Scott Wolf: What were you doing before you were Ambassador?

Susan Donald Edwards: I was a ride operator in Tomorrowland and I was a ticket taker at the main gate before that.

What year were you Ambassador?

SDE: 1977.

Until then, had there been any ride operators as Ambassador?

SDE: Not that I know of... only Carol (DeKeyser was in foods), but I think everyone else was a tour guide, so we kind of broke the mold a little bit.

What kinds of things happened with the park the year you were Ambassador?

SDE: Well, I was also part of the program when they were traveling around the world so I got to go to Japan and Singapore and the Philippines. That was before they had built Tokyo Disneyland, so it was just at the ground phase at that point, so that was fun.

We also did fifteen cities in the United States and Canada, so I had a lot of opportunity to go to many different places so that was very fun.

Was that just to bring the Disney joy or were you promoting anything in particular?

SDE: It depended upon where we were. If we were in the foreign markets, we were usually doing a film. It was "The Shaggy D.A." I believe when we were in the Orient, but we also did things like orphanages. Especially in the Philippines where I happened to be very blonde at that point in my life, and the children were very dark-haired and their hair was different. I would stoop down to talk to the children, but they would touch my hair because it was such a different texture and something that they weren't really exposed to. But, it was amazing that children who would never have an opportunity of ever being to Disney as an orphan knew exactly what Disneyland was all about, the happiness and carefree thing that Mickey Mouse contributes to people. They knew in foreign countries what we take advantage of just because it's a local thing for us, so it was a wonderful experience then.

Do you have any favorite memories that stand out as Ambassador?

SDE: One was we were at a children's ward in the state of Washington and it was children with cancer. Mickey Mouse and I were together and we visited with this young child, and the child was talking back to us. We didn't realize until we got out of the room, the nurses were in tears because the child hadn't talked in two weeks, so they were thrilled. The fact that the impact of Mickey Mouse can make a child want to be a part of the world again is very heartwarming.

Also, meeting some of the dignitaries. I had the Pope of the Coptic Church of Egypt and also the Dalai Lama. People like that where we got to learn about their cultures, there was certain protocol with those two gentlemen in particular. One of them I remember I couldn't appear taller than he was, but I was taller than he was when I was in my heels so I had to be very careful that I was always behind him. But, there was a lot of politics and protocol that we had to do with people like that. What an opportunity! These were people that I would have never had the opportunity to meet in a normal day. It was fascinating how much they just loved being at Disneyland, so those kinds of things are probably the best part of being a part of Disneyland and the magic, and still today being able to share it with people is just as exciting.

What did you do after you were Ambassador?

SDE: I actually worked at Walt Disney Imagineering now, it was WED when I worked there. I was in personnel for them, then I left when they were doing a layoff because Tokyo Disneyland opened and so I laid myself off and stayed as a mom.

I've been an elected official for an elementary school board district for four years and I've been very involved with my children's lives in sports and their activities within our community, and trying to be involved for my family and the area we live in.

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