Walt's Formal Office - D23 Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the Ronald Reagan Library

After Walt Disney passed away in December 1966, his office was left untouched with exception of his secretaries and housekeeping. When Dave Smith was initially hired by the company as a consultant, there was not much work to do. The archives had not been officially created yet and many in the company were not aware that anyone was keeping track of such things.

Recently, I had the chance to speak to Dave about the process of archiving the offices. One of the first assignments Dave took on occurred in 1970, was to catalog and store everything in both Walt's formal and working offices.  He painstaking made detailed notes, took exact measurements and catalogs each item including furniture, books and trinkets through the rooms. The items were boxed up and put into storage.  Dave said that he felt perhaps one day, someone would want to recreate the office, much like is done with the oval office at Presidential libraries.

The office space was later used by Ron Miller and then Michael Eisner.  Currently, it is occupied by Shaun Cassidy for his production company.

It wasn't long before these items came out of storage and were put into Disneyland when The Walt Disney Story opened in the Main Street Opera House in April 1973.  Walt's working office was packed up and shipped to Walt Disney World in 2002 as part of the "One Man's Dream" exhibit and remains on loan there from the archives to this day.  The formal office was packed up at Disneyland in 2009 when The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln was again reworked and reopened.

Current Display at the Reagan Library

 Right now, the formal office is once again on display.  It now features the exact dimensions and exact placement of all items as they were originally when Walt Disney used the office.  

 

You can see this display at the D23 Treasures of the Archives exhibit opening July 6, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.

D23 Expo has arrived!

I will be attending and adding content through the weekend.  This year is going to have some fantastic surprises.  Follow me on Twitter at @no1here.

Disney Studio - Legends Plaza and the Archives

The only other version of this is in the Magic Kingdom in WDW.

Legends Plaza at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, features this statue of Roy Disney, the Walt Disney and Mickey Partners statue and the hand prints of all the Disney Legends to date.

Absent Minded Professor Miniature prop

I am really looking forward to the Archives exhibit this year at the D23 Expo.  It was big crowd pleaser in 2009 and this year is going to be even bigger.  My photo of the Absent Minded Professor prop was taken on my recent studio visit when we stopped by the Archives for a visit.  The D23 Expo opens this Friday!

Walt Disney's former office at the Disney Studio

Walt's former office at the studio

On my recent visit to the Studio for the D23 Expo preview, I was able to take this shot of the exterior of Walt's office.  The current occupant is Shaun Cassidy and his production company.  This is the same office that you once could seen in the lobby to the Walt Disney Story and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  It used to exhibit his working office and formal office.

D23 will feature presentation on new attractions, movies and products coming the The Walt Disney Company  all debuting in the near future.  Members of D23 also get opportunities such as a tour of the Disney Studios throughout the years.  You do not need to be a member of D23 to attend the Expo.

D23 Expo is almost here!

On my recent visit to the Disney Studios for the D23 Expo preview, I was also fortunate enough to meet Bill Farmer - the voice of Goofy for over 25 years.  But did you also know that he also voices Pluto and Horace Horsecollar?  He was made a Disney Legend in 2009, an award presented to him at the first D23 Expo.

This year the Disney Awards will presented to other voice actors like Jodi Benson, Paige O'Hara, Lea Salonga, Linda Larkin and Anika Noni Rose among others.  The Expo is August 19-21, 2011.

Pixar Panels at D23

For the 25th Anniversay of Pixar, the following panels will be taking place at D23, next weekend:

• A Conversation with the Pixar Creative Team
  Enjoy a rare opportunity to spend some time with the key figures responsible for Pixar's unprecedented success, including John Lasseter (chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios), Jim Morris (general manager, Pixar Animation Studios), Pete Docter (director, Monsters, Inc.,Up), Andrew Stanton (director, Finding Nemo,WALL-E), Bob Peterson (co-director, Up), Lee Unkrich (director, Toy Story 3), Mark Andrews (director, Brave), and Dan Scanlon (director,Monsters University). 
•  
• The Characters of Monsters University
  Director Dan Scanlon and Production Designer Ricky Nierva discuss how they combine hair, horns, and a lot of heart to bring the wonderful Monsters University characters to life.
•  
• Michael Giacchino's Music of Pixar
  In this musical presentation, award-winning composer Michael Giacchino explores his early influences through the creation of modern-day classic scores from Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2.
• The Art of Brave
  Production designer Steve Pilcher and shading art director Tia Kratter show how they and their team put paint to canvas and fingers to computer keys to create the stunning visuals of Scotland for Disney•Pixar's upcoming film Brave.
•  
• Pixar Shorts
  Hosted by Tim O'Day, this retrospective screening of the animation studio's legendary short films will be followed by a panel discussion with several of the filmmakers, including Ralph Eggleston (director, For the Birds), Andy Jimenez (director,One Man Band), Angus MacLane (director, BURN-E), Pete Sohn (director,Partly Cloudy), Teddy Newton (director, Day & Night), and Enrico Casarosa (director, La Luna).

Expo attendees will also have access to advance screenings of an all-new 3D version of The Lion King, presented by RealD 3D.  This should top the screenings given last time of Toy Story 1 and 3 in 3D.

A Recent Disney Studio Visit

I normally only post about things related to Disneyland only, but this is related since much of Disneyland was originally built here.  I was recently invited up to attend a preview for the D23 Expo coming up later this month at the Anaheim Convention Center, August 19-21.

The Studio water tower that no longer has water.

Studio Back Lot Bike

Walt's Office

Great Moment's With Mr. Lincoln

At D23, I was able to sit in on the panel with Tony Baxter regarding the return of Mr. Lincoln. The show will bring back the original voice of Lincoln provided by actor Royal Dano and narration from Paul Frees. Imagineering has remastered the original audio and created an entirely new show that incorporates more music, more emotion, and a new, state-of-the-art Mr. Lincoln but feels and looks much like the old show that we love.

The lobby will be divided in half, the first section will feature "The Disneyland Story," and will have an opening that connects it into the new Disney Gallery. The opening-day Disneyland model will return along with additional artifacts of Disneyland's history. The second half of the lobby will be dedicated to Mr. Lincoln. We were promised a return also of the U.S. Capitol Building scale model.

Baxter commented how he hated that the audiences used to be rushed out at the end of the show. In the new program, the audience will be able to sit for a couple of minutes to think about the presentation and watch a slide show of other important Americans. It sounds like it will be big on patriotism.

D23 Expo Announcements

Wall*E

Some exciting updates are coming to Disneyland as announced at the D23 Expo:

• Walt Disney Story and The Disney Gallery open in October 2009
• Great Moment's With Mr. Lincoln will be back early 2010
• Star Tours 2 in 2011
• Captain Eo may return, probably in 2010