What is Thank You Walt Disney? The organization is dedicated to conserving Walt Disney’s Kansas City history and providing a place for art and animation study while encouraging confidence and entrepreneurial individualism. Among its goals, the group is working to:
- Restore the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, located on the top floor of Kansas City’s McConahay Building, recreating its offices and exhibits to honor Walt Disney and his fellow artists.
- Provide a state-of-the-art teaching facility for the K.C. metropolitan digital media industry in cooperation with Digistory KC.
- Operate a theater and lecture hall hosting events focused on animation.
When will the studio open to the public? It could be a while. Efforts to restore the studio have been in the works for two decades, but with the latest funding organizers say they’re beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Added to previously raised funds, the $2 million – plus $500,000 in tax credits that the organization has been granted by the Missouri Development Finance Board – puts Thank You Walt Disney 51% of the way to their fundraising goal. According to the group, they still need another $3.4 million to fully realize their restoration ambitions.
What they’re saying. Upon handing over the $2 million check, Rep. Cleaver said:
I am as happy as a Mahomes at Disney the day after a Chiefs Super Bowl win to have secured this federal funding for the rehabilitation of the historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio. The efforts of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. to preserve and restore this landmark to its glory for future generations of innovators and entrepreneurs makes a clear statement that Kansas City isn’t some Mickey Mouse town, but a city of great historical significance, at the forefront of innovation and community.
On its Facebook page, Thank You Walt Disney posted:
We are excited to share that U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) has formally announced and presented a $2 million check to Thank You Walt Disney Inc. as part of his robust Community Project Funding initiative! This financial package will directly benefit our restoration efforts and go towards the $6.4M in needed costs to redevelop the historic building that once housed Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-gram Studios, his first professional animation office. Stay tuned for more details!
