A Week Of Adventures & More – Day 3
Nothing better than healthy caffeine to start the day of big adventures!
Over the years, it has been my pleasure to have visited various studios and sets of assorted productions, both animated and live action. This particular Monday promised to be different for a number of reasons.
These places all share one thing in common. They are not museums. Nor are they temples to worship the artists who have labored here throughout the years of their existence. They are the factories that produce the entertainment products that we enjoy. Be those products for theaters, television, streaming services, home video, or more. The men and women who craft them ply their trades here.
In other words, these are workplaces. And as the result, these locations tend not to be open to the public. Some of the larger studios do offer tours but they tend away from interfering with studio business. Universal based its theme parks on the studio tour business.
The Walt Disney Studios was not among the studios that did offer tours, despite the numerous requests to do so. However, a 1941 short film, “The Reluctant Dragon” was made to feed those interests with a wonderful behind the scenes look at what went on behind the gates. And in 2020, Don Hahn offered a tour of a more modern Walt Disney Studios, in an “Adventure Thru The Walt Disney Archives”.
This day would not be my first visit to the Disney lot. I had visited before with friends working on various projects. Even with various additions to the facilities in those years, a great deal of the original structures remain in use today. The move from the Hyperion location to the Burbank one benefited from the revenue from “Snow White”, building a very modern campus for film production.
Even though only a little more than a year old, it became more than just an animated film production facility as the US Army moved in immediately after Pearl Harbor. Through government contracts, Disney produced a wide variety of films including training and educational films of all kinds throughout the war. Notable mixtures of animation and live action included “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros”. Full live action production began in Burbank, with 1948’s “So Dear To My Heart” following a series of profitable film productions from England. Today the soundstages are busy with film and television productions for companies renting the space as required.
On this day, our host was Howard Green. Meeting us outside the Animation building, he invited us to relax for a bit at the Starbucks in the ABC building before catching us in the lobby of the Animation building. Yes, that’s my Venti Iced Mocha waiting to be enjoyed, pictured above.
A while later, Leo and I made our way to start our time with Howard. A walk through the Animation building on multiple floors included everything from Oscars and more, along with art on display from various productions. Also included were work spaces including conference rooms and presentation spaces, along with a few photo opportunities from recent productions.
What’s up, Bubba?
Along the way, we passed the space inside the Sorcerer’s Hat, which Leo last visited when it was the office of Roy E. Disney during his time as the head of Animation. Today it is a staircase to the main lobby of the building. Indeed, times do change!
Roger, Leo, and Howard at the famous sign post from 1940’s “The Reluctant Dragon”.
Over the years, the Studio has seen changes both in production as well as film making in general. While some things such as the back lot or the mill shop have given way to other uses, entertainment remains the product here. As such, it is a very busy place with people coming and going in all directions, just as it appeared on screen in 1941. Maybe even more so!
A very important part of the Studio today is the Walt Disney Archives. With such a rich history throughout the Company on and off screen, having such a center of information in one place provides an invaluable resource to draw upon for the company and historians both. Readers of this space may recall that I am researching the 1959 Disney production of “Pollyanna” at St. Helena in Northern California’s Napa Valley. More specifically, information related to the train which appears in the opening and closing moments of the film. For me, this research is ongoing and I had hoped to find some additional information that is not available at other archival sources. Regrettably, the Archives only has two boxes of documents from the production, and they do not contain any railroad related material. While this was unfortunate, it was not unexpected as the Southern Pacific Motion Picture Bureau often communicated by telephone. So… my search remains ongoing.
Kevin Kern, of the Archives, with Leo and Roger.
One of the crown jewels of not only the Archives, but of the Walt Disney Company, are the offices of Walt Disney, located in Suite 3H of the Animation Building. The formal office was where Walt would receive guests visiting the studio, while the informal office was where he attended to the day to day business of the studio as well as other parts of the company. When Ron Miller took over the roles of president, chief executive and chief operating officer, he used offices during his tenure, until 1984. His daughter Joanna has mentioned visiting him there.
Roger and Leo, with the former occupant of Suite 3H.
When Dave Smith started the Walt Disney Archives in June of 1970, one of his first tasks was documenting and cataloging the contents of both offices. A visit today shows just how monumental an effort this was. Everything from knick-nacks to books to scripts and other documents are all displayed as they were during Walt’s time here. It is a much a look inside the man as it is the spaces he occupied.
Walt’s desk in the formal office.
The piano in the formal office where the Sherman Brothers introduced Walt to many memorable tunes for films, television and theme parks.
A couple of items of note in the formal office! The Tiki from New Zealand and the cigar humidor.
The working office is where Walt was likely to be found if he wasn’t out and about the studio or down at Disneyland. It was not uncommon for him to be surrounded by folks at work on projects of all kinds. With a hidden kitchen in the working office, lunches were often working ones!
Walt’s desk in the informal or working office, complete with his grip for taking documents home including scripts and other materials.
Keen eyes may also note another humidor among the items on the shelf behind Walt. Although he was known to enjoy an occasional cigar, this humidor was used to hold his eyeglasses, rather than cigars. Brother Roy was more the cigar fan, and it is likely that those occasional cigars came from him.
One of two large sofas and the hidden kitchen in the working office.
This wall above the other sofa shows the projects ongoing at the time of Walt’s passing in 1966 including expansion at Disneyland and the Florida project.
After visiting these offices, it is not hard to imagine Walt involved with so much, not only at the Studio, but everywhere the company was looking forward to. So many things such as Mineral King, the scope and complexity ahead in Florida, challenges in both film and television, and the revolution in home entertainment ahead all would have greatly benefited from his involvement and guidance.
Leo and Roger in the formal office hearing tales of the Sherman Brothers at the piano.
A very special thanks to everyone at the Archives for sharing this very special experience with us. Especially our guide Haydee for her answers to some more involved questions!
And a great word of thanks to Howard Green for making this all possible as well.
Of course, any Disney experience seems to exit through the gift shop. Well, almost…but we did shop at the studio store for a variety of goods and memorabilia to finish this part of the day. But we were far from done!
From the steps of the Hyperion bungalow, eagle-eyed passersby can spot the two flagpoles in front of the Commissary. The ultimate souvenirs from another Disney connection: the 1960 Winter Olympics ar Squaw Valley (now Palisades at Tahoe) near Truckee, California.
Meeting us outside the Hyperion Bungalow was animator and voice of Donald Duck, Tony Anselmo. The Bungalow was moved here from the Hyperion Studio in 1940 and has served in multiple roles, today a conference room. Tony took us on a whirlwind tour of a number of spots of note around the lot including former animators offices in the Animation building and the Ink and Paint building, recording studios, soundstages and more. It was an amazing way to wrap up an indeed memorable day. In our own way, we felt like we were walking in Robert Benchley’s footsteps some 85 years later. In fact, “The Reluctant Dragon” was celebrating the 85th anniversary of the release of the film on June 20, 1941!
So…
I can hear you asking already. How can I take such a tour?
Well, I can’t say your experience will duplicate ours, but D23 is offering The Official Walt Disney Studios Walking Tour next month. From August 3 through 31, 2026. Tickets have been on sale since May, so they may be limited in availability. Check this link for details.
Still to come? You bet! Five more days of adventures and misadventures! Stay tuned…