Community Corner
Aliso Viejo Man Follows Disney’s Legacy in Imagination
OC's Wyatt Stanley, 21, launches Kickstarter to aid his Disney-inspired "Pirates" Halloween Display. One day, Dreams to be Disney Imagineer.
LOCATED (2–98 Oak Ridge Circle, Aliso Viejo, Ca 92656)
(ALISO VIEJO, CA) – SARS-CoV-2 stopped a lot of things in 2020….
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…but it couldn’t stop Imagination.
Specifically, the imagination of Aliso Viejo’s Wyatt Stanley, 21, who for the second time in a pandemic refused to let a beta-coronavirus vacate his dream of one day working as a Walt Disney Imagineer!
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“[Walt Disney Imagineering] is the creative engine that designs and builds all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions, and cruise ships worldwide, and oversees the creative aspects of Disney games, merchandise product development, and publishing businesses,” according to Disney Imaginations » About Imagineering.
For Wyatt Stanley, there is no Plan B.
“DISNEYLAND WILL NEVER BE COMPLETED. IT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AS LONG AS THERE IS IMAGINATION LEFT IN THE WORLD,” - WALT DISNEY
It was all going his way…
Wyatt grew up in a Disneyland-loving, encouraging and nurturing South Orange County family who recognized early on their son had a gift – and an unbreakable connection to Disneyland.
Wyatt didn’t go to the Anaheim-based theme park like most toddlers his age who wanted to play or eat Disneyland popcorn.
“I remember having him on my shoulders as we walked around Disneyland when he was just three-years-old,” recalled Michael Stanley, Wyatt’s Dad. “He said, ‘I want to live here! I want to work here!’”
And Wyatt still feels exactly the same way today.
“He was fascinated with the Haunted Mansion,” Michael recalled, reminiscent of his youngest son’s bond to Disneyland. Wyatt has two older siblings. “By five, he wanted to get out of the Ghoul machines to see how everything worked. He wanted to deconstruct the rides.”
His Mom, Dawn Stanley, confirms this was her baby boy – who as a toddler wasn’t afraid of the mechanical shark in “Jaws,” rather, inspired by it artistically and engineering-ly.
Michael, also an artist by “hobby,” and Dawn, wanted to nurture this gift in their son: the gift of looking at the world through the lens of – well, like a Disney Imagineer.
‘THE MAGIC COMES WITH THE WORK’ – DISNEY IMAGINEERS
Wyatt knew he wanted to do one thing in life: become a Disney Imagineer. A graduate of the prestigious Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), Wyatt was so multi-talented and gifted, the high school gave him a specialized multi-disciplinary academic program. And by 18, he drove himself to the gates of Disneyland to apply for a job.
Similar to Walt Disney himself, who traveled to Hollywood, California at 21-years of age to chase his dream in motion pictures. Walt wasn’t the best student and didn’t get the best grades because he was busy working to help support his family in the 1910’s, according to research.
Walt also not only lived through the “Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918, he contracted the H1N1 virus then at 16 and grew very ill, researchers say.
Walt and Wyatt are connected in a powerful way: both living through historical pandemics in young adulthood (exactly a century apart), both believing in a dream from within – and both sharing “W” and “T” in the same placement of their first names, and a “Y” at the end of their last.
Yet, it is the resilience each shows at that pivotal time in a young person’s life: stop and give up due to the incomprehensible nature of a rabid, infectious disease circling the globe…or keep believing, and dreaming.
Enter Wyatt’s visionary Halloween displays in Aliso Viejo, where he envisions, drafts, creates and builds by hand – every element and every detail that Halloween trick-or-treaters become part of “the story.”
Young OC Man Furloughed by Disney Brings Magic Alive on Halloween
All five senses: see, hear, touch, taste and smell. The same elements Disney Imagineers cover in all Disney Theme Parks around the world.
DISNEY IMAGINEERS: PASSIONATE PEOPLE WHO OBSESS ON EVERY DETAIL, AND HAVE A “CAN-DO” ATTITUDE
Wyatt graciously took the time to answer questions posed to him covering the events spanning this last year. As he finally was getting his footing at Disneyland as an employee, and working towards his college degree – the world shut-down March 2020.
Furloughed from Disneyland – along with so many others. He had a choice. And his daily choices resulted in the Disneyland-inspired “Haunted Mansion” display that was live Halloween-time 2020.
And while a year later so much has changed: the lessons he’s learned in this pandemic will surely always stay with him, and push him further with his talents – just like Walt Disney himself.
Q: What have you learned most about yourself over this past year
WS: How much I appreciate the simple things in life. Going to art supply stores, just being out and around people. I really appreciate that now.
Q: What five words would describe how you felt going into Halloween 2020 vs. five words to describe how you feel now going into Halloween 2021:
WS: Words to describe 2020 same time last year would be:
1. Isolated – I missed being around friends and laughing.
2. Determined – I wasn’t going to let negative energy stop me from finishing the “Haunted Mansion” Halloween 2020 display.
3. Creative – Ideas were flowing through my head at another level due to the time I had to focus.
4. Sad – I really missed Disneyland and wasn’t sure when it would open back up.
5. Worried – I was concerned for my family’s health and well-being during that first year of the pandemic.
WS: Words to describe 2021 Halloween-time:
1. Happy – I am back to work at Disneyland and things are getting back to normal.
2. Passionate – I am really focused making this year’s project the best we’ve ever done.
3. Appreciative: I really enjoy going out, seeing my friends and being able to go to public events.
4. Creative – I am discovering new ideas and possibilities with the freedom we have now.
5. Excited – I can’t wait to complete this year’s project and unveil it to the community, to really celebrate each other and the magic of Art!
He sure sounds like a future Disney Imagineer to me!
Good luck Wyatt (and family!) -- Orange County is rooting for you!
LOCATED (2–98 Oak Ridge Circle, Aliso Viejo, Ca 92656)
—-
“A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”
Written By: Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston, Mack David
A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartache
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true.
Oh, that clock kill joy
I hear you
Come on, get up, you say
Time to start another day
Even he orders me around
Well, there is one thing
They can’t order me to stop dreaming
And perhaps someday.
The dream that I wish will come true.
- (Copyright Citation for A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes)
LINKS
Pirates of the Caribbean:Halloween Spectacular Yard Display by Mike Stanley — Kickstarter
Young OC Man Furloughed by Disney Brings Magic Alive on Halloween
Follow “Stanley Haus” on FB at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072765656249
For the “Stanley Haus 2020 Haunted Mansion”video, go to: https://www.facebook.com/100072765656249/videos/833436327284992/?d=n
Follow on Instagram @stanleyhaus5
