Meeting Walt Disney

[ZaneB]

Before I start I just want to mention that this post is only partly related to WDW, but I really felt like sharing.

Last night I had the most amazing dream ever. I met Walt Disney! We met in Cars Land and he walked me through it all, and told how much he loved it. He said it was just what he wanted for Disneyland. Then he asked me if I liked a show at DHS called "Muppets: Live on Stage". I told him I had never heard of it before. He then led me to his flying saucer (same ride vehicle as the old flying saucer ride) and we flew to DHS. But it did not look like normal DHS, it was all changed. He showed me some of the new attractions but I can only remember two. One was Muppets: Live On Stage, it looked like a large warehouse with a mural of the muppets painted on the side. He said he loved that show. Then he showed me a restaurant next to it. I can't remember the name but it was kind of dark and gothic. I can't remember for sure but it might have been Nightmare Before Christmas. We went in and everyone greeted him. Not like they were seeing a man come back from the dead, but like he was a regular there. We sat at a table and he told me he was going to show me what would happen if the people running the park didn't follow the rules he set when he first made Disneyland. He then disappeared and as soon as he left, people got upset. No one was happy with the park and all the cast members were rude. My dream turned into a nightmare and that is when I woke up.

I know it sounds impossible, but I feel like this was more than a dream. Like Walt visited me in spirit to inspire me or tell me something. I had no reason at all to dream about Walt, the day before I did not think about him once. But then again, there is a 99% chance that it was a dream, and I'm not planning on becoming one of those people on 60 Minutes bragging about how they saw a ghost.

But hey, dreams come true right?

 

[Bolt]

Breaking News!!!!111oneone

 

[WondersOfLife]

That sounds a little weird and crazy o.0 But quite inspiring:3


Speaking of which, wouldn't it be neat to somehow have an interactive Walt Disney hologram walk around Main Street USA some how?? This has crossed my mind several times and I think it would be amazing.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

Wow... how many pills or puffs did you take?

 

[ellie-badge]

Sheesh, the rudeness.

I thought that was an interesting dream you had, very intriguing.

 

[Taylor]

I had that same dream except I was in my underwear in all seriousness that sounds like a very interesting dream

 

[ZaneB]

For the record, I was neither high or drunk.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Wow, what a coincidence! I had a dream about Walt too! But in MY dream, Walt saw the Muppets in his park and asked me, "Did we create those?" and when the answer was "no", he said, "Then get them out of here!" Then he turned to me and said "What do we want with hand puppets anyhow? We've got audio-animatronics!" Then he strolled over to Star Tours and Indiana Jones, and asked, "Did we create THOSE? No? Then out they go too. If we want an outer-space ride or adventure ride in my parks, we'll create them based on OUR ideas, not somebody else's. I don't care how popular those other people's ideas are. We don't follow trends, we create them. That's the Disney tradition." Then I took him over to Pixar Place, and he asked, "And what about these Toy Story characters? Ours?" And I said, "In a way..." And then I told him how John Lasseter, who helped found Pixar, was once a Disney employee, and had always loved all things Disney, and how he was fired when he tried to create the first computer-generated cartoon while working for Disney. "Fired? Why? Those cartoons in the Toy Story Midway Mania attraction are amazing!" said Walt. And I told him that the head of Disney at the time had told Lasseter that the only reason to use the new technology in a cartoon was if doing so was faster or cheaper. "WHAT?!!!" Walt exploded. "I always welcomed new ideas and new technologies when I ran the studio. Sure, we used the Xerox process for coloring in our later films because it was faster and cheaper, but we made sure it was also innovative and effective. We made the art enhance the process. Who's the idiot who fired Lasseter?" I told him, and then he asked about the later CEOs of his company, and the stupid things THEY'D done. I told him, and he got madder and madder, and I was just touching on Robert Iger buying a bunch of superheroes and looking outside the Disney studio to find a good idea for a new ride when I woke up. Thank goodness. The dream was starting to turn into a nightmare. Uncle Walt's really scary when he's angry...

 

[TestTrack Dummy]

I find both your dream and Magenta Panther's dream very interesting. I personally havent had these dreams but i hope i do. Even if its just a dream for the moment it feels real and i would love to talk to Walt!

 

[TP2000]

Wow, what a coincidence! I had a dream about Walt too! But in MY dream, Walt saw the Muppets in his park and asked me, "Did we create those?" and when the answer was "no", he said, "Then get them out of here!" Then he turned to me and said "What do we want with hand puppets anyhow? We've got audio-animatronics!" Then he strolled over to Star Tours and Indiana Jones, and asked, "Did we create THOSE? No? Then out they go too. If we want an outer-space ride or adventure ride in my parks, we'll create them based on OUR ideas, not somebody else's. I don't care how popular those other people's ideas are. We don't follow trends, we create them. That's the Disney tradition." ...

While I get your point, Walt Disney used many "outside" sources for his material in the park ("the park" = Disneyland USA, the only park Walt ever knew or saw or walked through or helped with), and at his studio.

The park in particular was full of ideas and concepts borrowed or outright copied from others in history; the Sailing Ship Columbia as a scale replica of the original Columbia that was so very important in our nation's history.... the half dozen Fantasyland dark rides all based on traditonal European fairytales retold in the mid 20th century by Walt and his animators.... American folklore as the basis for all of Frontierland, from Davy Crockett to Zorro to Mike Fink to Mark Twain's famous stories of Tom Sawyer, etc.

And work at the studios was no different from work at the park that used ideas from others. Walt courted P.L. Travers for years to get the Mary Poppins material. And the results were fabulous. Much of Walt's famous animation from his studio's most succesful decades were based on other people's work and imagination.

There's a fantastic window display on Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure, in the Los Feliz Five & Dime store, that showcases all of the classic literature that ended up in Walt Disney's catalog of success a few decades later. The theme of this window display circa 1930 is that "Here's all the famous books that Walt used later" with the Jungle Book, Davy Crockett, Mary Poppins, Paul Bunyan, Winnie the Pooh, Pinnochio, etc. etc. all on display and "for sale" in this shop window. So clever, and such a wonderful point of how Walt was inspired by previous works!

Circa 1930 Bookstore Window Display Predicts Walt's Future - Buena Vista Street, Disney California Adventure

And any Walt Disney fan worth their mouse ears needs to get to Disneyland Resort and Buena Vista Street at DCA to take it all in and revel in all of the inside jokes and Walt Disney history they have infused this reborn park with! You simply haven't lived as a true Disney fan without seeing the new Disneyland Resort, the new DCA, spent an hour or two exploring Buena Vista Street, and taken the Walk In Walt's Footsteps Tour at Disneyland USA. It's a mandatory experience for anyone who wishes to claim being a Walt Disney fan.

But Walt and his team weren't creating everything from scratch, they borrowed or bought much of their material from outside sources.

 

[Magenta Panther]

But Walt and his team weren't creating everything from scratch, they borrowed or bought much of their material from outside sources.

AAAANNNND here we go again. Anyone who knows the slightest bit of Disney history is well aware that Walt and company didn't actually write the books that films like "Mary Poppins" is based on, or built the original Columbia, and etc. etc.. What's that got to do with anything? There is a big HUGE ASTRONOMICAL difference between, for instance, buying the rights to a story and then adding new characters, situations, dialogue, songs and special effects and turning the property into a distinctive film classic that's so good and so original in execution that it essentially becomes more identified with its movie studio than with the original work (and Disney's not the only studio that's succeeded in that vein; people are far more apt to link "The Wizard of Oz" with the MGM movie rather than the book it came from, because it's just that good) and just buying a property and shoehorning it as-is in with the rest of the Disney "brands" (as Iger would phrase it). The Muppets and Marvel characters are already fully formed and have already been in countless films and TV shows. There will never be a "Disney" version of those characters, because (1) that's the point of the purchase as far as Eisner and Iger were concerned - why bother risking dollars and time to create new characters when you can just buy them; it's so totally cost-effective! and (2) if Disney DID attempt to "plus" the Muppets (who, ironically, could use it, in my opinion; that movie was as limp as a wet noodle) their fans would scream bloody murder about their sacred felt icons being desecrated by the evil Disney empire. Marvel fans would probably do the same. So those two group of characters will forever be foreign to the Disney dynamic. As I've said before, there's a difference between acquisition and artistry. Walt knew the difference. I'm really surprised that some Disney fans apparently don't.

But opinions differ. Thanks for reading!

 

[Magenta Panther]

I find both your dream and Magenta Panther's dream very interesting. I personally havent had these dreams but i hope i do. Even if its just a dream for the moment it feels real and i would love to talk to Walt!

Thanks...but I was being facetious in this case. However, when I was a kid, I did have a dream about Walt, and it had something to do with Santa Claus. The particulars are pretty fuzzy now, but I remember Walt opening a door and saying to me (and my brother, who was also in the dream) "Go see!" And there in this incredible room full of light was Santa, laughing, surrounded by toys and trees and stuff like that. And I remember hearing Walt say "Two good little kids to see you, Santa!" and that's when I woke up, I think. Best dream I've ever had, ever.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Sheesh, the rudeness.

I thought that was an interesting dream you had, very intriguing.

You know what? From everything I have ever read about the man, Walt Disney treated everyone he met with respect. I heard he'd walk around the park and talk to the guys sweeping up litter and he'd ask their opinions and solicit their ideas. He didn't use them all, but he listened. And he showed them all respect.

He was a simple man who worked hard every day of his life, treated people well, and encouraged everyone around him to express themselves and dream big.

That's something to remember in this Internet age where some people on message boards are rude and cruel to one another for no reason. I notice some people being rude to the poster who started this thread but I enjoyed reading about his/her dream. I hope he keeps expressing him/herself. I too thought it was very interesting and intriguing.

I think it's high time to push back against the malcontents out there and those who think everything in life needs to be 140 characters like on Twitter. Be civil and encouraging to one another. Be supportive and positive.

Be. More. Like. Uncle. Walt.

In whatever little way you can.

 

[TP2000]

Be. More. Like. Uncle. Walt.

In whatever little way you can.

I drink a stiff glass of Scotch every day at 5PM. That's how I try to be like Walt.

 

[ZaneB]

You know what? From everything I have ever read about the man, Walt Disney treated everyone he met with respect. I heard he'd walk around the park and talk to the guys sweeping up litter and he'd ask their opinions and solicit their ideas. He didn't use them all, but he listened. And he showed them all respect.

He was a simple man who worked hard every day of his life, treated people well, and encouraged everyone around him to express themselves and dream big.

That's something to remember in this Internet age where some people on message boards are rude and cruel to one another for no reason. I notice some people being rude to the poster who started this thread but I enjoyed reading about his/her dream. I hope he keeps expressing him/herself. I too thought it was very interesting and intriguing.

I think it's high time to push back against the malcontents out there and those who think everything in life needs to be 140 characters like on Twitter. Be civil and encouraging to one another. Be supportive and positive.

Be. More. Like. Uncle. Walt.

In whatever little way you can.

Thanks Patricia Melton, I really do appreciate it

 

[Patricia Melton]

Thanks Patricia Melton, I really do appreciate it

Zane -- you just keep dreaming and keep sharing and expressing yourself!

Don't ever let the malcontents win.

There would have been no Disneyland if Uncle Walt let the malcontents around HIM win back in the day.

You dreamed about Uncle Walt for a reason and it's up to you to figure out what your subconscious is telling you and how to apply that to your life.

Keep us posted!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Wow, what a coincidence! I had a dream about Walt too! But in MY dream, Walt saw the Muppets in his park and asked me, "Did we create those?" and when the answer was "no", he said, "Then get them out of here!" Then he turned to me and said "What do we want with hand puppets anyhow? We've got audio-animatronics!" Then he strolled over to Star Tours and Indiana Jones, and asked, "Did we create THOSE? No? Then out they go too.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye forever.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I drink a stiff glass of Scotch every day at 5PM. That's how I try to be like Walt.

They do say a little alcohol each day is good for you. Just lay off the ciggies, okay?

 

[ellie-badge]

If Disney DID attempt to "plus" the Muppets (who, ironically, could use it, in my opinion; that movie was as limp as a wet noodle) their fans would scream bloody murder about their sacred felt icons being desecrated by the evil Disney empire. Marvel fans would probably do the same. So those two group of characters will forever be foreign to the Disney dynamic. As I've said before, there's a difference between acquisition and artistry. Walt knew the difference. I'm really surprised that some Disney fans apparently don't.

... but Disney did plus The Muppets. The Muppets (the film, not them in general) revived pretty much everything they were known for: great humor, hilarious slapstick, inside jokes, and celebrity appearances, as well as lovable characters (both old and new, such as Walter), a great and well-rounded story, and showstopping musical numbers. The film wound up being the number one comedy of the year, gave The Muppets their first ever Academy Award for Best Original Song, became the highest-grossing film in The Muppets franchise to date (it out-grossed every previous film within five days), and it was a smash hit at the box office.

I've been a huge fan of The Muppets since I was a little girl, too, and I thought this movie was amazing and exactly what our little felt heroes needed. Not to sound harsh, but I've heard pretty much nobody say "The Disney Corporation desecrated The Muppets and totally ruined them for me! I'll never watch another Muppet movie from them ever again!" If anything, Disney has revived and renewed interest in The Muppets, as they were slowly but surely becoming forgotten. They did a great job, in my opinion.

As for Marvel... based on the overwhelming success of Thor, Captain America, and especially The Avengers, I think Disney did a phenomenal job with the characters and their stories, too... but again, that's coming from somebody who really enjoys those films.

Yes, Walt Disney probably would have done a lot of things much differently today, and in a way, I can understand where you're coming from. But the fact of the matter is that he's not here anymore, and he hasn't been around for many years. Continuously thinking, "What would Walt have done?" and being in that sort of mindset, for the most part (as there are a few exceptions), isn't a good way to go about thinking in today's terms. Uncle Walt was all about looking towards the future, not necessarily the past. I'm not sure if The Disney Company would be where it is today if they had kept looking back and thinking what Mr. Disney would have probably done.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yes, Walt Disney probably would have done a lot of things much differently today, and in a way, I can understand where you're coming from. But the fact of the matter is that he's not here anymore, and he hasn't been around for many years. Continuously thinking, "What would Walt have done?" and being in that sort of mindset, for the most part (as there are a few exceptions), isn't a good way to go about thinking in today's terms. Uncle Walt was all about looking towards the future, not necessarily the past. I'm not sure if The Disney Company would be where it is today if they had kept looking back and thinking what Mr. Disney would have probably done.

Thank you. The "What would Walt have done" excuse is tired and pointless now. This proved to be unsuccessful specifically with the studios department years ago. And let's not talk about originality, when most of the beloved Disney films we love are based on other works. In the end, no one really cares, though.