Walt Disney Quotes
Walt Disney is a name that inspires imagination and creativity in kids and grown-ups alike.
Indeed, with that kind of power to influence others, Mr. Disney must have had some inspirational words of wisdom to impart to the world. And he did.
Here is a collection of quotes from the founder of Disney himself, Walt Disney.
Best Walt Disney Quotes
1. In bad times and good, I have never lost my sense of zest for life.
2. We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public.
3. It’s a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.
4. There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.
5. Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world.
6. Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.
7. Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language
8. Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it’s done right.
9. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.
10. I like the impossible because there’s less competition.
See 107 Best Steve Jobs Quotations.
Memorable Walt Disney Quotations
11. You are at your most vulnerable only when people speak of your greatness.
12. In our animation we must show only the actions and reactions of a character, but we must picture also with the action – the feeling of those characters.
13. All you’ve got to do is own up to your ignorance honestly, and you’ll find people who are eager to fill your head with information.
14. Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.
15. Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children’s approach to life. They’re people who don’t give a hang what the Jones’ do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought – sometimes it isn’t much, either.
16. Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.
Funny Walt Disney Quotes
17. Laughter is America’s most important export.
18. Everyone needs deadlines. Even the beavers. They loaf around all summer, but when they are faced with the winter deadline, they work like fury. If we didn’t have deadlines, we’d stagnate.
19. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known.
20. You’re dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.
21. There’s nothing funnier than the human animal.
22. I am corny, you know? But I think there are just about 140 million people in this country who are just as corny as I am.
23. 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.
24. Childishness? I think it’s the equivalent of never losing your sense of humor.
Short Quotes
25. If you can dream it, you can do it.
26. You can’t just let nature run wild.
27. Disneyland is a show.
28. When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
29. Money doesn’t excite me, my ideas excite me.
30. First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.
31. I can teach anything to anyone except to smile.
Disney’s Motivational Quotes
32. Don’t let your fears take the place of your dreams.
33. By nature, I’m an experimenter. To this day, I don’t believe in sequels. I can’t follow popular cycles. I have to move on to new things. So with the success of Mickey, I was determined to diversify.
34. I believe in being a motivator.
35. I think it’s important to have a good hard failure when you’re young. I learned a lot out of that because it makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you.
36. That’s the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up.
37. All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me.
38. After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.
39. Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.
40. The difference between winning and losing is often not quitting.
On Children
41. Children are people, and they should have to reach to learn about things, to understand things, just as adults have to reach if they want to grow in mental stature.
42. I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things.
43. Adults are interested if you don’t play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don’t believe in talking down to children. Children are always reaching.
44. I don’t believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn’t treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers, and I think no parent should.
45. I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence
See: Inspirational Quotes About Children
Famous Disney Quotes
46. I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.
47. I take great pride in the artistic development of cartoons. Our characters are made to go through emotions.
48. I prefer to amuse people in the hope that they will learn than to teach them in the hope that they will have fun.
49. Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner.
50. Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end.
51. Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.
52. Never get bored or cynical. Yesterday is a thing of the past.
53. My greatest reward is that I have been able to build this wonderful organization.
54. Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy.
On Life
55. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
56. Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.
57. When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage.
58. The important thing is the family. If you can keep the family together — and that’s the backbone of our whole business, catering to families — that’s what we hope to do.
59. I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
60. We believed in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun—together.
61. The worst of us is not without innocence, although buried deeply it might be.
On Success
62. I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.
63. A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.
64. The era we are living in today is a dream of coming true.
65. People often ask me if I know the secret of success and if I could tell others how to make their dreams come true. My answer is you do it by working.
66. Part of the Disney’s success is our ability to create a believable world of dreams that appeals to all age groups. The kind of entertainment we create is meant to appeal to every member of the family.
67. Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually, it implies some risk — especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity.
68. All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
Learn more about The Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney Quotes About Dreams
69. Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.
70. I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.
71. One day I learned that dreams exist to come true. And since that day I do not sleep for rest. I sleep just to dream.
72. I suppose my formula might be: dream, diversify, and never miss an angle.
73. I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible because dreams offer too little collateral.
74. All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
75. Fantasy and reality often overlap.
76. You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.
About Business
These Walt Disney quotes address his business legacy.
77. A man should never neglect his family for business.
78. Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.
79. Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has shown judgment, wisdom, personal appeal, and proven competence.
80. I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life… it’s money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.
81. Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.
82. You reach a point where you don’t work for money.
83. Do a good job. You don’t have to worry about the money; it will take care of itself. Just do your best work — then try to trump it.
84. Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.
Instagram Quotes
85. The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.
86. Money doesn’t excite me; my ideas excite me.
87. Dreams, ideas, and plans not only are an escape; they give me purpose—a reason to hang on.
88. Some dream it, some do it, and some do both.
89. Whatever you do, do it well.
90. Let your heart guide you—it whispers. So, listen closely.
91. Most of my life I have done what I wanted to do. I have had fun on the job.
92. The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for. You can be happy or you can be
Notable Walt Disney Sayings
You may have hears some of these Walt Disney quotes.
93. It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
94. That’s the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up. They forget.
95. There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day.
96. For every laugh, there should be a tear.
97. There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.
98. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known.
99. Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.
100. First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.
Walt Disney FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Walt Disney.
Walt Disney was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901, but moved to Marceline, Missouri at the age of four. So, he spent most of his formative years in Marceline, Missouri.
Walt Disney’s wealth was estimated at approximately $1 billion (adjusting for inflation) at the time of his death.
Walt Disney died of lung cancer at the age of 65 years old on December 15, 1966.
By Elle Johnson
Elle is a quote curator and literature writer.
Etcetera
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