On Sunday morning during this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, we attended a presentation entitled “Walt’s Dream Factory: A Cinemagical History of the Disney Studios,” which covered the fascinating history of the famous Disney lot in Burbank. Below you can find my recap of this extremely informative panel.
Our host for this presentation on the Hyperion Stage was Disney historian Jim Fanning, and he started off by showing some interesting old documents related to the Disney Studios lot.
Then we saw a really fun old tour film shot on the Burbank Disney lot during Walt’s reign there, along with older photos of Walt’s previous studios predating the Burbank lot.
The old Mickey Mouse comic strip depicted Mickey as an actor going to work at the Disney Studios, and the Valley Progress magazine welcomed Disney Studios when it moved to Burbank.
Fanning showed lots of photos taken during the design and building stages of the Disney Studios lot.
Walt Disney looks over his new dream factory.
The “Walt Disney Productions” logo adorns a truck on the lot, and Walt lines up for food with his employees at the commissary.
The first soundstage on the lot was built for the live-action scenes in Fantasia. We saw a clip from The Reluctant Dragon shot on the Disney Studios lot.
The famous signpost was created for The Reluctant Dragon, and it is still around today. The Sherman Brothers had Stage A, where much of their Disney music was recorded, renamed after them. And the enormous Stage 4 was constructed for production of Darby O’Gill and the Little People.
Buildings around the lot have been used as exterior locations in a number of movies and TV shows over the decades.
The now-demolished backlot sections served as the set for Zorro. A parking structure named after the hero now stands in that area.
More films being shot on the old Disney backlot.
The 1977 Pete’s Dragon was also shot in Burbank, believe it or not.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) also shot on the Disney backlot. Stage 1 was dedicated to Annette Funicello.
Roy E. Disney and Frank G. Wells also had buildings dedicated to them on the lot.
Walt’s office on the lot has been fully restored by the Walt Disney Company Archives. The panel concluded with a great archival short documentary about how much of the Disneyland theme park was actually constructed at the Burbank Disney lot and then transported down to Anaheim. Super interesting!
Walt Disney thanks you for visiting his studio. For much more coverage from D23 2024, be sure to check right back here at Laughing Place.
