Disney Imagineers Aim to Create Magical Experience With ‘Walt Disney — A Magical Life’

Next year Disneyland will be celebrating its 70th anniversary. While not a lot has been revealed about the celebration for this milestone, one big thing was shared at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. During Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, it was announced that Walt Disney would be coming to Disneyland for the 70th anniversary in Audio-Animatronic form. This figure of Walt Disney will be the most advanced Audio-Animatronic that Walt Disney Imagineering has ever created.

The show will be called Walt Disney – A Magical Life. It will be in the Opera House and share a revolving stage with Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. This is fitting as it will be the culmination of technology that was originally created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair with Abraham Lincoln. The Opera House theater will transform into Walt’s studio office and bring together the past, present, and future of Disney storytelling.

“Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that’s been whispered in the hallowed halls of Imagineering for years – decades, even,” said D’Amaro at Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase. “We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we’re finally ready.”

Tom Fitzgerald, Senior Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, shared that “so much of Walt’s philosophy is timeless, and as valid today as it was in his lifetime.”

“We wanted the show and story to appeal to all ages, and while some of our younger audience may not know as much about Walt Disney, we felt his story could be inspirational to them,” Fitzgerald said. “Follow your dreams, turn setbacks into success, never give up, and give the world your very best.”

This was no easy task for Walt Disney Imagineering. Walt Disney is an iconic and well known figure in history and also in pop culture. He is a beloved figure both in the Disney community and beyond. Getting Walt Disney right for this was a crucial part of this project. Fitzgerald shared Imagineers went to great lengths to get Walt Disney just right. This meant capturing the essence of Walt Disney to share with the visitors to the Opera House at Disneyland.

“We’ve created so many Audio-Animatronics figures over the years from pirates to presidents, but to create a figure of Walt Disney is an honor and a challenge,” he said. “How can we create a lifelike impression of Walt Disney, with the nuances that made him unique in person.  The twinkle in the eye, his expressive face — those eyebrows — and the way he used his hands to punctuate his thoughts and ideas?”

He also added that Imagineers “worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.”

“We scoured through his speeches and documents to find the words that would bring him to life in a way that would feel as if we dropped into his office for a chat,” Fitzgerald said. “Our hope is that the end result will give guests the best sense of Walt and his engaging and warm personality.”

Brian Orr, Show Systems Studio Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering, is responsible for Audio-Animatronics design and production for all Disney parks and experiences. Orr added that “fans of Walt Disney, in some form or fashion, have the idea of Walt iconically in their head.”

“Our job is to make sure Walt feels believable and connects with the audience, as he’s done with so many people across the world,” he said.

Designing a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure both highlights Disney’s heritage and its innovative future. Audio-Animatronics “are not only quintessential Disney technology, but also core to our Disney DNA,” Orr said.

“As Walt said, ‘we keep moving forward,’ and this show is a clear illustration of that,” Fitzgerald added. “The Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt will incorporate features and innovations that have never been achieved before. It will be the most lifelike human figure we have ever created. This project has been a labor of love for the team of Imagineers — one which we hope Walt would be proud of.”

At this point, an opening day for Walt Disney – A Magical Life has not been announced.