DREAM ON Speaker:
Tom Nabbe
A native of Santa Barbara, Calif., Tom started his career as a news paperboy at Disneyland® Park on July 19, 1955, at 12 years old. In 1956, he convinced Walt Disney to hire him to portray the character of Tom Sawyer on Tom Sawyer Island inside Disneyland® Park. Tom’s responsibilities were to pose for photos with the guests, bait the guest’s fishing line, and take care of the fishing poles. At the time, the Rivers of America were stocked with bluegill, catfish, and sun perch so that the guests could enjoy fishing. Tom portrayed Tom Sawyer all through his junior and senior high school years (1956-1961), and when he turned 18, he could work on the rides and attractions at Disneyland® Park.
In 1964, Tom received a draft notice and chose to join the Marines Corps until 1968. After fulfilling his military obligation, he returned to work at Disneyland®. In 1970, Tom was promoted to Assistant Supervisor and trained on the monorail system at Disneyland® Resort in preparation for the opening of the monorail system at Walt Disney World® Resort. At the start of 1971, Tom, and his wife, Janice, relocated to Florida, and just before the opening of Walt Disney World®, Tom was promoted to Supervisor of the Monorail in the Transportation Department. He moved from project to project in 1972.
Tom moved to Frontierland® inside Disney’s Magic Kingdom® Park at Walt Disney World® to construct Tom Sawyer Island, which opened in May 1973. Shortly after, he went on to Tomorrowland® and assisted in the construction of Space Mountain®, which opened in 1975. From there, he joined a team in Fantasyland® for a significant update of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage. Then he was promoted to Area Manager of Frontierland® in 1976 for the construction of Big Thunder Mountain®, which opened in 1979. Following that completion, he was assigned to the EPCOT® project working for WED Enterprises in the PICO warehouse, where all Owner Furnished Items (OFI) were stored for show installation. After EPCOT® opened, the company was restructured in 1984. He then moved back to Walt Disney World® payroll from WED Enterprises and was promoted to Manager of Distribution Services, where he stayed until retirement in 2003.
Those twenty-two years in warehousing were particularly gratifying for Tom as he assisted in the development of a new inventory system–working with new technology. The team was instrumental in finding new ways of communicating with Disney Cast Members and consistent in discovering better ways for the company to be more competitive in the future. Tom and his colleagues resolved problems quickly with theme of working smarter, not harder, as their inspiration.
Tom also had brief involvement in the opening of Disneyland® Paris in 1992.
In July 2003, he was honored with a Window on Main Street, U.S.A.® inside Disney’s Magic Kingdom® Park above the Cinema and was inducted as a Disney Legend in September 2005. Since his retirement, Tom has shared his Disney heritage with many Disney fan groups, and once as a keynote speaker at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum located in Marceline, Mo.
Tom’s personally written book "From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend” was published in 2016, and is available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle, as well as online at TomNabbe.com.
Tom Nabbe as Tom Sawyer next to the Rivers of America at Disneyland® Park. (Image credit: TomNabbe.com)
Tom Nabbe pictured with Walt Disney in front of the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland® Park. (Image credit: TomNabbe.com)
Tom Nabbe pictured with Walt Disney next to the Rivers of America at Disneyland® Park. (Image credit: TomNabbe.com)
Tom Nabbe pictured with Mickey Mouse at Disney's Magic Kingdom® Park for induction as a Disney Legend.
