Walt Disney's plane rots away in Florida

Even as an aviation buff I don’t see the significance. Not sure I’d walk out of the way to see it if it were an attraction.
 
I remember seeing that plane when it was part of the MGM Backlot tour. It was in much better shape then.

Another piece of Disney aviation history is the STOLport that used to be in operation at Disney World. I call dibs on FBO ownership if they were to ever open it back up.

 
My understanding is this sort of thing isn't uncommon in Hollywood. They're looking to what makes them money now. For most, an old airplane that belonged to the founder isn't really of interest. Even the Back to the Future DeLoreans were in states of horrid and ugly disrepair for a while, before they started to become popular again.

Elvis's planes (both his 808 and his JetStar) are on display in Graceland as I understand, but I'm not sure how much of an attraction they really are for people who go. But, Graceland is about Elvis. Disney World isn't about Walt Disney, it's about whatever the most recent John Lasseter films are making them millions (billions?) of dollars.

I wish they'd do something with it as well, but I have a hard time figuring out what it would be that fits in with the them eof why most people actually go.
 
300 kts max cruise, it’s quite an airplane. The model first flew in 1958 and Disney died in 1966, so he didn’t use it all that long.

still, it’s a pretty nice aircraft, rotting away because the beneficiaries of the will don’t know what to do with it.
 
There were 200 G-159 Gulfstream I's built. Only five, including Disney's N234MM, are still on the FAA register.

Probably not very cost-effective to maintain an airplane with the old Rolls-Royce Dart engines.

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Pilawt said:
There were 200 G-159 Gulfstream I's built. Only five, including Disney's N234MM, are still on the FAA register.

Probably not very cost-effective to maintain an airplane with the old Rolls-Royce Dart engines.
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The Darts aren’t the big issue. Corroded control surfaces, re-planking wings, and zero support from Gulfstream are the issues. I had lunch a month ago with one of the folks who’s pretty involved with the ones that still fly.
 
Ted said:
Elvis's planes (both his 808 and his JetStar) are on display in Graceland as I understand, but I'm not sure how much of an attraction they really are for people who go. But, Graceland is about Elvis.
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Only reason I wanted to visit Graceland, but turned off by the massive price. Last I knew, I thought the estate was removing the aircraft.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Only reason I wanted to visit Graceland, but turned off by the massive price. Last I knew, I thought the estate was removing the aircraft.
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It wouldn't surprise me, as I don't imagine they're huge draws for most of the crowds, and hard to keep clean.

We thought about going for that reason, but the price turned us away. We're not big Elvis fans.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Only reason I wanted to visit Graceland, but turned off by the massive price. Last I knew, I thought the estate was removing the aircraft.
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They tried to auction them off, but I don't think they sold. They're still showing them as an attraction on their website.
 
No business reason for Disney to do anything with it, but I do sorta wish the aviation museum would have accepted it. Disney World is important historically to central Florida and it might have made a cool exhibit.
 
We bought the N# N1MM from Disney, for $10,000.................and stuck it on a King Air 65-A90.
 
Much as I hate to see Walt's plane rotting, the greater shame is the Connie just down the road at Fantasy of Flight that Kermit is letting turn to rust & dust. It flew in there, but it'll never fly again. Breaks my heart every time I drive past it.
 
I'm a bit surprised they haven't found a place to display it. They show it wrapped up like they are at least putting some effort into preserving it, at least cosmetically.

Universal has an Albatross as a prop in the lagoon of the hotel we stayed out. Jimmy Buffett's Albatross is in the Citywalk area at the Margaritaville restaurant. It makes me sad that it will probably never fly again either, but pretty cool to be able to see it up close.
 
Half Fast said:
Much as I hate to see Walt's plane rotting, the greater shame is the Connie just down the road at Fantasy of Flight that Kermit is letting turn to rust & dust. It flew in there, but it'll never fly again. Breaks my heart every time I drive past it.
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A bit of a story...
 
Interesting video. It's been two years since the video, though, and as far as I can tell nothing is happening with the plane. I drove past it a week or two ago. I hate to see it rotting away.

I was pretty sad when F of F closed the main attraction a few years ago. My son loved the place and I used to take him there from time to time. When he was, oh maybe 14 or so, we went on the shop tour. It was amazing to see what those folks did to restore and preserve all the old aircraft.

Oh well.
 
In a recent snapshot from photographer Bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct), we can see that the cover on the plane is starting to come apart, which could be cause for water pooling in the aircraft casing.

What is an aircraft casing?
 
So sad.

The threat of being forced to visit a nightmare dystopia like Disney Land or Disney World would have the same deterrent effect on my as the threat of visiting prison, but I would enjoy visiting the hulk of the old plane, even in its current state.
 
David Megginson said:
The decision drivers are business and ego. I'm surprised the second didn't win out for Walt's old plane (as it did for still-living Branson, Musk, Bezos, etc with their toy spaceships).
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Toy spaceships?
Do you mean the one that has totally taken over the business of launching things into space, the one created by the greatest aircraft designer of our time that changes how we think of reusable space vehicles, or the one that looks like a giant penis?
 
They didn't invent that....they just spent the money.
Jim K said:
Toy spaceships?
Do you mean the one that has totally taken over the business of launching things into space, the one created by the greatest aircraft designer of our time that changes how we think of reusable space vehicles, or the one that looks like a giant penis?
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Jim K said:
Toy spaceships?
Do you mean the one that has totally taken over the business of launching things into space, the one created by the greatest aircraft designer of our time that changes how we think of reusable space vehicles, or the one that looks like a giant penis?
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The latter. :) I mean the ones carrying passengers (especially the fragile billionaires themselves), not the boosters.

FWIW, their toy bizjets fly great and their toy yachts float fine, but for them, they're still rich men's toys.
 
Morgan3820 said:
If I never go to Disney World/land ever again I will be a happy man. I know some people are infatuated about the whole thing. I was compelled to go twice, never again.
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I can take or leave it, but watching my (at the time) 6yo daughter’s face light up when the characters she saw as celebrities greeted her was priceless. Worth every cent and then some.
 
Ah yes, Epcot and “if you had wings, had wings, had wings”. I recall that. Didn’t realize F of F had closed, been so long since I checked on it. Maybe WDW should have donated the bird to an aviation museum when it was in good condition immediately after retiring it. Today’s it a big project. As a side note, the Disney Family Museum near the Presidio in San Francisco is worth a visit.
 
I read a story some time ago about Disney World and Epcot. Back in the early eighties when the PC [personal computer] revolution was taking place, Disney wanted a sophisticated computer system for the resort that would allow Epcot theme park guests to log in upon arrival and plan their experience on a computer screen. While today that would be routine it was something that added to the high tech and future like experience that Epcot wanted. When the company took bids on the system, one of the presenters concluded his remarks by saying "our computer system is no Mickey Mouse system". He landed the bid.
 
Possum said:
I read a story some time ago about Disney World and Epcot. Back in the early eighties when the PC [personal computer] revolution was taking place, Disney wanted a sophisticated computer system for the resort that would allow Epcot theme park guests to log in upon arrival and plan their experience on a computer screen. While today that would be routine it was something that added to the high tech and future like experience that Epcot wanted. When the company took bids on the system, one of the presenters concluded his remarks by saying "our computer system is no Mickey Mouse system". He landed the bid.
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Aviation tie-in for the 1940s American expression "Mickey Mouse" (meaning childish or unsophisticated): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbye,_Mickey_Mouse
 
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