in no-mans land and only appear once in awhile.

"At the Faire, there will be two casualties from the move. Mulan will now be at Hollywood Backlot at DCA, and Jasmine at Aladdin’s Oasis in Adventureland.
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OSHA has just cited Walt Disney World for harboring an unsafe work environment that led to the fatal Monorail crash on July 5. OSHA's ensuing investigation then revealed additional safety violations.

"Citation 1 Item 1 is directly related to the collision," said OSHA regional director Michael Wald. "The other violations were discovered during the investigation following the collision, but are not directly related to it."

OSHA recommended five steps to correct the hazardous...

David Koenig (that's me), author of the best-selling "Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland," will present a backstage peek at the Magic Kingdom Saturday December 5 at 1:00 p.m. at the Grand Terrace Branch Library, 22795 Barton Rd., Grand Terrace, Ca.

The multimedia presentation is free (now how often do you read "Disneyland" and "free" in the same story?).

After the show, I'll also be available to answer questions and sign copies of my four Disney-related...