It should have always been this way, but late is better than never. The man who made all of Walt Disney World possible is finally honored for its 50th.
There are those who say that Walt Disney is a beloved figure inside and outside of the company. They say that there is no controversy surrounding him. They go on farther to assert that nobody really wants to get rid of the “Walt” in “Walt Disney.” Unfortunately, I don’t believe that’s true — and for me, it’s a recognition of a pattern in society. When I see Zip-a-dee-doo-dah taken out of songs Disney will play at their parks, and the claim that it is a derivative of a minstrel song, even though a Disney historian has claimed it was a Walt Disney original, nonsensical lyric… I see troubles ahead. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah is Walt. When I see warnings flashed up before legacy movies and shows on Disney+, the same shows and movies that Walt designed and created with all of his own self poured into them… I see trouble ahead. And just like for years we heard that nobody really wanted to tear down founding father statues or school names around the country, it seems that when people begin denying that, the other shoe falls a few years later.
But for now, Walt is being treated right. When it comes to the Walt Disney World fireworks celebrating the 50th anniversary, they could have just left it alone. We’re far into the celebration and it certainly costs money to make this kind of change. We’re kind of used to this by now. But somebody somewhere in the company with major pull has decided that Walt deserved to be on that castle, penny pinching be damned. And we should applaud that.
I have no doubt that Walt Disney was flawed in some ways. We all are. You are. I am. But I also know that year-after-year, children watch characters come to life and greet them, families wait to see a castle, and memories are made with loved ones all because of a man’s desire to make it so. The number of people who could have done this is tiny. The type of country that would produce the infrastructure and society required to do it is also rare. The Disney Parks are almost miraculous for existing and the magic started with a couple of Disney brothers. But Disney World itself is Walt Disney World and it always should be.
When the time comes for the debate about Walt being problematic, and it most likely will, we should remember the merit of a man whose vision did so much for so many. Censorship is easy, building a vast system of hopeful entertainment is harder than almost any person could ever achieve. Here’s to Walt!
To see the new fireworks intro, we’re sharing Blog Mickey’s excellent video feed:
It didn’t all start with a mouse, but instead a man.
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