Since most people have already taken at least one ride on It's a Small World (and have the infernal song permanently etched into their brains), Walt Disney World has been packaging 15-month, resort-wide events to lure them back. Five years ago, the property celebrated its 25th anniversary and placed the spotlight on its Magic Kingdom park. For the Millennium celebration, Epcot was the center of attention.

Through the end of 2002, WDW is honoring the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth with the 100 Years of Magic event. Befitting Disney's Hollywood origins, Disney-MGM Studios is the focal park this time. A 122-foot sorcerer's hat, modeled after Mickey's famous Fantasia chapeau, serves as a visual beacon for the celebration.

The centerpiece attraction is Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. A gallery showcases artifacts such as the animation camera table that Disney used to create his earliest Mickey Mouse cartoons, the special set of Oscars he received for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and the office from which he broadcast the opening segments of his "Wonderful World of Disney" television show. The theme parks are also well represented. For example, on display is a 19th-century mechanical bird that Disney picked up and which inspired him to develop the park's signature audio-animatronic robotic characters.

Walt who?
In the last years of his life, Disney obsessed over Project X -- what later became Walt Disney World. The One Man's Dream exhibit includes a master plan he sketched of the property. "It's one of the few things Walt actually drew since he stopped drawing Mickey Mouse in the 1920s," says Marty Sklar, the creative head of Walt Disney Imagineering, a 45-year veteran of the company and one of the few remaining who worked alongside Disney. "It's particularly appropriate that we honor him at Walt Disney World."

The gallery leads to a theater showing a short film about Walt Disney. As a highly public figure, Disney left reams of audio interviews and documentary footage. Through the archived material, he serves as the narrator for his own life story.

Although Walt Disney may be a patron saint for baby boomers, younger generations didn't spend their Sunday evenings perched in front of the electronic hearth, hanging on his every word. "Kids don't realize there really was a man named Walt Disney," Sklar says.

Magic Kingdom guests used to have the opportunity to learn about the iconic founder until the company closed The Walt Disney Story attraction a few years ago (amid an outcry from Disney loyalists). The new Disney-MGM Studios gallery, film and the entire 100 Years celebration humanizes and pays homage to the man whose name has become synonymous with the vast media corporation.

Walt loved a parade
New parades at all four parks join in the fun. Disney-MGM Studios hosts a retro Hollywood-style cavalcade of open-air cars and Disney stars. The characters get a safari makeover for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle parade at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The Share a Dream Come True parade at the Magic Kingdom uses life-size snow globes as its theme. Epcot's Tapestry of Nations procession, which debuted during the Millennium event, has morphed into the Tapestry of Dreams.

Although Disney never lived to see the Florida resort open, his imprint is everywhere. According to Sklar, Disney was devoted to quality, fun and, above all else, great storytelling -- company hallmarks that endure. "He loved nostalgia, but he loved technology. By blending the two, he developed highly unique ways to tell stories."

So what would Disney think about the resort that bears his name? "He always looked forward to the next challenge. He would probably be pleased -- and astounded," Sklar says. As to the 100 Years of Magic event celebrating his life, "Walt would probably say, `What took you so long,' " laughs Sklar.

Photo: Reprinted with permission from Disney. (C) Disney 2001