This Takes The Cake: Walt Disney's Portrait In Icing Created For 100 Years of Magic Official Kickoff

(c) Disney

This Takes The Cake: Walt Disney's Portrait In Icing Created For 100 Years of Magic Official Kickoff

Walt Disney World chefs put a creative twist on that old birthday party expectation of "a face full of icing": They unveiled "an icing full of face" Wednesday as the world-famous resort officially lit the candles on a yearlong celebration marking the 100th anniversary of company founder Walt Disney's birth.

One hundred chefs in toques at Disney-MGM Studios theme park assembled 100 individual sheet cakes into a giant frame, forming one 25-foot-by-17-foot birthday cake emblazoned with a portrait of Walt Disney created from colored pastry icing and bordered by 100 candles.

Two Florida children who share Walt Disney's Dec. 5 birthday participated in cutting the cake. Hailey Youtie of Aventura, north of Miami, turned six Wednesday while Nicholas Sturgeon of Orlando was celebrating his ninth birthday.

The ceremony on what would have been Walt Disney's 100th birthday was part of 100 Years of Magic, a celebration that will continue through December 2002 with new entertainment, attractions and events at all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Wednesday's kickoff also featured:

• the official opening of a new "land" at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
• the induction of the 2002 "class" of Disney Legends at Disney-MGM Studios. Evening activities were to include:
• red-carpet appearances at Disney-MGM Studios by dozens of entertainment celebrities including Julie Andrews, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, Drew Carey, Wayne Brady, Mickey Rooney, Fess Parker, Art Linkletter, and original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Lonnie Burr, Tommy Cole, Cheryl Holdridge, Karen Pendelton, Doreen Tracey and Sherry VanMeter.
• the dedication of the 100 Years of Magic icon, a 122-foot-tall Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat in the heart of Disney-MGM Studios representing the magic of show business and the entertainment wizardry of Disney.

Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat icon dedication
At the dedication of the icon, Roy E. Disney, vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company and chairman of Walt Disney Feature Animation, was among speakers scheduled to give an insight into what the legacy of Walt Disney means to them. He chose the Sorcerer's Apprentice as his topic as an example that represents the two Walts he knew: Walt the kid being Mickey Mouse and Walt the boss being the Sorcerer.

His prepared remarks concluded, "So it is that this giant hat is such a wonderful symbol of my uncle and my boss. And, it can serve as a reminder of the kid and the sorcerer in all of us."

Made from composite fiberglass and shaped like the pointed hat worn by Mickey in the animated classic "Fantasia," the icon weighs 156 tons. It is a brilliant blue decorated with moon and star shapes in glittering gold. An equally larger-than-life Mickey Mouse hand tips the size 606 7/8 hat, which rests on two shimmering ribbon loops stylized versions of Mickey's ears.

Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama! opening
The new Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama! at Disney's Animal Kingdom evokes memories of roadside carnivals. It opened with a brightly colored midway featuring several games of chance and a whirling, whimsical family ride, TriceraTop Spin, that resembles a vintage tin top decorated with dinosaurs.

Imagineer Joe Rohde, who headed the Dino-Rama! project, called the area a "quirky little corner" of Disney's Animal Kingdom that "has a kind of romance the romance of childhood." He said it's "a memory brought to life . . . of roadside stops across America where concrete dinosaurs and colorful diversions broke the monotony of a long ride between sober monuments."

Walt Disney Attractions Chairman Paul Pressler said the new area of Disney's Animal Kingdom is "a great example of how Walt's legacy lives on: Every time Walt realized one of his dreams, he hardly even noticed because he was already thinking about the next big dream, the next new project." Coming next to Disney's Animal Kingdom: an addition to Dino-Rama! a family coaster named Primeval Whirl. It opens in the spring.

Disney Legends ceremony
The 2001 Disney Legends recognized Wednesday for their roles in creating the company's treasure trove of entertainment included Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken. The 10 new Legends join 131 actors, filmmakers, animators, composers and other creative people previously honored since 1987 when actor Fred MacMurray became the first Disney Legend.