Disney is providing me with an all expense paid trip to L.A. to attend the #VeryBadDayEvent and #DisneyInHomeEvent in exchange for my coverage. No other compensation is given and all opinions in my posts are 100% my own. Disclosure Policy.
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to enter a fairy tale story? This is exactly how I felt, the evening I was honored to walk through the doors of Woking Way Residence. That’s right, after many years in isolation, the owners of Walt Disney’s San Feliz estate opened it’s doors to 25 bloggers and I was included in that lucky group! Little ole me, entering the home where Walt Disney himself ate dinner, slept and raised his children.
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
As I strapped on my booties and passed through the threshold of Walt’s home, I was taken back a bit. I figured entering the home of such an “icon”, I might see bright lights, maybe a chorus would start singing angelic music and I would certainly see some of the “flashiness” of Hollywood. I mean come on, it’s Walt DISNEY’S home! What else should I expect?! I expected Mickey Mouse to pop out of every corner, that’s what I expected!
This is not what I got. What I got was so much better.
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
I did not get bright lights but I did get a fairy tale shining through each window. The Disney home “is beautiful in detail, has a lot of fairy tale, European-esk accents.“
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
“….outside, you’d probably notice the art glass, the stained glass. It just glows at night time but during the day, it’s gorgeous with the sun coming through. So, it’s very medieval, very fairy tale images throughout the glass in the house.“
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
I did not hear angelic singing as I entered the home but I could feel the angelic voices of children in the walls of this home. Walt himself had this home built to be a family home, this was a home to raise his children as normal as possible. “It was the house from which he drove every morning to bring his girls to school. He drove them to their music lessons, to their dance lessons. He took them to the opera. He and Lilly wanted to make sure they had a normal childhood growing up. And in fact, Diane was one day at school and she came back to her Dad that night and she said, Dad, are you Walt Disney? They had a very quiet, private life.“
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
You can tell in every little detail of this house, it was made for the love of his family and children. Every door seemed to have a bit of mystery and surprise behind it, “This is what Diane, the eldest daughter, called Christmas tree point. Because on Christmas morning, the girls, who’s rooms were here and down the hall, would come running over to the Juliette balcony and look down at the beautiful Christmas tree that was erected with all the presents around it.“
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
The walls inside the house were not the only ones that rang with the voices of children. “When you go outside, you will take a look at the Snow White play house that Walt had built for his girls. Walt had it built for the girls over Christmas. He had his studio carpenters come out and it is lit, it is electrical, it is plumbed and it has a telephone in it. And so the next morning, the girls are out there and the phone rings. And it is Santa asking them how they liked the house. Of course, Santa kind of sounded like Dad.“
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
And lastly, as I entered the home of Walt Disney, I did not see the “flashiness” of Hollywood but I did feel like I was standing in a home with History. The History of Hollywood. Standing at the window where so many iconic photographs of Walt were taken and…
 |
| Photo provided by Disney |
…walking up the staircase I’ve seen in photos and recreated in movies; it was definitely a surreal experience. It gave me goosebumps to be there, it gave me goosebumps to be a part of History. Because this is more than just any house; this is a house where memories were made for all of us.
“This is the house where stories are told.“
I’d like to thank Paula Sigman Lowery, a Disney Historian, for giving us a glimpse into the life of Walt Disney. All quoted references in this post were taken from her tour.
I will be sharing more of my trip in the upcoming weeks. Don’t forget, Sleeping Beauty diamond edition will be released on October 7th and Maleficent on November 4th!
I will be sharing more of my trip in the upcoming weeks. Don’t forget, Sleeping Beauty diamond edition will be released on October 7th and Maleficent on November 4th!
Walt Disney's Office Photo Tour - Laughter Is No Enemy To Learning
Tuesday 23rd of May 2017
[…] forward to 25 years later, I took my first Disney trip as a blogger and had the chance to tour Walt Disney’s San Feliz Estate. Little ole me, in WALT DISNEY HOME! It was such a surreal moment, I can not put into words how […]
Angela @ Honey, I Shrunk the Mom
Saturday 4th of October 2014
What a wonderful opportunity! I am a big Disney fan and am so excited that you got to experience this! Very cool! :)
Shelley Zurek -- Still Blonde after all these YEARS
Friday 3rd of October 2014
Super interesting. Thanks so much for the pictures.
Lisa
Thursday 2nd of October 2014
This is awesome!! I would die to tour that house. It looks incredible. Is it just preserved as a museum now? Everything looks so fairy tale like:)
Raijean of Swa-Rai.com
Thursday 2nd of October 2014
I'm jealous, I want to see what's it's all about! Looks like fun