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The Walt Disney Family Museum

Welcome to the Walt Disney Family Museum Mailbox. For your enjoyment, we present a selection of letters from Guests to the curators. (Some of them may, of course, be edited for space.)

Dear sir/madam,

What happened to the Carolwood Pacific Railroad and to the Smoke Tree Ranch after Walt's death? Are they intact? Are they still in the hands of the Disney family?

Dear Museum Guest:

Thanks for the very interesting questions.

As for the railroad question, we'd like to quote from Michael Broggie's book, "Walt Disney's Railroad Story": "Spring 1953 was a busy time for Walt, as he began thinking beyond the Carolwood-sized layout to something much bigger. He had long admired Ward Kimball's full-scale narrow-gauge steam locomotive and began formulating plans to have one of his own. Then something happened at Carolwood late on a Sunday afternoon, interrupting his smooth transition to a bigger railroad.

"Coming around a curve on the main line a guest engineer had the Lilly Belle going too fast, and the locomotive turned over on its side ... Before anyone realized how hazardous the situation was (a five-year-old) girl had stepped into the invisible jet's stream -- receiving a good scare as well as minor but painful burns on her legs.

"Walt ... expressed concern about the possibility of other accidents. His weekends were filled with people visiting his layout -- many of whom were strangers. Realizing that things had gotten out of hand with so many visitors, Walt recognized that a substantial risk had developed -- unnoticed until now. "That's it," he concluded with Roger (Broggie). "I want it outta here. Take it back to the studio and store it in the machine shop."

As for Smoketree Ranch, we asked Walt's grandson, Walter, for some thoughts. Here they are: "The Smoke Tree Ranch is a private, guard-gated community within the city of Palm Springs that is in existence to this day ... My grandparents' home was one of many within this desert community, which shared a community center/ranch house for dining and social activities for the whole family. My [grandmother, Lillian] kept the home for a number of years after [Walt's] passing, but without him the home was rarely used and was sold ... I have fond memories of my Grandpa in Smoke Tree Ranch. His detached office (where he spent most of his time) was wonderful. Years after he passed away we could still go in there and find it the way it was as he left it, with his grease pencils all over the desk. He made the short trip to the Ranch House for pancake breakfast so entertaining by reacting to every speed bump with comedic exaggeration. We would anxiously wait for the next speed bump yelling, 'Do it again Grandpa, do it again.'"

best,
Katherine and Richard Greene
Museum Curators


Did Walt originally envision EPCOT as a futuristic-like community or a theme park?

Dear Museum Guest,

Walt originally envisioned EPCOT as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; that's where its name came from. He wanted to create a real place where men, women, and children could live and work -- and enjoy the most current technology.

For the last couple of years of his life, he spent much effort studying city planning; giving thought to transportation, communication, sanitation -- all the things a city would need. Maps and preliminary drawings of Walt's EPCOT were actually drawn up during his lifetime.

It is true, however, that we haven't been able to uncover much of Walt's thinking about how this city would actually be run insofar as government structure. Would there be a mayor? How much control would the residents have over the community?

These questions would doubtless have been very difficult for him to resolve. But whatever the final outcome of the project, we have total faith that Walt would have come up with something quite new and wonderful.

best,
Katherine and Richard Greene
Museum Curators


Hi!

I am an avid enthusiast of all things Disney who just discovered the wonderful online museum. I am a video producer who works mainly on public relations projects. My goal is to put my skills to work with the Walt Disney Company helping to bring the Disney magic that I grew up with to future generations.

What qualities do you think Walt valued most in his employees?

Thanks!
Melissa Peachey

Dear Melissa,

Thanks very much for the kind words about the online museum.

Your question has set us thinking. And our first reaction is that he valued different things in different employees. Over the years, we've interviewed scores of men and women who worked closely with Walt, and each describes him in different terms. So, before we start trying to respond to you, we want to make it clear that there is no such thing as a definitive list, or even a list of qualities that some people wouldn't disagree with, based on their own experience.

That said, here are six attributes Walt seemed to generally care about:

  1. Talent. If someone could do his job very well, Walt was willing to forgive a great many other shortcomings.
  2. Honesty. While it may be true that Walt didn't really want people to whine to him about problems they were having, it's also true that he didn't want apple-polishers or yes-men around him. He wanted people who could contribute to the process.
  3. Flexibility. Frequently, Walt shifted people around from jobs in which they felt comfortable to other positions that were new to them. He wanted people who were willing to learn new skills and develop them. (And Walt himself had an incredible capacity to find new uses for employees that they'd never dreamt of).
  4. Tenacity. Walt didn't hesitate to have an artist re-do a drawing dozens and dozens of time, until he got it right (at least in Walt's mind). Almost always, the project was more important to Walt than the people involved in it (including himself). So staff had to be ready for surprises thrown at them by Walt, and still be ready to stick with the effort.
  5. Loyalty to Walt's ideas. Staffers didn't always understand the reasoning behind Walt's decisions. But it was important that they trust that he knew what he was doing, even if some things didn't make immediate sense to them.
  6. Teamwork. Walt spent some of his earliest years on a farm, and remained impressed through his life with the teamwork that was necessary there. While he probably wasn't thinking of the farm when he made his films, it's clear that he was annoyed at people who pulled in their own direction for their own glorification -- or to curry favor with him. He valued men and women who could work together. Once again, the project was the important thing.

We hope this helps.

best,
Katherine and Richard Greene
Museum Curators

We would love to hear from you. We welcome your comments about the museum. Visitors to the site are encouraged to ask any questions they may have about Walt Disney's life. The site's curators will attempt to provide the most authoritative answers possible -- and may consult with Disney experts, including family members, to do so. Please keep your letters brief. We will make every effort to answer your questions about the life of Walt Disney, but you may experience a delay due to the volume of e-mails we receive. We appreciate your patience and look forward to receiving your letters. Click here to send the museum curators an e-mail. From the menu, please select "Walt Disney Family Museum."


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