At D23 Expo 2022, the Walt Disney Archives will be inviting guests to explore the nearly 100-year history of The Walt Disney Company in an all-new exhibit. Guests will get an up close view of iconic props and costumes from Disney’s archives.
Earlier this year the biggest news, and possibly largest object announced for D23 Expo, was that Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I, aka Mickey Mouse One, will be on display. Adding special context to seeing Walt’s plane will be an all-new exhibit featuring specially selected items that represent the history of the aircraft.
Included will be a customized instrument panel originally located near Walt’s favorite onboard seat (enabling him to monitor flight conditions), a telephone handset (which gave Walt a direct line of communication to the pilot in the cockpit), and a flight bag adorned with an image of Mickey Mouse sitting on the tail of the famed plane.
Just having Mickey Mouse One, with the restored exterior, at the D23 Expo was going to be exciting, but having these additional items is pretty amazing. But that’s just the beginning…
The Disney100 exhibition
The archives exhibit also serves as the kick-off to Disney100, a chronological exhibition that showcases Walt Disney Archives historical assets. It will feature immersive, themed environments from animated shorts, films, and film premieres, as well as television productions and Disney Parks favorites, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, Tron, and Walt Disney World Resort’s Haunted Mansion.
A timeline of The Walt Disney Company’s first 100 years will be set in the center of the exhibit. It will showcase the breadth of extraordinary Disney events over the past century and will act as a guide for visitors as they journey through the 12,000-square-foot experience.
Around the timeline will be gallery spaces showcasing rare historical objects as never before, in recreations of the settings from which they originated.
The gallery space will be divided into nine highly themed areas, each dedicated to a slice of Disney’s rich history. From captaining the boat in Steamboat Willie, walking the blue carpet at the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and visiting with the carousel horses from Mary Poppins, to being serenaded by Breathless Mahoney at Club Ritz (Dick Tracy), visiting Flynn’s Arcade (Tron), and coming face-to-face with the bride in the attic of the Haunted Mansion, guests will make memories while living moments they’ve cherished as fans
The Walt Disney Archives Stage Presentations.
As part of the D23 Expo, guests can also attend panels and presentations on the Walt Disney Archives stage. This year it will host more than a dozen sessions.
Notable sessions include: Disney Legend Bill Farmer, Walt Disney Archives director Becky Cline, author and historian Graham Allan, Walt Disney Imagineering global ambassador Bob Weis, Imagineers from the Illusioneering Lab, and historian and artist Stacia Martin will offer a unique peek “behind the magic.”
Fans will enjoy sessions exploring many of Disney’s worlds, including the impressive 50-year legacy of the Main Street Electrical Parade, a look back at the 1980s and 1990s edition of the Mickey Mouse Club, and the first half-century of the Walt Disney World Resort.
If you’d like to attend the D23 Expo, there are a limited number of single-day tickets available for Sunday of D23 Expo 2022. Single-day Saturday tickets and three-day passes are sold out. For more information on tickets and D23 Expo 2022, visit D23Expo.com.
Update: 6/16 – This story was updated to reflect that it is the exterior of Walt’s plane that is getting the refurbishment, not the interior.