Walt's Work Life

Atwater Village is a district of Los Angeles, which was frequented by Walt and his animators in the early days of the Disney Studio. This hip area is located just across the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge from the studio. This area is referenced on a building on Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure called the Atwater Ink & Paint shop (really a facade entrance to the Julius Katz & Sons shop). Address: Atwater Village, Los Angeles, CA Visitor Information: Discover Los Angeles

With the success of Mickey Mouse and his first Oscar win, Walt set out to build a mansion for his expectant wife here on Woking Way after living on Lyric Avenue for over 5 years. In 1932, the Disney family moved in. Architect Frank Crowhurst designed this 12-room home with a pool, theater, gymnasium, and acre and a half garden. Here in our grounds we have foxes, quail, ‘possums, rabbits, chaparral cocks, and a lot of other animals and birds, and we try to make them feel right at home. – Walt interviewed in the January 1940 issue of Better Homes and Garden magazine. This is the home where Walt’s daughters Diane and Sharon were raised and would spend hours reading Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins books which prompted Walt to acquire both and to turn them into the classic Disney properties they are today. They would also spend their Saturdays in the nearby Griffith Park, riding the Merry-Go-Round which sparked the idea for Disneyland. While living at this home, Walt’s career also included the release of, among others, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), and the studio’s first all live-action release, Treasure Island (1950). In 1950, […]

This public park in Queens, NY is most well known as being the site of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. It was at this World’s Fair where Walt Disney saw an opportunity to not only experiment with new theme park technology but to also test the east coast audience, in preparation for his Florida Project. The centerpiece of the World’s Fair and one of the only surviving structures today (along with the Queens Museum) is the iconic Unisphere. Imagineer Harper Goff had a hand in designing the famed armillary sphere which has been featured in major films including the epic opening to Iron Man 2 (2010) and plays a major role in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland (2015) which recreated the fair for the big screen. You may also recognize the Unisphere as Peter Parker captures a glimpse of it from the highway while being driven around by Happy during Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Read more about our visit to this park in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. Address: […]

Golden Oak Ranch is a plot of land 30 miles outside of Los Angeles, used by Walt in the 1950s and later purchased by the company in 1959 for use as film and TV production facility. A number of classic Disney productions have been filmed here including Spin and Marty episodes, Old Yeller (1957), The Parent Trap (1961), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), and Pete’s Dragon (1977). The ranch is still used today and continues to host productions such as Pearl Harbor (2001), The Country Bears (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), The Muppets (2011). In television, ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Disney+ series WandaVision have shot here as well as an episode of the Disney+ series One Day at Disney (Shorts) featured Golden Oak while profiling their Operations Manager, Steven Sligh. The name Golden Oak is memorialized as the name of the Golden Oak community, a private residential area located on Walt Disney World property, where its clubhouse displays props and memorabilia from classic Disney TV shows and movies that were filmed here. Although no tours are given and it is not open to the public, industry professionals can gain access for scouting and filming purposes. Address: 19802 Placerita Canyon Rd, […]

The Matterhorn is a unique looking mountain in the Swiss Alps at the edge of a small town called Zermatt, Switzerland. Its jagged profile may look familiar if you’ve ever eaten a Toblerone – it’s featured on the logo of the Swiss chocolate. It may also look familiar if you’ve ever been to Disneyland… #MatterhornMonday Walt’s fascination with the mighty mountain first grew during a set visit to the production of the 1959 live-action feature film Third Man on the Mountain. According to author Jim Denny (via Disney Avenue), Walt had always wanted a mountainside attraction in Disneyland to remind him of his childhood days sledding down the snowy hillsides of Marceline. While on location in Zermatt, Walt became obsessed with the site of the Matterhorn mountain so much that he couldn’t take his eyes off of it – he knew it had to be a part of Disneyland. Legend has it that he mailed a souvenir postcard back to Imagineering with a hand-written note: Build This. In the summer of 1959, Walt’s vision came to life and the Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction opened in Disneyland. The ride is still in operation today with only minor cosmetic and theming changes happening […]

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is a 4-star hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Its former lobby, the Rendezvous Court, serves as the design inspiration for the lobby seen during the queue of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and subsequently in Walt Disney Studios. The lobby design is evidenced in the Moorish Revival style with a unique curved 24-carat gold accented ceiling as well as archways that are mimicked in the attraction’s version. Walt Disney visited here on at least one occasion that we know of: to attend the 9th Annual Academy Awards in 1937. The ceremony was held in the Biltmore Bowl, an 11,500 square foot conference venue in the hotel. Walt accepted an Oscar for Best Short Subject Cartoon as the Producer of The Country Cousin. This location made our list of the 10 Most Unique And Coolest Disney Related Locations Where You Can Spend The Night Address: 506 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071 Visitor Information: Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. One of its most prized possessions is found in the California History Hall – it’s an original animation desk hand-built by Walt Disney in 1923 and used in his animation studio set up in his Uncle Robert’s garage. According to the plaque, Walt built this stand from an old packaging crate and a second-hand Pathé camera. He personally donated the stand to the museum in 1938, claiming that he had used it to film Steamboat Willie. “When things began to look hopeless, I then got my cartoon thing out again. And I built myself a cartoon stand out of plywood boxes and any lumber I could pick up” – Walt Disney Address: 900 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007 Visitor Information: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM)

In 1923, Walt moved his animation studio from this Uncle Robert’s garage to the back of a real estate office he found here at 4651 Kingswell Avenue. The real estate office was called the Holly Vermont Realty Company whose namesake (referred to as “Hollymont”) can be found on buildings on Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure and in the Echo Lake section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In 1924 the Disney brothers moved their studio next door to 4649 Kingswell Avenue. Today, the building that housed both original studios are home to “Kingswell“, a skate shop at 4651 Kingswell Avenue, and “Extra Copy” technically at 4647 Kingswell Avenue. The latter has various tributes to the former Disney Studio inside. Kingswell Avenue is the namesake of the “Kingswell Camera Shop” in Disney California Adventure and a neighborhood of Golden Oak, a private residential community in Walt Disney World. In 1926, the Disneys outgrew this space, renamed the company to “The Walt Disney Studios” and moved to their new location on Hyperion Avenue. Address: 4651-4649 Kingswell Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Visitor Information: Kingswell Skate Shop (4651 Kingswell)

In 1926 the Disneys renamed the company “The Walt Disney Studios” and moved their office from a rented store at 4649 Kingswell Avenue to a new location here in the Silver Lake district of LA at 2719 Hyperion Avenue, just across the river from Atwater Village. Mickey Mouse was born at this “Hyperion Studio” and after the success of their first full-length feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the company needed more space to increase production. In 1940, the studio moved once again, this time to their permanent location in Burbank. In the 1960s, the Disney building on Hyperion was demolished and this location is now home to Gelson’s Market grocery store. A historical marker on a lamppost between the two entrances to Gelson’s on Hyperion Avenue commemorates the Disney Studio. This studio was known within the company as the Hyperion Studio due to its location on Hyperion Avenue. Still today, the name Hyperion is referenced a number of times throughout the company and Parks including being the namesake of the Café Hyperion in Disneyland Paris and the Hyperion Theater in both Disney California Adventure park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, now showing “Frozen – Live at the Hyperion” […]

The Partners statue is an iconic statue of Walt and Mickey located in Disney Legends Plaza at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Designed by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson, it’s one of five identical statues located around the world. Discover all of them and learn more in our blog post: Partners: The History, Details, and Insight Into Walt & Mickey’s Most Famous Statue. Address: 500 S Buena Vista St, Burbank, CA 91521 Visitor Information (not open to the public): The Walt Disney Studios Corporate Website

The Queens Museum is the only surviving building from both the 1939 and 1964/65 World’s Fair, the latter of which had significant influence from Walt Disney and his Imagineers. Today, the building is home to the Queens Museum, an art and education center in the heart of Flushing Meadows Corona Park which features an exhibit devoted to displaying World’s Fair memorabilia. Read more about our visit to this museum in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. This location is mentioned in our blog post: Re-Living Walt Disney’s Past: Exploring the Grounds of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair. Address: New York City Building, Queens, NY 11368 Visitor Information: Queens Museum

While living in Kansas City, Walt created a company called Laugh-O-Grams Films to create animated cartoons for local clients. In May of 1922 the company was incorporated and the new studio resided on the upper floor of the McConahy Building, here at 1127 East 31st Street. Walt worked tirelessly on this venture, often spending nights at the office when money was too low to afford housing. He would eat beans from a can, shave in the public restroom down the hall, and pay ten cents for a shower at Union Station. This studio was just starting production of their first Alice comedy, Alice’s Wonderland (which can be seen as a bonus feature in the 2010 DVD release of Alice in Wonderland). The company only lasted one year at this location before going bankrupt in June of 1923. The Laugh-O-Gram studio was featured in two different unauthorized biopics about Walt: As Dreamers Do (2014) and Walt Before Mickey (2015). Today, a grassroots non-profit called Thank You Walt Disney saved the building from demolition and is currently working on restoring it as an animation museum and co-working space for new media start-ups. Address: 1127 E 31st St, Kansas City, MO 64109 Visitor Information: Thank You Walt Disney, […]