Mustang Makes a Splash at Disney Fan Event then visits Leno’s Garage

Well, that was fun! The Ford Motor Company Archives arranged the loan of one of the original “Skyway Mustangs” to the Walt Disney Company D23 Ultimate Fan Event, held in Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 9-11.

As I’ve recounted in this introduction story, the Ford Mustang was introduced to the media and public in April 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. But what you may not know is that the Walt Disney Company created the Ford Pavilion and the ride that showcased the cars.

The pavilion and ride took three years to build. Ford contracted with WED Enterprises, the creative arm of the Walt Disney Company, to create a 12-minute ride featuring its products. Ford Galaxies, Lincoln Continentals and Fairlanes were all expected to be in the ride, but the surprise in 1964 was the all-new Mustang.

Twenty-four Mustangs were part of the ride in 1964 and 1965, and the location is known for four of those original cars. Our archives worked to have one on display at the D23 Ultimate Fan Event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the World’s Fair. The display was part of a larger Disney Archives exhibit focusing on cars in their collection that had been used in films. 

D23 is the Walt Disney Fan Club, and it holds biannual events to celebrate all things Disney with its fans. This year’s Ultimate Fan Event attracted more than 75,000 attendees over three days.

The Walt Disney Archives created a “Great Big Beautiful Car Show” that included more than 30 incredible automobiles displayed over 24,000 square feet. While there were several other movie Fords from their collection including the Model T from “The Absent-Minded Professor,” the GT40 from “Ford vs Ferarri,” and the Econoline from “Nomadland,” the Skyway Mustang was the literal center of attention. The Disney Archives exhibit team re-created the archway that was at the original 1964 World’s Fair.

I was also asked to be on a panel discussion titled “A Beautiful Tomorrow – Just a Dream Away: Disney at the 1964-65 World’s Fair.” The lineup was impressive. Legendary film critic Leonard Maltin was the moderator, with Disney Archivist Becky Cline, “Monsters Inc.” Director Pete Docter, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, “Tomorrowland” Production Designer Ramsey Avery, and special surprise guests: composer Michael Giacchino, Director/Actor Jon Favreau, and Marvel President Kevin Feige. I would have felt like the odd man out, but I was there to tell the amazing story of the role of the Mustang at the Fair, which evened the playing field.

For me, the panel discussion was easy — the World’s Fair and the Mustang introduction created the first chapter in the lore of the Mustang as the car for every generation. The styling was so perfect for that place and time that the car cemented the public’s imagination of what a sporty car should be. Just as it has for each subsequent generation. The chatter in the green room backstage felt like many Mustang meets I’ve been to. Everyone had their Mustang story, and Leonard Maltin even spoke about his regret in selling his 1968 on-stage!

The day after D23 ended, we took the Skyway Mustang to Jay Leno’s Garage to film a segment on the car for a future video. The crew who film the episodes for Leno’s Garage are amazingly professional, and after 1,100 episodes, know exactly how to make the car look beautiful and bring the story to life.  This one was a bit different, as the main connection to the Fair was showing the weld marks on the undercarriage of the car!  That was a bit tricky to capture on camera.

Jay was as nice as you would expect and had personal memories of the Ford Pavilion and dragging his father there to ride the ride and see the new Mustang. Our segment talking about the car was easy. We took the car for a spin to film it in action. The crew had attached GoPro cameras on the windshield to film us and we followed a customized Ford Expedition that Jay has outfitted with cameras to get the wide-angle shots of the drive.  I can’t tell you how many people honked and waved at Jay as we drove the Mustang, but I was not surprised, because two icons together attract attention.

There are few cars in the world that would generate the type of reaction the Mustang did in 1964, and I was struck by the fact that, as we celebrate the 60th anniversary, the Mustang is still the sporty car for the newest generation. It was an honor to work with the Archives team at the Walt Disney Company to celebrate this car with all their fans.