By CHARLES MELTON
EDITOR
Unlike his fellow competitors for the position of Disney Parks’ first ever Chief Magic Official, Bremerton resident David Wotruba has memories of Disneyland dating back to its grand opening in 1955.
Now more than 50 years later, the pharmacist and family and marriage counselor is counting on friends, family and acquaintances around the globe to vault him into the top 3 and bring him one step closer to becoming the CMO.
“I was there when it opened, and I’ve enjoyed the parks for years,” Wotruba said.
While the movies, toys and other Disney items are favorites of many, for Wotruba it’s always been the parks.
“I love the parks,” he said. “When I go there, I feel like I’m at home.”
One sign of Wotruba’s faithfulness to Disney is that he purchases season passes each year, so he and his family can go to one of the many Disney parks at least twice a year.
When Disney was phasing out the “Autopia” cars, which served as transportation for visitors since Disneyland opened, Wotruba purchased the shell of one and with a little help from his friends transformed it into an operational vehicle.
“Steve Hill from Hill Moving brought it up here for me, and my goal was to construct an autopia with an electric motor,” he said.
The achievement of that goal is on display in the video Wotruba submitted in hopes of becoming the Disney Parks CMO. From the more than 1,300 entries, Wotruba landed in the top 10 as a semi-finalist.
Although the voting is open to anyone with Internet access, there is a certain amount of strategy involved, Wotruba explained.
“It’s the 10 by 10 by 10 principle, where you have 10 people vote and they have 10 people and they 10 people vote and that equals 1,000 votes,” he said.
With no limit on the number of times a person can vote, Wotruba said his friends and family are voting several times a day in hopes of propelling him into the top 3.
“I have been a fan of Disney for over 54 years — enjoying the park 22 times in 1985 alone, but right now, I really need your vote for CMO,” Wotruba said. “The magic I bring to others through my personality and enthusiasm makes me believe I have the character to be the best Chief Magic Official.”
He may drive an ‘Autopia’ car in his submission video, but Bremerton’s voting is open now through March 22. Consumers are encouraged to visit www.DreamCMO.com and vote for the candidate they believe is most magically fit to be the Disney Parks Chief Magic Official.
After America’s votes are in, the top three vote-getters will be announced mid-April, along with details surrounding their two-day in Park competitions at Walt Disney World Resort. Semi-finalists will face tests of creativity, enthusiasm, knowledge of the Parks and actual magic aptitude. The competition will be recorded and videos highlighting each of the three finalists will be posted on www.DreamCMO.com for a final round of voting. The top vote-getter during April 14-21 will be named the Disney Parks Chief Magic Official.
