Walt's Plane Back at Backlot Tour

[Frank Stallone]

"The Mouse", aka Walt Disney's personal plane, is back at the Backlot Tour. It's been gone since the tour went down back in the fall, but is now located just outside Catastrophe Canyon, behind the Stunt Show grandstand.

 

[FamilyMan]

Excellent news. I'll have to ger over there to see the 234MM.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Now that I think about it...the plane was missing when I was there last month! Hmmm...how did I miss that?!

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[zone15int]

I always wished that they opened the plane to guests during the 100 year celeb. Just like Elvis' planes at graceland. Maybe they will send it to Disneyland for the 50th. That would be cool,man.

 

[bgraham34]

Good, I was I could see the inside of it.

 

[Hochmania]

Thanks for the update

 

[Main Street USA]

Great news! That was a classic part of an original attraction!

 

[TravisMT81]

I got the privelage to meet one of the stewardess of the plane. She had great stories to tell.

 

[MOUSESURPLUS]

plane

a backlot tour guide that is a friend stated doors were welded shut after death,and interior is stripped, also it is moldy as could be on inside, you can see mold on windows.

 

[iowafan]

disney should restore the plane and fly it around to all the parks as a promo tool,come to think about it we leave for wdw in 67 days mmmmm!

 

[FamilyMan]

If the doors are welded shut, how do they move it? LOL

 

[Frank Stallone]

interior

A few of you inquired about seeing the interior of "The Mouse":

One of the first things I asked my trainer when I saw the plane backstage (it's been sitting out on it's own backstage for a few months) was if the interior was kept up. She was pretty sure that only the exterior is kept up, and that the inside would have to be essentially fully renevated in order to make it viewable for guests.

So, in short, even if you were allowed to see the inside of the plane, it wouldn't really be the true interior, just a recreation.

 

[MOUSESURPLUS]

moving plane

it was moved by crane

 

[waltdisny]

For those who might be interested, here's a link to what 234MM looked like in her final working days:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/212439/M
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/157187/L/

A more recent shot. Notice the tail stand on the left under the body (fuselage), this indicates that the engines have been removed, and the stand is required to keep her balanced:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/255889/M/

Not 234MM, but this is what the flight deck of the G-I typically looks like, the hole in the panel is where the weather radar has been removed for resale.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/227714/M

 

[waltdisny]

disney should restore the plane and fly it around to all the parks as a promo tool,come to think about it we leave for wdw in 67 days mmmmm!

It would be nice, but it would cost way too much money, especially since they've already stripped it of any parts that could be resold, as seems to be the case. We're talking tens of millions here, far more than the plane is worth on the open market, her historical value not withstanding.

IMHO, it would have been better for Disney to have loaned, or outright donated the plane to a museum that could have properly preserved her, possibly even kept her in flyable condition. As it is, they've gutted her for as much cash as possible, and consigned her to a slow death rusting and baking in the harsh Florida environment (harsh from an airplanes point of view that is). I hate to see this happen to any airplane, let alone a historic bird like 234MM.

 

[will_hsv]

Mickey One's Registration

http://162.58.35.241/acdatabase/NNumSQL.asp?NNumbertxt=234MM

Looks like it was still flying in 1988.

http://airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=N234MM&distinct_entry=true

 

[LSUxStitch]

Does anyone know what the higher up CEO's and stuff fly around in now? is it disney related looking, or just a regular plane?

 

[WDWTestDummy]

Does anyone know what the higher up CEO's and stuff fly around in now? is it disney related looking, or just a regular plane?

knowning eisner, its probably a disney avdertising plane, most likely a lear jet.

 

[waltdisny]

knowning eisner, its probably a disney avdertising plane, most likely a lear jet.

Lear's are passe among the well to do. I believe Disney has a Gulfstream G-IV, painted in similar colors to 234MM. I don't believe it has the obvious Disney markings on it, due to security concerns. I'll see if I can find a picture.....