What if anything should be done to honor Roy Disney???

[Bob O]

On the dis they had a link to a article where Simon V had a very interesting interview with Roy Dinsey Jr and during the interview he commented that he would like to see something named after his father. What do you think of this??? It seems to me that even though he may not have been the creative genuis who started it all he did play a very important part in keeping the company on a good financiall keel when it did have problems and did his best to keep Walt's dream alive once walt died. I dont think he doesnt get the credit he deserves as being part of the team but im not certain what should be done. What do you think about this?? Is he deserving of having something named for him or some other type of honor ro regcognize his accomplishments???

 

[Janet2k]

I, for one, think of Disney as both Walt & Roy. I especially love the statue of Roy with Minnie Mouse that is found in the Magic Kingdom. Any guy who was a friend of Minnie, is a friend of mine.

 

[Bob O]

From reading the interview with Roy Jr i got the feeling that he felt a park or something major should be named after his father like the theme parks themselves were name after Walt, thats what i got out of his statement anyway.

 

[Goofyposter]

Both Roy Sr. & Jr. were/are wonderful guys.
Roy Sr. of course was personally committed to keeping Walt as the "front guy", but did play a cricital role. I doubt either could have done what they did by themselves.
It proably wasn't in Roy Sr.'s personality to want a park named after him, but I would think some type of institution/program (like scholarships, "make a wish" type thing) would be appropriate.

 

[Bstanley]

NOT 'Walt DisneyWorld'...

Anyone who knows the history of what is now the 'Disney' Corporation knows that it literally wouldn't have existed without Roy Sr. Quoting Walt - "We started the business here in 1923, and if it hadn't been for my big brother, I swear I'd've been in jail several times for checks bouncing.". If you want to know the rest of the story I recommend the book "Building a Company, Roy Disney and the creation of an entertainment empire".

In particular it was Roy Sr. that personally followed up after Walt's death to make sure that DisneyWorld was built - in fact you could make a case that the effort required ended up killing him...

I have to admit though that I can't imagine having a theme park named after him, and I can't picture the powers that be removing the name 'Walt' now that he's been 'canonized' by the corporation...

I guess Roy Jr will just have to be satisfied with the places named 'Disney' (EuroDisney, Disneyland, etc) that don't have a 'Walt' tacked on them.

Or he could start a 'Roy Disney Sr' something or other with the money (>$1B) that the Eisner/Wells team made for him after he brought them in to run the company.

 

[Bob O]

I dont think some existing park should be renamed but you would think when they do open something new, escpecially if it is stateside they should give some consideration to Roy Disney and the leagacy his family has left to the company!!!

 

[Lesley]

Hmmmm....maybe they should come out with a new Disney dollar (a $20 or larger bill) with Roy Sr. on it? It would kind of fit his role...though I don't think thats a big enough tribute. How about a Roy Disney convention center (could be a renaming of any of the current ones)? Something related to the business/money end of things would seem fitting...

 

[YoHo]

Engine #4 of the Walt Disney World Railroad is Named Roy O. Disney. A tribute I suspect Walt would have loved to give his brother. I wouldn't consider that to be enough, but it is major.


Oh and out of Respect for Roy you should Call it Walt Disney World. That was what he wanted it named.

 

[Testtrack321]

A ride or park will seem like over kill and just like "Hey, if it worked for the other guy." I think a more bussness oriented idea will be better than, lets say, a ride or park. He wasn't the creative genious, he was more of the business person. Hence why a convention center or some other big thing will be better.

 

[Safari Steve]

There's an office building in LA named for Roy, a steam train, the (relatively new) statue in town square at MK... I wouldn't mind a few more things like that, but remember, it was Roy O. who wanted it named Walt Disney World instead of just Disneyworld, so just using that nomenclature is a tribute to Roy as well.

 

[TheLionKing]

This may sound silly, but I was thinking someone should name a business school after Roy Disney.

 

[Testtrack321]

It's not silly, it might be the best idea here.
Good one!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Why not change the name of the Disney Institute to the Roy O Disney Institute. In its last incarnation the few classes it held were more of a business nature than anything else.

 

[JAP]

Great posts!

Most Disney fans like the ones on these boards know the history of Walt and Roy. However, the majority of the public associate Walt with Disney and not Roy. My DH assumed Roy was Walt's brother but did not have a clue that he was a big part in keeping the company running after Walt's death and was a huge contributer to the company on a whole.

Roy Sr. does deserve some more recognition. I like everyone's ideas!

 

[TheLionKing]

I just did a tour at the corporate headquarters on April 9th in Burbank and there is a building on the campus named after Roy Disney. It is right next to the Team Disney corporate building. They also have a building named for Frank Wells.

 

[marty3d]

Roy Disney absolutely deserves some type of tribute. Roy insisted that Disney World be named Walt Disney World as a tribute to his brother (Walt had never planned on having his first name on the project). I do agree that a park wouldn't be the type of tribute he would have wanted. Whatever tribute would be chosen, it should be respectful of the man he was.

 

[Grog]

I recommend the book "Building a Company, Roy Disney and the creation of an entertainment empire".

This was a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down. I knew Roy played a major role in the creation of the Disney empire, but I never knew how big that role was until I read this book. Like most of you, I don't know what a fitting tribute would be, but I hope they come up with something