''Partners'' is a 1993

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

statue by Blaine Gibson, depicting

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

holding the hand of the most popular character he created,

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

. It is a central piece in four Disney theme parks around the world as well as at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

About

The statue measures in height, which is taller than Disney's actual stature. It is a central point of attention at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

Tokyo Disneyland is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney park t ...

, the Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Studios Park. Gibson took a year to create the piece and used a 1960 bust of Disney as his model for Disney's half. To sculpt Disney and Mickey's joined hands, he consulted the 1940 film '' Fantasia'', where Mickey shook hands with conductor Leopold Stokowski. There has been some speculation regarding Disney's stance in the sculpture, with many believing his outstretched hand indicated he was showing Mickey what had become of his creator's dream. Gibson explained: The letters "STR" on Walt’s tie represent Smoke Tree Ranch, a resort in Palm Springs where Disney owned a home. The plaque beneath the statues bear slightly different versions of words that Disney never actually uttered. His closest actual words to the inscriptions were, "I think what I want most of all is for Disneyland to be a happy place". Parts of sentences from an unrelated interview were added to this.

Locations

There are five versions of the ''Partners'' statue. The original is located in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in

and was unveiled on November 18, 1993 on the 65th anniversary of the creation of

. Its plaque quotes

as saying, "I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place... where parents and children can have fun... together". The statue was recreated for

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

and placed there on June 19, 1995. Its plaque has a slightly different quote: "We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun — together". The third was placed in the Tokyo Disney Resort in

on April 15, 1998. The fourth was installed at Walt Disney Studios in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

on December 5, 2001. The fifth was added to Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris on March 16, 2002.

Partners in Excellence

The Partners in Excellence Award, was awarded to less than 2% of Cast Members who work at Disney Parks around the world between 1996–2009, who demonstrated characteristics of an excellent worker and who had the company in mind through all of their actions. The award is represented in the form of a pin depicting ''Partners'', which goes pinned on their nametags.

References

{{Walt Disney Studios Park Statues in California Cultural depictions of Walt Disney Bronze sculptures in California Bronze sculptures in Florida Bronze sculptures in France Bronze sculptures in Japan 1993 sculptures Disneyland Magic Kingdom Tokyo Disneyland Walt Disney Studios Park Sculptures of men in California Statues of fictional characters Mickey Mouse in art

About

Locations

Partners in Excellence

See also

References