On this day in 1920, famed author Ray Bradbury was born. Most people know Ray Bradbury’s significant works like Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. But some may not know that the famed author was friends with Walt Disney and even helped with iconic attractions such as EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth.
Ray Bradbury and Walt Disney’s friendship began in 1964. The two quickly bonded over their love of each other’s work. Bradbury was a huge fan of Disneyland. Walt loved to hear about Ray’s experiences in Disneyland.
Ray Bradbury is also responsible for giving us an iconic Walt Disney quote. When Ray asked Walt to run for mayor of Los Angeles, Walt replied with:
“Why should I be mayor, when I’m already king?”
Walt was right.
Walt also knew that mixing friendship and business could lead to disaster. So when Ray asked about helping Walt and his team redesign Tomorrowland. Walt simply said, “It’s no use. You’re a genius and I’m a genius. After two weeks, we’d kill each other.”
Bradbury after Walt’s death would continue to be closely associated with The Walt Disney Company. Bradbury would contribute to the storyline and help write the narration to EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth would tell the history of communication. This iconic attraction has stood the test of time.
Bradbury also wrote the screenplays to Something Wicked This Way Comes in 1983 and The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit in 1999 for Disney. Something Wicked This Way Comes is actually based on one of Bradbury’s novels.
Bradbury also contributed ideas for Disneyland Paris. His ideas included details for Discoveryland and for Phantom Manor. Although Bradbury would help inspire ideas for Disney Parks, sometimes the inspiration would go the other way around. In 1969, Bradbury wrote and released a short story called “Downwind in Gettysburg”, the short story chronicles a robotic Abe Lincoln being shot. The short story was clearly inspired by Disney’s Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction at Disneyland.
In a 1982 interview with OMNI magazine, Bradbury shared his thoughts on why Disney Parks could make the future a better place:
“Everyone in the world will come to these gates. Why? Because they want to look at the world of the future. They want to see how to make better human beings. That’s what the whole thing is about. The cynics are already here and they’re terrifying one another. What Disney is doing is showing the world that there are alternative ways to do things that can make us all happy. If we can borrow some of the concepts of Disneyland and Disney World and Epcot, then indeed the world can be a better place.”
In 2007, Disney honored Ray Bradbury and his various contributions to Disney with a special Halloween Tree in Frontierland at Disneyland.
Ray Bradbury was a defender of Walt Disney’s legacy. His friendship with Walt although was only two years — but was packed with many highlights. Bradbury’s contributions to Disney Parks and Disney, in general, will always be remembered fondly along with his friendship with Walt.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
