Q : In 2012, we took the Magic Behind Our Steam Trains tour. At the end, the guide did a flip chart talk and on one of the charts was “Greenfield Village” in Dearborn, Michigan. My question is: What was so important about “Greenfield Village” that it deserved to be mentioned? Note that “Greenfield Village” does have a steam train running around the park, a hub and spoke design, and a steamboat going around an island.
Nicholas, Wyandotte, Michigan
A: Walt Disney had visited Greenfield Village, and the Henry Ford Museum, and it seems obvious that he remembered things he had seen there when designing his own park—Disneyland.
Q : The recent Walt Disney biography on American Experience stated that Walt was the one who decided to change the name of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio to the Walt Disney Studio, however the D23 site states that it was Roy’s idea (and I believe Bob Thomas also mentions it being Roy’s idea in Walt Disney: An American Original). Is there anything out there that would suggest Walt was behind the change instead of Roy? I’m curious to know what information PBS may have been referencing. What evidence do we have that Roy was the one that suggested the change?
Mark, Cypress, California
A: Some biographical sources have suggested that it was Walt’s idea, but in 1970 or 1971, I personally asked Roy O. Disney about the name change, when visiting with him in his office. Roy told me that it was his idea. He felt that since Walt was the creative one, his name should be on the company, and also the public could better identify with a single individual.
Q : Did Walt have a favorite place to go if he was feeling stressed or distracted?
Camille, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
A: Walt often referred to Walt Disney Imagineering (then WED Enterprises) as his “laughing place.” There he could take a respite from his duties as head of a major company and go watch the Imagineers at work imagining fantastic things that could be added to Disneyland. When he had his backyard miniature railroad, he also found that he could relax spending time working with it.
Q : What personal or professional relationship, if any, did Walt Disney have with Ronald Reagan? Although going on to become President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was former Hollywood actor and soon-to-be governor of California at the time of Walt’s passing. Did Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan’s various careers or personal lives ever coincide beyond the grand opening ceremony of Disneyland in 1955?
Brock, Dartmouth, Massachusetts
A: Then California governor-elect Reagan said in a December 15, 1966, radio interview that though he had never made a picture with Disney, he had known Walt as a “friend”—sounding very distraught over the news of Walt’s passing. Based on personal correspondence between them, it’s clear that Reagan had much respect for Walt, and valued his help at the beginning of his political career, when Walt had supported him. Reagan was also an early proponent of issuing the Walt Disney commemorative stamp in 1968—saying that because of Walt “the world is a richer, better, place.”