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Page 28 of 28 Vision of the Future: After Walt

Crying Mickey

Newspaper editorials from around the world mourned the loss of one of the greatest figures  in modern entertainment.

True to their word to him, Walt's family held a small service. They dissuaded Ruth from flying in from Portland -- for fear that journalists would follow her and the event would turn into a media circus. Walt was cremated and the ashes interred in Forest Lawn. Where the idea that Walt was frozen began, nobody knows. He may have had some interest in cryonics and explored the topic. But when Disney archivist Robert Tieman researched the issue, he discovered that the first attempts at freezing a person weren't even discussed until well after Walt's death. In any case, the people who knew Walt and loved him never heard him utter a word about trying it out himself. He never mentioned the subject to Diane or Sharon or Lilly. What's more, he was allowed to pass peacefully; his family lingered around him for some time after his death. No physicians rushed his body off to some kind of freezing chamber as would have undoubtedly been the case if he was frozen.
Roy had wanted to retire for some time. With Walt gone, he couldn't. He resolved to finish Walt's final dream ? which he insisted be called Walt Disney World. Although Walt's plans for EPCOT as a real city of tomorrow weren't followed, it's fair to say that without Walt at the helm, the venture might never have worked out anyhow. Of course, no one will ever know. A few days after Walt died, Tommy Wilck called the family. She said, "I have boxes and boxes of things of Walt's. Do you want them?" It was too much for Lilly to handle, so Sharon went and got them all. She found postcards that she had sent him in college. She found letters from Diane. She found mementos from the grandchildren. "They were all in his office," said Sharon. "And none of us knew it." Lilly, Roy and Edna during the official opening of Walt Disney World in November of 1971

Lilly, Roy and Edna during the official opening of Walt Disney World in November of 1971
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Walt Disney, 1901-1966

Walt's enduring legacy: the magic of theme parks around the globe
 

 Walt Disney, 1901-1966

 
 

 

 
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