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Walt Disney—A Magical Life finally joins the Disneyland 70 anniversary festivities at the Disneyland Resort. The long-anticipated docu-style attraction featuring Walt Disney himself in audio-animatronic form is set to become a permanent feature at the Opera House on Main Street, USA, at the park’s entrance. io9 was on hand for the media preview of the show ahead of its premiere July 17, the day the park turns 70.
As part of the new show, the lobby gallery inside the Opera House has a new exhibition, “Evolution of a Dream,” showcasing Disneyland’s history. It’s a loving homage where you follow in Walt’s footsteps by seeing the Griffith Park bench he sat on while imagining a place families could enjoy together. The addition of the Disney children’s portraits is a nice touch. Once inside, you follow the park’s rich lore along the walls and boards, which feature original build concepts. It’s fun to see how at one point he considered the park’s location to be near the Disney lot in Burbank and the sketches of what that would have looked like. Then, of course, he settled on the orange groves of Anaheim to build his dream on.
Through a partnership with the Walt Disney Family Museum, additional artifacts are on display, which include vintage merch like original Mickey Mouse Mouseketeer ears. There’s even an astounding recreation of Walt Disney’s apartment as it was set up over the firehouse, just across the way, while he was alive. It very much creates an altar to the man, the myth, and the legend, with the aim to treat new generations of park fans with the history of Walt’s real presence in the parks. He would often oversee the park’s operations from the apartment with a view so many wish to experience themselves to this day.
The walk highlights the awards and recognitions Disney garnered during his time, alongside Imagineering feats taking center stage. Before you enter the show, you see some of the original audio-animatronics he introduced to fans on television before the parks opened on The Wonderful World of Disney. Among the figures, you get a close look at the birds from The Enchanted Tiki Roomwhich is intentional in a very special way. Those very birds were the ones that started it all and gave Walt the inspiration to expand on that tech with the animatronics you see in Pirates of the Caribbean and It’s a Small World. It’s artistry that Imagineering only improved over the years with the likeness of Harrison Ford on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride as well as more recently modern movie stars such as John Boyega as Finn on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It’s all a way to tie it together to meet Walt in animatronic form, and it lands exceptionally well.
Walt Disney—A Magical Life begins as a short-form documentary that regales the audience with a very abridged version of Walt’s life with a narration by the Disney Company’s current leader, Bob Iger. And that choice makes sense, especially when the storytelling gets handed off to Walt in his own words. It’s a magically nostalgic transition to go from Disney’s current leadership to its first. And it sets up perfectly the reveal of Walt the animatronic in his office.
When Uncle Walt gets up from his desk to address his guests, it feels like you’re stepping into his office. It evokes that scene in Barbie where Barbie meets Ruth Handler, the creator of the doll, in a recreation of her home. You’re transported back in time to visit Walt in his office on a day out of time, where he has stacks of paperwork on his desk and is working on the next big idea. It’s wild and truly moving as he stands and draws closer, gesturing with his hands as he shares stories in ways that many of us have only seen him do on a small screen. Using real recordings of his experiences to program the audio-animatronic to reminisce right in front of you is a very surreal yet enchanting moment, a magic trick that only Disney Imagineering can pull off. A testament to one man’s dream that his Disneyland will continue to evolve in a celebration of human innovation to bring more joy to families.
Check out the gallery below for more glimpses of the displays included with Walt Disney—A Magical Lifeincluding the antique Mouseketeer ears, Walt’s apartment, maps, artwork, and more.
Walt Disney—A Magical Life will open July 17, marking Disneyland’s official birthday.
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