Earlier this month, the Walt Disney Archives (WDA) unveiled the recently-restored suite of offices used by Walt Disney at the Walt Disney Studios.

As part of the 75th anniversary of the Studio, the WDA seized the opportunity to renovate and restore Walt Disney’s original offices to the state he left them, back in 1966. As a permanent exhibit, it is a tribute to Walt Disney and a fascinating look into the working environment he personally shaped for himself.

The first of the four room suite is Walt’s secretary’s office, featuring her desk and filing cabinet, and an impressive award cabinet.

The various items are a mix of originals, reproductions, and occasional props from “Saving Mr. Banks.” The displayed specialty honorary award Walt received for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is one such prop.

Moving on into Walt’s formal office, one is struck by a variety of toys and figurines decorating the shelves, most of which were apparently gifts. As the place where he would commonly meet with dignitaries or heads of companies, the furniture is impressive, without being ostentatious.

While the desk side of the room had been reproduced earlier as part of the exhibit installed in the 70s for “The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” the opposite side (where the audience would have been) was a completely new recreation.

In the corner sits the grand piano where the Sherman Brothers used to play “Feed the Birds” whenever Walt’s mood required it.

The third room was Walt’s working office–where he read scripts and met with his Imagineers and planned out the future.

[Photo by Disney]

The contents of his desk have been ordered as exactly as possible to the way Dave Smith inventoried it when he started the Archives in 1970.

On the opposite wall are large photos and schematics of his future plans for both Disneyland and EPCOT.

The far wall, as also seen in “Saving Mr. Banks,” has sliding doors that retract to reveal Walt’s kitchen, complete with some of his favorite foods.

Finally, the fourth room was used as Walt’s private quarters. As few people ever saw the inside of that room, barring his immediate family and the Disney Studio Nurse, Hazel George, this room was not recreated, and only a photo of it shows what it used to look like.

Instead, the room has been refashioned into a rotating exhibit space. This first exhibit is dedicated to Kem Weber–an architect who was a major influence on the Streamline Moderne look of the studio, down to designing the furniture and the font used throughout.

A last case in this room also holds a small assortment of Walt Disney’s personal effects.

For a more in-depth view of the suite, I invite you to check out the video I took of the tour Chief Archivist Becky Cline gave to us, assisted by Disney Legend Bob Gurr and Archivist Kevin Kern.

If you have any interest in Walt Disney, I think this is a great opportunity to peer into a snapshot of time when he was arguably at the height of his powers and involved in so many projects that could have been so influential to the world around him. If your interest goes way past the common into fascination/hero worship like mine, then this is a remarkable experience to see the things with which Walt chose to surround himself; to stand where he must have stood; and to look out on the vistas he must have contemplated while devising all the myriad creations that continue to bring joy to so many worldwide.

On January 29, 2016, D23 is offering a special tour of Walt’s offices with presentation and dinner at the Disney favorite, Tam O’Shanter. Details can be found at https://d23.com/d23-event/d23-behind-scenes-experience-walt-disneys-office-suite/ Tickets will go on sale January 4, 2016. Subsequent Studio tours will take place on April 9th, June 25th, and November 19th.

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