Disney Parks shared a behind-the-scenes video about the creation of the new “Dream Makers” statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse coming to Hong Kong Disneyland.
Dream Makers Statue
The video shows artists and sculptors crafting the statue, from concept art to completion.
Dream Makers is inspired by the moment Walt Disney dreamed up Disneyland. He was sitting on a bench and watching his daughters on a merry-go-round in Griffith Park when he thought about a theme park that the entire family could enjoy.
Mickey will join Walt on the bench, located behind the Castle of Magical Dreams and facing Cinderella Carousel. The Sword in the Stone was removed from this spot.
Dream Makers will be unveiled in October 2023.
The video shows a plaque stating its dedication will be on October 16, the date of the 1923 founding of The Walt Disney Company. The statue is part of the ongoing Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration, honoring the 100th anniversary of the company.
Walt Disney Statues at Disney Parks
Several Disney Parks feature statues of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. The most famous is the Partners statue created by Blaine Gibson. The original was unveiled at Disneyland in 1993, on Mickey’s birthday, November 18. It stands in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, with Walt and Mickey looking down Main Street, U.S.A. A plaque below it has the following Walt Disney quote: “I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place…where parents and children can have fun…together.”
Versions of Partners were eventually installed at Magic Kingdom (1995), Tokyo Disneyland (1998), Walt Disney Studios (2001), and Walt Disney Studios Park, Paris (2002).
Gibson said of the statue, “I chose to depict Walt as he was in 1954. I think that was when [he] was in his prime. It was tough trying to match the media image of Walt Disney, the one the public knows, to the real Walt, the one we knew. I think Walt is admiring the park and saying to Mickey, ‘Look what we’ve accomplished together,’ because truly they were very much a team through it all. ‘Look at all the happy people who have come to visit us today.’”
Gibson also sculpted Sharing the Magic. This statue of Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse on a bench was installed at Magic Kingdom in 1999. It can be found in Town Square, though sometimes moves around for different holiday decorations.
The Storytellers statue, designed by Rick Terry and Ray Spencer, was installed in Disney California Adventure in 2012. Storytellers depicts a younger Walt as he would have looked when arriving in Los Angeles in 1923, and an earlier design of Mickey. Versions were added to Tokyo DisneySea (2013) and Shanghai Disneyland (2016).
The finished Walt the Dreamer statue was unveiled at D23 Expo 2022. It will be installed at the new Dreamers Point in EPCOT. Unlike the other statues, Mickey doesn’t join Walt as part of the Dreamer statue.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.