To the youngsters of today, I say “Believe in the future, the world is getting better; there still is plenty of opportunity.” Why, would you believe it, when I was a kid I thought it was already too late for me to make good at anything.
I first saw the site for Disneyland back in 1953, In those days it was all flat land – no rivers, no mountains, no castles or rocket ships – just orange groves, and a few acres of walnut trees.
I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.
The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.
We believed in our idea – a family park where parents and children could have fun- together.
Disneyland would be a world of Americans, past and present, seen through the eyes of my imagination – a place of warmth and nostalgia, of illusion and color and delight.
Disneyland is often called a magic kingdom because it combines fantasy and history, adventure and learning, together with every variety of recreation and fun designed to appeal to everyone.
No matter what the provocation, I never fire a man who is honestly trying to deliver a job. Few workers who become established at the Disney Studio ever leave voluntarily or otherwise, and many have been on the payroll all their working lives.
Disneyland is like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass; to step through the portals of Disneyland will be like entering another world.
Whatever we accomplish is due to the combined effort.
I am in no sense of the word a great artist, not even a great animator; I have always had men working for me whose skills were greater than my own. I am an idea man.
Speaking for the one field which I feel definitely qualified to comment on, I fully believe the animated picture will emerge as one of the greatest mediums, not only of entertainment but also of education.
It is a curious thing that the more the world shrinks because of electronic communications, the more limitless becomes the province of the storytelling entertainer.
When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you want to build an amusement park? They’re so dirty.’ I told her that was just the point – mine wouldn’t be.
Disneyland is like a piece of clay: If there is something I don’t like, I’m not stuck with it. I can reshape and revamp.
Why be a governor or senator when you can be king of Disneyland?
Well it took many years. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. And eventually it evolved into what you see today at Disneyland.
If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.
Good bye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.
Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.