things happened
November 18, 2010 (Thursday)
On this day in 1307, William Tell shot an arrow through an apple on his son’s head. Or so they say. On this day in 1626, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was dedicated. On this day in 1928, Walt Disney debuted his talking, animated cartoon, “Steamboat Willie”, at the Colony Theater in New York.
When people are denigrating the design of something, they may say, “That’s a Mickey Mouse setup,” meaning it’s not very professional. The term is not a good choice, because Mickey Mouse has firmly established himself as king of a wealthy empire. The Walt Disney Company brings in $35 billion a year.
When I hear Walt Disney’s name, I immediately think of Disneyland. Before Disneyland, there were no theme parks, as far as I know. It was a new concept, born in Walt’s mind. As I understand it, the idea was born as Walt sought places to take his children just for fun. The nearest thing to a theme park back then were the midways at fairs, and the little rides here and there like those we visited when I was a child. There were Shetland ponies walking around in a circle in a sort of merry-go-round, little cars for one kid at a time, also going around in circles, and real carousels, with life size “horses” and music from genuine calliopes. Disneyland set the pace for all the theme parks around the world today, and the introduction of a whole new world of entertainment. And it was born in the heart of a father who wanted something good for his children and all the children of the world.
Many corporations have sprung from “mom and pop” operations and have gradually adopted methods and goals not shared by their founders. Many people disagree with some of the directions taken by some of the businesses bearing the Disney name. I think most people would prefer that the Disney Companies stick with the values that made them great. WWWD? (What would Walt do?)