Latest news with #Walt
New York Post
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Disney fans can have a fairytale wedding ceremony at one of these three new venues — before the park even opens
A wedding dream is a wish your heart makes. Disneyland in Anaheim, California, just unveiled three new dreamy venues for Disney fans to say their 'I Do's' at. In honor of Disneyland's 70th celebration — which kicked off with festivities back in May and is continuing through next summer — the happiest place on earth just added three new wedding venues for Disney fans to choose from to tie the knot. There are reportedly 100 different wedding venues across Disney properties — and 13 of them are in Disneyland. The new additions include Magnolia Park Gazebo, which is in New Orleans Square right in front of the French restaurant, Tiana's Palace. This space can accommodate up to 30 guests 4 The Magnolia Park Gazebo venue. Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons The second newest wedding venue is the Magnolia Park Terrace, which is near the very popular amusement ride, the Haunted Mansion. Up to 30 guests can also fit in this magical space. 4 The new Magnolia Park Terrace venue. Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons The third option — the most intimate of the three — is the Fantasy Faire Garden, which is steps away from the famous Sleeping Beauty Castle. This space can only fit up to 10 guests 4 The Fantasy Faire Garden venue. Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons And after a couple makes it official at any of these three venues, guests can join the newlyweds on a Disneyland Railroad ride to Main Street, U.S.A., following the ceremony, according to Disney Parks blog. All of these locations — which are now open for ceremonies during pre-park hours — sound fit for a prince and princess. For those eyeing the Magnolia Park Terrace space — keep in mind that the Haunted Mansion ride will be closing August 11 and will reportedly reopen on August 22. Before you fret, the beloved attraction is only temporarily closing to undergo a Halloween makeover. While these wedding venues and Halloween-decorated attractions are bound to bring a smile to Disney fans' faces — something parkgoers aren't too keen on is a new Main Street exhibit. 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' is Disneyland's latest exhibit created to celebrate the life and legacy of Walt Disney — with what some are describing as a creepy 16-minute-long life-size show. Disney fans seem to appreciate paying homage to the franchise's founder — however, they aren't too fond of his appearance. 4 Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary. satur73 – When the news of the exhibit was announced on July 14 on the Disney Parks Instagram page — people ran to the comment section to share their opinions. 'I was SOOO EXCITED for this and now I'm low-key scared.' 'You really had a chance to do something here, and instead you insulted the reason you all have jobs.' 'Once again, this has been the Disney motto as of recent — how much money can we get out of it, and how quickly can we get it done to pump it out. Seems like no effort was put into this to make sure it looked like Walt. Just shameful and embarrassing.'
Business Insider
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
20 facts about Walt Disney that even his biggest fans may not know
Disney was born in 1901 on the second floor of a wooden cottage designed and built by his parents in Chicago. He was the fourth child of Elias Disney, a carpenter, and his wife, Flora. It's widely reported that it cost them $800 to build the house, which was not an insignificant sum as Elias Disney was making a dollar a day. The house still stands today and has been restored to how it looked when the Disney family lived there. Disney was a high-school dropout. Before founding his studio, he worked as an artist for a Kansas City advertising agency. When he returned to the US after serving in the Red Cross in Europe, Disney found work as a cartoonist in a Kansas City advertising agency. His first animation studio went bankrupt in less than a year. In 1920, Disney started his first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram, in Kansas City, Missouri, where he produced animated cartoons based on fairy tales. Shortly after completing the short film "Alice in Cartoonland," in 1923, he filed for bankruptcy and moved to California. Contrary to popular belief, he did not actually design the final version of Mickey Mouse. Even though many think of Walt and Mickey as partners, Walt did not actually create the final design of Mickey Mouse, Disney archivist Dave Smith wrote in "Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered." Walt provided initial sketches and ideas for the famous rodent, but it was Walt Disney Studios animator Ub Iwerks who animated the Mickey we know and love today. Walt reportedly never even drew Mickey unless a fan specifically requested it for an autograph, Smith wrote. But he did voice the iconic character for nearly two decades. In 1929 through the mid-1940s, Walt Disney was actually the voice of Mickey Mouse. The famous mouse has been voiced by several other individuals since. At one time, Disney was the only person allowed to make a cartoon in full Technicolor. In 1932, Disney produced the first-ever full-color Technicolor cartoon, "Flowers and Trees." He had exclusive rights to use the new three-color animation process from then until the end of 1935, Variety reported. All other color cartoons had to be made using the out-of-date two-color process. Disney was laughed at for wanting to create a feature-length animated film. It's hard to imagine a time when animated films were considered a ridiculous concept, but when Walt Disney set out to create the first feature-length cartoon in 1937 — " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" — he was laughed at. The project became known in the industry as "Disney's Folly," per the Sheboygan County Historical Society Museum. But he surprised everyone when "Snow White" premiered to packed houses, and Disney won an honorary Academy Award (and eight Oscar statuettes: one normal-sized and seven dwarf-sized) for the breakthrough project. The tables soon turned — he still holds the record for most Academy Award wins ever. Disney and his studio worked for the United States government during World War II to create propaganda cartoons. He received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson. President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Disney the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. The American Presidency Project reported that President Johnson described Disney as an "artist and impresario, in the course of entertaining an age, he has created an American folklore." Disney created a railroad in his own backyard. In the 1950s, after moving into the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, Disney laid tracks around his property to build a railroad. Named Carolwood Pacific Railroad after the street he lived on, he would even dress up sometimes and give visitors rides on it. His passion for trains found its way into his Disney parks, as Disneyland has been home to its own railroad since opening in 1955. Supposedly, he came up with the idea of Disneyland while watching his daughters ride a merry-go-round. Disney often took his daughters to Griffith Park in Los Angeles. As the story goes, during one of these visits, while he was sitting on a park bench watching his daughters ride the merry-go-round, he thought of creating a large-scale park where families could enjoy multiple attractions in one place. Later, this would be Disneyland. The supposed park bench itself is on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Disney kept his identity secret when buying the land that would become Disney World. By the mid-1960s, with the success of Disneyland reaching exponential heights, rumors swirled that Disney was looking to create an "East Coast Disneyland." While looking for a location for his next theme-park venture, he stumbled upon the ideal swamplands around Orlando. In order to keep his purchase of 27,000 acres a secret, Disney created fake shell companies like Tomahawk Properties and the appropriately named M.T. Lott Co. to keep his identity hidden, the LA Times reported. He based the design of Main Street, USA, on the main street in his hometown in Missouri. Although Main Street, USA, in Disneyland and Disney World is supposed to represent every-town Americana, Walt drew inspiration from his childhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri. He lived there from ages 5 to 9 after the family moved from Chicago. According to the town's official website, Disney was specifically inspired by Kansas Avenue. Disney had a secret apartment above the firehouse on Main Street. One of the worst-kept "secrets" in Disneyland is Walt's apartment, located above the fire department on Main Street. Back then, it was where the Disney family would go to get work done without being disturbed or to entertain high-profile Disneyland guests. Today, guests can pay to tour it. He and his team invented audio-animatronics, and the first was on display at the 1964 World's Fair. If you've ever been to a Disney theme park, you've likely seen many audio-animatronics. These human-like robots can blink, talk, move, and even — as later models demonstrate — interact with guests. The first audio-animatronic was an Abraham Lincoln figurine, created specifically for the 1964 World's Fair, which later became the basis for Disney's Hall of Presidents, The Orange County Register reported. Disney's housekeeper, whom he called the "real-life Mary Poppins," died a multimillionaire thanks to the stocks he gave her every year. Thelma Howard was the Disney family's longtime housekeeper, who became an important part of the family throughout her 30 years of employment, the LA Times reported. Walt often referred to her as the "real-life Mary Poppins." Every year, for the holidays, he would gift her shares of Disney stock. By the time she died in 1994, she had amassed a fortune of millions. At one time, he came close to opening a major ski resort. The success of Disneyland, which opened in 1955, prompted Disney to set his sights on another potential project: a ski resort in Mineral King Valley, near California's Sequoia National Park. The initial plans involved creating a vacation spot centered on a Swiss-style village with six ski areas and the capacity to house 20,000 people, 14 ski lifts, 10 restaurants, two hotels, and more, SF Gate reported. The project almost came to fruition, with Disney even gaining approval from the Forest Service and creating a deal with the then-governor of California, Ronald Reagan. However, after Disney's sudden death in 1966, the company chose to focus on Disney World, which had just opened and cost much more than budgeted. Not all of Mineral King Ski Resort was lost, though. The Country Bear Jamboree, an attraction planned for one of the resort's restaurants, was given a new home in Disney World. Contrary to popular belief, Disney was not cryogenically frozen. Many believe that Disney's body was preserved through cryogenics, frozen in a cryonic chamber containing liquid nitrogen to be later revived. In early 1967, a reporter for a tabloid newspaper, The National Spotlite, claimed he saw the deceased Disney suspended in a cryogenic metal cylinder, PBS reported. From there, the rumor went rampant and eventually became an urban legend. However, there is no truth to it: All available documentation states that Disney was cremated. Also, the first-ever cryogenic freezings actually took place after Disney had passed, according to which produced a point-by-point analysis refuting cryogenics and this legend. This story was originally published in December 2017, and most recently updated on July 23, 2025.
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Disney fans horrified by new exhibit featuring animatronic Walt Disney: ‘I'm low-key scared'
Something's amiss at the House of Mouse. Ahead of Disneyland's 70th anniversary, slated for July 17, the Imagineering team offered fans a long-awaited sneak peek at the new Main Street exhibit — and fanatics are short-circuiting over the news. 3 The 2-minute segment is supposed to give fans an idea of what Disney's in-person presence was like, Josh D'Amaro, the company's experiences chairman, said when the exhibit was first announced. Disney The special exhibit titled 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' celebrates the legacy and life of the franchise's famed founder with a 16-minute-long life-size show. Notably, two of those precious moments see the first-ever audio-animatronic figure of Walt himself in a recreated version of his original office. Though many fans appreciated the company's motive behind the exhibit, they didn't find the figure's appearance faithful, replying under the park's Instagram announcement, one fan called it 'a massive swing and a miss.' Back when the news was initially announced, Joanna Miller, Walt Disney's granddaughter, publicly criticized the franchise for recreating his likeness in the animatronic tribute. 'People are not replaceable. You could never get the casualness of his talking,' wrote Miller in her initial Facebook post. 'I think I started crying,' she told the Los Angeles Times after she saw robo-Disney for the first time. 'It didn't look like him, to me.' After the animatronic's appearance was finally revealed to the public on July 14, many fans seemed to share the sentiment and took to the comments of the franchise's Instagram announcement with their thoughts. 3 The exhibit in the lobby includes a variety of artifacts and heirlooms from the park's early days. Disney 'I was SOOO EXCITED for this and now I'm low-key scared,' read one reply. 'You really had a chance to do something here, and instead you insulted the reason you all have jobs,' ranted one scathing fan. 'Once again, this has been the Disney motto as of recent — how much money can we get out of it, and how quickly can we get it done to pump it out. Seems like no effort was put into this to make sure it looked like Walt. Just shameful and embarrassing.' Though a majority of comments expressed disappointment, others found the tribute moving. 'I'm genuinely not okay in the best way,' gushed one ride-or-die fan, while another said: '10 seconds in and hearing his voice already got me teary.' 3 'Can't wait to see this in person,' a user wrote. Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort Aside from the fact that, in the opinion of Miller and many others, the animatronic didn't resemble the man himself, she also criticized the company's move because she says her grandfather didn't want to be remembered as a robot. Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz rebuffed Miller in an April statement: 'In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that. We know that it's anecdotal and we can't speak to what was told to people in private.'
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Disneyland's new audio-animatronic Walt Disney shocked me. Here's what it's really like.
Walt Disney, is that really you? I know it's not. And yet, inside "Walt Disney – A Magical Life" at Disneyland, I can't help but suspend my disbelief as I watch the first-ever audio-animatronic figure of the Disney mastermind himself discussing his humble origins from a recreation of his office. He gesticulates with his hands. His eyes twinkle. At one point, he even takes a step forward. I sit up in my seat, half-wondering if Disney has really come back from the dead – and, if he ever actually did, what he would think of this. Debuting during Disneyland Resort's 70th anniversary celebration, "Walt Disney – A Magical Life" doesn't open to the public at Main Street Opera House until July 17, the park's exact 70th anniversary. At an exclusive media preview on July 14, however, I got to be a part of the attraction's first real audience. The experience wasn't something I'm going to forget any time soon. Walt Disney's audio-animatronic figure is uncanny, down to his 'corneal bulge' Disney getting immortalized as an audio-animatronic figure is a big deal − and a long time coming. After all, it was Disney who helped pioneer audio-animatronics technology, with figures like the tiki birds of the classic attraction Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and the original President Abraham Lincoln in "The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.' (An updated Lincoln Audio-Animatronics figure anchors the current version, which will eventually play in rotation with "Magical Life," thanks to a revolving turntable on the stage for both attractions.) 'We're at a moment in time, 70 years after Disneyland opened, where we feel that the technology has caught up with our ambition to tell Walt's story and to let the newest generation of Disney fans experience what it felt like to be in a room with Walt,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro told USA TODAY during last year's D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, where the attraction was announced. Seeing Disney in audio-animatronics form is an uncanny experience, one that came about through meticulous design. In a panel as part of the media preview, Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, said imagineers poured over many hours of archival footage to get Disney's audio-animatronic figure just right. They studied everything − his mannerisms, his facial muscles, even his slightest eyebrow movements. "It's the small, gentle movements that I think bring so much heart and humanity," Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, portfolio executive creative producer with Walt Disney Imagineering, added. Imagineers even made sure to do justice to Disney's "corneal bulge," something Fitzgerald described as key to capturing that "glint in the eye." As a result, when the audio-animatronic Disney surveys the crowd, it feels like he's really looking at you. When Kirsten Komoroske, executive director of The Walt Disney Family Museum, saw it for the first time, she said she "felt the impulse to smile back at him." I did, too. The audio-animatronic Walt Disney captures something special Now, is this audio-animatronics figure a perfect copy of Disney? Not quite − though it's close. In my view, however, this question misses the point. I did not go into this show expecting, nor wanting, to see a mere physical replica of Disney. I wanted to experience his essence, to get a sense of how people felt in the legend's presence. This is something "A Magical Life" undoubtedly delivers on. Combine that with all the Disney history that gets recapped in a delightful, approximately 15-minute short film, "One Man's Dream," that screens before the audio-animatronic's unveiling, and you have a must-do for any Disney history nerd who wants to learn more about the park while feeling more connected to Disney's legacy. "What are the things that make Walt Disney Walt?" Fitzgerald asked. "These are the things that we asked our animation team to create." I'm sure the audio-animatronic Lincoln waiting backstage would tip a top hat to that, if he could.
The Verge
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Disney finally brought Walt back to life without cryogenics.
Posted Jul 15, 2025 at 12:20 PM UTC Disney finally brought Walt back to life without cryogenics. The new 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' attraction debuting at Disneyland on Thursday, July 17th, marks the first time that the parks have portrayed the man himself as an audio-animatronic figure. The movements are fairly impressive, but the facial likeness requires a little imagination.
