Walt Disney Quotes

“What seems real to the mind can be as important as any material fact. We live by the spirit and the imagination as well as by our senses. Cartoon animation can give fantasy the same reality as those things we can touch and see and hear.”

“Why be a governor or senator when you can be king of Disneyland?”

“It is good to have a failure while you're young because it teaches you so much. For one thing it makes you aware that such a thing can happen to anybody, and once you've lived through the worst, you're never quite as vulnerable afterward.”

“I am a patient listener, but opinionated to the point of stubbornness when my mind is made up.”

“It's always a challenge bringing a great story classic to the screen. Giving visual form to the characters and places that have only existed in the imagination. But it's the kind of challenge we enjoy.”

“Just make sure you never do less than your best”

“The story man must see clearly in his own mind how every piece of business will be put over. He should feel every expression, every reaction. He get far enough from his story to take a second look at it... to see whether there is any dead phase... to see whether the personalities are going to be interesting and appealing to the audience. He should also try to see that the things that his characters are doing are of an interesting nature.”

“Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying”

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

“I just want it to look like nothing else in the world. And it should be surrounded by a train.”

“Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better”

“Have confidence in your ability to do it right, and work hard to do the best possible job.”

“The ideal set-up would be the story man, the director, and the layout man, as well as musician, operating as a sort of story unit. They all should be keenly interested in the picture. No one in person should donate to an extent where he would keep the others from entering into the production and freely expressing themselves.”

“I don't want the public to see the world they live in while they're in the Park (Disneyland). I want to feel they're in another world.”

“Family fun is as necessary to modern living as a kitchen refrigerator.”

“Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood.”

“Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.”

“Let your heart guide you...it whispers so listen closely.”

“The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge.”

“Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing this red, white and blue stripe.”

“Think beyond your lifetime if you want to accomplish something truly worthwhile.”

“To some people, I am kind of a Merlin who takes lots of crazy chances, but rarely makes mistakes. I've made some bad ones, but fortunately, the successes have come along fast enough to cover up the mistakes. When you go to bat as many times as I do, and continually improve upon your mistakes, you're bound to get a good average.”

“Good bye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.”

“Everyone has to contribute, or they become laborers.”

“Happiness is a state of mind. It's just according to the way you look at things.”