Becky Cline, Director of Walt Disney Archives and Photo Library, sat down to give a bit of the back story of how this exhibit came about.
One of the key pieces of how Walt’s Great Adventures was of the over four million photos from the Walt Disney Archives, Becky felt she wanted to share some of Walt’s travels and pull some of her favorite photos that have rarely been seen by the public before.
UP IN THE AIR –– A dapper Walt Disney arrives at Le Bourget airport, near Paris, on June 25, 1935. This photo, along with additional archival images, props, and models, is a part of “Walt’s Great Adventures,” an exhibit showcasing Walt Disney’s travels and some of his most memorable projects, curated by the Walt Disney Archives exclusively for D23 Destination D: Amazing Adventures. (Disney)
As part of the Destination D Event, the Up In The Air photo and a photo of Walt on the Jungle Cruise are exclusively available for purchase, but other photos are available to purchase here.
The exhibit, while having rare photos on display, also includes a few true pieces of Disney History. The most recognizable for me had to be the actual film camera Walt was seen with during many of his trips. As Becky shared with us this camera also played a key role in the making of Salads Amigos, due to the fact that as they were finishing up the film they realized they didn’t have enough pieces to make a full feature length film so they added in footage that Walt had shot with that camera from his 1941 trip to Mexico to complete the film.
The other piece that really stood out to me was the gaucho doll that had been given to Walt during that trip to Mexico. This doll was hand made as a representation of Walt, and I can remember seeing pictures of it through the years from during those trips. Seeing it in person was almost as amazing as how it was found after years of simple thought to be gone. The doll, as Becky pointed out, was actually found in 2007 when the prop department of the Walt Disney Studios was being dismantled and in the back in the “toy department” it was just sitting there among the toys and only a true Disney historian would have been able to identify it and it was brought into the archives.
The exhibit also has pieces on display not only from some of Walt’s other Great Adventures, but also some unique pieces that tied to Walt’s Private plane the Gulfstream 1.
Even though the D23 Destination D event this weekend is sold out, Becky did promise us the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at next year’s D23 Expo will be a MUST SEE so be sure to get your tickets now so you can have your own Great Adventure!