Walt Disney's Name Tag

Q: Our family vacations at the parks regularly, and I have noticed that every Disney cast member all the way up the CEO wears name tags. Did Walt ever wear one? If so, is it in the Archives?
Christopher, Phoenix, Arizona 

A [Dave Smith]: Walt Disney was adamant that Disney should be a first-name company. The first name tags for Disneyland came in 1962. They were a gray oval with a white name. We do have a "WALT" one in the Archives, but I have never seen a picture of him wearing it. I guess everyone knew him, so he felt it wasn't necessary. 

Walt's Name Tag was just like this one above

 

Each nametag has its own history, which in turn is a small part of Disneyland history. Let's look at the tags, row by row, starting with the top and working our way down. (Don't forget to click the image for an even bigger view!)

TOP ROW

• The badge in the upper left hand corner is made of metal, and is the very first name badge issued at Disneyland. There were two kinds used in the first seven years Disneyland was open. Regular employees had a badge with their employee number. Supervisors and managers had their full names on their badges. The badge in this picture belonged to Jim Warrick, who was in charge of the Maintenance department.

From 1962 to 1974, the thin oval nametags were used at Disneyland. There were three varieties used:

• First was a steel gray oval, with silver inlay (LYNDA).
• In 1967, there was a slight change, and the inlay was changed to gold (PAUL).
• From 1971 to 1974, a while oval was used (RICK).
• In 1975-76, the Bicentennial of the United States was celebrated at Disneyland and a new nametag was made (SHANE).

To learn more about the other rows, visit Disneyland History Through Nametags

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color - All About Magic

Q: How could one go about viewing an episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color that originally aired on January 30, 1957 entitled "All About Magic"?

Mitch, Cave Creek, Arizona

A [Dave Smith]: Until they are released on DVD, the early Disney television shows are unavailable. But this one was released on The Sword in the Stone (Gold Collection); the DVD was released in 2001. 

[Marcio Disney]

"Walt Disney began hosting his own television show for ABC in 1954 in an unusual contract: Disney provided ABC with a weekly hour-long television program in exchange for funding for the construction of Disneyland. As a result, the television show was also originally named Disneyland. The anthology series has since gone through a number of name changes over the years: Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Wonderful World of Disney, Disney's Wonderful World, Walt Disney, The Disney Sunday Movie, and The Magical World of Disney. The series spanned an incredible 54 years—13 seasons of which were hosted by Walt Disney, himself.

Walt shows off some magic tricks with the studio props and then turns the show over to the Slave in the Magic Mirror, who hosts a look at some magic-themed cartoons.

Aired on Wednesday, January 30th, 1957 on ABC at 7:30pm
Aired on Wednesday, June 12th, 1957 on ABC at 7:30pm
Aired on Sunday, October 23rd, 1960 on ABC at 6:30pm (under the heading of Walt Disney Presents)"

- by DisneyTV4me

The First Tinker Bell to Fly in Disneyland

Q: The first Tinker Bell to fly in Disneyland was Tiny Kline. Can you tell me her age when Walt hired her? I have read that she was either in her 60s or 71. Do you know the date?

Debby, Oakdale, California 

A [Dave Smith]: Circus performer Tiny Kline was 70 years old when she began flying as Tinker Bell over Sleeping Beauty Castle as part of the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show on June 9, 1961.

[Marcio Disney]

UPDATE [April, 27th 2020]: Tiny Cline did not retire before she died of Cancer early 1964. Her cable went to a "Catching Tower" behind the Fantasyland Theatre. Mimi Zerbini replaced her on June 17,1964 for one year then Judy Kaye for the next few years. They were fron Dobritch Circus Disneyland was working with. I Supervised/announced "Fantasy In The Sky" 1962-1964. B. Harris

Click Here to learn more about Disneyland's first fireworks!

 

In 1905, Kline immigrated to the United States with a dance troupe. She started as a burlesque dancer, but moved on to perform in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as Tiny Duchée. There, she met rodeo trick rider Otto Kreinbrink (stage name Otto Kline). Two years later, they married. When he died during a ride, she took over and learned acrobatic tricks, including the "aerial iron jaw act", where she would be suspended by the mouth on a long glide wire.

In 1961, Walt Disney began a search for a Tinker Bell to wow crowds at Disneyland. Kline was hired to glide down a wire connecting the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty's Castle. She retired and died in 1964.

In this video you can see Otto's tombstone:

"My family and I went to see my Great-great uncle: Otto Kline. He was married to Tiny Kline. Tiny was in the circus like Otto. She was also the first tinker bell (hired by Walt Disney) She also flew across Time Square hanging by her teeth."

- by ashleytisdale1207

The Truth About "If you Can Dream It, you Can Do It"

Q: I have found the quotation, "If we can dream it, we can do it," attributed to Walt Disney, on the Internet. Do you know when he said it?

Thomas, Lincoln, Nebraska 

A [Dave Smith]: Despite its frequent publication, that is not a Walt Disney quote. We checked with Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald for the definitive answer: "I am very familiar with that line — because I wrote it! It was written specifically for the Horizons attraction at Epcot and used in numerous ways, from dialogue in the ride to graphics. I find it amusing that the Science of Imagineering DVD series attributes it to Walt Disney, but I guess I should be flattered." 

 [Marcio Disney]

He is one of the Walt’s original Imagineers and nowadays, you can read articles wrote by Tom Fitzgerald for the Disney Parks Blog! He's all about Star Tours. Just Visit: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/author/tfitzgerald/

The Hotel that Walt Disney Stayed in Vienna

Q: I live in Vienna and recently I read in a magazine that Walt Disney stayed in one of Austria's most famous hotels. It's called Hotel Sacher. Do you know if he really stayed there?
Thomas, Vienna, Austria 

A [Dave Smith]: In 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962, the only years that we know Walt Disney went to Vienna, he stayed at the Hotel Imperial. We are not aware that he ever stayed at the Hotel Sacher.

 http://www.hotelimperialvienna.com/

Walt Disney and the Role of Carrot during World War II

Q: I run the World Carrot Museum, online at www.carrotmuseum.com, and am researching the role of carrot during World War II. I have found that Hank Porter, on behalf of Disney, created several "carroty" characters for use in the British publicity campaign to eat more vegetables. Can you throw any light on these original cartoon characters via any archives/books you have?
John, Skipton, U.K. 

A [Dave Smith]: According to David Lesjak's book Toons at War, "Disney artists helped the British government promote food products by designing a family of carrots for England's Food Minister. The January 11, 1942 issue of The New York Times magazine announced, 'England has a goodly store of carrots. But carrots are not the staple items of the average English diet. The problem… is to sell carrots to [the English public].' The Disney-designed carrots included Carroty George, Dr. Carrot, and Clara Carrot. The vegetable characters were reproduced on a poster and recipe booklet, and the carrot images were used extensively in a newspaper ad campaign." 

[Marcio Disney]