A really special Walt Disney story

Everyone knows who Walt Disney is. He will live on through his movies, characters and theme parks. Some of Walt Disney’s most loved characters are Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. I loved going to Walt Disney World when I was a child and now I enjoy taking Noah. I remember being so excited when a new Disney movie would come out. I love sharing the movies with Noah. 

 

Walt Disney has been producing movies for many years. You know you will get a quality family film when it’s Disney. His movies are timeless and have been enchanting for generations. Walt Disney is the creator of Mickey Mouse, who is the most recognized character of all time. 

But how did Walt Disney come to know and treasure the figures from Wendt & Kühn? It’s well known that he was a passionate collector of curios, especially miniatures.  He brought back many souvenirs from his travels. He and his wife went shopping, seeking out unique little things that pleased them. He looked for things that he thought his daughters would like to have. Walt Disney was obviously fascinated by the little wooden figurines from the distant land of Germany, from the Wendt & Kuehn workshops in Grünhainichen. 

 

His wife Lilian, knowing Walt’s love of Wendt & Kühn figures, had started the tradition. It started when Diane was a baby by presenting Walt with a Wendt & Kühn figure as a Christmas gift from his brand-new daughter. Over the years Diane continued this tradition as an expression of their special father-daughter bond.

 

At the personal request of Diane Disney Miller, Wendt & Kuehn figurines are on sale in the souvenir shop at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco still today. Diane is able to share wonderful childhood memories of her famous father. When Diane decided to carry the figures in the new museum store, she did it in the hope that visitors would be just as delighted and enchanted by them as her father was.

 

Now we know that the figurines of Wendt & Kuehn played a role in Walt’s life. The figurines you see here are all the same as Walt Disney’s collection of Wendt & Kuehn-articles. In the archives of the Walt Disney company there are many old pictures in which the figures of Wendt & Kühn can be clearly seen in the Disney office.

 

The enthusiasm of Disney brought Wendt & Kuehn 2014 even a supporting role in the movie “Saving Mr. Banks“ starring Tom Hanks. The movie is the story of how Walt used personal charm and skill to persuade the author of Mary Poppins to let him turn her famous children‘s book into a movie.

 

As Walt Disney once said, “My business is making people, especially children, happy“- Grete Wendt, the founder of Wendt & Kuehn, would certainly have agreed with him. You can find more interesting information about Walt Disney and exclusive pictures of the Walt Disney archives in the elevendotpost on page 12/13 (US version): https://www.wendt-kuehn.com/service/eleven-dot-post/

 

You can learn more about the Walt Disney Family Museum on https://www.waltdisney.org/ . I would love to visit one day. 

 

To find Wendt & Kuehn near you please check out the dealer directory.