Sunday, June 10, 2012

Walt's Little Friend

Two weeks in a row now, I've seen a pigeon hanging out on the Partners statue of Walt and Mickey together in the Central Plaza of the Magic Kingdom.



This week, the pigeon was on Walt's outstretched hand, almost as if Walt was conjuring and controlling animals the way his cartoon heroines did. It was comical, but it was also a bit sad. I imagine that not-so-golden photo opportunities like this is why they waited so many years after Walt's death before finally making a statue of him--because it leads to birds sitting atop the statue. You even see a scene like that lampooned in the Country Bear Jamboree.

Worse, a closeup shows that Walt's head has been subject to bird droppings of late. And indeed, that's where I saw the bird last weekend--atop Walt's head. It gets less comical the more you think about it.



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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.