Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 15, 1994 TAG: 9408150067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With one curious distinction: Bowers made hardly any mention of the Walt Disney Co., the theme park developers he trumpeted in announcing a downtown railside park proposal to council.
Perhaps the omission was deliberate. With a brainstorming session about the rail park scheduled for today, the magic kingdom seems to be fading from the picture.
Disney executives are puzzled at their involvement. And Patrick McMahon, the state's tourism czar, said the company's role has been overblown.
"I think somebody has got an expectation that's something different than what this thing is all about," he said. "It's not as big a thing as everyone thinks it is."
The mayor's idea, popular in the business community, is to build a three-block walkway linking the City Market area with the Virginia Museum of Transportation at Salem Avenue and Second Street.
The city hopes a link between the two attractions will siphon off some of the 400,000-plus people who each year visit the market's Center in the Square. The Transportation Museum, which soon will undergo exterior renovations, now draws only about one-tenth as many visitors annually.
With a grand flourish, Bowers told council, "We welcome Disney to Roanoke!" and indicated the theme park company would assist the city in designing the linear park.
But within a day, Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center Commission Executive Director Brian Wishneff was correcting the mayor. Disney would be a "facilitator" in developing plans for the project, he said.
"We certainly have the understanding that Disney's going to be facilitating this," Bowers said Friday.
However, McMahon said his office is the facilitator, and Disney is no more than an invited guest. The same goes for a representative from Nauticus, the $52 million interactive marine museum and park that Norfolk opened on its waterfront this year.
They will be two of more than 60 invitees to the noon meeting at the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. Most will be business and community leaders from Roanoke.
Bowers said his understanding is that Disney is sending someone ``in the `imagineering' field,'' a kind of professional dreamer who initiates theme park development ideas.
"[Is Disney] an important player in this? We think so. My involvement is to encourage them and welcome them, and hopefully they will play a greater role. I'm going to do everything I can to increase their involvement," the mayor said.
But Disney instead is sending a community relations specialist, part of whose duties include scheduling public appearances of costumed Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse characters.
A 20-year Disney veteran, Berta Maginniss is director of community relations for Disney's America, the vast new theme park the company is planning near Haymarket.
She also speaks to community groups about the Haymarket project, said Claudia Peters, a Disney America spokeswoman.
"Berta has a great understanding of what [Disney is] capable of, what kinds of resources we have, who we have, who does what and how they do it. ... So she has real insight into the Walt Disney Co. So I'm sure that's why she's going to the meeting," Peters said. Maginniss could not be reached for comment.
Nauticus is following suit, sending public relations manager Jim Myers, according to Corky Haisten, director of marketing for Nauticus. Myers also was unavailable for comment.
"The invitation from Pat McMahon was to have somebody come along to talk about Nauticus," Haisten said.
"Our role, as we see it, is we will be more than happy to share with anyone what we've been able to learn from our experience," Haisten said. "We really have not been briefed specifically on what those folks are interested in."
by CNB