Who: Walter Disney — Walter Elias Disney, born on December 5 1901 in Chicago Illinois
- His family moved to Missouri where he spent most of my childhood. [1]
- Even as a young boy he was interested in art and sold drawings to his neighbours to make money. [1]
- “During the Depression I produced “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” which was the first full length animated musical and in the next five years I also produced “Dumbo”, “Bambi”, and “Pinocchio”. I became a television producer in 1954 and used television as a means to entertain. My motion picture “Mary Poppins” mixed life actors with cartoons. ” [1]
- “My dream amusement park Disneyland opened in 1955 in California, a place for children to take rides and meet Disney characters. I have plans to open a new theme park in Florida but unfortunately I have been diagnosed with lung cancer. ” [1]
- “1966- Walter Disney died December 15 in Burbank, California, United States.” [1]
When: July 1955
- “In the summer of 1951, TV personality Art Linkletter took a trip to Copenhagen with Walt Disney. Walking around the Tivoli Gardens amusement park, he spots Walt, writing. “I asked him what he was doing, and he replied, ‘I’m just making notes about something that I’ve always dreamed of – a great, great playground…’”
Where: Anaheim, California
- Originally built on 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim, California
What: Disneyland
- “When Disneyland opened, its drinking fountains were dry and its asphalt was ‘still a little soft’. But in Walt’s mind, Disneyland would never be completed. As he would famously go on to say, “It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” And it has. While parts of Disneyland (in part for posterity) have remained intact, over the years, its landscape has changed dramatically. New attractions, rides and lands have been added, and others, rebuilt or simply replaced.”
- “When Frontierland was first being built in 1954, Westerns were at the height of popularity. “
- “In 2019, much of Frontierland looks set to be replaced by the debut of Star Wars Land.”
Walt Disney Quotes:
- All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
- There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.
- Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.
- We allow no geniuses around our Studio.
- Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.
- The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Key Biblical Thoughts:
- opportunity
- seizing the time
- brevity of life
- evangelism
- missions
- death
- life
- salvation
Sermonic Example: There are several distinct ways that one can use illustrative material. You could take any one of his quotes from above and use it as described in our previous post.
(use whatever you find useful in the above details)
A great example, by Willie Rice of Calvary Baptist Church, Clearwater, Florida
Transcript:
Some opportunities that if not seize
today are lost forever I think a lot of
things we should wait on and be careful
about but in other things we need to
seize while we have the chance I was
reading a story written by a man named
Arthur this was decades ago Arthur had a
friend named Walter who was a kind of an
artist kind of a dreamer type and he
wrote later on about when his friend
Walter drove him out to the countryside
Arthur wrote I drove off the main road
we drove through groves of trees to a
large uninhabited expanse of land there
were horses grazing there were a couple
of old shacks that remain
Walter stopped the car got out tried to
describe with great vividness the
wonderful things he intended to build he
wanted his friend author to buy some of
the land surrounding the project Arthur
said I thought who in the world is going
to drive 25 miles for this crazy project
the logistics were staggering Walter
said to his friend I’m handling the
project by myself but it takes all my
money the land bordering it though where
we’re standing now will in a couple of
years be incredibly valuable it will be
jammed with hotels and restaurants and
convention halls and he said I want you
as my friend to have the first chance at
this surrounding acreage because in the
next five years it will increase in
value several hundred times
Arthur later wrote what
I say to my friend I knew he was wrong I
knew he had to let his dream get the
best of his common sense so I mumbled
something about a tight money situation
and promised I would look into the whole
thing a little later on later on we’ll
be too late Walter said and he cautioned
Arthur as they walked back to the car if
you want this you need to move on it
right now but Arthur who was a man by
the name of art Linkletter some of you
older folks will remember art Linkletter
later reflected on the opportunity that
he had to buy up the land surrounding
what would become Disneyland in Southern
California his friend Walter Walt Disney
would change the entertainment world and
Arthur look back on that art Linkletter
did and said I miss perhaps the greatest
financial opportunity of my life now I
think there are a lot of things you
oughta wait and be careful on a lot of
people have made mistakes getting in a
hurry but I want to tell you there are
some things you need to seize while you
have the chance there are some things
that you know God has spoken to you
about there are some things that you
know God is calling you to do and I’m
just reminding you today that in those
things that God is calling you to do you
need to be obedient today or risk those
opportunities being lost . . . .
Other Information & Facts:
1. 1. This is the only autobiographical acccount by Walt Disney: http://waaltdisney.weebly.com/autobiography.html
Link to the full story: https://scnow.com/news/let-s-chat-disney-is-a-story-worth-re-telling/article_096afa08-2bf4-11e5-b75e-af816abe1bd3.html
Some Great Pictures & More of the Story: — https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/walt-disney-disneyland-taschen-publication-030918
RhetoricAndHomiletics.Org 