by Soarin’ Diva
My family and I visited Walt Disney World Resorts mid September of 2015. This was right in the midst of swirling rumors that One Man’s Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would be closing. There were so many attractions rumored to be closing in Hollywood Studios at this time due to the new Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land coming in the future. We had previously visited One Man’s Dream, but honestly, it had been a few years. The rumor was that One Man’s Dream would be closing at the end of September, so we had to make it a priority to visit on this trip.
When you enter One Man’s Dream, you are immediately entering a room filled with artifacts from Walt Disney’s past. Each display has an informative plaque explaining the importance of the items to Mr. Disney’s childhood, and later adult years. There are displays of the enormous maps of Florida, the scene depicting Walt Disney’s television release of letting the public in on the top-secret “Project X”, the Florida Project, also known as the plans for building Walt Disney World. The nostalgia hits you full force as you encounter a television with an old clip of one of the opening scene from the Disneyland TV show. There are props from the Mickey Mouse Club as well as costumes, and of course there are a lot of Mickey Mouse figures.
You will encounter one of the original prototypes of the Abraham Lincoln animatronics first used in the World’s Fair and later brought into Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Another large display shows Walt’s vision for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, otherwise known as EPCOT Center. One Man’s Dream is virtually a look inside Walt Disney’s creative mind, seeing his vision of what he wanted Disneyland and Walt Disney World to be. My favorite part of strolling through One Man’s Dream were the displays of scale models of various Disney parks including Disneyland’s California Adventure, a model of Main Street, U.S.A. from Disneyland Resort, Sleeping Beauty’s castle and Cinderella’s Castle. There were beautiful scale models of the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom, as well as Spaceship Earth from EPCOT.
I had previously heard that I should ask the Cast Member at the entrance of One Man’s Dream if we could take a citizenship test. When I asked, she handed a small slip of paper to each of us, as well as a pencil. Each paper has a different set of three questions about Walt Disney on the front, as well as one of Mr. Disney’s famous quotes on the back. The object is to stroll through this miniature museum filled with Walt Disney’s memorabilia, read all of the informative plaques, and glean your answers through these plaques. My family decided to separate to find the answers to our questions on the cards. We were able to answer without too much difficulty since all the answers are right there in front of you, you just have to read through the plaques. It was a fun and interactive way to go through a miniature museum.
My devo husband signing our names in the book of honorary citizens
There is a 15 minute video to watch about Walt Disney’s life, so you need to finish this and turn it in before the video begins. We took our cards back to the Cast Member, who checked the answers. Once she determined we answered correctly, we were allowed to write our names in a book filled with names of honorary Walt Disney World citizens. We were also given these Honorary Citizens of Walt Disney World buttons, what a beautiful momento to take home from a touching attraction. We were told that any time we return to Hollywood Studios, we could stop in and ask for the book to look for our names, what a thrill.
Next, we entered the room to watch the movie tribute to Walt Disney’s life. I must confess, I became teary eyed. Just watching Mr. Disney explain his love for his projects, his vision for all that he had planned, was a very moving experience. It made the thought of One Man’s Dream closing a much more emotional loss than before. If One Man’s Dream does truly close, I can only hope it’s just temporary as they finish all of the new projects they have planned, and they reopen it as quickly as possible.
If One Man’s Dream is still open next time you visit Hollywood Studios, please do yourself a favor and stop in. It doesn’t take a long time from your day, and it will give you a chance to learn much more about the man who envisioned and created all that is Disneyland and Walt Disney World. I’ll end this with one of my favorite Walt Disney quotes that I hope you will take to heart, whether you are at a Disney park, or just dreaming of being at one, “The real trouble with the world, too many people grow up.” Never grow up!
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