In this D23-exclusive short film, which was created for Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, we explore Ronald Reagan’s storied connection with Disney.
On July 17, 1955, Ronald Reagan was one of the co-hosts of ABC-TV’s live coverage of the opening of Disneyland, and as Governor of California, starting a lifelong association between the future president and Disney parks. After leaving the Oval Office, one of his first public events was a return to Disneyland, where he officiated at the park’s January 1990 35th-anniversary celebration, proclaiming it “one of America’s national treasures.”
“They say that one man of vision can change the world. Well, maybe Walt Disney didn’t alter the globe, but he did make one small section of it a happier, friendlier, and more civilized place. And while it is said that faith can move mountains, Walt never tried. Instead, he built his own mountains, giving our children new summits, in what would become a small world of friendship and understanding.”
President Ronald Wilson Reagan spoke these moving words during his visit to Disneyland in 1990 as part of the 35th anniversary celebration of the park he had helped introduce to the American public in 1955. As a former president, Reagan instinctively understood Walt’s unique gifts—his homespun values, his confidence, his inspirational leadership, his celebration of the best of American virtues and values. These were the very qualities that encouraged presidents of the United States to correspond with Walt over the course of more than two decades, beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and continuing with Truman, Eisenhower, and then-vice president Nixon.