Walking in Walt Disney's Footsteps - Exploring Los Angeles

After the 88th Oscars took place in 2016, I took my wife and friends on a tour of Los Angeles to explore the important locations where Walt built his life and career to achieve his 26 Academy Awards.

Each of the locations we visited deserve a blog to themselves which I will post over the upcoming months. However, today I would like to share the details of the tour we took for others to possibly enjoy.  

Included below is the guide we used to help us fit everything within a day along with details of each location to keep us informed during our journey. Please use the guide for yourself but first consider: 

1) Are the times suitable for you? Check the opening and closing times of location as they will change at different times of the years.
2) Our tour did not include some locations such as the Walt Disney Studio and Walt's Barn which could be included. 
3) I suggest you call ahead and book a table to eat at the Tam O'Shanter. 
4) Some areas such as the location of Walt's first home in LA and Walt's resting place are private locations and should be respected. 
5) For best results when printing the guide, print the outside page first and print the inside page on the back of the paper and so that the pages are in the correct order when folded.
6) As you travel between locations, play some inspiring Disney music to help theme your day. The soundtrack from Saving Mr. Banks is a great one to use. 
7) All information and images used in the guide have been sourced from books, documents and online websites. It is not an official guide or tour and it is not affiliated with The Walt Disney Company or with the Disney family.  

Please share your photos and experiences on this blog if you take the tour. I hope it inspires you and that you have fun! 

Tour Guide - Outside (fold when printed)

Tour Guide - Inside (fold when printed)

The Walt Disney Concert Hall - attend an official tour. 

See details: http://www.musiccenter.org/visit/Exploring-the-Center/Tours/

Show your respect if you visit Walt, Lillian and Sharon at their resting place

The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round

The homes of Walt when he first arrived to L.A.

The Disney Brothers Studio 

The location where some of the Alice Comedies were filmed

The location of the first Walt Disney Studio

The real Hyperion Bridge as seen at Disney's California Adventure park

One of Walt's favorite restaurants - The Tam O'Shanter

Finish your day with Walt's favorite drink - Scotch on the rocks!

A merry place to be inspired - Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round

After a short drive into Griffith Park and along some winding roads, our GPS brought us to this beautiful Merry-Go-Round. When parking, you are higher than the carrousel itself which allows you to see the old structure from an unusual position and you can see it sitting in all its glory in the distance. The first time we visited, like an excited child, I fast stepped down the hill to get a closer look. 

The carrousel is protected by an external railed gate which you enter first. A second gate then guards the ride which sits underneath a large red and white roof. There is no doubt that this carrousel is old; it's been sitting there since 1937. The 68 horses are all finely carved and are antique looking with hair tails. The paintings that adorn the top exterior have either been renovated or have almost completely decayed. But these imperfections adds to its unique charm. 

To ride the carrousel is inexpensive (only $2 each) and you can buy your tickets at a side window where they also sell snacks and refreshments. When I first saw the carrousel, I was astonished by its speed. I have never seen horses go so fast on this kind of attraction! On a later occasion I took my parents to see the carrousel and was initially concerned it would be too fast for them, but we bought our tickets and we were so pleased we did. However when I took my wife on it, she was pleased when it stopped as she suffers from motion sickness! 

When taking a ride, you feel light weighted and free from the world as you circle around. A Military Band Organ plays a selection of over 1,500 marches and waltzes as the horses go up, down and around.*

It was this very carousel that Walt would take his two daughters to after church on a Sunday. Sharon and Diane, his two daughters, would ride on it over and over. Back in those days there was some apparatus that had rings sticking out from a slot and you'd grab a ring as you went by. If you got the gold ring you'd get a free ride. According to a story from Diane Disney Miller, one day she kept getting the gold ring and felt so clever for getting the free rides. Years later Walt admitted he gave the kid working the ride a few dollars, and he kept putting the gold rings where she could get them.**

As Walt watched his girls enjoy their many rides on the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, his mind continued to explore new possibilities. While sitting on a park bench in front of the ride, he dreamt of a place where parents and children could go to enjoy their experience together. This was of course the beginnings of Disneyland. 

At the back of the carousel, and behind another railing, sits one of the original park benches that Walt would have sat on in the forties. Another of these preserved benches is also in Disneyland, but more about that in a later blog.

* Information used from Laparks.org 
** Information from the book: Inside the Dream, the personal story of Walt Disney. 

The view of the Merry-Go-Round from the top of the hill.

The red and white roof that protects the Merry-Go-Round.

The view Walt had when he sat watching his daughters having fun.

The current information sign. 

A plaque on one of the attraction carriages that reads: 

Restored in memory of Walt Disney through the generosity of The Walt Disney Family Foundation.

Some of the scenic paintings that decorate the carrousel.

The antique looking horses with hair tails.

The bench Walt sat on in the forties, an image of him on the bench 
and an image of the second bench displayed at Disneyland.

 Recreating the image 60 years later of Walt on his bench at the carrousel. 

If you look closely, notice the same painting of a cottage at the top of the carrousel in both pictures.

The ticket to ride the Merry-Go-Round. 

I wonder if it was more expensive in Walt's day?