RERUN: 18 Inches To Glory, the Don Chapman Story; S04 E01

Each generation of the Jungle, there is a Skipper and a Lead that epitomizes that era. For the 00's it was Gerry York. For many people in the recent era, it was Jasen Lewis. For the late 90's, only one name mattered... Don Chapman. Don was a force of nature at the Jungle Cruise, and every interview with any Skipper even close to his era included Don stories. I was lucky enough to get to spend nearly 4 hours recording with him, and got so many great stories. One of my "long term goals" was always to go back and edit myself out a litle bit and condense this into a single hour with a little tighter feel, but this was already edited heavily and is the first of 3 episodes with Don. 

(The following is the original episode description for this episode, posted July 22, 2014)

Damn, that is one long episode name. But, if there's another Skipper we could get on the show who epitomizes the Jungle Cruise experience better, it's not clear to me who that is.

 

Skipper Don Chapman and his wife, Lois, sat down with me for a whole 2 hours for a trip down the River of Memories. Don was a fixture at the Jungle for nearly 2 decades, and was at Disneyland from 1981 to 2003. Stories of his no-nonsense style were passed down even after he left the park. He was held in the highest regard by his co-workers, and it was such an incredible pleasure chatting with him. 

 

We've got 3 whole episodes with Don, and we'll have more good stuff coming in September. Our 4th year promises to be amazing, and we're looking forward to lots of great Jungle Goodness. Let us know what you thought of the episode.