Walt Disney’s Vision of Tomorrowland
During my recent Disney press trip to San Francisco, I was able to tour the Walt Disney Family Museum. The animation, innovation and inspiration comes to life as you walk through the rooms of the museum. Take a walk with me through the Walt Disney Family Museum and learn more about Walt Disney’s vision of Tomorrowland, the next Disney film to hit theaters May 22, 2015!
One of the first things you’ll notice walking through the Walt Disney Family Museum is all of the amazing awards including Academy and Emmy Awards. Look at all those amazing awards!
Walt Disney was born December 5, 1901 in Chicago. He was an amazing cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer. The Walt Disney Family Museum shares his accomplishments and his visions for the future which we’ll see in the new movie, Tomorrowland.
Along with the help of his staff, Walt was the creator of the famous fictional characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, among countless others. Did you know that Walt himself was actually the original voice for Mickey? Living in Missouri myself, I found it interesting that his family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri when Walt was only four. The Disney family moved on to Kansas City where he was later introduced to motion pictures. At the young age of 20, Walt moved and set up a cartoon studio in Hollywood, California.
“Somebody was paying me $50 a month to draw pictures!”
– Walt Disney
What was your favorite Disney character? I have so many favorites but if I could choose a few favorites they would most definitely be Thumper and Flower from Bambi. Oh, and don’t forget the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland. Okay, the Cheshire Cat was my favorite and always will be!
One of my favorite Disney motion pictures was Mary Poppins. It was one of the last major projects of Walt’s life and produced on a grand scale. It absorbed all the resources of the Disney studio: live action, animation, music, cutting-edge special effects. It was enormously successful and earned five Academy Awards. It was Julie Andrews introduction to movie audiences.
As the original Mary Poppins budget of five million dollars continued to grow, I never saw a sad face around the entire studio. And this made me nervous… no negative head-shaking. No prophets of doom. Even Roy was happy. He didn’t even ask me to show the unfinished picture to a banker. The horrible thought struck me — suppose the staff had finally conceded that I knew what I was doing?” – Walt
Yes, Walt Disney knew exactly what he was doing!
Of course, if you think of Walt Disney I’m sure you think of Disney World in Florida. I have been once when I was a child and last year with my family. It is a such a magical place for families, both young and old. The Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971.
“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.”
This is an original Autopia Car and was a gift from Walt to his firstborn grandson, Chris. Walt’s daughter, Diane, said they kept it on the studio lot on the weekends. Chris and his sister, Joanna would drive it all over the back lot. The original plan was to build a Autopia Car for use on the new Autopia Ride for Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.
Disney historian and author, Jim Korkis, described Walt Disney’s vision of Tomorrowland:
Walt Disney was not a fan of science fiction like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. His vision of the future was inspired by the 1939 New York World’s Fair “World of Tomorrow,” the future that was just around the corner that would be made possible by the technology of today.
In 1955, Walt described Disneyland’s Tomorrowland as the world of 1986, just thirty years in the future when Halley’s Comet would make its return. It had no bug-eyed monsters and flying saucers but an attraction based on the theories of noted space experts like Werhner Von Braun and Heinz Haber that also relied on research from Griffith Observatory as to what the moon would exactly look like once man got there.
Walt underestimated America’s enthusiasm to get to the moon and people visited the moon almost a decade sooner.
Walt hired Lillian Boundsto in 1925 to ink and paint celluloid. They dated for a short time and married the same year. Walt and Lillian gave birth to one child, Diane Marie Disney, and later adopted a child, Sharon Mae Disney. Diane became the co-founder of The Walt Disney Family Museum with the help of her seven children.
Walt Disney passed away December 15, 1966 from lung cancer. He left beyond such an amazing legacy full of stories that are shared at the Walt Disney Family Museum. It is located in San Francisco, California. Be sure to visit and learn more about the amazing world of Disney!
The nation and the world reacted in grief and disbelief when Walt passed away. 
Condolences to his family and company came from all over the world.
“He called us, ‘My Geniuses. You guys can do anything.’ And it was him, because he believed in us.”
— Rolly Crump
Be sure you head out to see Tomorrowland in theaters this Friday, May 22! Check out the trailer below:
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