60 years ago Walt Disney had an idea for a magical place where fathers could take their daughters on Saturdays. Not all of the Walt Disney Company was on board with his idea. So Walt secretly pulled animators and set designers from from their desks, and stashed them around the studio to work on his magical place. With his own money Walt formed WED Enterprises (Walter Elias Disney) and, with the help of those animators and set designers, built that place we call Disneyland.
Here’s how Walt described it…
“Well, WED is, you might call it my backyard laboratory, my workshop away from work. It served a purpose in that some of the things I was planning, like Disneyland for example… it’s pretty hard for banking minds to go with it… so I had to go ahead on my own and develop it to a point where they could begin to comprehend what I had on my mind.”
In 1987 WED Enterprises was renamed Walt Disney Imagineering and they celebrate 60 inspiring years this year.
First thing I noticed when looking at Disney’s anniversary sign is that the “A” and “R” are missing their strokes on the inside of the characters. Surprising for a company that hangs its hat on the small details. I can’t wait to take my son to WDW when he is older. I have great memories from visiting there.
I think they’re cutouts and the shading wasn’t big enough.