By Keith Mahne

In 2006, a few years prior to the opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum, Diane Disney sat down with American film critic and historian Leonard Maltin for an interview that appeared in the bonus features of the Walt Disney Treasures DVD Your Host Walt Disney. Join us today for a warm and intimate look back at Diane's heartfelt memories of her dad, Walt Disney...

An early photo of Diane and Walt

Diane Disney was the ultimate torchbearer of her father Walt's legacy. Walt Disney was a very public figure, but Diane did her best to avoid the spotlight until she realized that her father’s centennial year was approaching in 2001. She worried that people didn’t know who he was any more. The once-familiar face and voice from years of television exposure was fading into the shadows. If people recognized the name it was as a corporate entity and no longer associated with a real, live person. She made up her mind to reverse that process, even if it meant having to sacrifice some of her own privacy, and the Walt Disney Museum was born.

Diane at the Walt Disney Family Museum opening night gala

Back in 2006, prior to the museum opening, Diane sat down with American film critic and historian Leonard Maltin for an interview that appeared in the bonus features of the Walt Disney Treasures DVD Your Host Walt Disney. It offers us a wonderful and intimate look back at the life of the ultimate dreamer, Walt Disney. Enjoy friends...

(For your viewing pleasure, be sure to pause the Disney Avenue Music Player located above prior to starting the video below if you are on a desktop computer.)















Keith Michael Mahne is the owner and editor of Disney Avenue and the host of the Disney Avenue Podcast. He has made countless trips to the Walt Disney World resort since his first trip in 1989 at the age of four. Keith has a strong passion and respect for Walt Disney, the parks and resorts, and the men and women who help create them. He started Disney Avenue as a way to inform and entertain readers and to repay all those who make dreams come true every day.

You can find all of Keith's articles here.