Disney used a private jet to scout Disneyland.
Walt's Plane and The Mouse were the company's flagships.
A hot cup was included in the galley.
The exterior of the beloved Mickey Mouse One Gulfstream jet, which was abandoned to rot in a field in Disney World, has been restored by The Walt Disney Company.
The Palm Springs Air Museum will host the debut of the Disney plane on October 15.
The Disney Archives and the flagship of the company were affectionately known as "Walt's Plane and The Mouse".
The centerpiece of the D23 expo was the restored Mickey Mouse One.
The little beauty has been in Florida for about 40 years.
In the 1960s, Disney surveyed the scrub-filled Central Florida swamps that would become Walt Disney World.
The director of the Disney Archives said that Walt Disney flew his Imagineers back and forth to look at the property. They were interested in doing an East Coast Disneyland. They looked at a lot of different places.
An instrument panel with an airspeed indicator and a Mickey Mouse clock allowed the aviation enthusiast to keep an eye on his flight.
He was able to communicate with the pilot in the cockpit using a nearby phone.
Even though he didn't become a pilot, Walt still sat in the co-pilot seat. He was interested in all modes of travel.
A lifelong smoker, the flight crew kept a mickey mouse matchbook next to the Duk-It ashtray.
The passengers were given a bag with a picture of Mickey on the tail of the plane.
The same tail number as Mickey Mouse One can be found on a patched-together cartoon plywood prop plane version of N235MM.
Disney pilots would change the air traffic controller's call to "Two, Three, Four, Metro Metro" to "Mickey Mouse" on approach to the airport.
The dining room at Disney.
The 15-passenger plane had a galley kitchen, two couches, two tables, a drop-down desk, and two restrooms.
The galley in the main cabin was special at that time. In-flight meals could be provided for all 18 people. The place had a sink, a warming oven, food storage, tray containers, and heating elements so they could heat up Walt's chili.
In the summer of 1960, Disney began shopping for his own plane.
There was a drop-down table that they used to have meetings on. Walt wanted the plane because of that. When he flew commercial, he couldn't afford a private plane that would allow him to keep working.
In preparation for the 1964-65 World's Fair where It's a Small World and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was to debut, the Queen- Air 80 was quickly deemed insufficient.
The orange and black livery on the new G-158 was a representation of the Disney logo.
The undecorated aircraft that was delivered with an olive-green primer inside and out was designed by Walt and his wife.
The interior was painted in a variety of colors that were popular in the 1960s.
The private space on the plane was separated from the rest of the cabin by a clear divider filled with leaves and grass.
"That was something Walt and Lillian added to the plane as a touch of home."
The registration number was transferred from the Queen- Air to the tail of the plane to honor the mouse that started it all.
The Disney plane traveled from Burbank to Key West, New Orleans, and New York in the pilot's log. There are short hops between Burbank and Palm Springs.
Roy Disney was referred to as the President of Fantasy Airlines in a 1964 telegram from St. Louis to Burbank by his brother Walt Disney.
In 1964, Disney wrote a letter to a company that manufactured aircraft. Disney wrote that the comfort, the quiet, and the beauty of the plane make it an outstanding one.
After Disney's death in 1966, the plane was used for company business and made appearances in two Disney movies.
The Burbank-based aircraft was put on display as part of the studio backlot tour at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
The abandoned plane was found in a field after Disney World closed.
The Mouse flew 20,000 hours and transported 83,000 passengers during its 28 years of service.
Everything in the cockpit was sold when the plane was retired in 1992. There was a lot of material inside the plane. The windows were replaced and the rest of the interior was taken out. The salvaged stuff was sent to the Disney Archives in California.
The plane was part of the back lot tour from 1992 to 2004.
The windows needed a paint job after that point. The humidity in Florida made it leak. The place gets a lot of rain.
The Palm Springs Air Museum agreed to become the new home of Mickey Mouse One after the Disney plane was no longer available.
The Smoke Tree Ranch is where Walt and his family spent some time in Palm Springs, and the Palm Springs Air Museum is where it will go. It is going to return to its roots.
The plane was cleaned up, the windows were replaced, and the exterior was painted with the original 1960s livery.
The plane was disassembled at Disney World and transported across the country on four flat bed trucks. The plane was reassembled in Palm Springs after it was disassembled at the convention.
There is nothing left inside. One day, we hope to restore the interior as well.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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