Originally Posted By OfficialSpaceRanger Maybe someone can clear this up for me. A friend of mine insists that there is a face character of Walt Disney at Walt Disney World. She claims he is, or at least was, featured in a parade and did meet and greets in the park. Is any of this true. I really hope not, that's horrible.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I can't tell you how disturbing that is on so many levels. Here's hoping that it isn't the case. I sincerely doubt that it is so.
Originally Posted By -em During the Dreams come true/MK parade there was a performer who you could argue was "walt" that was on the lead "float" drawing Mickey Mouse <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Showpic.asp?filename=http://mb.laughingplace.com/lotion/pics/SS20060811-MKParade/big/P01-0003.JPG&caption=Leading+the+parade+is+a+gentleman+who+looks+like+a+young+Walt+sitting+at+an+animator" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/S howpic.asp?filename=http://mb.laughingplace.com/lotion/pics/SS20060811-MKParade/big/P01-0003.JPG&caption=Leading+the+parade+is+a+gentleman+who+looks+like+a+young+Walt+sitting+at+an+animator</a>%27s+desk+sketching+Mickey+Mouse%2E
Originally Posted By -em try this <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-260.asp" target="_blank">http://www.laughingplace.com/L otion-View-260.asp</a>
Originally Posted By OfficialSpaceRanger But it wasn't actually supposed to be him, right? I mean Walt was never even really an animator.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OMG, I am speechless. I guess I don't really mind that type of depiction of Walt. It's kind of Norman Rockwell-ish. I think I would draw the line at a meet and greet Walt Disney character!
Originally Posted By Disneybrad I find it interesting that this topic is just now poping up, what 6 years after this parade started.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>But it wasn't actually supposed to be him, right? I mean Walt was never even really an animator.<< Walt not an animator? You really have no clue who Walt Disney really was, do you? And YES, the guy on the opening float of that parade 6 years ago was meant to be Walt as a young animator... which is how he really started his career.
Originally Posted By ChampDisney You need to go buy a copy of How to be like Walt, it is a very nice bio of Walt Disney's life & it will give you all the details on how Walt first started as an animator.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Did you know that before he was President of the United States, Ronald Reagan was an actor?
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Those of you who are horrified... Why would it be so blasphemous if there was an actor playing Walt Disney? I mean, heck, even in Christmas pageants, I've seen actors portray Jesus.
Originally Posted By OfficialSpaceRanger There's no need to be rude. I happen to know an awful lot about Walt Disney. Enough to know that Ub Iwerks drew Mickey Mouse. How many Disney features or shorts credit Walt with animation? He was primarily a producer, which is where my confusion as to why "Walt" was drawing Mickey in the parade.
Originally Posted By CMDad Here is another shot <a href="http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/930395/waltparade.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.villagephotos.com/p /2005-1/930395/waltparade.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OSR, you are correct to an extent. It was later that Mr. Iwerks eventually did the drawings for the animation. This picture, however, depicts Walt just drawing a picture of Mickey and that Walt did and in the beginning did many of the drawings for the original animation. I will concede that later on he did little drawing and mostly producing and diligent overseeing.
Originally Posted By OfficialSpaceRanger At any rate, I think we've conceded that Walt was, in fact, featured in the parade, but not as an atmosphere character. Though you make a valid point, "Jim in Merced CA", I don't know of anywhere that Jesus waves atop a parade float or signs autographs, thank goodness.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA All I'm saying is that Walt Disney is a person -- a human being who lived on the earth and breathed, and ate and went to the bathroom -- just like the rest of us. It's not blasphemous for Walt Disney to be portrayed in a parade float in Walt Disney World. It's because of him that the entire place exists!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I also agree with that. I wasn't concerned about the float part as much as the "meet and greet" part. That would have been to weird. If that didn't exist then I find nothing upsetting about it at all.
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> If that didn't exist then I find nothing upsetting about it at all. << There is no Walt lookalike meet and greet. He's just a figure in the parade.
Originally Posted By ChampDisney Yes, I remember watching an old western movie that Reagan stared in. Really good!
