When Walt Disney gave the OK to produce four shows for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, one of his stated goals was to find out if his company’s West Coast style of entertainment would be popular on the East Coast.

For those of us residing on the East Coast who were lucky enough to attend the Fair almost six decades ago, those shows were a rare opportunity to experience up close and personal just what Disney magic was all about.

And for many of us, that Disney magic has stayed with us all these years later.

Despite fears that the Disney brand of entertainment wouldn’t be accepted by a perceived “more sophisticated” East Coast audience, the four Disney-created World’s Fair attractions – Ford’s Magic Skyway, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at the Illinois state pavilion, Carousel of Progress in the General Electric pavilion, and Pepsi-Cola’s it’s a small world – were among the top five most-visited attractions at the Fair.

And the best part for us was having Disney right there in our own backyard.

Fast forward to 2023 and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pa., where once again, Disney brought its show East. And much like the mid-1960s, this brand of Disney entertainment proved to be an overwhelming success.

Disney100: The Exhibition ran from Feb. 18 through August 27. It was curated Becky Cline and members of the Disney Archives, who opened up the Disney vault and unveiled a boatload of Disney treasures for Disney fans to savor.

It took four years to put together the expansive show – the largest display of Disney treasures ever assembled.

The Franklin Institute engagement kicked off a five-year run for Disney100: The Exhibition that will see it set up shop at a variety of venues across the United States and Europe. In addition to Philadelphia, the exhibit was in Munich, Germany, this summer and will open in London, England, later this year.

The exhibition is broken down into 10 themed galleries. There are more than 250 Disney artifacts to peruse and enjoy, study and relish, covering the 100 years of the Walt Disney Company’s history. In addition, there are 14 interactive installations to enhance the overall experience.

In keeping with the Disney philosophy of creating an attention-grabbing opening scene, the exhibit kicks off with a greeting from none other than Walt Disney himself. Or at least a computer-generated version of Uncle Walt.

“We were able to take historical footage of Walt and turn them into a presentation where Walt actually speaks to the audience,” Ms. Cline said.

Once you’ve received Walt’s blessing, it was on to the exhibit, which featured a stunning collection of jewels from the Disney Archives – original artwork and artifacts, costumes and props, theme park ride vehicles and other memorabilia.

Many of the items featured were enhanced by innovative and immersive technology.

Among my favorites were the Mousegetar from The Mickey Mouse Club television series and the original whistle used for 1927’s Steamboat Willie animated short that was recently resurrected for use in the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction.

Indeed, Disney100: The Exhibition is a veritable feast for the senses.

One of the most intriguing items on display was the Mary Poppins snow globe, featuring the “Feed The Birds” scene. The display was enhanced to feature tiny birds flying in, out and around the globe.

One entire wall was devoted to a photographic timeline of landmark Disney achievements through the decades.

At several stops along the way, guests could pick up a set of earphones and listen to a detailed description of the item in front of them.

In the Magic of Sound and Music section, for instance, there was an entire wall of Disney album covers where guests could immerse themselves in music from a wide scope of Disney classics, from The Lion King to The Nightmare Before Christmas to Encanto to Annette Funicello and Fess Parker and everything in between.

There was even the early sheet music to the song “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me” from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

For techno-geeks, Disney100: The Exhibition delved into such game-changing advances as the multi-plane camera [a scale model is displayed], the development of Audio-Animatronics [featuring the mechanical bird cage that inspired Walt to pursue the art of robotics animation, as well as an actual AA programming console], and the computers that led to Pixar’s ground-breaking CGI technology.

The displays centering around Disney’s theme parks and its attractions were quite compelling.

It started with Herb Ryman’s conceptualized black-and-white drawing of Disneyland from 1954, which Roy Disney used to entice potential investors, and continued through Peter Ellenshaw’s magnificently colorized vision of the park … to Bob Gurr’s futuristic drawing of the monorail [with color added by John Hench] … to concept artwork for Matterhorn Mountain, the Jungle Cruise and the more-recent Cars Land.

“I love that they have the Cars Land illustration I know so well … and used so much,” said retired Walt Disney Imagineering creative director Kevin Rafferty, who was the driving force behind the Cars Land expansion at Disney’s California Adventure.

There was an original Matterhorn Mountain bobsled [which was among many vehicles designed by Gurr for Disneyland], as well as a pirate galleon from the Peter Pan’s Flight attraction [complete with a backdrop of London at night].

In addition, a doll from the it’s a small world attraction, as well as the bright-red, pitchfork-wielding devil seen during the closing sequence of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride were showcased.

Props, costumes and memorabilia used in a variety of Disney animated films – both decades old and more recent – were among the most popular attractions.

And of particular significance was the contract drawn up between Walt Disney and Margaret Winkler to distribute the Alice Comedies series, which debuted in 1924.

A scale model of the Nautilus submarine, used during filming of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, caught everyone’s eye, as did the costumes and props used for several Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Marvel movies.

Included in the exhibit were an extensive collection of hand-carved character models [called maquettes], as well as a section devoted to how Disney artists create storyboards for movies and attractions.

Along the way, guests had several opportunities to pose for photos with large Disney character statues, including Mickey Mouse, Dopey and Goofy, who had a Greetings From Philadelphia sign as a backdrop at the Franklin Institute.

For more information, visit Disney100: The Exhibition – The official website (disney100exhibit.com)

Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist and retired Disney cast member who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored seven books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat and The Beat Goes On for Theme Park Press. He also has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.

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