Walt Disney (in person)

[disneyking]

Hey,
Just thought this would be a sweet thread to start just in case there are any out there who actually saw Walt Disney while he was alive.
I realise this is a stretch seeing as how the man, the legend passed away in 1966. But I'm just curious?

I have a co-worker who saw him back in 1964 (I think) when he, my co-worker, was little. Walt was over-seeing some work on Pirates and just chilling. I'm told that it caused quite the buzz around where my co-worker was.

Any stories or experiences??

[disneyking]

Wow,
I never thought I'd be the only one to start a thread where no one posted any thoughts on it. What did I do wrong????

[Pacha]

I don't think there's anything wrong with your topic. IMO, it's a good one! I get the feeling that most people here have simply never met Walt. I mean, I was only 3 when he died, and at that young of an age, even if I did meet him, I wouldn't have had a clue who he was or how special of a person he was.

Given the chance, I bet there are millions, if not billions, of people who would give up a left n...er, left something, to get a chance to meet Walt!

[disneyking]

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence in the ole' topic. I'm sure you're right. I'm just glad that I'm not alone in my feelings towards the man. I'd have given anything to meet him, or even just see him for a quick second across the park. Ohhhh, if only....

[Cousin Orville]

Most of the people that I knew/know that met Walt are dead or don't use computers. I'm sure you'll get a few good ones. In the meantime, here's a story..

On a trip with his animators Walt sat down to eat with them but no one would order until he ordered. when Walt said Steak, then they all followed in suit. This disgusted him so he blurted a mild expletive and left.

[disneyking]

That's a great story! Thanks for sharing. It only raises my opinion of the man... not wanting to have his animators doing whatever just to please him.
He truly was an original.

[Pacha]

No problem! It's too bad you couldn't have posted this, say, 20 years ago. I bet you would have had an absolute flood of responses!

Hmmmmm...if you don't mind a suggestion...

Maybe create another post asking the question, "If you had a chance to meet Walt Disney, what would you say to him or what question would you ask him?"
AND/OR
maybe ask if anyone has ever met the still living Roy E. Disney?

Personally, I would have loved to have been the proverbial fly on the wall when Walt was designing EPCOT. To be witness to that sort of genius and high-level creative process would have been the chance of a lifetime!

[disneyking]

Thanks for the great suggestion. And I echo your thoughts and feelings.
Do you ever wish that we could get a bunch of us die-hards together and run the place?
I think we'd do a fine job managing the affairs of the company

[DznyVan]

Great topic-

My first trip to DL was in 1967. I was six.

My parents took me then because after hearing about the death of Walt they figured that DL would somehow close down. Glad to see that they were wrong about that.

[SCUBAbe]

I wasn't born yet...I never even watched him on tv...

[BigPigletFan]

Most of the people that I knew/know that met Walt are dead or don't use computers. I'm sure you'll get a few good ones.

Well, my dad worked as a cook at the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland back in 1966. He does use computers, just not on places like MiceChat.

Walt loved the Tahitian Terrace and came in to eat for lunch just about every day. From what my dad said, he was very nice and enjoyed the place a lot. My dad knows what he ate most often too but it's none of them are listed on the menu on Yesterland.com.