An all-new, first-of-its-kind bronze statue of Walt Disney sitting on a park bench with Mickey Mouse was unveiled today at Hong Kong Disneyland to coincide with the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company. This latest statue, Dream Makers, joins other well-known statues of Walt Disney across Disney theme parks and sites worldwide including Partners and Storytellers, plus Sharing the Magic, which features Roy O. Disney seated on a bench with Minnie Mouse.
Dream Makers is located between the Castle of Magical Dreams and Cinderella Carousel in Fantasyland at Hong Kong Disneyland. Walt is seated with one hand gesturing toward the carousel and the other toward the castle, as Mickey looks at him with delight.
This moment is inspired by the times when Walt would take his two daughters to similar attractions — Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles — and thought about an “amusement enterprise” idea where children and their parents could have fun together. While this moment would have occurred earlier in Walt’s life, the statue shows an older Walt reflecting on what he has built and his excitement of the possibilities that are yet to come.
Dream Makers was sculpted by multiple dimensional designers at Walt Disney Imagineering, including Scott Goddard and Patrick Simmons who worked on Walt, and Erma Yazzie who sculpted Mickey. Check out this latest video showing how Imagineers in Hong Kong and California brought this statue to life in consultation with the Walt Disney Animation Studios Creative Legacy team.
We don’t have just one statue debuting at a Disney park this year! Coming to EPCOT in December at Dreamers Point in the World Celebration neighborhood, Walt the Dreamer shows Walt as he appeared later in his life in his sixties. This is around the time when he was dreaming up the initial concepts for EPCOT and the overall Florida Project, a place that was never built during his lifetime. His relaxed and reflective demeanor was important to the design of this statue, to reflect the pure optimism he felt for the future and the magic of possibility that was the basis for the dream he never saw. When the World Celebration neighborhood of EPCOT opens in December, guests will be able to sit next to Walt and take a picture with this statue at Dreamers Point and be inspired to imagine alongside our company’s original dreamer.
The original Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue first appeared in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland park for Mickey’s birthday (Nov. 18) in 1993. It depicts Walt around the age he would have been when Disneyland park opened in 1955 and was sculpted by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson. This statue subsequently debuted elsewhere, including at Magic Kingdom Park (June 1995), Tokyo Disneyland (April 1998), Legends Plaza at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank (December 2001) and Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris when that park opened (July 2002).
When Buena Vista Street made its debut at Disney California Adventure Park in June 2012, it featured the Storytellers statue, picturing a younger Walt Disney, as he might have appeared when he first arrived in California in 1923, along with a representation of Mickey Mouse from later that decade. Storytellers was created by sculptor Rick Terry and Imagineer Ray Spencer, with guidance from Blaine Gibson. Storytellers also appears in Tokyo DisneySea and Shanghai Disneyland.
Additionally, a statue of Walt’s brother, Roy O. Disney, sitting on a bench with Minnie Mouse is called Sharing the Magic. This statue debuted in Town Square at Magic Kingdom Park in October 1999 and was later added to Legends Plaza at The Walt Disney Studios lot. In Tokyo Disneyland — it was also sculpted by Blaine Gibson.
Dream Makers is a fitting addition to the legacy of Walt Disney statues across Disney parks and a beautiful tribute in honor of The Walt Disney Company’s centennial anniversary.
