RIDING MICKEY'S COATTAILS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS, VENDORS, GETTING A CALL FROM THE MOUSE IS A DREAM COME TRUE.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Mickey Mouse has some deep pockets in his black tuxedo pants.

Fifty years ago, The Walt Disney Co. threw open the gates on a novel project it called Disneyland. The theme park put Anaheim on the map, transforming a sleepy Orange County farm town into one of the top tourist draws in the country, one that's become both a pop culture icon and, more significantly, a major economic provider for Southern California.

As the park begins its 18-month-long anniversary celebration on Thursday, a huge promotional blitz is designed to bring in millions to the sprawling Anaheim grounds. Its influence, however, extends far beyond the resort it anchors, pumping what Disney says is $3.6 billion into the regional economy.

``When you're trying to get a loan, the bank asks you who your customers are,'' said Harold Martinez Sr., owner of Able Industrial Products Inc. in Ontario. ``The first words out of my lips are 'Disneyland, the happiest place on earth.'''

He sells his adhesive and abrasive products to major employers such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, but Disneyland was always the one he hungered to land when he founded the company 31 years ago. It took two decades.

While Martinez declined to disclose how much revenue Disney sends his way each year, he said it is a substantial economic provider for his 34 employees. They're far from the only ones who use Disney's dollars to live, however.

According to a report commissioned by the media giant, Disneyland, California Adventure and the surrounding cluster of company-owned hotels and retail shops create 65,700 jobs. The report, for which Disney paid an undisclosed sum to real estate researchers CB Richard Ellis Consulting and Allan D. Kotin & Associates, also found the resort provides cities and counties with $225 million in annual tax revenue.

The publicly held Disney, which saw revenues of $30.75 billion last year, does not disclose how much money its California parks bring in each year. The report indicates that they create an additional $1.9 billion outside their grounds in related spending each year.

What it means is that Disneyland is one of Southern California's largest economic generators, according to Tom Jirovsky, one of the report's authors. In addition to his three-month study of the park's reports, attendance figures and guest surveys, he boasts an even more intimate knowledge of its operation.

``I worked graveyard janitorial shift for six years, through undergrad and grad school,'' said Jirovsky, now CB Richard Ellis' senior managing director of consulting. ``I look at Disneyland and I know the jobs are a great learning experience. It's a fabulous opportunity for young single people wanting to go to school. They've got thousands of jobs for part-time seasonal workers and that's a benefit that not a lot of people think about.''

The resort puts 20,000 people to work each year and uses 3,800 contractors on-site. That translates into more than $1 billion in annual wages and vendor payments, money that finds its way into homes like Amy Schilling's.

The finance director leaves her Glendora house every morning at 4:45 a.m. to commute to Disneyland. After a quick trip to the gym, she's on the road for 25 minutes, a drive she's done for the past 18 months after transferring from the company's Burbank headquarters. That commute turns into an hour when she returns - on a good day - but it's still worth it to her.

``It goes beyond having a salary or a cell phone or whatever,'' she said. ``There's a number of us who have had other opportunities to go elsewhere, work closer to where we live, make more money, but it just didn't feel right to leave.''

Vendors who rely on her company's business echo that sentiment. Though it can be demanding that they live up to exacting standards, they say it values relationships over price.

After 19 years providing uniforms and embroidery for the park, Chris Roybal, president of the Long Beach-based LA Custom Apparel Inc., freely admits he's not the cheapest supplier it could choose. His contracts with the company brought in $1.3 million last year, allowing him to employ a staff that fluctuates between 65 and 75 workers.

Once he gets an order confirmed for a batch of jackets or vests, he gets a check within seven days. With other contracts, including work for the Department of Homeland Security, he's lucky to get paid within four months.

``If the government ran like Disney, we'd be a whole lot better off,'' he said. ``They're efficient, they know what they want, they take care of you. Can you imagine if the DMV ran like Disneyland?''

As they were growing their own small enterprise, George Quintero and Peter Lacagno found out exactly how the park ran. Their company, Balloon Haven Inc. of Chino, provides inflatable decor for special events, everything from corporate lunches to high school graduations. When they launched the company in 1983, their goal was to tell people they'd been a part of the park's blowout celebrations.

They got that in a major way several years later, when Disney hired them to gussy up the entrance to its new space flight simulator, Star Tours. Now a well-established business with eight full-timers and 10 part-time employees, Balloon Haven will play a major role in the decor for this week's 50th anniversary celebration. But three decades later, Quintero still feels the rush of that first big night.

``I don't think we got any sleep because we wanted to get everything right,'' he recalled. ``We pulled in friends and family and we were so excited. When we were walking the balloons on stage, we knew we'd accomplished our goal: We were working for Disney.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) George Quintero and Peter Lacagno, co-owners of Balloon Haven Inc., have shown their work at Disneyland for 19 years. Their Disney-themed balloons will be part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4 -- color) Chris Roybal, president of LA Custom Apparel Inc., shows one of the employee uniforms he makes for Disneyland's security department. Above, Maria Villalobos, of LA Custom Apparel Inc. works on uniforms.

(5) Disneyland's Amy Schilling shows off her work environment at the Team Disney Anaheim building next to the theme park.

Steven Georges/Staff Photographer