This unlikely homecoming was more than a half century in the making.
Mickey Mouse One, the private corporate plane purchased by Walt Disney in 1963, has now gone on public display at the Palm Springs Air Museum in California. The plane, which was used to plan his Orlando resort, the World's Fair of 1964–65, and three decades of other company projects, previously sat neglected for 30 years in various spots at the Walt Disney World resort.
This is the first time the general public will be able to approach the plane in person and inspect it up close.
In late 1963, Walt Disney arranged for the purchase of the customized private corporate plane, a Grumman Gulfstream G-159.
At the time, he was searching for an ideal location to build his second Disneyland resort, and he had his eye on some neglected swampland in the middle of Central Florida. It was through its porthole windows if his new plane, registration N234MM, that Disney surveyed the place that would be postumously named in his honor: Walt Disney World.
After Disney died in 1966, the plane, nicknamed Mickey Mouse One, continued serving Disney executives, and twice it was used in two Disney studio-made Kurt Russell movies of the period, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and its sequel, Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972).
Mickey Mouse One flew its last in October 1992, when it landed on World Drive behind what was then the Disney–MGM Studios theme park. Back then, the Disney company wasn't quite as adept at monetizing its scraps for brand nostalgia as it is today, so after N234MM's retirement, it was unceremoniously deposited among a variety of disused movie prop vehicles at the theme park, now called Disney's Hollywood Studios. Tramloads of tourists passed the obsolete Gulfstream daily, but it was essentially left to rot in the Florida sun for a generation.
When Hollywood Studios' tram attraction closed in 2014 to make way for Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the plane was hauled to a non-public location on Disney property a few miles away, behind a waste treatment plant in a backstage area north of Disney's Animal Kingdom park.
The plane's original orange-and-black livery was restored, and in September 2022, the aircraft was shipped by land to Anaheim to serve as a featured exhibit at D23 Expo, a biennial convention for Disney fans. There, current Disney executives announced its final home would be the Palm Springs Air Museum, about two miles' drive east of Los Angeles.
That choice wasn't picked out of the clear blue sky: Over the years, Walt Disney and his family owned several homes in Palm Springs. The log book of Chuck Malone, Disney's pilot at the time, shows the aircraft's first flight to Palm Springs—using the same runways the Air Museum now fronts—landed on December 7, 1963, just two days after the Disney company received delivery of the plane in California.
Walt Disney, along with midcentury notables including film producer Mervyn LeRoy and rubber scion Leonard Firestone, also publically advocated for the bond sale that enabled what is now the Palm Springs airport to be purchased from the U.S. government, which originally built it as a military hub.
Archive photo of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse One / Credit: Disney
Over its lifetime of use, the plane logged 20,000 hours and transported passengers that included Julie Andrews, Annette Funicello, and U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
The Palm Springs Air Museum (760-778-6262; 745 North Gene Autry Trail; www.palmspringsairmuseum.org) costs $22 for adults and $20 for seniors, veterans, retired military, and teens aged 13–17, and is free for active military and kids 12 and under. It's open daily 10am–5pm.
Related post: Travels with Walt Disney: Go Where He Vacationed
Mickey Mouse One, the private corporate plane purchased by Walt Disney in 1963, has now gone on public display at the Palm Springs Air Museum in California. The plane, which was used to plan his Orlando resort, the World's Fair of 1964–65, and three decades of other company projects, previously sat neglected for 30 years in various spots at the Walt Disney World resort.
This is the first time the general public will be able to approach the plane in person and inspect it up close.
In late 1963, Walt Disney arranged for the purchase of the customized private corporate plane, a Grumman Gulfstream G-159.
At the time, he was searching for an ideal location to build his second Disneyland resort, and he had his eye on some neglected swampland in the middle of Central Florida. It was through its porthole windows if his new plane, registration N234MM, that Disney surveyed the place that would be postumously named in his honor: Walt Disney World.
After Disney died in 1966, the plane, nicknamed Mickey Mouse One, continued serving Disney executives, and twice it was used in two Disney studio-made Kurt Russell movies of the period, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and its sequel, Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972).
Mickey Mouse One flew its last in October 1992, when it landed on World Drive behind what was then the Disney–MGM Studios theme park. Back then, the Disney company wasn't quite as adept at monetizing its scraps for brand nostalgia as it is today, so after N234MM's retirement, it was unceremoniously deposited among a variety of disused movie prop vehicles at the theme park, now called Disney's Hollywood Studios. Tramloads of tourists passed the obsolete Gulfstream daily, but it was essentially left to rot in the Florida sun for a generation.
When Hollywood Studios' tram attraction closed in 2014 to make way for Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the plane was hauled to a non-public location on Disney property a few miles away, behind a waste treatment plant in a backstage area north of Disney's Animal Kingdom park.
The plane's original orange-and-black livery was restored, and in September 2022, the aircraft was shipped by land to Anaheim to serve as a featured exhibit at D23 Expo, a biennial convention for Disney fans. There, current Disney executives announced its final home would be the Palm Springs Air Museum, about two miles' drive east of Los Angeles.
That choice wasn't picked out of the clear blue sky: Over the years, Walt Disney and his family owned several homes in Palm Springs. The log book of Chuck Malone, Disney's pilot at the time, shows the aircraft's first flight to Palm Springs—using the same runways the Air Museum now fronts—landed on December 7, 1963, just two days after the Disney company received delivery of the plane in California.
Walt Disney, along with midcentury notables including film producer Mervyn LeRoy and rubber scion Leonard Firestone, also publically advocated for the bond sale that enabled what is now the Palm Springs airport to be purchased from the U.S. government, which originally built it as a military hub.
Archive photo of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse One / Credit: Disney
Over its lifetime of use, the plane logged 20,000 hours and transported passengers that included Julie Andrews, Annette Funicello, and U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
The Palm Springs Air Museum (760-778-6262; 745 North Gene Autry Trail; www.palmspringsairmuseum.org) costs $22 for adults and $20 for seniors, veterans, retired military, and teens aged 13–17, and is free for active military and kids 12 and under. It's open daily 10am–5pm.
Related post: Travels with Walt Disney: Go Where He Vacationed