Did people know how significant Walt was when he was alive?

[DJ Disney Kid]

While that was one of the pictures that I have seen that was published after the death of Walt Disney, there is another that I'm looking for that I cannot seem to find. Again, it is Mickey's head that is in the shape of a globe with a tear coming from his eye. It is one of the most powerful sketches I've seen. It makes me sad each time I view it..

MM

This is what your looking for, it was published right after Walts death.

 

[Michigan]

I remember being a child and my Mom would pop Jiffy Pop and we would watch the Wonderful World of Disney.

 

[Kissfan4life]

It's funny that this thread is up. I have been doing a lot of reading on Walt recently. Walt's contribution to the American Society will be measured decades from now. He was way ahead on a lot of subjects aside from cartoons. If he would have lived longer it would have been amazing to see what Epcot would have been it he could have made it the city of the fututre he had planned.

He is without a doubt one of my hereos.

 

[Robo]

It's funny that this thread is up. I have been doing a lot of reading on Walt recently. Walt's contribution to the American Society will be measured decades from now. He was way ahead on a lot of subjects aside from cartoons. If he would have lived longer it would have been amazing to see what Epcot would have been it he could have made it the city of the fututre he had planned.

He is without a doubt one of my hereos.

to posting on the DISboards, Kissfan4life!!

 

[brenda1966]

Walt died shortly before I was born. It always made me sad to think he was no longer around by the time I was born. He was an interesting man. I've read the bio recommended above and agree it is a good read.

I've always loved the "Mickey Mouse Self Portrait" poster that has Mickey painting a picture of Walt. I have one framed and on my rec room wall.

 

[Disneenut]

Anybody ever wonder what WDW or the Disney company would be like if Walt was still alive today? (put his actual age beside cause he would be 106 years old today )

I just wonder how things would be differ around WDW? It would defiantly be amazing...

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

I think if Walt was still around it would be a tottally different place. I don't think Disneyworld as we know it would be anything similar to what it is today. I think Walt would have built the MK but stopped with theme parks after that. He seemed to always want new challenges. I think Epcot would have been very close to what Walt envisioned it to be and I don't think we would have MGM or AK. I think its fate that Walt was taken from us at that pivotal moment and that the project was left to others who would eventually turn it into what it is today.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I was almost a year old when Walt died, but I loved him even so. I grew up watching reruns of the original Mickey Mouse Club every day after school. Every Sunday night it was a ritual in our house to watch The Wonderful World of Disney. I loved to see Tinkerbell wave her wand and see Walt talk. I was 11 yo before I got to visit WDW. My dad had moved to Florida and when we visited for the first time, he thought it was absolutely the most important thing that he take me to Disney World. I loved it as much as he did. Today Walt is one of my two biggest heroes(the other being John Lennon). I have no doubt that Walt was loved in life as much as he is now. This is a different world in many ways because of him. I truly believe that.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Anybody ever wonder what WDW or the Disney company would be like if Walt was still alive today? (put his actual age beside cause he would be 106 years old today )

I just wonder how things would be differ around WDW? It would defiantly be amazing...

As I was reading this thread that exact thought came to my mind. I have often thought of this and have posted this sentiment on other threads.

Would WDW be better? WDW is good now but based on Walt's life it is hard to deny or imagine that it wouldn't be even better!

 

[goofyernmost]

I think if Walt was still around it would be a tottally different place. I don't think Disneyworld as we know it would be anything similar to what it is today. I think Walt would have built the MK but stopped with theme parks after that. He seemed to always want new challenges. I think Epcot would have been very close to what Walt envisioned it to be and I don't think we would have MGM or AK. I think its fate that Walt was taken from us at that pivotal moment and that the project was left to others who would eventually turn it into what it is today.

What a totally interesting viewpoint. I have to agree with you on many points. I'm not sure about the "fate" thing but I do agree that it probably wouldn't be what we see today. From what I have read about Walt Disney, he tended to lose interest in things and move on to new challenges. I believe he did intend to have a copy, to some degree, of Disneyland in Florida but that was only to give tourist a reason to go and the planned community of EPCOT a place to work and earn a living. I don't think that he was thinking at all about theme parks.

In a way, the timing of his death, was probably a good thing for Walt himself. I know, I know that sounds a bit strange but from what I have seen or read about the EPCOT plan it really was, in reality, doomed to failure. It required a too perfect blend of personality's, goals and totalitarian leadership. It would have been novel for a brief period of time but then the newness would wear off and you would have what happened to Celebration, Fl. A potentially good idea that just couldn't work in our free society.

If he had maintained interest in theme parks, I really am not sure what would have resulted. Walt was an advocate of change. If something got stale he would want to change it. That isn't something that settles well with Disney purist but that is the way he was. Always changing always improving, never standing still. He did insist on perfection so that might be a bit different when the cleanliness factor was looked at or the state of repair.

When he could call the shots 100% he surely did and didn't back down to often when outside pressure was applied. But back down he did, a number of times, in order to secure financing for his many projects. He wouldn't compromise quality but he did need to occasionally compromise content in order to keep backers happy. That is why the Florida project meant so much to him... by that time he had accumulated enough wealth to be in complete control or so he thought. Due to the fact that corporate sponsorship was required to make this dream a reality he undoubtedly would have had to compromise something along the way.

Sorry for my verbal diarrhea, I do go on sometimes.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Let's face it, as mentioned, there won't be another.
2) He had his good points and bad points.
3) But, mostly good points.

4) I have read a lot about his management style and the culture he built.
5) I even went to "The Disney Way" classes at The Disney Institute.
6) I credit a lot of our company's successes to those principles.
7) To this day, I give my new managers a copy of "The Disney Way".


NOTE: I wish the current crop of WDW and Disney managers would learn and apply Walt's principles. I had a conversation with a very senior executive, as kind of a "President to President" conversation. At one point, he took off his Disney badge and laid it upside down on the table as a sign of off-the-record time. He lamented how the crop of "young managers" don't know about Walt's methods, and how he is unable to stop the lack of Walt culture. He felt that this was his single failure at WDW. What a shame.

 

[Kissfan4life]

Is this book available for purchase anywhere? I am in management at Mckee Foods Corporation and am trying to impart some of the principles of Disney at work. I would love to see the actual resource. Any help you could give I would greatly appreciate.

Back on subject. This may sound geeky but I stand at the statue of Walt and Mickey every time we go to MK and stare in awe. I would have loved to have toured Disneyland with Walt. I recently purchased Inside the Dream. The picture of Walt walking through the castle with no one in the park is now one of my all time favorite images of him.

 

[karylrocks]

I was just thinking the other day about how different things would be if there had never been Walt Disney. Other than the fact that we would all have to get a life , he has had such a huge affect on the culture, not only here in the U.S. but in other countries as well. How many people alive today have experienced Disney in some way, even if just watching a movie? It would be a different world.

 

[Happyflower]

I know that Walt helped my husband's grandfather design our city's "story land zoo" My husband remember being told on how much imagination Walt really had, and how much he liked doing things for children. ;-)

 

[Microcell]

The last time we went to Marcelline, MO, where he spent "The most important years" of his life as he always said (and the town with the original Main Street what he patterned Main Street USA after), we talked with one of his good friends there in the Walt Disney Museum, and she said there was not a single child he wouldn't stop to talk to when he came to town, and all the towns children would just follow him around asking him questions and asking for autographs! It was a big event when he came to town, especially for the kids.

She said he drew a bigger crowd than when Harry Truman came through on his way to Independence! Now there is another guy who always stopped to talk to people when he went for walks around his home town- I guess it is that midwestern charm!

 

[chessie]

I think Epcot would have been very close to what Walt envisioned it to be and I don't think we would have MGM or AK. QUOTE]




I am not sure about MGM but I am sure AK would exist. Walt was very much into animal conservation. I loved watching the animal documentaries he did.

 

[flyinglizard]

I grew up with Disney movies, the original Mickey Mouse Club, Fess Parker and of course, watching Uncle Walt talk about his latest project- Disneyland. When Michael Eisner tried to replace Walt in the introductions in the last Disney shows, I was offended. As we saw, he could not come close to replacing Walt Disney, but ME did have one thing Walt never had... greed! Walt always put the profits back into the company.

Over the years I've enjoyed hearing many of Walts employees talk about what it was like to work with Walt. He really had a knack for drawing out the best from his people, and inspiring them to give their best. I have never heard any of them say anything genuinely negative about the man, or the employer.

Personally, I consider Walt Disney the greatest man of the last century. Who gave more happiness to so many people in the entire world? Did anyone else give families the chance to share excitement and adventure together?

No, we'll never see "his like" again... but aren't we all glad that we did?

 

[DanMedix]

I love to see, hear, and experience all that Walt had a hand in. I wish others (especially folks my age and younger) would adhere to his teachings, and live by his example.

How can we help to instill this into our youth.....and adults, for that matter? These days, we see all around us that we so desperately need someone like Walt to inspire us, motivate us, and enable us to be much better than we are. I wish Mr. Disney would have given us the secret to doing so. Perhaps he did, though......

 

[ChrisFL]

In a way, the timing of his death, was probably a good thing for Walt himself. I know, I know that sounds a bit strange but from what I have seen or read about the EPCOT plan it really was, in reality, doomed to failure. It required a too perfect blend of personality's, goals and totalitarian leadership. It would have been novel for a brief period of time but then the newness would wear off and you would have what happened to Celebration, Fl. A potentially good idea that just couldn't work in our free society.

I disagree, from all of the information i've gathered from the original EPCOT plan, it doesn't differ too greatly from planned communities we have today, with rules for its residents (homeowners association types, although I do know those can be horribly abused as well)

I do know he made some remarks at certain times about how life would be like and people took those and ran with the idea of "totalitarian" rule. I mean people on these boards had thought he was crazy for the idea of a "weather controlled" downtown district. I know it's no different than what we'd consider to be a shopping mall type building today...nothing more.

 

[Hound 109]

I guess this is for people on the board who were alive during Walts time.

Was he looked at as some crazy guy with these nutty theme park ideas?

Or was he viewed as a man of real significance in our culture?

I mean, now we look and say that he gave us so much, the happiest place on earth, but Im curious if people knew what kind of legend in history he would become?

I just wanted to add to the great things that have been said. As a kid who grew up in the late 50s & 60s in SoCal....Uncle Walt was a God.

His TV show was THE kid show (both the MM Club everyday & Sunday night with the Wonderful World of Disney - & every week he introduced the show). & if you consider the world at that time:

- There were only 3 channels at that time. Disney was THE family show for many....no cable, no DVDs, no internet.

- Disneyland was THE amusement park in the world. Nothing was remotely close. It was magical AND state of the art.

- Every day we were reminded of the threat of communism (& later Vietnam was beamed in our home every night). Disney shows & Disneyland were our happy place.

Uncle Walt wasn't perceived as a nutty dude like Willy Wonka by kids of the 50s & 60s. He was like a brilliant favorite uncle who was more important to us & cooler than any president & he was d*mn near as loved & was respected as our dad.

hound -