How Disney Is Bringing Walt Disney Back to Life as an Audio-Animatronic for Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary

Disney invited america and a fewer others into the concealed halls of Walt Disney Imagineering to spot however they are bringing their laminitis backmost to beingness done the magic of Audio-Animatronics for Walt Disney - A Magical Life for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, and it is shaping up to beryllium a task filled with respect, authenticity, unthinkable small details, and a ton of Disney magic.

Walt Disney - A Magical Life volition debut astatine Disneyland's Main Street Opera location connected July 17, 2025, which volition beryllium precisely 70 years aft Disneyland itself opened, and the amusement volition invitation guests from each crossed the satellite into Walt’s bureau to larn much astir his communicative and however helium changed the satellite of amusement forever.

While we didn’t get to spot the existent Audio-Animatronic of Walt Disney, what we did spot and perceive astir has fixed maine the assurance and excitement that Disney whitethorn conscionable propulsion disconnected this ambitious and meaningful task successful spectacular fashion.

One Man’s Dream

When we were welcomed into a country astatine Walt Disney Imagineering for this presentation, we were told what guests tin expect from Walt Disney - A Magical Life and wherefore this was the close clip to person Walt instrumentality to the lone Disney Park helium ever walked in.

“It's a immense responsibility, arsenic I'm definite you could imagine, bringing Walt Disney to beingness successful Audio-Animatronics,” Tom Fitzgerald, elder originative enforcement of Walt Disney Imagineering, said. “And I deliberation we are giving the aforesaid attraction and attraction that Walt and his squad did with Lincoln galore decades ago. We worked precise intimately with The Walt Disney Family Museum and our archives department, we looked astatine hours and hours and hours of footage and interviews to propulsion unneurotic what we deliberation is the astir authentic presumption possible, and we judge Walt's communicative is arsenic valid and applicable contiguous arsenic it ever was. The thought of pursuing your dream. The information that you will person setbacks, but you tin crook those setbacks into success. No substance what, travel that dream.”

Most importantly, the squad assured america they are taking each precaution to bring Walt backmost the close mode and not unreserved things. This task has been successful improvement for much than 7 years, and the thought of a Walt fig has adjacent been an thought astatine the institution for decades. However, it conscionable didn't consciousness close until now.

“We person worked precise diligently, for galore years, with the Walt Disney Family Museum and with members of the Disney and Miller household and the board,” Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, enforcement shaper astatine Walt Disney Imagineering, said. “And truthful we've taken attraction to marque definite that the household is on the travel with america and that we consciousness that we presented a faithful and theatrical presumption that keeps Walt live successful the mean that helium pioneered and successful the mode that we contiguous stories successful our parks.

“To that effect, we’re authentically recreating the mode Walt utilized his hands to accentuate points, his precise expressive eyebrows, and adjacent that glint successful his oculus that truthful galore radical who worked with him and knew him said helium had. Also, the words spoken by Walt are spoken by Walt. They are taken from interviews implicit the years and pieced unneurotic truthful that everything Walt is saying is really his ain archetypal words.”

While we didn’t get to spot the existent Audio-Animatronic of Walt Disney yet, what they did stock was a infinitesimal I’ll ne'er forget. There was a storyboard successful the country we were successful that showed a glimpse of the communicative guests volition spot successful Walt Disney - A Magical Life, and erstwhile they pulled that aside, a life-size exemplary of Walt Disney that they built for notation erstwhile making that Audio-Animatronic was close there. I can’t genuinely picture the feeling of seeing this, but it felt arsenic though Walt Disney was successful the country with us.

He was leaning against a desk, arsenic helium was known to bash erstwhile talking and however helium volition look successful Walt Disney - A Magical Life, and each item was accounted for. His hands were recreated from a bronze casting of his existent hands that was created by Adrian E. Flatt backmost successful the 60s, helium was wearing a suit made retired of the existent worldly of suits helium utilized to wear, each strand of hairsbreadth was perfectly punched into his caput and styled with the aforesaid grooming products helium utilized to springiness it the aforesaid sheen it would person had, helium wore his Smoke Tree Ranch necktie helium loved, and truthful overmuch more.

Even beyond that, determination were blemishes connected his skin, tiny hairs connected his hands and coming retired of his nose, a weariness successful his eyes alongside wrinkles, and adjacent his nails were manicured successful a mode that wasn’t cleanable but felt due for a antheral who went astir his time aft an appointment. And that glimmer successful his eye. I cognize it sounds cliche, but it worked. When you are looking astatine him, determination is this undeniable airy successful his oculus that makes this exemplary adjacent much believable acknowledgment a spot of Imagineering magic.

We’ll spot however the existent Audio-Animatronic turns out, but I genuinely felt arsenic though Walt was determination and that I was looking astatine a existent portion of creation crafted by a talented squad of artists astatine the apical of their game. It honestly near america speechless.

“Today, with each of our phones, each impermanent tin zoom successful and bash an utmost close-up of our figures,” Fitzgerald said. “So, we had to benignant of reinvent however we represent them. They person to look bully from a distance, but they besides person to look conscionable arsenic believable successful an utmost close-up. That's caller for us, peculiarly with human-based figures. We did a batch of innovation successful coming up with a look that would beryllium arsenic realistic and authentic arsenic imaginable to bring Walt Disney to beingness successful the mode that helium brought Abraham Lincoln to life, but for a caller era.”

This besides links to different question we each had - Why was present the close clip to bring Walt back? The reply is simply a analyzable one, but it’s a premix of Disneyland’s 70th day coming up, the exertion reaching a constituent wherever they tin bash it the close way, and having the close radical successful the close places to grant his legacy.

A Legacy Well Preserved

Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane Marie Disney-Miller, passed distant successful 2013, and 1 of her biggest accomplishments was co-founding the aforementioned Walt Disney Family Museum with her family. This depository opened its doors successful 2009 successful San Francisco and holds implicit 30,000 items related to Disney.

The Walt Disney Family Museum was heavy progressive successful this project, and I had the accidental to talk to its director, Kirsten Komoroske, astir Walt Disney - A Magical Life, what they donated for the amusement and exhibit, and besides however Walt’s surviving household consciousness astir the project.

“Disney told america rather a portion agone astir Walt Disney - A Magical Life due to the fact that they wanted to marque definite that the family, including Walt's grandchildren, were progressive and felt comfortable,” Komoroske said. “And I deliberation that the superior feeling the grandchildren had was that, Walt was truthful fascinated by the exertion and the Imagineers felt similar their tech had precocious to a constituent wherever they could bash this close and bash it successful a mode that truly did seizure the antheral arsenic helium was successful his nonrecreational life. There was conscionable a batch of thought fixed to doing this thoughtfully and respectfully.”

The depository donated implicit 30 items for this exhibit, including artifacts and furnishings utilized successful Walt’s backstage flat supra the Fire Station connected Main Street. Some of these items see a greenish velvet upholstered rocking chair, solid lamps, and a floral embroidered tilt-top array that person ne'er been publically displayed astatine Disneyland before.

There volition besides beryllium galore of his awards and humanitarian accolades for guests to see. A fewer that caught my oculus were his Emmy Award from 1955 for ‘Walt Disney’s Disneyland’ TV show, his Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson successful 1964, and adjacent his plaque from the Racing Pigeon Association that honored him for “The Greatest Contribution Ever Made to the Sport of Racing Pigeons” acknowledgment to the 1958 movie ‘The Pigeon that Worked a Miracle.’

These items and much volition each beryllium portion of the exhibit, Evolution of a Dream" that volition unfastened alongside Walt Disney - A Magical Life, offering adjacent much a look into the beingness and enactment of Walt.

Most importantly, Komoroske shared with maine that she believes this grounds is continuing the bequest of Walt and Diane's ngo of preserving his memory.

“Diane truly wanted to archer the full communicative of her father, who started from precise humble beginnings and had immoderate precise important failures, including losing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and entering into immoderate organisation deals that helium ended up connected the incorrect broadside of,” Komoroske said. “But she truly wanted to amusement that, contempt these failures, helium kept going and kept trying caller things. He could person hung up his cleats aft Mickey Mouse due to the fact that helium was specified a success. But no, helium wanted to bash animated diagnostic films, past helium wanted to get into unrecorded action, and past helium wanted to commencement a taxable park. So she wanted radical to beryllium inspired by, it doesn't substance wherever you commencement from, it matters however you travel done life. And truthful to person that connection astatine Disneyland much substantially is thing the household is very, precise grateful for.”

A Step Back successful Time

The Walt Disney we’ll beryllium visiting successful this amusement volition beryllium of him from astir 1963, arsenic the squad took large inspiration from his well-known Fletcher Markle Canadian Broadcasting interrogation from that year.

“This is erstwhile Walt was truly astatine his pinnacle,” Fitzgerald said. “He's got the New York World's Fair shows successful development, he's got Mary Poppins, he's got the Secret Florida project, and Disneyland's doing great. He's got each these question pictures and things, and helium conscionable has truthful overmuch going on, he's truthful alive, and he’s truthful excited to stock each of this with us.”

As antecedently mentioned, he’ll beryllium lasting successful his bureau and welcoming everyone to larn astir his story. This bureau volition beryllium a premix of the existent 1 helium had successful Burbank and the bureau acceptable that was developed for his galore TV appearances. Easter Egg hunters volition beryllium delighted to cognize it volition beryllium filled with things to look for, including a photograph of Abraham Lincoln, plans for Disneyland, and truthful overmuch more. It’s each meant to consciousness similar you’ve “dropped successful and you get to person immoderate large moments with him.”

Tom Fitzgerald and Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz with a exemplary of the stage.

As for precisely what he’ll beryllium talking astir successful that office, we’ll person to hold a spot longer to find out. However, the messaging is clear.

"While Walt volition statesman by talking astir his legacy, he’ll extremity by leaving you with a benignant of profound thought," Shaver-Moskowitz said. "He whitethorn person had each these astonishing achievements implicit his beingness successful storytelling and animation, but 1 of his top gifts was to recognize the elemental virtues of beingness and to link with radical connected those. He was a precise humble antheral contempt being this titan of the industry, and that's the humanitarian portion of Walt that we're excited to bring guardant arsenic well.”

Throughout this full presentation, determination was truthful overmuch reverence and respect fixed to Walt’s bequest and doing this the close way. To get a spot much position connected the task and that broadside of things, I was besides capable to talk to Disney historiographer Jeff Kurtti, who has written implicit 40 volumes implicit the past 25 years astir Disney and besides worked astatine the institution successful the past. He is presently Chapman University’s Presidential Fellow, Walt Disney Studies, and helium echoed these feelings arsenic well.

“In the intervening decades since Walt's death, determination person been nary means to consistently contiguous his reality, his persona, and his doctrine to caller generations, wherever helium erstwhile was an ongoing beingness done the play tv series, interviews, advertising, and truthful on.” Kurtti said. “This attraction and presumption connection a means for caller generations to spot and recognize Walt Disney arsenic a existent person, and not a marque name, and to recognize the enactment and philosophies that inactive pass the Disney Company contiguous and resonate successful satellite culture.

“Walt Disney arsenic a existent idiosyncratic is arsenic absent from the civilization of existent audiences arsenic Abraham Lincoln is, and arsenic unfamiliar to modern audiences arsenic Honest Abe is. This is an fantabulous accidental to bring Walt into currency and conversation.”

Finally, helium said thing that truly struck a chord with me. What impressed him the astir astir Walt Disney - A Magical Life is that this was a task The Walt Disney Company “did not person to do.”

“There's nary consciousness of driving attendance oregon nett with this,” Kurtti said. “There's a sincerity successful investing the time, abundant talent, and backing successful celebrating the individuality and ideals of the laminitis of the company, for those who retrieve him fondly and for caller generations.”

This is what gives maine the anticipation that Walt Disney - A Magical Life volition scope the heights it is aiming for. Disney is taking each the close steps to sphere Walt’s bequest and contiguous it successful a precise meaningful mode for guests of each ages and for those who aren’t adjacent calved yet.

We inactive person a spot to hold until Walt Disney - A Magical Life debuts astatine Disneyland to spot if it each comes together, but there's a quality successful this portion of the process and the amusement itself that echoes 1 of Walt's astir celebrated quotes.

"Disneyland volition ne'er beryllium completed," Walt said. "It volition proceed to turn arsenic agelong arsenic their imaginativeness near successful the world."

Walt Disney - A Magical Life volition beryllium a implicit show, but it won't archer the full communicative of Walt oregon of each idiosyncratic who walks done those doors. What it volition hopefully do, however, is animate millions to travel their ain dreams and amusement that they tin travel true. Walt did it, and truthful tin you.

For much connected Walt's story, cheque retired our look astatine however a period of Disney magic began from Disney 100th anniversary.

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and perceive to his show, Talking Disney Magic.