Disney Legend talks about working with Walt, finding growth in failure

There are two ways to look at a blank sheet of paper — with fright or as an opportunity. The creative mastermind behind nine Disney theme parks says focusing on the latter led to his contributions to the Disney legacy, and can lead everyone else to their own.

On Thursday, the man who, as a young student journalist, turned a blank sheet of paper into a newspaper for Disneyland’s 1955 opening spoke with the Star-Telegram about imagination.

Marty Sklar, 82, was a 21-year-old college journalist at the University of California-Los Angeles, when Walt Disney tapped him to create a newspaper, The Disneyland News, to be handed out on Main Street at the opening of his first theme park, Disneyland.

“I was scared as hell,” Sklar said. “Fortunately, he liked what I presented.”

Sklar went on to work directly with Walt Disney for 10 years, writing personal material for him, including the script of his appearance on film in 1996 about his vision for EPCOT Center.

After Walt Disney’s death, Sklar guided creative development at Walt Disney World.

Now simply called Epcot, the center is one of the largest parks at Disney World in Florida.

As Sklar’s leadership abilities were discovered, his titles changed, most notably when he became The Walt Disney Co., International Ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering. Six hundred creative and technical professionals called imagineers reported directly to him.

Imagineers combine imagination and engineering to come up with Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions, cruise ships, real estate developments and regional entertainment venues worldwide, according to Disney’s website.

During his 53 years with Disney, Sklar was the only person who was involved in the opening of all 11 Disney parks. Disneyland remains his favorite, he said. It’s the only one Walt Disney experienced before his 1966 death.

His favorite attraction remains “It’s a small world.”

The words in the song “There’s just one moon and one golden sun. And a smile means friendship to everyone” were the lesson Walt Disney wanted to share.

“Wouldn’t that be a great world?” Sklar asked Thursday before speaking to a sold-out crowd in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s celebrity lecture series.

There he talked about his latest book, One Little Spark! Mickey’s Ten Commandments and the Road to Imagineering.

The book discusses the successes and failures of Disney’s creative arm, such as the hiccups the Animal Kingdom first experienced.

“People who want to create can’t fear failure because if you’re not failing from time to time, you’re not doing anything new,” he said.

Even the great Walt Disney was grateful for his first failure — a cartoon series he produced in Kansas City when he was 22.

It was that failure that sparked the magic behind Disney, an example that Sklar hopes can continue to inspire all ages.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Disney Legend talks about working with Walt, finding growth in failure."