The Walt Disney Archives is where all our memories are stored! Ok, that may be a little dramatic but also pretty close to the truth. Everything from ride vehicles from the parks to movie props are stored at the Walt Disney Archives. If it had something to do with the Disney Company, it is filed away at the archives. This year celebrates 55 years of The Walt Disney Archives and we got a little sneak peek behind the curtain with D23!
How The Walt Disney Archives Started
In 1967 Dave Smith was asked to start compiling a bibliography on Walt Disney by The Walt Disney Company. This was not long after Walt Disney’s death in December of 1966. Walt’s brother, Roy O. Disney wanted to preserve all of Walt’s records, awards, memorabilia and I ‘m sure his essence. Dave Smith’s first assignment was taking pictures and cataloging Walt Disney’s studio office. This would prove very significant years later when Walt’s office was restored. They had this information to put it back together exactly how he left it. It took Dave Smith over a year to archive Walt’s offices.
The Job Got Bigger
Dave Smith came to realize that there was no way to only catalog Walt Disney’s stuff and it ever be separated from the company. So he wrote out a proposal for the establishment of The Walt Disney Archives. It would take six months of proposals and meetings but Roy O. Disney accepted the proposal and The Walt Disney Archives were born on June 22, 1970! The Walt Disney Archives were the very first corporate archive for an entertainment company. Dave Smith worked as the original Walt Disney Archivist for 40+ years. He started out doing alone and eventually had a small team to help him. He created protocols throughout the company for preserving documents and history throughout the parks, films and other Disney Company ventures. Dave Smith was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2017.
What Does The Walt Disney Archives Do
Well, in the words of the Disney Company, the archives are there “to collect, preserve and make available for research the historical materials relating to Walt and the company he founded.” Pretty important work if you ask me! In the beginning Dave Smith would dig through dumpsters, go to swap meets and antique malls and scour the studios and parks for important things he felt should be archived. The archives were originally located in th casting building at The Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, CA. Today the archives are housed in the Frank G Wells building and several warehouses close by. The Walt Disney Archives only has a team of around 40 people. How lucky are those individuals to call this their job?
The Walt Disney Archives Today
After 55 years of The Walt Disney Archives they are still a very important part of the Disney Company. Now run by Becky Cline who worked beside and was mentored by Dave Smith, the archives are bigger and better than ever. In recent years the archives have completed projects like the restoration of Walt’s office in 2015. They also completed the 2022 restoration of Walt Disney’s plane, the Mouse and countless exhibits all over the world. There will never be a shortage of materials that need to be archived for the Disney Company! If you are a D23 Gold Member you can even tour the restored office of Walt Disney. This is part of the studio tours available throughout the year.
Calebrating 55 Years of The Walt Disney Archives with D23
D23, the Official Disney Fan Club has really stepped it up this year with their event offerings. This one did not disappoint. This event was held on the exact day of the 55th anniversary of the archives, June 22nd, at the AMC Theater in Disney Springs. You may think it is weird to do this on the 55th anniversary instead of the 50th. Unfortunately the 50th was in 2020 so there were no events happening then! We got to see some very cool items from the archives. There were sprockets, rods and even water from the original Fountain of Nations in EPCOT, the original film reel of the Roman chariot in Spaceship Earth, Robin the Frog puppet and a Figment merchandise figure. My favorite was Rizzo the Rats Mickey Mouse costume and hat from the Muppet Vision 3D pre show!
But we didn’t just get to see these items, which was very cool! We also got to hear from Becky Cline, Michael Vargo and a panel of other Disney professionals across all worlds that collaborate with The Walt Disney Archives. It was incredible to hear these people talk about how passionate they are about Disney history and preserving what Walt created. They talked about how the past influences everything they do in the parks, cruise lines, films and more. The archives is a place people within The Walt Disney Company can go to do research for their projects. One of the panelists creates merchandise and talked about the Vault Collection. We had this collection here in Walt Disney World for the 50th anniversary. He explained how he was able to pull old tickets and merchandise to create that collection. Again, what a cool job, right?!
Conclusion
I feel like I say this after every event but this really was my favorite! I am such an information nerd and in another life working in The Walt Disney Archives would have been my dream job. Not that it wouldn’t be now, that ship has just sailed at this point! HAHA! I have such a deep love and appreciation for who Walt Disney was and his heart in everything he created. It was always about more than just the bottom line and that’s why it has stood the test of time.
Hearing the people responsible for preserving that talk so passionately about what they do and how it is used across The Walt Disney Company made me so happy. We may be celebrating 55 years of The Walt Disney Archives but they are in good hands. The archives will be around for a long long time! Check out The Walt Disney Archives exhibit list to see if there is one near you. I hope this inspires you to learn more about The Walt Disney Archives and the amazing people who work there. Thank you for reading along and have a magical day!
