An Orange County research university in the shadow of Disneyland could soon become home to a scholarly think tank dedicated to studying the life’s work of Walt Disney and the Anaheim theme park’s impact on the world.
Disney historian Jeff Kurtti and Chapman University professor Brian Alters are studying the feasibility of developing a Walt Disney Think Tank at the research university located 5 miles from Disneyland in Old Towne Orange.
Disney historian Jeff Kurtti, left, and Chapman University professor Brian Alters. (Courtesy of Chapman University)
The think tank would study the life, legacy and global impact of the Disneyland founder and his influence on art, music, culture, business, economic development, transportation, urban planning, themed environments, placemaking, science, technology and innovation.
“A think tank about Walt Disney is such an interesting and deep area of pursuit,” Kurtti said during a phone interview. “Even today, almost 60 years after his passing, the things that he envisioned still have relevance. People keep coming back to them. Our intent is to examine that aspect of Walt Disney’s persona — biographically, creatively and professionally.”
Walt Disney tells a visitor, Associated Press’ Bob Thomas in Anaheim, where the two Disneyland trains will stop to take on passengers for the trip around the grounds. Railway Station in the background will be the first sight of Disneyland for visitors. Two entrances to the grounds will be on either side of the station. (File photo by the Associated Press)
Alters has taught science and education at Chapman, Harvard and McGill universities. His most popular class at Chapman: The Pursuit of Happiness and Knowledge: Charles Darwin & Walt Disney.
“As a visionary whose career transected numerous industries and continues to shape everyday life around the world, Walt Disney remains woefully understudied from an academic perspective,” Alters said in a statement released by Chapman.
Walt Disney, shown in December 1958, points out features of the technologically advanced monorail system that opened at Disneyland the following year. Disney’s TV show and his theme park often celebrated the wonders of scientific discovery. (File photo by Don Brinn, Associated Press)
Almost everything Walt Disney worked on either expanded on a concept, elevated an idea or propelled it forward with a new momentum that still resonates today, according to Kurtti.
“Whether it’s in film, music, parks or place making, these are all things that Walt Disney still touches, even long after he’s been gone,” Kurtti said.
Walt Disney stares at one of the figures destined to be part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland in this photo taken circa 1966. Disney died in December 1966, and never got to ride the finished attraction that opened March 18, 1967. (Photo courtesy: Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Enterprises, Inc.)
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Throughout his career, Kurtti has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, served as the Walt Disney Family Museum creative director and written dozens of books on Disney history.
Kurtti visited Disneyland for the first time as a kid in 1971 and was instantly transformed into a “huge Disney nut.” In 1986, he got hired by the Disney company and spent the next few decades working on projects at Disneyland.
“There’s always, for me, this great sentiment because it’s Walt’s park,” Kurtti said. “It’s the one he laid hands on.”
Kurtti can’t imagine a better place for a Walt Disney Think Tank than Chapman University.
“I would be sitting in the evening working on my laptop and I could hear the fireworks at 9:30 every night because it’s that close to Disneyland,” Kurtti said. “It’s almost like Chapman was created to have something important to do with the study of Walt Disney.”
Alters and Kurtti are expected to complete the Walt Disney Think Tank feasibility report in about a year.
