Andreas Deja, Richard Sherman, and Eric Goldberg

Fans and Luminaries Pay Tribute to Walt Disney

By Jeffrey Epstein Yesterday, December 15, to honor the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s passing, “Memory Boards” were set up on the Walt Disney Studios lot and at Disney parks around the world for fans to pay tribute to the man and his enduring legacy. The event was the culmination of “Walt Week,” during which …

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Richard Sherman Performs Classics in Walt Disney’s Office Suite

(From left to right: Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, Disney Legend Richard Sherman and wife Elizabeth Sherman, Disney Legend Karen Dotrice,Disney and Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation President Ed Catmull, Disney Legend Dick Van Dyke and wife Arlene Van Dyke, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production President Sean Bailey, …

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One Man's Dream

Reliving One Man’s Dream in this Walt Disney World Attraction

by Greg Ehrbar One sunny day back in high school, just as your humble author finished presenting his report about Walt Disney, a classmate offered this comment: “That was so interesting! I didn’t even know Walt Disney was a real guy.” Hopefully, this is an isolated case. Nonetheless, it’s good to know that Disney’s Hollywood …

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Disney family home in Chicago

Restoring History: Walt Disney’s Birthplace

By Nicole Nalty Earlier this year, D23 took a closer look at the efforts to restore the Disney Family home in Chicago. Roy Oliver, Walter Elias, and Ruth Disney were born (in 1893, 1901, and 1903, respectively) in this very special house before the family moved to Marceline, Missouri in 1906. D23 Gold Members were …

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D23 Member gift item. Mickey Mouse sketch

From the Office of Walt Disney: A Man, A Mouse, and A Mentor

Walt Disney’s hand-drawn greeting to his first mentor is reproduced as one of the 23 treasures “From The Office of Walt Disney” for the 2016 D23 Gold Member Gift. By Stacia Martin Walt Disney was proud to hail from America’s heartland. Even as achievement and fame made him a citizen of the world, he never …

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Walt Disney and Roald Dahl

The Disney/Dahl Connection

By Greg Ehrbar More than a decade before Walt Disney welcomed guests into his land of fantasy and two decades before author Roald Dahl penned his excursion into The BFG’s cave and Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, these two creative legends crossed paths in 1942 when The Walt Disney Studios optioned Dahl’s first book, The Gremlins, …

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Favorite Memories from Walt and Lillian’s 30th Anniversary Party

By Steven Vagnini In July 1955, construction on a 160-acre site in Anaheim was picking up at a hurried pace. Disneyland would soon premiere with a grand invitational preview, as national attention was drawn to this first-of-its-kind amusement enterprise. Yet amid the oversight and coordination of tireless designers, carpenters, painters, and landscapers, a restless Walt …

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Hats Off to Walt Disney

Walt wore a variety of hats over the years. Whether looking casual or adventurous, fun or formal, he was always able to pull off the look with style. So, if you’re short on ideas for which kind of hat to wear, take some inspiration from uncle Walt and try out a new stylish look.

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Walt Disney’s Office Suite Restored As Permanent Exhibit Space

(Left to right) Walt Disney’s granddaughters, Michelle Lund, Jennifer Goff and Joanna Miller with Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger at the dedication of Walt Disney’s newly restored office suite on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank. Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger joined Disney Legends, members of the Disney family, and other Disney …

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Walt Disney Christmas card

An Early Christmas Card from Walt to his Mother

Although young Walter Elias Disney couldn’t afford to purchase elaborate Christmas gifts for his family, the aspiring artist was able to share an even more special and personal holiday gift: his own artwork. This Christmas drawing to Flora Disney, featuring young Walter’s style and humor, became a piece she treasured and kept safely in the …

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Walt Disney with a Christmas tree

Five Moments from Walt’s Most Memorable Christmas

Walt Disney had many memorable Christmases—from the year he gave his wife, Lillian, a Springer Spaniel in a hatbox, to the year he surprised his daughters, Diane and Sharon, with a beautiful backyard playhouse. But when asked in 1957 of his most memorable Christmas, Walt thought back to his days as a paperboy, when he …

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photo of Walt and Lillian Disney cutting dedication ribbon at Disneyland

Disney’s Unforgettable Ribbon Cuttings

Over the years, any number of rides, shows, and celebrations have kicked off their debuts with a pair of oversized scissors and the participation of Disney characters and celebrities—or even Walt himself!

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To See or Not to See?

The animal-loving host of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color introduced “Atta Girl, Kelly,” a three-part episode from March 1967, with the help of a Seeing Eye Dog.

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Walt on postage stamp

A First-Class Honor

There have been a whole series of Disney U.S. postage stamps recently, but the earliest Disney stamp was the commemorative issue honoring Walt himself in September 1968, less than two years after the great showman’s passing.

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South American Artists Shine in Scrapbook from Walt Disney’s Offices

During the 1941 “Good Neighbor” trip Walt and his artists took to South America, the clan known as “El Grupo” received many a gift from the enchanted people they studied and learned from—Walt especially. One of the gifts Walt received during the trip was a scrapbook filled with original art from some of South America’s then-premier artists.

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Walt Disney on Disneyland Railroad

Walt Through the Years

During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana.

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Laugh-O-grams

The Fairy Tales Walt Disney Produced in Kansas City

Before the Alice Comedies, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney produced one-minute shorts, known as the Newman Laugh-O-grams, for the local Newman cinema chain in Kansas City—a series of six modernized fairy-tale shorts, known as the Laugh-O-grams.

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