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Page
28 of 28 |
Vision
of the Future: |
After Walt |
Newspaper editorials from
around the world mourned
the loss of one of
the greatest figures in
modern entertainment.
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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
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Walt's enduring legacy: the magic of theme
parks around the globe
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Walt Disney,
1901-1966 |
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