Awesome People: Walt Disney

Posted by RJ Licata | August 24, 2010

Walt Disney Statue

The “Awesome People” series is a collection of posts in which we highlight an individual who has accomplished something notable, especially in regard to encouraging youthful behavior, a strong desire to follow dreams, or anything else that we think makes them an awesome person. If you would like to see a particular person (living or dead, famous or not) featured here, please let us know.

Personal

Name: Walter Elias “Walt” Disney
Born: December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois
Died: December 15, 1966

Profession

Walt Disney’s largest impact was in the entertainment industry. He is most known for creating the theme parks that bear his name and the lovable character Mickey Mouse. In addition, he was also a successful film producer, director, screenwriter, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist, among other things. But you already knew that.

Products/Websites

You can’t go very far without running into something that has Disney’s mark on it. From tv shows to movies to merchandise, the Disney brand extends far and wide. Not only that, but the logo is one of the most recognizable in the world. Period.

You can find anything Disney by going to the official website:

http://www.disney.go.com

Claim to Fame

As stated above, Disney is most notably responsible for creating Mickey Mouse and the theme parks – Walt Disney World and Disneyland. That will probably continue to be his legacy for as long as those entities stay under the ownership of the Disney Corporation.

It’s true that the brand is vast and there are no shortage of affiliated products and trademarks, however, I doubt anyone hears the name Disney without first thinking of Mickey or Cinderella’s castle – the face of the theme parks.

Despite all the attention-grabbing successes his company has awarded him, the most impressive accomplishment he earned – at least from a perspective of “difficulty to repeat” – came with his record fifty-nine Academy Award nominations and twenty-six wins, also a record.

What the PPFC Thinks

The most amazing (and sad) thing about Walt Disney is the true result of his vision, his dream, wasn’t fully realized until after his death. Disneyland did open in 1955, while Walt was still alive, but his grandest vision, Disney World, was only in the planning stages.

After he died, Walt’s brother Roy took over the production of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, which opened in 1971.

Among other things, Disney was a pioneer in the world of dreams, fantasy, and feeling child-like. Those who worked on planning Disneyland were called “Imagineers”, a name which is still used today for those who engineer theme park rides and attractions.

This quote hangs on a plaque at the entrance of Disneyland and offers the vision that Disney had for his parks:

“Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.”

In our opinion, there isn’t a place on earth that ignites the feeling of youth inside a person more than Disney World and/or Disneyland. It was Walt Disney’s hope that he could create a world where imagination would be most powerful and “parents and children could have fun – together.”

Not only did he accomplish his dreams, he continues to inspire others to chase theirs.