Each and every time I go to Disney World I become more of a "fan" of Walt Disney. I am heading to Disneyland in a few weeks for the first time and wondering what special spots, statues, areas are not to miss. For example, the flickering light in Walt's personal apartment. Are there other hidden/not well-publicized things like this that I shouldn't miss?
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Special Walt areas in Disneyland...
- Thread starter Luvmydisney
- Start date
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
The Plaza Inn, which used to go by Red Wagon Inn, was Walt Disney's favorite place to eat in the park. It's a pink and white restaurant on Main Street.
If you visit the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland, you may be able to sit in Walt's seat in the right hand corner of the room. You'll also notice animal horns around the room; Walt Disney himself hand picked them all.
Any place around Sleeping Beauty Castle is good. Walt Disney drove the Disneyland Railroad train. If you pass by Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll spot the Dream Suite, and a small area where you can see a "W" and an "R" (Walt and Roy). Anywhere on Main Street is good. Walt drove the Main Street vehicles.
Walt Disney also loved New Orleans Square.
If you visit the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland, you may be able to sit in Walt's seat in the right hand corner of the room. You'll also notice animal horns around the room; Walt Disney himself hand picked them all.
Any place around Sleeping Beauty Castle is good. Walt Disney drove the Disneyland Railroad train. If you pass by Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll spot the Dream Suite, and a small area where you can see a "W" and an "R" (Walt and Roy). Anywhere on Main Street is good. Walt drove the Main Street vehicles.
Walt Disney also loved New Orleans Square.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Ask the Disneyland Railroad cast members if you can ride in the Lily Belle, Walt's parlor car. Carnation Cafe on Main Street serves Walt's favorite chili.
Rufus T Firefly
Well-Known Member
You can ride in the small fire truck that travels up and down Main St. The driver will tell you that Walt used that same vehicle to drive around during the construction of the park.
WED99
Well-Known Member
Take the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour. They'll take you to all the special spots, you get a commentary about his life, you ride Peter Pan and Small World without waiting, a free pin, lunch included and best of all you get to go inside Walt's Apartment!
I highly recommend it
I highly recommend it
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Snow White's Grotto I always felt was a good "Walt" place.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Take the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour. They'll take you to all the special spots, you get a commentary about his life, you ride Peter Pan and Small World without waiting, a free pin, lunch included and best of all you get to go inside Walt's Apartment!
I highly recommend it
This is a fantastic idea. I was able to visit Wakt's apartment as a CM. My group and I walked into the apartment, and I unknowingly sat on Walt Disney's bed. You can't get more personal than that. All of Mr. Disney's kitchen utensils are still intact. It's a small apartment but it's gorgeous. I got to stand where Walt stood on the opening day of Disneyland. Talk about special. I don't know if regular guests get to stay in the apartment as long as CMs, but I'd be happy if I even got to just peek in the apartment again. It's definitely worth looking into, great suggestion.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
There's a movie that plays in the lobby for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that was made for Disneyland's 50th anniversary. It's hosted by Steve Martin and I think it's really good. It's just on a flat screen TV with some chairs in front of it and it plays on a loop; you could probably ask a CM nearby when it will get to the beginning if you don't get there at the right time. There are some small displays to look at while you wait for Lincoln or the 50th anniversary movie... I think there's a model of the castle, the Griffith Park bench, etc.
These are wonderful ideas! Thank you for the tips. Now I have to decide if the tour is worth it since we only have one day there! It looks great and I teared up just reading about it!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
You only have one day?!
Wow, I didn't know that. If I only had one day, I would skip the tour and tour the parks on my own. You'll still be able to see Walt Disney's touch in Disneyland anyway.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
"Special areas" in Disneyland that evoke Walt? Well, the whole darn place evokes Walt, because it was planned and built by Walt and his hand-picked team of Imagineers. Stop and look at the Mark Twain, and realize that Walt sold his Palm Springs vacation home in 1954 to get the money to build that boat in time for opening day in '55, as but one example.
All of Disneyland is Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, quite literally. Unlike Magic Kingdom Park in Disney World that was built by a committee of a big corporation five years after Walt had died.
There are lots of little things and spots that Walt and his family created or had a hand in. The petrified tree in Frontierland was an anniversary present from Walt to his wife Lillian in 1957. Walt found the petrified tree in Colorado while filming one of his popular True-Life Adventure films, and he bought the tree from the man who owned the property and had it crated up and shipped to his home in Holmby Hills as a present for Mrs. Disney. Mrs. Disney opened the crate on their anniversary and she said "What is this?!" and Walt told her it was full of petrified opals and that it would look good in her rose garden. Mrs. Disney would have none of it, and she told Walt she didn't want that thing in her rose garden and he could send it down to put in his park, which was probably his plan all along. The tree was installed near the Rivers of America later in 1957 and the brass plaque identifies it as a "gift from Mrs. Lillian Disney". Stop and admire the petrified tree, and thank Mrs. Disney for having the good taste for saving her rose garden but plussing up the park.
The espresso machine in Café Orleans? Walt and Lillian found that on a scouting trip to New Orleans, Louisiana while they were planning New Orleans Square in 1965. Walt had it put along the prominent back wall of Café Orleans in 1966, where it remains to this day.
The Frontierland plaque given to Walt from the American Human Society in 1955? Still there, at the base of the Frontierland flag pole, well worn but still there. The telegraph pounding out Morse Code at the Frontierland train station? That's now a Morse Code version of the 1955 Opening Day speech. But it wasn't always so novel; the first version of Morse Code telegraph sound effects coming from that train depot were created by Imagineers when that depot was remodeled in the 1960's, and the Morse Code was actually spelling out the words to a rather salty Irish limerick, sort of an inside bar joke. But the Imagineers thought they were safe since by the 1960's Morse Code had fallen out of favor and who would even pay attention to such a thing? Well, it turns out that Mrs. Disney was a railroad telegraph operator as a teenage girl circa 1920 in her small hometown in Idaho, and she remembered well the Morse Code. On the car ride back from the park that night, Mrs. Disney let Walt know that the Morse Code being used in the Frontierland train station wasn't exactly fit for a family park, and she and Walt had a good laugh. Nevertheless, the next morning Walt made a phone call and the Morse Code was quickly changed to a dictation of the Opening Day speech instead of the Irish bar limerick.
Disneyland is full of Walt tidbits and history and nooks and crannies. It's his personal theme park, not a clone designed by corporate committee years after his death. And if you only have one day and will be skipping DCA entirely, you should probably do some online research to seek out those Walt items in the park since the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour will eat up too much of your short single day visit. Good luck!
All of Disneyland is Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, quite literally. Unlike Magic Kingdom Park in Disney World that was built by a committee of a big corporation five years after Walt had died.
There are lots of little things and spots that Walt and his family created or had a hand in. The petrified tree in Frontierland was an anniversary present from Walt to his wife Lillian in 1957. Walt found the petrified tree in Colorado while filming one of his popular True-Life Adventure films, and he bought the tree from the man who owned the property and had it crated up and shipped to his home in Holmby Hills as a present for Mrs. Disney. Mrs. Disney opened the crate on their anniversary and she said "What is this?!" and Walt told her it was full of petrified opals and that it would look good in her rose garden. Mrs. Disney would have none of it, and she told Walt she didn't want that thing in her rose garden and he could send it down to put in his park, which was probably his plan all along. The tree was installed near the Rivers of America later in 1957 and the brass plaque identifies it as a "gift from Mrs. Lillian Disney". Stop and admire the petrified tree, and thank Mrs. Disney for having the good taste for saving her rose garden but plussing up the park.
The espresso machine in Café Orleans? Walt and Lillian found that on a scouting trip to New Orleans, Louisiana while they were planning New Orleans Square in 1965. Walt had it put along the prominent back wall of Café Orleans in 1966, where it remains to this day.
The Frontierland plaque given to Walt from the American Human Society in 1955? Still there, at the base of the Frontierland flag pole, well worn but still there. The telegraph pounding out Morse Code at the Frontierland train station? That's now a Morse Code version of the 1955 Opening Day speech. But it wasn't always so novel; the first version of Morse Code telegraph sound effects coming from that train depot were created by Imagineers when that depot was remodeled in the 1960's, and the Morse Code was actually spelling out the words to a rather salty Irish limerick, sort of an inside bar joke. But the Imagineers thought they were safe since by the 1960's Morse Code had fallen out of favor and who would even pay attention to such a thing? Well, it turns out that Mrs. Disney was a railroad telegraph operator as a teenage girl circa 1920 in her small hometown in Idaho, and she remembered well the Morse Code. On the car ride back from the park that night, Mrs. Disney let Walt know that the Morse Code being used in the Frontierland train station wasn't exactly fit for a family park, and she and Walt had a good laugh. Nevertheless, the next morning Walt made a phone call and the Morse Code was quickly changed to a dictation of the Opening Day speech instead of the Irish bar limerick.
Disneyland is full of Walt tidbits and history and nooks and crannies. It's his personal theme park, not a clone designed by corporate committee years after his death. And if you only have one day and will be skipping DCA entirely, you should probably do some online research to seek out those Walt items in the park since the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour will eat up too much of your short single day visit. Good luck!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
"Special areas" in Disneyland that evoke Walt? Well, the whole darn place evokes Walt, because it was planned and built by Walt and his hand-picked team of Imagineers. Stop and look at the Mark Twain, and realize that Walt sold his Palm Springs vacation home in 1954 to get the money to build that boat in time for opening day in '55, as but one example.
All of Disneyland is Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, quite literally. Unlike Magic Kingdom Park in Disney World that was built by a committee of a big corporation five years after Walt had died.
There are lots of little things and spots that Walt and his family created or had a hand in. The petrified tree in Frontierland was an anniversary present from Walt to his wife Lillian in 1957. Walt found the petrified tree in Colorado while filming one of his popular True-Life Adventure films, and he bought the tree from the man who owned the property and had it crated up and shipped to his home in Holmby Hills as a present for Mrs. Disney. Mrs. Disney opened the crate on their anniversary and she said "What is this?!" and Walt told her it was full of petrified opals and that it would look good in her rose garden. Mrs. Disney would have none of it, and she told Walt she didn't want that thing in her rose garden and he could send it down to put in his park, which was probably his plan all along. The tree was installed near the Rivers of America later in 1957 and the brass plaque identifies it as a "gift from Mrs. Lillian Disney". Stop and admire the petrified tree, and thank Mrs. Disney for having the good taste for saving her rose garden but plussing up the park.
The espresso machine in Café Orleans? Walt and Lillian found that on a scouting trip to New Orleans, Louisiana while they were planning New Orleans Square in 1965. Walt had it put along the prominent back wall of Café Orleans in 1966, where it remains to this day.
Disneyland is full of Walt tidbits and history and nooks and crannies. It's his personal theme park, not a clone designed by corporate committee after his death. And if you only have one day and will be skipping DCA entirely, you should probably do some online research to seek out those Walt items in the park since the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour will eat up too much of your short single day visit. Good luck!
Bravo, well said!
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Walt Disney Personally Experienced the Following Attractions In Some Form:
Disneyland Railroad
Disneyland Story Presents Great Moments with Mr Lincoln
Main Street Vehicles
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Alice in Wonderland
Mad Tea Party
King Arthur Carrousel
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Peter Pan's Flight
Dumbo
Casey Jr Circus Train
It's a Small World
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Mr Toad's Wild Ride
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Autopia
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
Tom Sawyer Island
Mark Twain Riverboat
Sailing Ship Columbia
Submarine Voyage
Monorail
He Designed These Before His Death But Never Rode Them At All:
The Haunted Mansion
Space Mountain
So make sure to hit these on your trip.
(He played no part in Pinocchio, Pixie Hollow, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Roger Rabbit, Go Coaster, Toontown and Captain EO but I believe that is about it
)
Places of Particular Interest Would Be:
Main Street Fire Station Apartment
Main Street USA as a whole
The Plaza Inn
Club 33
The Golden Horsehoe
Snow White's Grotto (Has a nice little backstory)
Cafe Orleans
New Orleans Square
The Disney Dream Suite
Old Fantasyland Skyway Chalet
Carnation Plaza Gardens (Now closed)
If you want to know more about Walt then definitely take the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour as it is very interesting although is lengthy and as a Disney fan you will probably know most of the facts but is still fun.
Another side note for Walt enthusiasts is if you are in California for an extended period and are able to travel from Disneyland to San Francisco then this is also a must. The Walt Disney Family Museum is located in San Francisco and is dedicated solely to the history of Walt Disney and was set up by his family, mostly his daughter Diane. My grandparents just came back from San Francisco and said the museum was a highlight of their trip. Well worth the visit. While in California you could also visit the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank from the outside and could also visit his 'grave' at Forest Lawn Memorial park in Glendale just down the road from the Studios. Other places of interest would be the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Walt's 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his star on the Anaheim Walk of Stars outside Disneyland.
Disneyland Railroad
Disneyland Story Presents Great Moments with Mr Lincoln
Main Street Vehicles
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Alice in Wonderland
Mad Tea Party
King Arthur Carrousel
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Peter Pan's Flight
Dumbo
Casey Jr Circus Train
It's a Small World
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Mr Toad's Wild Ride
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Autopia
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
Tom Sawyer Island
Mark Twain Riverboat
Sailing Ship Columbia
Submarine Voyage
Monorail
He Designed These Before His Death But Never Rode Them At All:
The Haunted Mansion
Space Mountain
So make sure to hit these on your trip.
(He played no part in Pinocchio, Pixie Hollow, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Roger Rabbit, Go Coaster, Toontown and Captain EO but I believe that is about it
)Places of Particular Interest Would Be:
Main Street Fire Station Apartment
Main Street USA as a whole
The Plaza Inn
Club 33
The Golden Horsehoe
Snow White's Grotto (Has a nice little backstory)
Cafe Orleans
New Orleans Square
The Disney Dream Suite
Old Fantasyland Skyway Chalet
Carnation Plaza Gardens (Now closed)
If you want to know more about Walt then definitely take the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour as it is very interesting although is lengthy and as a Disney fan you will probably know most of the facts but is still fun.
Another side note for Walt enthusiasts is if you are in California for an extended period and are able to travel from Disneyland to San Francisco then this is also a must. The Walt Disney Family Museum is located in San Francisco and is dedicated solely to the history of Walt Disney and was set up by his family, mostly his daughter Diane. My grandparents just came back from San Francisco and said the museum was a highlight of their trip. Well worth the visit. While in California you could also visit the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank from the outside and could also visit his 'grave' at Forest Lawn Memorial park in Glendale just down the road from the Studios. Other places of interest would be the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Walt's 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his star on the Anaheim Walk of Stars outside Disneyland.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Bravo! What a list, thank you for providing that for all of us. What a great reminder of how influential Walt was in so many existing Disneyland attractions.
You forgot one, though. The Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, which Walt had added to the Rivers of America in 1956. Here is Walt (in shirtsleeves and necktie in the middle) testing out the canoe fleet the park bought in the spring of 1956, before the boats were painted and themed up for Frontierland and the summer 1956 debut.
Disneyland Canoe Ride Trial Runs With Walt - 1956
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1261/760231973_87d8b2ea49_z.jpg?zz=1
Can you imagine being the managers in the suits and ties going out to test a canoe with Walt?!
The Canoes operate to this day at Disneyland, after being shut down decades ago at Walt Disney World because they used a lot of labor to run and the WDW management just does things differently than Disneyland management. Although, in the middle of winter the Canoes only operate on weekends until they resume daily operation for Easter vacation.
Disneyland Canoes In The 21st Century
http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/Canoe 01.jpg
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Glad you liked the information and found it useful
Oops, thank you
I've added the canoes to the list.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
New Orleans Square was open before Walt died, just not Pirates of Mansion. And I do believe he "rode" Pirates some time in late 1966; I seem to remember an imagineer saying that Walt rode through and came off with a big list of changes.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Oops New Oreans Square is supposed to be in places of interest. Thanks for the info, wasn't aware he rode pirates, will edit now
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
I made my screen name for something "neworleanssquare1967" once.... ya know, cuz that's when Pirates opened so that's when New Orleans Square opened. It wasn't until a long time later that I realized that since I knew Walt walked around New Orleans Square, it probably opened before 1967. Serious Disney fanboy ego bruise, right there.Oops New Oreans Square is supposed to be in places of interest. Thanks for the info, wasn't aware he rode pirates, will edit now
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Walt pushed back the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean. He did not experience the attraction that opened, as he did not think it was quite ready.Oops New Oreans Square is supposed to be in places of interest. Thanks for the info, wasn't aware he rode pirates, will edit now
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
But then again, the attraction now isn't the one that he would have ridden if he had gone on when it was first open to the public, either. Pirates is close enough to count it I think, whereas something like Mansion I don't think he saw anywhere near the finished product although he was very involved in the design.