As we all breath a collective sigh of relief with the passing of Hurricane Charley through Central Florida, we must all remember to keep those who’s lives were affected by the storm in our thoughts and prayers in the weeks and months ahead.

By the time you will be reading this, I will be more than halfway through a trip of my own through Walt Disney World. Yep, I’m vacationing there this week! So, naturally, I have been keeping a very close eye on the situation with Hurricane Charley. As I was reading every bit of information I could, I also came across some really great stories about how the Walt Disney Company really came through to assist both the Guests and Cast Members as they tried to cope with the terrible storms.

For example, I read that many WDW Cast Members who were working on the night the storm came through were allowed to bring their families to a Disney resort so they could all be together to weather out the storm.

For those guests stranded on the property with nothing to do (as all the parks were closed), resort hotel Cast Members organized games, and many of the characters arrived in the hotel lobbies to entertain the young ones, and maybe keep their minds off of the approaching storms. Furthermore, property-wide, all resort televisions continually broadcast Disney feature animated films back to back. All in all, Walt Disney World did everything that they could to provide for the guests and cast members who were stranded at the resort during the storm.

It is stories like these that really make me remember what Disney is all about. I think it is a great tribute to Walt himself and the ideals that he left behind. While some may argue that over the years, the company has diminished somewhat, it’s great to read stories of how the company reacts and really steps up to the plate when it counts the most.

Walt was a man of great character. He had this uncanny ability to know what the public wanted, and was able to deliver it to them every time, regardless of what his critics said or thought. For example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was dubbed by some as “Disney’s Folly.” No one ever thought a feature-length animated cartoon would be as successful as it turned out to be. But Walt knew.

Disneyland is another prime example. Everyone told Walt that Disneyland would be a “Hollywood spectacular” – a spectacular failure! But as he always did, Walt again had the last laugh. Disneyland is nearing it’s 50th year of operation, and is still one of the most visited and most beloved theme parks on the planet.

But what would Walt think of his company today? While no one can say what Walt would have done had he lived another ten years, it’s fun to imagine what outrageous things he would have tried to accomplish.

First and foremost would likely be EPCOT – not the theme park, but the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow that was Walt’s last grand idea. This futuristic city concept was one of Walt’s last passions. In his last days, he dedicated most of his time to the development of it. Films and television were turned over to other trusted executives so Walt could focus on what he cared about the most. But after his untimely death, the EPCOT project was derailed without his creative drive and focus.

The EPCOT project would have fundamentally changed the Florida property. Had the original version been built, we would likely never have seen Disney-MGM Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and to my mind, that would have been a great shame. But I can’t help but always wonder what Walt’s EPCOT would have been like.

At Disneyland, one has to wonder what Walt would think of the second gate sitting in the former Disneyland parking lot. While Disney’s California Adventure is a great theme park by most standards, I tend to hold the Disney parks to a higher standard, and therefore was somewhat disappointed by the experience it delivers. I can’t speak for Walt, but everything I know about what he believed in tells me that he would have done things a bit differently with this park.

Many could argue that if the company stuck so strictly to Walt’s decree that Disneyland was to be a place where “parents and children could have fun together,” that we wouldn’t have some of the blockbuster thrills that we do today, such as Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, etc.

But I would disagree with that and argue that as times have changed, so has the wants of society. There came a point where the people wanted thrills. Walt knew this, and he was the first one to deliver them in the form of the Matterhorn Bobsleds. I think the company would have naturally progressed to building these sorts of rides under Walt just as they did after he was gone. If you take a good hard look at the Disney parks compared to many of the regional amusement parks, it is evident that if all you are really after is thrills, Disney is not necessarily your place. They have the thrill rides to keep up, but their main focus is still story-based attractions, many of which are still enjoyed by the entire family day in and day out.

One last thing to address here lies outside of the theme parks – Animation. While I’m more of a Disney park fan than I am of animation, I am still saddened to see that Disney is abandoning traditional animation. While CGI is a great technology, and some great films have been produced using this medium, I feel that these two methods of animation could peacefully co-exist. Again, while I’m not Walt, I’ve dedicated almost a lifetime to getting to know what kind of a person he was. While I am positive that he would have been thrilled with CGI, I’m also fairly positive that he would not abandon what got him started to begin with.

So, What Would Walt Do? If you’re looking to an answer to that question, you won’t find it here. But, if you think about it, it’s kind of fun to imagine what he might have thought…

Well, with that, I’ll be signing off for this week. I have a plane to catch for Orlando in 3 hours! So, until next week… I’ll see ya real soon!