Thoughts on Walt
Page 25 of 26
Chris Cole
Growing up six miles from Disneyland gives one a unique perspective on Walt Disney. Disney has always been a part of life, and Disneyland in particular is a place to go to "recharge the batteries." A visit to Disneyland is always invigorating, even after twelve hours in the grueling sun.
Working at Disneyland (for one summer) was even more special. Walking across the Park before shift; stopping and taking pictures for people; smelling the flowers; vicariously enjoying the sights for the first time; all of these things leave an indelible memory.
Consulting with Disney Online brought me into contact with many Imagineers. Walt set a high standard which draws the best and the brightest to the company. Everyone there wants to add to the legacy, to enrich others' lives the way Walt has enriched theirs. The expectations are high and self-criticism is often harsh. The desire to participate in the dream drives people to excel.
Walt had a vision of a better future, and his life was a struggle to realize that vision. His early work in animation explored the definition of entertainment, which is a fancy word for having fun. Fun is what people like to do, and reducing this to its essence, so that all people can enjoy life together, was the reason for these early experiments.
Later, Walt wanted to give people the ability to "step through the screen." This is why he started doing theme parks. Making the fun dimensional, so that you could walk through it, touch it, smell it, this made the fun more a part of life. Walt insisted that his parks must appeal to all ages, not just to kids or adults. Even here, Walt was experimenting and learning.
Walt's final goal, a community where all of these lessons were put into practice, was tragically cut short by his early death. In this Walt was like Leonardo da Vinci, who wept on his deathbed about unfinished projects. It's up to the Imagineers of the future to realize Walt's dreams of a community built around fun. We must never give up on that vision.
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As the editor and interviewer for this series, I'd like to say thank you to all the readers for sending in their Thoughts on Walt, and special thanks to all the Disney personalities who participated: And, of course, the most thanks of all goes to the one who really started it all - Walt Disney - without whom there'd be no LaughingPlace, and without whom there'd be far fewer reasons to smile.
Happy Birthday Walt.
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