Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk
about all things Disney! If you’re new to the channel, hit that subscribe
button and click the bell icon to be notified when we upload a new video. We also have Instagram and Twitter- you can
find us @TPMvideos. Disneyland in California is known as Walt’s
park. In 1923 with a suitcase and a dream, Walt
Disney moved to California where he became a pioneer in the animation and movie business. Now Walt was a visionary man and by 1950 he
was ready to try something new and venture into theme parks. He was a kid at heart and on July 17th, 1955
his dream became a reality with the opening of Disneyland; this magical place everyone
regardless of age could enjoy. “That’s right! Anythings possible at Disneyland!” Walt himself was very involved in the entire
process of bringing Disneyland to life going to the park every day during the construction
process. Even though Walt Disney may be gone, his spirit
still lives on at the park. There’s many tributes & hidden details pertaining
to Walt all around Disneyland and after 6 decades of operation, there’s also some
myths that have circulated as well. So today while looking at the history of Walt
Disney & the theme park, we’re gonna be counting down the Top 7 Walt Disney Hidden
Secrets & Myths at Disneyland. Number 7
This first hidden Walt Disney tribute takes us into the whacky cartoon world of ToonTown. Now the windows on Main Street are used as
a way to honour the men and women who’ve helped build up Disneyland. This also includes Walt Disney, who’s name
can found on the door to the Casting Agency. Well in Toon Town, the window tradition was
continued but they just honoured cartoon characters, with one exception made for Walt Disney; the
only human allowed into Mickey’s Toon Town. Above the library, you’ll find two windows
with Laugh-O-Gram Films Inc. The bottom portion of the right window has
W.E. Disney- Directing Animator- W.E. standing for Walter Elias Disney. Before the success of the Disney Animation
Studios, Walt Disney had another studio venture called Laugh-o-Gram films which was founded
in 1921. The studio was based out of Kanas City, Missouri
where Walt, along with a team of talented artists, produced various short animated cartoons. Unfortunately, Laugh-o-gram films didn’t
last too long and went bankrupt in 1923 and that’s what prompted Walt’s move to California. Even though Mickey Mouse wasn’t conceived
until 1928, the character was inspired by a little mouse at the Laugh-O-Gram film office. In the waste basket by Walt’s desk, he found
a little brown timed mouse, so he placed it in a wire cage and kept it as a pet on his
desk. Later in 1928 when Walt asked Ub Iwerks to
come up with a new character, he remembered that cute little rodent from Kanas City and
Mickey Mouse was born! Number 6
Walt Disney’s speech on opening day at Disneyland is pretty iconic.. To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past…and
here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the
dreams and the hard facts that have created America…with the hope that it will be a
source of joy and inspiration to all the world. Now have you ever been in New Orleans square
and heard this clicking sound coming from the telegraph cable office? Well that clicking sound is a message in morse
code which would have been used in the 19th century; the era New Orleans Square is set
in. The message is about a minute long and its
an excerpt of Walt Disney’s opening day Disneyland speech. It says, “To all who come to Disneyland,
welcome. Here age relives fond memories of the past,
and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.” Now another fun hidden Walt Disney tribute
hidden in New Orleans Square can be found on this railing above the Royal Street Veranda. If you have a keen eye, you’ll make out
Walt Disney’s initials along with his brother Roy’s initials right in the centre of these
railings. Theses have been here since New Orleans Square
opened in 1966 and act as another reminder of the men responsible for dreaming up Disneyland. Number 5
Disneyland was once just an idea that Walt Disney dreamt up, and that dream happened
in a very specific place. At the entrance of Great Moments with Mr.
Lincoln, you’ll find a bench hidden in the doorway. Well this is where Walt Disney dreamt up Disneyland. On the weekends, Walt would take his daughters
to the merry go round at Griffith park. He sat on this bench while they rode the merry
go round and thought to himself that some kind of amusement enterprise should be built
where the parents and children could have fun together. Now before this grand idea we know today as
Disneyland, Walt’s original idea was called The Mickey Mouse park. It was to be built at the Disney studios in
Burbank, California. This park was only about 8 acres but as the
dream grew, Walt Disney decided that they needed a much larger space. So in 1953 the Walt Disney company purchased
a 160 acre parcel of land in Anaheim. Sonstriction began in 1954 and Disneyland
was opened on July 17th, 1955. Number 4
Over in Town Square you can find the Disneyland firehouse and it’s commonly known that Walt
Disney had a small 500 square foot apartment on the second floor. Now you may have noticed a lamp in the front
window and it’s actually kept shining everyday. When Walt Disney would stay in the apartment
he used to turn this light on and it became a way to let guests and cast members know
that he was in the park. After Walt passed away, they kept the light
on to keep his presence alive and this is the common story told about the lamp. The only time the lamp isn’t seen is during
the Christmas season when a Christmas tree takes its place. Well the myth surrounding this lamp goes a
little something like this. Shortly after Walt passed, a custodial cast
member was cleaning the apartment. She turned the lamp off, went down to the
park and then noticed it was still on. She thought she just forgot to turn it of. So she went back up, turned the light off
and when she went back down to the park, it was mysteriously on again. Its even said that when she went back into
the apartment to turn the light off again, she actually saw the light turn on by itself. Since that day they just chose to always keep
the light on as a tribute to Walt. Either way, both stories end with the light
staying on to honour Walt Disney, but which one do you think is true? Comment below. Number 3
The Partners Statue can be found in hub with Sleeping Beauty castle as the backdrop. Carved by Imagineer Blaine Gibson, this copper
statue of Walt Disney and Mickeys Mouse was added in November of 1993 and stands 6 feet,
5 inches tall. It’s actually 7 inches taller than Walt’s
actual height. Back in the early 1960s, Gibson created a
bust of Walt Disney, so by using that as a model he spent a year sculpting the Partners
statue to make sure it was just right. When you take a close look, you’ll notice
many small details that really capture the essence of Walt Disney. The Partners statue at Disneyland in California
was the first to debut but today there are 5 statues in total which include one in the
hub of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and one at Tokyo Disneyland. On each of these statues there’s two hidden
details that many people seem to overlook. If you take a look at Walt’s hand pointing
down Main Street USA, there’s a ring on his finger. It's an Irish Claddagh ring that Walt’s
Wife Lillian bought for him on a trip they took to Ireland. And Walt actually wore this ring everyday. You also may have noticed something engraved
on Walt’s tie. Well that says STR which stands for Smoke
Tree Ranch. That was Walt’s vacation home in Palm Springs. The Partner’s Statue acts as the perfect
reminder of Walt Disney; the man responsible for the magical place that’s Disneyland. Number 2
Sleeping Beauty Castle is the centrepiece of Disneyland, and if you take a look up at
the castle archway you’ll find a crest with a triple set of Lions. Well what a lot of people don’t know is
that this here is the Disney family crest and it was added to the castle in 1960. Something else that was added to the castle
later on was this chandelier clock in 1996 during a castle refurb. You may have noticed it as you’re walking
through the castle from Fantasyland towards the hub, and theres been a longtime myth surrounding
this chandelier. If you watch the clock, you’ll realize it
doesn’t actually work and that the time is just frozen. The commonly talked about myth is this clock
marks the time that Walt Disney passed away. Well Walt Disney passed away on December 15th
at 9:35am, and without even knowing which hand marks the minute or hour both are no
where close to being 9:35. So obviously it’s safe to say this myth
is busted, but what exactly does the time represent? Well it actually represents nothing of importance
according to a Disney Parks blog post. When the chandelier clock was installed in
1996, it actually never worked in the first place. Over the years the clock has been set on different
times but none of them have had any significance. So the big moral of the story is to never
rely on this broken clock to tell you the current time or any significant time of the
past. Number 1
One of the most popular Disney myths is that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen and was
buried under certain locations at Disneyland. The most common location talked about is under
Pirates of the Caribbean. Another is under the Partners statue, beneath
Sleeping Beauty castle has also been brought up and even under Cinderella Castle at Magic
Kingdom in Florida. Well none of this is true and the myths are
completely false; Walt was never frozen and is not under anything at Disney theme park. When he passed, he was cremated just a couple
days later. January 12th 1967 was the first time someone
was cryogenically frozen and it wasn’t Walt Disney. So how did this myth gain steam? Well it all started back in 1969 when the
rumour was first briefly mentioned in a French magazine called Ici Paris. Then in 1972, the president of the Cryonics
Society of California spoke with the LA Times. He said that Walt Disney showed interest in
being Frozen but he did confirm he wasn’t actually frozen. He said “The truth is, Walt missed out. He never specified it in writing..” Disney’s family denied that even this quote
was true and Walt’s daughter Dianne said “There is absolutely no truth to the rumour
that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics.” Over the years the myth has continued to spread. A lot of people still really want to believe
its true. Walt may be gone and not frozen. He was a legendary man and his legacy does
live throughout all of Disneyland. So did any of these Walt Disney myths and
hidden secrets at Disneyland surprise you? Have you ever heard or noticed any of them? I’d love to know! Leave a comment down below to start a conversion
and don’t forget to hit that like button if you enjoyed
the video. Thanks so much for watching! Click the TPM icon on the screen to subscribe
to this channel and check out some of these other videos which we’re sure you’ll like!
