Disneyland’s First Black Tour Guide Reveals the Nicest Celebs at the Park—Plus One Who Fed Her Escargot (EXCLUSIVE)

When you meet Martha Blanding, she’s friendly and approachable—effervescent with an irresistible charm and a sparkle in her eye reflective of the Disney magic she holds so close to her heart. But make no mistake, she’s a living Disney icon—and history-maker. This year, she was named an official Disney Legend as the first Black American to achieve 50 years of service with the Walt Disney Company. On top of this, she co-founded its first Black diversity group, PULSE . Now the former Disneyland tour guide is ready to spill the beans on the meaning behind all the magic.

Here, in an exclusive interview for Woman’s World, Blanding discusses her new memoir , Groundbreaking Magic: A Black Woman’s Journey to the Happiest Place on Earth, celebrities she’s met along the way and what advice she has for young women who want to work at Disney.

Woman’s World: What made you want to write a memoir?

Martha Blanding: I wanted to share some of my experiences that I had working at Disneyland through the years. A lot of those experiences were things that a Black cast member [Disney employee] had never experienced before because when I first started working at Disneyland, it was 1971, and there were not a lot of Black cast members there at that time.

So I started from there and worked my way up. I retired in 2022, and by then, there were a lot more [of us], but I wanted to share with them the different things I had done.

WW: Who was your favorite celebrity that you encountered?

MB: One of my favorite celebrities, of course, was James Earl Jones , because he was on my list of celebrities that I wanted to meet.

The first person I met was Cary Grant, and he was exactly what you see on TV. He did that movie Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, and my last name is Blanding. So when I introduced myself to him, he said, “Blanding, that name is so familiar.” And I looked at him and said, “Well, of course. Don't you remember Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House ?” And he busted up laughing.

Rock Hudson oh, my God, you're talking about a handsome man. We had dinner at Club 33, and while sitting there, he said, “Martha, have you ever had an escargot?” And I said, “No. Those are the snails in my mother's yard.” He says, “Yes, but they're really good, and you must try it.” So, they brought the escargot over to the table, and I'm like, “Oh God, please don't make me eat this.” But then Rock took it out of the little shell and fed me. All of the women in the club were looking, and I thought to myself, “Yeah, I bet you guys wish you were me right now.”

WW: How does it feel to be the first Black American to achieve 50 years of service with the Walt Disney Company?

MB: Very honored. I was very excited. But you know what? I didn't work to reach those goals. I just did my job and I loved what I was doing. I consider myself fortunate because of each of the different positions [I did], moving up in the company from an hourly [role] into management. I loved every last one of them. I worked hard and did a good job.

WW: Disney is known for giving people fairy tales with happy endings. Do you feel like it did that for you?

MB: As I said, I worked to do a good job, so I didn't do these things to have a fairy tale life, but it did happen.

The surprise for me was that they made me a Disney Legend—I was inducted to the Disney Legends for 2024 with 13 other recipients, and so is that not a happy ending? You better believe it is.

Because of my job, I've worked with many of the Disney Legends, so I knew how important it was and what an honor it was to become a Legend. And then they made me one.

WW: What made you want to create Disney’s first Black diversity group, PULSE?

MB: It was myself and two other cast members that created PULSE, which stands for People United to Lead, Serve and Excel.

Disney had situations where they were telling a story that had to do with my culture, and they wanted to make sure that everything that they were doing was correct and then would come to us. We could tell them, “No, that's not right. No, we don't do that, so you need to do it this way.”

It was also a place where cast members could network because different people were from different areas within the park. If someone was interested in entertainment, there was somebody in the group who was in that area that they could talk to.

It's also an area if you have a problem, you have somebody that you could come and talk to. We couldn't fight your problem; that's your job, but we can guide you and advise you on what you should or should not do.

Even though I'm retired, I'm still involved with them because we also did mentoring. I love mentoring because I didn't have someone who looked like me when I first started. I had an ally who helped me, and she was amazing, but it's a little different when you have someone who looks like you that you can go and talk to. So, I make myself available to let them know I'm here.

WW: What message do you want to give young girls out there who dream of working for Disney?

MB: Disney is a great company with great opportunities, and you can learn a lot. You can start as an hourly cast member, and you'll be working in the different areas within the different lands.

WW: Do you prefer Disneyland or Disney World?

MB: I'm a Disneyland person. It's my home. Plus, it's the property that Walt Disney worked on. He didn't get to visit Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World is great, don't get me wrong. It's fantastic, but it's very big. Disneyland is small and more people-oriented. They interact with the guests a lot closer than at Walt Disney World because Walt Disney World is so big and it's so much.

WW: You must have so many stories, any plans for a second book?

MB: Groundbreaking Magic: A Black Woman’s Journey to the Happiest Place on Earth i s the first book I've ever written, and I don't know if I'll write a second book. I am not going to say I'll never do it, so I'm leaving it open and seeing what happens. You never know.

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