February 7, 2013
A visit with Roy E. Disney by Michael
Mriscin
What is the ultimate Disney Experience some may ask?
Some might say it's going to a Disney theme park, while others may
say that going to D23 is the best. While I agree D23 sounds cool and
I plan to go someday, I've done something that would make every
Disney fan drool. It all started 10 years go'
I had some medical things going on in my life which
wasn't anything new. I had a high functioning type of autism called
Asperger Syndrome. I also had something called Crohn's disease which
is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease which made life tough. I had
been through many experiences that were not pleasant and stuff most
80 year olds don't even go through, and I was only 16. I had loved
Disney ever since I was a little boy. My first Disney movie that I
loved was The Rescuers Down Under. I knew what Disney movies were
coming out two years in advance and that was without the internet.
Anyway, my mom had always talked about The Make-a-Wish Foundation
from time to time. One day she surprised me and said that my
arthritis specialist signed off for me to receive a wish courtesy of
Make-a-Wish. I thought of many ideas to do. My first idea was to
meet the creator of Beanie Babies, Ty Warner. My second idea was to
go see Bob Barker on The Price is Right. However I ultimately
decided to pursue meeting Roy E. Disney. My parents were thankful it
wasn't Ty Warner or else by now I would have 2000 Beanie Babies. So
once I decided Roy Disney, they came to my house and rented us a
huge van, gave us 5000 Dollars and instructions on what to do once
we got there. So my family & I set off to California to have a wish
come true.
In about a week we got to California and I stayed at
Universal Sheraton for the remainder of our visit. The next day we
were able go to Universal City Walk through a Shuttle and it was
amazing. The fountains that got people wet, the stores, the movie
theater, and the food were amazing, but expensive. When it came time
to head over to Burbank, which was about 20 miles away, we rode in a
limo and it took 20 minutes to enter The Disney lot. Once inside we
went into this building where the Seven Dwarfs were on the top of
the building. We went in to meet our guide who led us to an office
building where there was some film reels. He showed us a room where
they married the sound film and the picture reel of Brother Bear
together. If it was not done in the right way, you would get the
dialogue of Speed Racer.

After that, the guide took me and my family to a
place that I don't think most Disney Fans would or will ever see. It
was a place that is legendary and I will never forget. THE DISNEY
VAULT!! My parents thought it was just a figure of speech and It
didn't truly exist and I'm sure many people thought that too.
However it does indeed exist. It looked like maybe a building full
of storage lockers. There were film reels and I spotted one that
said Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They said if a celebrity
wanted to watch a movie in their home on a movie screen, they just
sent a reel to them. It had a square window at the end of each vault
with a poster covering the window. The reason they had a window is
because some of the film reels had components of TNT and if there
was an earthquake and a film reel fell, the blast would go out the
small square window instead of inward.
After that was the main event of the trip. I was
very excited when I was about to meet Roy. It felt like I was having
one heck of a good dream. I kept wanting to pinch myself to make
sure I wasn't dreaming. When I met him, it felt like time stood
still. My family and I went into his office and he was very kind. He
told us that his office and desk was the same office that Walt had
when he was alive. So you know that desk that Walt sat at in several
Wonderful World of Color episodes? That was that very desk in that
very room. He asked us how the trip was and we told him it was
great. We talked to him for about 45 minutes. He told us how the
rides to Disneyland use to be made right there in the lot, but now
they are made in some factory which he said that he wished it could
go back to that. He also said how Walt was an amazing storyteller.
When Uncle Walt told him the story of Pinocchio, it was amazing. In
fact Walt was such a good storyteller, that when Roy saw Pinocchio,
it wasn't as good and was much more intriguing when Walt told him
the story. He also said that his dad, Roy O. Disney, was the
financial/ practical side of the company while Walt was the Dream
and the Idea Guy. One time Walt and Roy were very frustrated with
each other due to difference of opinions and were not in good terms
at one point. However on an overseas trip, Walt saw something called
a Peace Pipe and he bought it and gave it to his brother to say that
they were brothers first, and businessmen second and they made up.
We talked about other various things, like how I could tell how a
disc on a DVD was a bootleg compared to the real one. I also said
someday I wanted to work with Disney and they said I would be great
in the piracy department. We talked about things for about an hour
and suddenly it was time to go. He gave me an Art of Disney
Animation book and signed it. He also gave my family free tickets to
Disneyland. Originally were going to be eating in the canteen, but
instead they sent us to the restaurant where we ate filet mignon.

After we ate, we went to the archives. Our guide
brought out an Academy Award that was awarded to the Disney Silly
Symphony The Old Mill and it was very heavy. After that we went to
where the Disney Legend plaques were at with a statue of Walt in the
middle. They also said they would mail me a copy of The Lion King
later that year. After that our 5 hour tour came to an end. We said
our goodbyes and thanked them for everything.
The next day we went to Disneyland and had a blast.
One of the memorable things in Disneyland happened during a Sword in
the Stone segment where they picked someone out of the audience to
pull the sword half way out because Merlin didn't want anyone
getting cut. Merlin invited me on stage and I pulled it half way
out. My proclamation was that everything was free. Apparently Merlin
said that I was only king for part of the day and looked at his
wrist and said it's part of the day already. He gave me a medal that
had The Happiest Place on earth logo on one side, and a Sword in the
Stone design on the other. It was a real medal and it wasn't
plastic. Going on Pirates of the Caribbean was fun. We also checked
out Haunted Mansion and it was fun. At first I was scared and I'm
quite embarrassed to say that part now. They stopped the ride to let
me get in without the effects right away and that great and it was
wise for them to be able to do that. We went on the It's a Small
World ride which if you are at a Disney Theme Park, you have to go
on. I would have liked to go on Star Tours but I didn't because 2
days before I was on the Back to the Future ride and I got sick and
didn't want to overdo it with the flight simulator. The next day we
packed up and headed back to Illinois. It was one of the most
memorable trips I have ever been on and I don't think I can ever top
it.
On December 16th 2009, I was using a
computer at a hospital and learned of Roy's death. Make A Wish
contacted me from California and a radio station wanted to interview
me. It was actually on CBS Radio News that airs on several stations
nationwide. They gave the Tiger Woods story 15 minutes and they then
interviewed me for 5 minutes. They wanted to know how he was and
what did I remember the most of meeting Roy. I told them how he
remembered Walt as a great storyteller and when Pinocchio came out,
Roy was more impressed with his uncle telling him the story and that
we will miss Roy and I said I'm sure many others will also.
I've never really shared this many details about the
trip before. I'm not sure why I haven't but I think now is the time
to tell. This trip 10 years ago is something I will Treasure for the
rest of my life.