There were so many amazing moments, panels, and presentations throughout D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Some of these were at the Anaheim Convention Center, and some were at the Honda Center. One of the highlights was a magical look at the continued legacy of inspiration of Walt Disney. This came 125 years after Walt Disney was born and inspired the name.
Along with the speakers, this panel included Phat Cat Swinger. This little big band brought fantastic energy to this presentation. They performed multiple times throughout the presentation, acting very much like a house band that also was a headliner. It really added a lovely balance to the stories that were shared throughout the show.
At its core, Walt Disney: 125 Years of Inspiration was a fun look at Walt Disney through the lens of how he inspired people. This ranged from family to co-workers to the whole world. During the panel, Becky Cline, director, Walt Disney Archives, brought out the first guest of the afternoon: Walt Disney’s granddaughter, Joanna Miller. They spoke about Walt Disney the grandfather and family man.
Miller shared how her grandfather was a loving and warm presence in her life. She said, “He had a very childlike sense of wonder himself, that he never really lost. It was imagination and his sense of wondering, curiosity, and I think he was very child-like himself in his soul.” She also shared about adventures at Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studio as a child. “He would go to his office and let us run around. So my brother Chris and my sister Tammy and I would kind of be free walking around—running around the old Zorro set… [later], the stage doors were not locked. We could walk right in—and Mary Poppins was happening, and that was so much fun to play on. There was a little incident once that no one ever knew about, where we accidentally knocked [over] a carousel horse. We never heard anything about it,” she shared as the crowd laughed at the thought of this moment. It was so relatable relationally while being completely unrelatable in regard to the location and specifics.
When she moved on to going to Disneyland with her grandpa, she said, “He’d stop and talk to people and take photos and sign autographs. And then after a while, he would say, ‘You know, I’ve got the grandkids with me today and we just have things to do’. But he would sign a bunch of his office pads, these pre-signed autographs that he’d keep in his pocket. So he didn’t have to leave too many people without something. When you see him smiling in all these photos, I really feel like he felt the appreciation for what he’d done. So, even though he was gone so soon, I know that he knew he made a connection with people.”
Miller said, “I just get moved every day with how he is so present in the world because of people that they keep him in their life. He touched your lives, even though you might not have been born when he was in the world… thank you so much keeping him present.”
The main host for the panel was Bret Iwan, the voice of Mickey Mouse (yes, he did the voice a couple of times). Later in the show, he interviewed Disney Legends Bob Gurr and Floyd Norman, and iconic former Imagineer Tania Norris about their interactions with Walt and how he inspired them. When asked about how Walt inspired their careers, Normal said, “It was very simple. He never gave orders and told people what to do. He’d walk around in the Studio, or any place, and he’d walk up to me or anyone and say, ‘Hey Floyd, what do you think about this? Do you think something like that would work?’ And then he’d go down the hall and talk to somebody else. ‘You know, we’ve got a crazy thing we’re thinking of…’ And then people would start talking. He was going around planting seeds, finding out by your reaction if he was crazy or not, thinking maybe this could work—if it was crazy, maybe he’d stop asking… and then pretty soon a few days later, we were talking in the halls: ‘You know, Walt asked the craziest question’ ‘Well he asked me too!’ And then pretty soon, a few days later, Walt’s going to have a small meeting… That was an entirely different [style].”
Norris shared her perspective saying, “First of all, he was one of the kindest, most considerate bosses that you could have. He never said no to anything I asked, which is quite a thing. But also, he had a way of making me particularly very comfortable. I was a young woman from Scotland, with my training in London, and then arriving in America. A year later, I’m the interior designer for all these marvelous things that are going on in Disneyland, particularly in New Orleans Square. But his attention to detail, and thinking things through, and allowing you to express your ideas—he may not have agreed with all of them all the time, but he allowed you the freedom of thinking. And this to me, I think in any of us, is really something that is exceptional.”
“Walt would be the first person to walk up to you and find out what your name is,” Gurr explained, “and remind you, ‘Well, don’t forget—my name is Walt.’ And this would develop a natural way of talking [to him]… and he used ordinary language. There was no ‘highfalutin’ or anything about him. And he never, never talked down to people, ever. I personally watched him talk to the Vice President of the United States in the same tone of voice as he talked to the guard there on the Studio lot.”
He continued, “There was a genuineness about [Walt] and I think young people today, they appreciate when the truth is told to them. And somehow you look back at everything Walt talked about or designed or wanted to see done–there’s a genuineness that comes from the heart more than it comes from the brain. And after a while, I would see it everywhere. We would do anything for him on any of these projects, because somehow, we just automatically loved him,” Gurr emotionally added.
The panel wrapped up with a performance of There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow that really was perfect. The full performance can be seen here:
What do you think of Walt Disney: 125 Years of Inspiration? Did you attend this presentation? If so, what was your favorite part? If not, what do you like most from the video? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
