![]() No matter what he accomplished, he was always thinking about the next big thing. Tony: One thing about Walt, he never sat still. What is the “progress” that Walt envisioned? Vanessa: “Progress” was a big theme for Walt, especially during his later years. But this was an idealized version of the space age-the attractions, the building forms all of it was aimed at making the future look wondrous and full of potential. That ended up shaping the look and feel of Tomorrowland and several of its early attractions, including Flight to the Moon and Flying Saucers. Out of that partnership came the “Man in Space” Disneyland TV installments, which were an optimistic look at the prospect of space exploration. At first glance it was an odd combination, but Walt hoped this mixture of “oil and water” would forge something that was factual from a scientific standpoint but also fun and inspirational to the average person. So it was very insightful for him to pair the leading scientist working in America at the time, Wernher Von Braun, with talented animator Ward Kimball. He hadn’t really contemplated the future at that point, and that’s one of the things he wanted to achieve at Disneyland, to show people how the world is going to be.īut unlike Fantasyland, the realm of classic fairytales, Adventureland, which drew from his nature films, and Frontierland, inspired by the American Old West, Walt had no mythology to base the future on. Walt had an impressive body of work at that point, things as varied as Snow White and the True-Life Adventure series, but it was primarily concerned with the past, and fantasy, and nature. Tony: In the early 1950s America was still coming out of World War II, population centers were moving into the suburbs, families were growing, and there was an incredible feeling of optimism in the country. Vanessa: Walt Disney had a unique vision of “tomorrow.” Can you describe what that vision was? In observation of this month’s celebration of Walt’s visionary ideas about space, progress, and the wonders of the future, we share a conversation on that subject between two remarkable Disney aficionados and Walt Disney Imagineers, Vanessa Hunt (a Founding Member of The Walt Disney Family Museum) and Tony Baxter (a friend and frequent advisor of our museum). "All our people have this curiosity it keeps us moving forward, exploring, experimenting, opening new doors.” This legacy of Walt Disney continues to this day-and the artists and Imagineers at Disney are frequently the most informed and passionate enthusiasts of Walt Disney. “I’m just very curious-got to find out what makes things tick," Walt Disney said.
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