Today we’d like to introduce you to Ernie Alonzo.
Ernie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to meet may unique and talented personalities. Being a huge Disney fan and growing up in Orange County, I had the chance to work with Disney Legend and Imagineer, Bob Gurr on a couple different events my company produced. Bob is responsible for designing most of all of the ride vehicles inside Disneyland park including the Monorail, Autopia Cars, the Submarine, Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Main Street Fire Engine and Double Decker Bus to name just a few. He is also the last surviving of the original “Imagineers” which Walt Disney himself handpicked to play an instrumental role in bringing to life his concept of Disneyland.
Myself, having operated a successful tour company for the better part of a decade, I asked Bob if he thought there was enough Walt Disney history contained within a local geographic area to accommodate a bus tour that would take fans to these various locations with him as the tour guide. It turns out that Walt Disney’s first home, his production studios and quite a few other significant Disney landmarks were all within only a few miles of each other. The other fact that made it a perfect situation is that Bob grew up in the same neighborhoods Disney lived in when he first moved to Los Angeles. We mapped out a route, figured out the timing, hired a bus charter company and ran our first tour on July 17 of 2016 to a sold-out bus. We recently celebrated our one year anniversary over the summer.
Has it been a smooth road?
Bob Gurr is 86 and semi-retired so we are limited on the number of tours we are able to offer. At this time, we only offer one tour per month and it lands on every third Sunday. Another reason for the limited tours is that one of our major stops, the “Carlwood Museum and Walt’s Barn” is only open the one Sunday a month.
Another challenge is not owning our own bus. This has its pros and cons however, hiring a charter bus company every month is a big expense and tour needs to be well attended to be profitable.
The lack of a consistent and strong advertising campaign has also been an obstacle.
Since we are a small startup we have relied on Facebook ads and word of mouth. We have had nothing but 5 star reviews and delighted attendees. I know that if these tours were getting better advertising, that we would be sold out every month with folks asking to be on a waiting list. This is a rare opportunity to spend half a day with a legendary Disney Imagineer and hear amazing stories and insight from a man who experienced and was an integral part of the beginnings of a worldwide iconic brand.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Waltland, Disney History Bus Tour – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My main company Haunted Orange County, started in 2009 with historic ghost walk tours in Orange, CA. The tours were very popular in the fall/Halloween season but we found that the public was interested year-round.
Three years later, we established another tour in downtown Santa Ana and most recently have established tours in Silverado Canyon as well as Huntington Beach. Last year we featured our first bus tour titled “Haunted East L.A.”
Since then, we have expanded to produced paranormal themed events including, ghost hunts, paranormal lecture series, haunted dinner events, UFO sky watches as well as out of state ghost hunting trips in Indiana and Virginia a s recently August of this year. We work with many of the TV personalities featured on the ghost hunting shows on networks like Syfy Channel, Destination America and History Channel. I’ve been working in event production for the past 20 years and produce a variety of non-paranormal events on a regular basis. In 2016 I started Fandom Productions to associate any of the non-paranormal tours and events. This is where the new Waltland tour falls under.
Pricing:
- General Admission $89
- Upgraded seating from $118 to $164
Contact Info:
- Website: Waltland.com
- Phone: 866-446-7803
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waltlandtour
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobGurrsWaltland
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/waltland-disney-history-bus-tour-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Ernie Alonzo
Sergio Ramirez
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
