The Imagineer

Growing up, pretty much all the way through high school, the only time I was happy was when I was in one of his parks. It was like my life was a dream (or a nightmare) and I only woke up when I walked through the turnstiles of Disneyland, and later, Walt Disney World.

And just to set the record straight, DisneyLAND is the better park. It has more of Walt in it than any of the others. Disneyland was called "the world's biggest toy for the world's biggest boy" by his detractors - and there were, and are, many. But Walt believed in what he was doing, and so did I.

As wonderful as the parks are, I still have hazy memories of one time when my dad, in one of his typically brilliant maneuvers, decided that instead of renting a car, we would take public transportation (I know anyone who is familiar with LA is already roaring with laughter) from my grandparents apartment to Disneyland. Getting there was no problem, but my dad failed to take into account that by the time the park closed, the buses had stopped running.

I know my folks had to be beat dragging four kids (my brother and I were very young, my sisters must have been toddlers, and my baby sister wasn't even a twinkle in my dad's eye) around Disneyland for twelve hours. I don't really remember too much, we were all asleep on our feet, but I have these impressions of being very cold, very tired, and very uncomfortable in some sort of small depot on a dark, desolate boulevard, waiting for the buses to start running again in the morning.

Be that as it may, thanks Walt, and a very happy birthday!

Walter Elias Disney, b:Dec 5, 1901