Do You Tell Your Kids About Walt?

[ExtinctJenn]

I have. I think 'One Man's Dream' makes it much easier to start the conversation with your children about Walt Disney and the companies he started. I think Walt Disney has many admirable qualities that are teachable moments - he didn't let failure keep him from trying again. He kept going despite setbacks. And he's one of the ultimate American entrepreneurs - building something great from nothing but his own creative ideas and hard work.

I hadn't thought about it before but I think it was after his first trip to OMD that DS6 started asking about Walt and who he really was etc. That's an excellent point... that attraction alone probably introduced a lot of children to the fact that the "Walt Disney" part of "Walt Disney World" was a person!

 

[Goofyernmost]

I was lucky enough to be a kid when Walt was near his highest popularity. Every, I think, Saturday night, there would be Uncle Walt introducing the Wonderful World of Color. Previous to that I was part of the original group that joined the Mickey Mouse Club and watched it religiously. One of the things that I remember most was every Halloween they would broadcast the Legend of Sleepy Hallow with the headless horseman and Ichabod Crane. You can probably tell by my screen name that I never missed a Goofy cartoon.

I don't remember having an official discussion with my daughters about Walt. He, of course, was dead by the time they were born. But they seemed to know who he was without any real prompting. I guess maybe it was discussed in passing and they just picked it up. I need to ask them if they have defined Walt Disney to their kids. I know they have been there a few times.

 

[ShookieJones]

I'm not a HUGE Waltologist..but what I do know and love I've passed along to my kids.
They're in complete awe and have 'mad love' for Uncle Walt.
Unfortunately when my son found out that EPCOT wasn't created exactly in Walt's vision he got PO'd and said that "Disney really screwed it up, it's not what Walt wanted"
He gets fixated on things like this. Like when he was PO'd at Bill Gates because his Xbox wasn't working right.
To tell you the truth I think he just doesn't care for EPCOT because there aren't enough thrill rides.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Waltologist

I think you've officially coined a new term there! Love it!

 

[PhilharMagician]

Walt Disney has been part of family conversations forever. My grandparents lived in the same apartment building and new Walt during his short stint in New York City. We still pass down stories and talk about him often.

 

[bethymouse]

My boys' third grade Social Studies book begins with a biography on Walt Disney! i thought that was fabulous since I'm taking them out a week (9-24 through 9-28) to visit that very famous dreamer's world!

 

[DisneyFreakEst1994]

I have been told about Walt since I was about 2, my parents did this so I knew who he was on my first trip to WDW. Well, I thought it was amazing and pretty much since then he has been pretty much and idol to me. In 3rd grade we had to do a timeline report on someone you look up to and admire and I chose Walt, I made my parents pretty happy with that one. Ever since then I have been amazed by him and everything he did. I love watching the Walt documentaries on tv because they just make me so happy to know someone so amazing lived and created all the things that we love today. So I'm happy they told me and I will definitely tell my children

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

I'm always amazed at how many people don't know anything about Walt. When my sister took her husband to WDW for the first time he asked her why it was named Walt Disney World and she said that Walt was the man who "imagined" this place. He replied, "So there was actually a guy named Walt Disney?" His childhood was very different from ours though, we've also had to explain to him what Play-doh and Rubik's Cubes are.

I grew up in a "Disney" family in the 70's and 80's. We watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" every Saturday or Sunday evening together as a family. (I think it was Tuesday or Wednesdays when I was really young) My dad used to read books about Walt and couldn't get enough info about WDW and the building of it.

My sister and I knew all about Walt thanks to my Dad and we went to WDW the first time 2 months after it opened and almost every year after that until she went to college.

When I found out I got a job in Disney World my Dad was so excited he called everyone he knew. He bragged about how he would finally get to know what exactly went on backstage. That was a big thing for him since he liked to know how "Walt made things happen". He was particularly intrigued at building MK on swamp land since my Dad was a contractor. He also wanted me to tell him everything about the tunnels under MK and told everyone about how Walt built them so he wouldn't ruin "the show" of the onstage areas of the park.

Unfortunately my father passed away suddenly two weeks before my job in Disney World began so I never got to tell him about the only things that he didn't already know about Walt's Magic Kingdom.

I don't have children but my niece knows exactly who Walt is, and who her "Grampy" is. I hope she thinks of both of them as great men who built great things for others to enjoy.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We talk to our girls about Walt, but not too much at this stage. They were 2 and 4 on their first trip and only 8 months older on their second trip. Most of what I said went over their heads, but I started giving them an earful in front of the Partners Statue last trip. We talk more about it home though and how important "Mr. Walt" was - for more than just the parks and movies. As they get older I'll tell them more. I keep thinking about what I want to cover on the upcoming trip. Last trip we talked some about Carousel of Progress and It's a Small World...not sure what directino to take in Nov., but I'll come up with something.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

I have. I think 'One Man's Dream' makes it much easier to start the conversation with your children about Walt Disney and the companies he started. I think Walt Disney has many admirable qualities that are teachable moments - he didn't let failure keep him from trying again. He kept going despite setbacks. And he's one of the ultimate American entrepreneurs - building something great from nothing but his own creative ideas and hard work.

I'm going to echo the love for "One Man's Dream." It's a great synopsis of what Walt was all about and my kids' biggest source of information about him. It's a must do for me at DHS and the only attraction/show that brings on the tears for me.

 

[The MaD Hatter]

My 8-year-old has grown up learning about Walt and the history of Disney. She knows all about Oswald and loves watching old episodes of Disneyland and Wonderful World of Color (particularly the space/Tomorrowland episodes).

 

[ddrongowski]

What would I tell them? That Walt is spinning spinning spinning spinning in his grave. Oops I meant in his cryo-bed....

P.S. Yes I have.

 

[UofMGuy423]

My kids are aware there was a Walt Disney and that he created Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney World. They're all under 10, so we don't spend time discussing his vision, etc. But I felt it was important to make them aware of what the "Walt Disney" in WDW stands for, that it's not just a corporate name, that it was an actual person who designed our favorite place in the world. Since the Disney Channel of today is more focused on tweens and teeny bop stuff then when I was a kid in the 80s watching it (when they would show old Magical World of Disney and the old Vault Disney classics and I was well aware of who Walt Disney was), I make it a point to remind the kids of Walt when we're at WDW.

 

[pumpkin7]

I will tell mine all about him... whenever it is I decide to have kiddies!

 

[MKCP 1985]

When I first saw the title of this thread, my thought was "how odd. How can anyone grow up in this country and not know?" But then upon reflection, realized the days are long gone of Walt Disney coming on TV and being seen by masses of people. Even the company is distancing itself from the man, with purposeful emphasis on "Disney" in the same vein as "Apple" or "Google." Wow.

Then, in typing this, realized even more that the more I go on, the older I seem! So with my own kids being mostly grown, my task will be to one day make sure my grandchildren know!

 

[Tinkswishes28jen]

Sort of, my daughter was only just 5 on her first trip, so i read out loud a stone tablet all about Disney Parks, and his mission statement etc. I also took a picture with her by the statue of Walt and Mickey, and I explained that he "created" Mickey. Anything more may have been a bit much.