Former President Ronald Reagan had many Disney ties

[orlpassholder]

Greetings all from the Geek Labs.

We lost a true American this past weekend. I felt this was news worthy

Former President Ronald Reagan died of complications from Alzheimer's Disease on June 5.

Reagan had many Disney ties, which began during his days as an actor in Hollywood.

As Walt Disney's friend, Reagan co-hosted the live broadcast of Disneyland Park's opening-day ceremony and participated in several other Disneyland special events. ( Which can be seen on the First set of Walt Disney Treasure's DISNEYLAND U.S.A )

Years later, when extremely cold weather prevented the Presidential Inaugural festivities in Washington, D.C. in 1984, Disney leaders invited Reagan to move the event (honoring his re-election as President) to Epcot. This marked the first time the event took place outside of the nation's capitol since George Washington was sworn in at New York's Federal Hall in 1789.

During his visit, Reagan met privately with representatives of the World Showcase Fellowship Program at The American Adventure. Reagan and his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, later joined The Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner in a special booth on the World Showcase promenade for the Presidential Inaugural parade.

More than 2,500 musicians from 20 bands around the country participated in the parade, which included daytime red, white and blue fireworks, bird and balloon releases, and an F-16 jet flyover from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

 

[awallaceunc]

Thanks. He truly was an amazing man and a hero of mine. On "Walt: The Man Behind The Myth," you can see footage of a young Ronal Reagan hosting the grand opening of Disney Land in 1955, back when he was a TV personality, not a politician.

Isn't it interesting that he first covered Walt's park's opening, then befriended Walt, and decades later met with Michael Eisner at Epcot? A Disney legend from Walt to Eisner- impressive!

-Aaron

 

[DigitalDisney]

Back in the original incarnation of Epcot, there was a discovery store in Epcot (near the location of Expo Robotics, if I remember correctly). This store had a bunch of scientific products that kids and adults would enjoy (I remember spending quite a bit of time in there )

On one wall was a computer with Epcot trivia, but right next to it was a video that covered the concept and execution of World Showcase. A good deal of this video had a speech by then-President Ronald Reagan.

After I move in a couple weeks, I will make it a high priority to attempt to digitize this video. Luckily, my Dad recorded the whole thing with our old camcorder.

 

[netenyahoo]

President Reagan was remarkable man and leader. He has been greatly missed since 1994. I wish his family the best.

It is amazing all the Disney ties Reagan had. It would have been great if he could have lived and been well enough to be part of the 50th celebration next year. I hope that Disney invites Nancy to come and they have some kind of memorial or tribute to him. Maybe he could get a window or something.

I never knew about the inagural parade and festivities at Epcot as I was too young then. That is really cool. It is amazing that Eisner who I think is a Democrat would invite a Republican President to have his inaugural parade at a park.

 

[Thrawn]

Are there any pictures of the reinauguration? Those would be awesome!

 

[awallaceunc]

Originally posted by netenyahoo

I never knew about the inagural parade and festivities at Epcot as I was too young then. That is really cool. It is amazing that Eisner who I think is a Democrat would invite a Republican President to have his inaugural parade at a park.

He is indeed a democrat, and that's what I was thinking, too. I guess it's good for business, regardless of political party. Then again, he wasn't in total control back then either.

-Aaron

 

[GrumpysGal]

Yeah. He was the president. I don't think that really matters. And anways, if it did, maybe knowing Ronald Reagan was a Democrat in the past let him do it. LOL

 

[DigitalDisney]

Having the re-inauguration at EPCOT Center made perfect sense. Well, at least, it seems like a logical choice outside of the Nation's Capitol.

- Reagan won by the largest margin in history (and that record is going to last for a long long long time). Contrary to some sources, clearly just about every person in America liked the guy. This means that there should be a good audience.
- If Eisner's political affiliations were known at that time, it was a great opportunity to bridge the gap.
- It was an excellent chance to promote the park, a relatively new ride (Horizons), and an upcoming attraction (The Living Seas)
- The 80s was the era of family sitcoms. There wern't as many networks around, and TV played a big role in people's lives, unlike today where people don't know about current events because there are 100s of channels out there.

 

[Sean23]

Here a few links to Ronald Reagan's Second Inaugural Address and visit to Epcot.


http://photo2.si.edu/inaugural/reagan/reagan.html

When bitterly cold weather forced President Reagan's Second Inaugural ceremonies indoors, the swearing-in ceremony was held in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.


http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource/speeches/1985/52785a.htm

Note: The President spoke at 12:41 p.m. from a reviewing stand near the American Adventure Showcase. In his opening remarks, the President referred to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Eisner. Mr. Eisner was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Productions. Participating in the parade were the bands scheduled to perform in the 1985 Inaugural Parade, which was cancelled due to extremely cold weather. Following his remarks, the President traveled to Miami.

 

[awallaceunc]

That's awesome. I was wondering about the chronology of all this, so thanks for sharing. I love what President Reagan said about Walt and Mickey; it gave me chills. I really hope this is put on a Treasures set some day.

-Aaron

 

[netenyahoo]

Thank you for those links!

It has been so great the last few days to hear the speeches and quotes from this remarkable man. He will truly be missed.

 

[*MichelleP*]

Note: The President spoke at 12:41 p.m. from a reviewing stand near the American Adventure Showcase.

What a nice place for some type of marker or memorial.