Walt DISNEY's Plane

In 1963, Walt acquired the iconic Gulfstream I that would come to be known as “The Mouse.” The interior of the plane, initially designed with creative input from Walt and his wife, Lillian, seated up to 15 passengers and included a galley kitchen, two restrooms, two couches, a desk, and nods to the mouse who started it all, including matchbooks and stationery adorned with a silhouette of Mickey Mouse. Mickey’s initials were eventually included in the tail number of the plane, too, as N234MM, in 1967. Throughout its 28 years of service to The Walt Disney Company, the plane flew 20,000 hours and transported an estimated 83,000 passengers before it was grounded.

In 1963, Walt, members of his family, and company executives took off on a demonstration Gulfstream aircraft to explore potential locations, including Central Florida, for a proposed development often referred to as “Project X.” After Walt received his own Gulfstream in early 1964, he made several trips to Florida that ultimately laid the foundation to bring the original E.P.C.O.T project and ultiumately Walt Disney World to life.

Walt’s plane flew a total of 277,282 miles back and forth between Burbank and New York to oversee preparations before and during the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, an event that brought iconic attractions such as “it’s a small world” to an East Coast audience and, later, to Disneyland.

Walt's interest in acquiring his own plane harkens back to the summer of 1960 when he became disillusioned with commercial air travel and scheduling that he had no control over. Looking for an alternative, he turned to one of his top animators, Woolie Reitherman, who was a pilot and member of the Sky Roamers, a co-op flying club based out of the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, just down the road from The Walt Disney Studios. Sky Roamers provided corporate executives a convenient option via charter services for corporate travel. Woolie introduced Walt to Chuck Malone, General Manager and Chief Pilot of Sky Roamers, and Chuck was chartered to fly Walt to Palm Springs and back in early 1961. Once Walt took to the skies by private aircraft, there was no returning to commercial flying.

Walt, now bitten by the flight bug, wanted his own private aircraft, but needed to convince his brother and business partner, Roy, that it was a prudent decision and that owning a plane was a necessary expense and not just a frivolous luxury. So, Walt hired Harrison "Buzz" Price, the famed research economist who had helped him select the site for Disneyland, to investigate the matter and make an evaluation if it was a wise choice to get into corporate aviation. Price's final assessment indicated that it was a practical choice and in 1962, Walt placed an order for his own plane, a piston-engine Beechcraft Queen-Air 80 (used from 1963 to 1965) and the first Disney plane to feature the now-famous N234MM registration number. Malone was hired as Walt's personal pilot. Unfortunately, it was soon apparent that the short-haul performance of the Queen-Air was not adequate to meet the company's ever expanding business operations, particularly work on the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

So, on December 6, 1963, Walt's pilot, Chuck Malone, was tasked with ferrying the newest addition to the Disney fleet, a Grumman Gulfstream G-159, with its originally assigned registration number N732G, straight from the factory in Bethpage, New York, to Burbank, California. Final outfitting took place at Pacific Airmotive Corporation (PAC), which was based at the nearby Lockheed Air Terminal. Once there, the installation of the interior customization was completed, including the decorative furnishings, avionics, and finally, the painting of livery in white with orange and black stripes-emblematic of the Walt Disney Productions logo. Three months later, with the outfitting complete, on March 13, 1964, the Gulfstream was turned over from PAC to the Walt Disney Productions Aviation Department and placed into service, significantly updating Walt and his Imagineers' capability of making long-range flights to destinations such as New York, St.Louis, New Orleans, and eventually Orlando, Florida.

Along with travel related to business, the Gulfstream would also transport Walt and his family and friends on excursions to relaxing getaways, including several to Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, California, where Walt maintained a vacation home.

While the Gulfstream made lengthier trips, a Beechcraft King-Air was put into service in August 1965, replacing the previous Queen-Air, to handle shorter excursions. When the King-Air was eventually sold in 1967, the N234MM registration number inherited from the Queen-Air was transferred to the Gulfstream.

Walt's Gulfstream was customized to comfortably transport 15 passengers, a pilot, co-pilot, and a stewardess. One significant feature of the aircraft was a fully ouffitted galley in the main cabin capable of providing in-flight meals for 18 people. The galley maintained a sink, a warming oven, food storage containers, two hot cups for heating soup, and undoubtedly, one of Walt's favorite dishes, chili. The main cabin, along with its seating, was equipped with a drop-down desk, storage area for stationery (including letterhead and postcards), lamps, ashtrays, and drink holders. There was also a fully functioning lavatory for passengers sitting in the area. A compartment divider ensured that Walt, whose seat and lavatory were in the rear of the aircraft, was also able to enjoy his privacy while on board.

An aviation enthusiast, Walt had an instrument panel, complete with altimeter, airspeed gauge, and clock installed on the bulkhead by his seat so that he could keep tabs on any in-process flight.

After Walt's passing on December 15, 1966, the Gulfstream would remain in service solely to help promote company projects, namely the latest Disney feature film releases and reissues of the animated classics. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts also utilized the aircraft for promotional purposes, including anniversary celebrations. Making two appearances on the big screen, the Gulfstream was featured in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), both starring Disney Legend Kurt Russell. 

The Gulfstream was based in Burbank from 1964 until it moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1985. There, it was repainted white with new livery that included a blue stripe and a waving Mickey Mouse on the tail. Seven years later, in 1992, after logging in an impressive 8,800 flights, and nearly 20,000 flight hours, the aircraft concluded its impressive 28-½-year career as the workhorse company shuttle. With the plane's last pilot, Manny Regateiro, at the controls,"The Mouse" made its final landing on World Drive at the Walt Disney World Resort on October 8. Eventually, the plane was put on display as part of the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and remained there until the attraction closed in 2014.

In Septembre 2022, during the D23 Expo at Anaheim Convention Center, the the newly repainted plane with its original look and color scheme & with updated wing edges and windows was revealed along with never-before-exhibited items from the aircraft’s interior.

Always the consummate dreamer, Walt Disney laid the groundwork for decades of plans and projects that would end up spanning long past his own lifetime - many ot which continue to reverberate throughout The Wall Disney Company, today. From this lone cabin chair and window, perched high above the Earth aboard his pride and joy company flagship, the Showman of the World gazed upon the opportunities he saw below, dream ing up what projects he was going to tackle next. From a bustling Flushing Meadows to the scrub-filled swamps of Central Florida, this "eve in the sky" was Walt Disney's vantage onto a boundless realm of possibility.

On November 22, 1963, Walt Disney was in the airplane flying over Florida. He and his team flew over the coast so Walt could confirm his decision of not wanting to build the project close to the ocean. The team then traveled inland to the Orlando area, above forests and swamps. After that, the plane had to stopped in New Orleans to refuel on the way back to Walt Disney Productions headquarters in Burbank, where they were informed of President Kennedy's assassination. On the return flight to California, Walt announced that they would begin purchasing land in Central Florida for the E.P.C.O.T project.