Ronald Logan (February 9, 1938 – August 30, 2022) was an American businessman who served as executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment (now Walt Disney Creative Entertainment). After retiring from the company in 2001, he was formally a professor at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

Rosen College of Hospitality Management in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States.

Life and career

Growing up in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

, Logan studied trumpet, violin, piano, and dance. He began performing professionally in the ninth grade and has performed as a trumpet player and singer on recordings, television, motion pictures, and with bands and lounge acts throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He began his career with Disney in the 1960s as a trumpet player at Disneyland Park in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. As executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment, Logan was responsible for creating, casting, and producing all live entertainment products for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, including the

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...

, the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who constru ...

, Disneyland Resort Paris, The

Disney Institute Disney Institute is the professional development and external training arm of The Walt Disney Company. The company showcases 'the business behind the magic' through seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as programs for professionals fro ...

, Disney Business Productions, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Entertainment Productions, and Walt Disney Entertainment Worldwide. Logan also was executive vice president of the Walt Disney Special Events Group, executive vice president of Disney Special Programs, Incorporated and the founder and first president of

Disney Theatrical Productions Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP), also known as Disney on Broadway, is the flagship stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a major business unit of The Walt ...

, which produced '' Beauty and the Beast'' on Broadway and later, around the world. He authored ''Walt Disney Entertainment - A Retrospective Look'', an internal publication that documents the evolution of Walt Disney Entertainment from 1955 through 2000. Logan retired from Disney in 2001 and later was an associate professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the

and the university's vice president of special events. He died on August 30, 2022, at the age of 84.

Education and achievements

Logan held BA and MA degrees in music and music education from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He was a founding member of the International Foundation for Jazz institution of classical music, a corporate advisory council established in support of the International Association of Jazz Educators. He was a board member of the Orlando Repertory Theatre, served on the Board of Directors for the Famous People Players (Canada) and the International Theatre in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. In 2007, Logan was honored with the Disney Legends Award, which is presented to individuals who have made a significant impact on

Works

During Logan's tenure, Walt Disney Entertainment's productions included:

Disneyland Resort

* ''

Fantasmic! ''Fantasmic!'' is a nighttime show at Disneyland Park, Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, Audio-An ...

'' - Disneyland Park * ''The Lion King Parade'' - Disneyland Park

Walt Disney World Resort

* ''Grand Opening Ceremonies'' -

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) and

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

* ''Legend of the Lion King'' -

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...

* '' SpectroMagic'' -

* ''Skyleidoscope'' -

* ''

Laserphonic Fantasy Illuminations may refer to: Shows and festivals * IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a nightly fireworks show currently at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort *''IllumiNations'', original nightly firework show at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort ...

'' -

* ''Surprise in the Skies'' -

* '' IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth'' -

* '' Tapestry of Nations'' -

* '' Sorcery in the Sky'' - Disney-MGM Studios * ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame - A Musical Adventure'' - Disney-MGM Studios * '' Aladdin's Royal Caravan'' - Disney-MGM Studios * '' Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage!'' - Disney's Hollywood Studios * ''

Voyage of the Little Mermaid ''Voyage of the Little Mermaid'' is a live show attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. ''Voyage'' is an abridgment of the 1989 film ''The Little Mermaid''. Along with a mix of live actors and puppets ...

'' - Disney's Hollywood Studios * ''

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show The ''Lights, Motors, Action!: Extreme Stunt Show'' (or sometimes referred to as ''Moteurs... Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular''), was a stunt show performed at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris and at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme ...

'' - Disney's Hollywood Studios * '' Festival of the Lion King'' -

Tokyo Disney Resort

* ''Disney Carnivale'' -

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...

* '' Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade'' -

* ''

Disney's Fantillusion ''Disney's Fantillusion!'', sometimes known by its full name: ''Disney's Fantillusion Parade,'' and sometimes called ''Fandy'', was a regularly scheduled night-time parade, created by Ron Logan, that performed nightly at Disneyland Park (Paris) ...

'' -

Disneyland Paris

* ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West Dinner Show'' - Disney Village * ''Disney ImagiNations Parade'' - Disneyland Park * '' Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular'' -

Walt Disney Studios Park Walt Disney Studios Park ( French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through ...

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

* '' Festival of the Lion King'' -

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

Other venues

* '' Beauty and the Beast'' - Broadway in New York * '' Tapestry of Nations Super Bowl XXXIV Halftime Show'' - Georgia Dome in Georgia * '' Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye Super Bowl XXIX Halftime Show'' - Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami * ''

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

'' - Indianapolis Speedway in Indiana * ''DisneyFest'' -

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Ron 1938 births 2022 deaths Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people Disney executives People from Leavenworth, Kansas UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni University of Central Florida faculty UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies alumni