Disneyland's Longest-Flying Tinker Bell

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Gina Rock flew across the skies at Disneyland as Tinker Bell for more than two decades.

Although this interview with mouseclubhouse.com was from 2009, the audio was put up in November 2014. 

Gina recently rediscovered this interview she did with Scott Wolf for Mouse Clubhouse back in November 2014.

 AUDIO INDEX
1:08 How Gina got her start as Tinker Bell

4:00 Being pregnant and working

6:10 Gina’s sub, Patty

6:38 The end of Gina’s flights

7:40 A normal performance day, and what it was like to fly, crashing into a mattress

12:05 The brakes on the trolley that was on the wire

12:43 Getting stuck on the wire and crashing into the mattress

I am the co-host of The Magic Behind The Ears podcast and was able to co-interview Gina on our show with Jerry Cornell, the producer of the Theme Parkology documentary DVDs (themeparkology.com).

We interviewed her in November 2016, but didn't actually get the episode up until April 2017.

 "We have a very special guest on the show today. Gina Rock is the longest flying Tinker Bell in Disney history and on todays show, Gina shares what it was like flying as Tinker Bell from 1983-2005 at Disneyland.This amazing lady who first started out in the circus riding elephants and swinging from a trapeze will take us on an adventure full of pixie dust and special memories all this week on Disney with Daddy & Daughter." 

 This unique podcast focuses on wrestling. The host, Tony Merino, was once employed by Ringling Brothers, just like Gina. He was a part of the elephant crew, which is Gina's favorite animal. Gina was in the elephant act with Gunther Gebel-Williams while she was at Ringling Brothers. What we didn't know about Gina is that she was friends with some famous wrestlers, like "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jay York, and even Andy Kaufman. Listen to this one-of-a-kind interview to learn more about it. 

Gina had the pleasure of being interviewed by Professional Mechanical Engineer Chris Chipman and his wife Sarah on their podcast Creating Geeks. She was able to talk more about her time in the circus with this interview than she has on previous ones. 

Click to listen, or you can look up "The Chippa Made This" on your podcast app. Chris has several podcasts that share the same channel name.

 Gina was interviewed on a different type of podcast. This podcast is The Civil Engineering Podcast. Gina talks about how she went from gymnastics to being an aerialist in the circus, flying high over Disneyland, and then into Public Assistance/FEMA as a Program Delivery Manager for Jacobs where she met and works with multiple types of engineers. She started with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. You need to listen to hear the whole story. 

The Sweep Spot podcast is hosted by two past Cast Members of Disneyland who were custodians with a combined 24 years experience. They were working in the park the whole time Gina was flying as Tink. Lynn Barron and Ken Pellman both co-wrote the book "Cleaning The Kingdom." Check out the book HERE.

This episode was from December 9, 2017.

"On The Sweep Spot we welcomed Gina Rock who was Tinker Bell and flew above Disneyland from 1983 to 2005 plus a trip report and more."

Gina was interviewed on the "Skywalking Through Neverland" podcast in November 2017 by Richard and Sarah Woloski.
Here are there show notes: " Ever wonder what it’s like to soar over Sleeping Beauty Castle while fireworks boom all around you? To be the symbol of Disneyland’s magic gliding across the sky? Gina Rock IS Tinker Bell. Specifically the longest flying Tinker Bell in Disneyland history, from 1983-2005. We are delighted to welcome her as our guest, and her stories are almost unbelievable. Hold on, was she the first…Jedi Tink?? **gasp** "

In October 2016, Gina was interviewed on the podcast "Magical Day Radio" by Dawn Short and Chris Lyndon. It was her first time to be interviewed on a podcast.

"We are so excited to bring this  interview to you. Sam and Shawn had the  amazing opportunity to sit down with Gina Rock . Gina is the longest flying Tinkerbell at Disneyland . For 21 years would travel from the top of the Matterhorn (160 feet in the air ) During the nighttime fireworks at the Happiest Place on Earth. Join us as Gina takes on the journey of her exciting career . From the Circus to Disneyland and now her great work in Emergency Management. Sit back relax  and look high above the sky over Disneyland as we bring you Gina (Tinkerbell) Rock.  Thank you for the continued support for our shows and as always ,  We hope you enjoy the view from Walt's Apartment."