Mousekingdom Blog

During a recent trip to Anaheim (as part of the big annual Pow-Wow US travel convention), Susan and I were fortunate enough to be part of a special back-stage visit to the original Disneyland park in the company of senior Imagineer Eric Jacobson. As well as all the little gems of wisdom Eric was able to pass along, we also got a very rare privilege for DL visitors - a look inside Walt’s Apartment.

Now, for anyone not familiar with this particular Disney ’secret,’ the Apartment is the original residence of Walt when he was working on (and visiting) his first theme park, way back in 1955. It was where he would retire for some much-needed r’n'r at the end of the day and spend some time with his children.

In Disney terms, it is a hallowed place that has been kept virtually intact ever since Walt passed away in 1966, and provides a fascinating glimpse into his world of 40/50 years ago. The Apartment is located right above the Main Street Fire Station, and the light in the window (originally marking the fact Walt was ‘in residence’) is now left permanently on as a mute tribute to the park’s originator (indicating the feeling that his spirit still presides over this fabulous creation).

All the decor and ornaments are the original ones that Walt himself designed and used, right down to the electric sandwich toaster that still sits, museum-like, in the mini-kitchen area (apparently, Walt loved toasted sandwiches, and would often eat nothing more - apart from chocolate milkshakes!).

Sadly, this is not an area ever likely to be open to the general public as it simply couldn’t handle the traffic, but it is (hopefully) comforting to all the regular park-goers to know that there is a little element of the Disney parks that still has the original Walt signature and style. Just walking up the (rather rickety) back stairs to the roof terrace and the apartment entrance is enough to invoke the feeling of stepping back in time, and the place certainly retains the ambience and spirit of its founder.

The Apartment also has its own special guide, who can tell you everything you need to know about every item of furniture as well as several little anecdotes about Walt’s residence here, as he supervised the growth of one of the world’s greatest entertainment creations. As a real curiosity, all the coffee mugs and the cookie jar in the kitchen bear the legend ‘Tom & Jerry.’ Now, the T&J cartoons were all produced by MGM Studios, a Disney rival back in the 1940s and 50s, and they were the only short cartoon series to pick up 7 Academy Awards (the same as Disney’s Silly Symphonies series). Perhaps this is a special silent tribute to one of his biggest rivals?

As a look into a small part of the Disney theme park origination, it was fascinating; as a journey back in time to feel a little of the spirit of Walt himself, it was outstanding; and, as a lesson that the Disney company still have their founder very firmly in mind, it was extremely illuminating.

Eric Jacobson and Co are very much the modern incarnation of Walt and his original group of theme park pioneers, and it is vert heartening to know they still take inspiration from the source of all the ‘magic.’

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Disney Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.