Hong Kong Disneyland unveiled today the Dream Makers statue. The statue is now at its new home in the courtyard behind the Castle of Magical Dreams, appropriately near the carousel. This is reminiscent of Walt Disney sitting by a merry-go-round watching his daughters, which he attributed as where the dream for Disneyland was born. The arrival of this statue comes as The Walt Disney Company celebrates its 100th anniversary on October 16th. Hong Kong Disneyland is also celebrating 18 years of making magic as well.
The Origins of the Dream Makers Statue
The statue was originally designed with clay by Walt Disney Imagineering sculptors Patrick Simmons (Walt) and Erma Yazzie (Mickey) before being sculpted in full-size from foam by Walt Disney Imagineering Dimensional Designer Scott Goddard. This continues a long legacy of statues coming to Disney Parks with both Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. This began with the Partners Statue at Disneyland, which was revealed to the world on November 18, 1993 (Mickey Mouse’s birthday). This statue was created by Blaine Gibson.
Gibson said of the Partners Statue saying, “I chose to depict Walt as he was in 1954. I think that was when [he] was in his prime. It was tough trying to match the media image of Walt Disney, the one the public knows, to the real Walt, the one we knew. I think Walt is admiring the park and saying to Mickey, ‘Look what we’ve accomplished together,’ because truly they were very much a team through it all. ‘Look at all the happy people who have come to visit us today.’”
More Walt Disney Statues
Since 1993, more statues of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse have made their debut in Disney Parks around the globe. This includes copies of the Partners Statue. It arrived at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in 1995, Tokyo Disneyland in 1998, the Walt Disney Studios lot in 2001, and Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Paris in 2002. The Storytellers Statue of Walt and Mickey Mouse, designed by Rick Terry and Ray Spencer, arrived at Disney California Adventure in 2012. It shows Walt and Mickey arriving in Los Angeles in 1923 with a suitcase and a dream. Copies of this statue have been placed at Tokyo DisneySea in 2013 and then Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. Another statue of Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse, called Sharing the Magic, debuted at Magic Kingdom in 1999. It was also sculpted by Blaine Gibson.
Looking Forward
These aren’t the only statues of Walt Disney, however. Soon a new statues of Walt Disney will be found at EPCOT. The statue, Walt the Dreamer, will be found at Dreamers Point in EPCOT before the end of the year. This statue will not include Mickey Mouse, like the others. Last year, the statue was on display at the D23 Expo. The sculpture was created by Imagineer and master sculptor Scott Goddard. I video was shared by Disney showing him putting the final details on a clay model.
The Dream Makers statue isn’t the only exciting new thing arriving at Hong Kong Disneyland. In November, it will welcome guests to World of Frozen with new attractions, stores, restaurants, and experiences that are all inspired by the Frozen franchise. This will allow guests to experience Summer Snow Day with Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and other friends from Arendelle.
What do you think of the Dream Makers statue? Would you like to see it in person? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
