Ever wondered how to make your dreams come true?
Walt Disney was one of the most successful people of his time, and he showed the world that dreams do come true. His ubiquitous signature heralds the start of every Disney movie that we’ve watched with wonder and delight.
His words and deeds are an inspiration for many who work hard to make their own dreams come true.
Walt Disney wasn’t only a pioneer in the American film industry with his work as a cartoonist and animator—he was also an influential entrepreneur. Together with his brother Roy, he built an entertainment empire that brought happiness to children and adults all over the world.
If you’re a dreamer yourself, you’ll enjoy this collection of Walt Disney quotes about dreams, life, family, and growing up. As a bonus, we’ve also included some favorite quotes from Disney movies.
First, here are his words about dreams and success. His wise words tell us what it really takes to turn our own dreams into reality.
Walt Disney Quotes About Dreams and Success
- “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
- “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.”
- “First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.”
- “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
- “Dreams, ideas and plans not only are an escape, they give me purpose, a reason to hang on.”
- “I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.”
- “The difference in winning and losing is most often not quitting.”
- “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
- “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.”
- “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”
- “That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.”
- “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Walt Disney
- “When I was a kid, a book I read advised young artists to be themselves. That decided it for me. I was a corny kind of guy, so I went in for corn.”– Walt Disney
- “Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.”
- “I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life… it’s money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.”
- “Most of my life I have done what I wanted to do. I have had fun on the job.”
- “Whatever you do, do it well.”
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
- “A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.”
- “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever.”
– Walt Disney #quotes #waltdisney #waltdisneyquotes
- “People often ask me if I know the secret of success and if I could tell others how to make their dreams come true. My answer is, you do it by working.”
- “I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.”
- “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it requires people to make the dream a reality.”
- “To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past… and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
Disney understood that it takes love and dedication to accomplish something well.
He worked hard to make Disneyland “the happiest place on earth.”
His animated films touched people’s lives, brought them to tears, and made them laugh. They reminded adults of how it felt like to be children again.
May the following Walt Disney quotes about love, life, and wonder allow you to see beauty and magic everywhere you go.
Walt Disney Quotes About Love, Life, and Wonder
- “Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.”
- “Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.”
- “There is great comfort and inspiration in the feeling of close human relationships and its bearing on our mutual fortunes – a powerful force, to overcome the ‘tough breaks’ which are certain to come to most of us from time to time.”
- “I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.”
- “Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.”
- “Laughter is America’s most important export.”
- “You reach a point where you don’t work for money.”
- “There’s nothing funnier than the human animal.”
- “When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human; and that is the secret of his popularity.”
- “All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable.”
All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable.” – Walt Disney
- “I resent the limitations of my own imagination.”
- “For every laugh, there should be a tear.”
- “Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.”
- “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the Park (Disneyland). I want to feel they’re in another world.”
- “Until a character becomes a personality it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, its actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience.”
- “I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with ‘expressing’ myself with obscure creative impressions.”
- “In bad times and in good, I’ve never lost my sense of zest for life.”
- “Never get bored or cynical. Yesterday is a thing of the past.”
Walt Disney placed importance on the family when he was still alive.
Disneyland itself was designed to be a family amusement park. He believed that entertainment should be enjoyed by all members of the family.
Also, a lot of Disney films have themes about family. They serve as reminders about a very important thing in our lives that we often take for granted.
May these Walt Disney quotes about family help you remember how important this unit of society is.
Walt Disney Quotes About Family
- “The most important thing is family. If you can keep the family together — and that's the backbone of our whole business, catering to families — that's what we hope to do.”
- “A man should never neglect his family for business.”
- “The most important thing brought about in the past quarter century of motion-picture history is the recognition that amusement, recreation, mass diversion, is no longer a dispensable luxury. Family fun is as necessary to modern living as a kitchen refrigerator.”
- “We believed in our idea – a family park where parents and children could have fun- together.”
- “We think of the family audience. Mickey Mouse would not have been the success he was were it not for the broad appeal. We are not playing just for kids. If you took your kids to the movies and left them there to be picked up later and did not go in yourself, I’d feel unhappy. After all, if you are aiming at the kids, what age would you aim at?”
Disney’s lifework sparks the imagination. It’s something that a good teacher also does.
May the following Walt Disney quotes for teachers serve as an inspiration for the men and women whose vocation helps them shape the minds and hearts of young people.
Walt Disney Quotes for Teachers
- “When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.”
- “Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy.”
- “Our heritage and ideals, our code and standard – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.”
- “It’s a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.”
- “Do a good job. You don’t have to worry about the money; it will take care of itself. Just do your best work – then try to trump it.”
- “Think beyond your lifetime if you want to do something truly great.”
- “Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource – the minds of our children.”
- “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”
- “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.”
Most of us are beleaguered by adult responsibilities. We develop a very somber view of life. It is all about work, work, work so we can pay the bills and become somebody.
There are benefits to seeing the world as a child does. The wonders never stop. Life continues to be magical.
We hope that the following quotes on growing up can remind you that, although we’re responsible for more things as we grow older, we shouldn’t stop seeing the lighter side of things. A bit of self-care can’t hurt, either.
Disney Quotes About Growing Up
- “That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget.”
- “Childishness? I think it’s the equivalent of never losing your sense of humor. I mean, there’s a certain something that you retain. It’s the equivalent of not getting so stuffy that you can’t laugh at others.”
- “All right. I’m corny. But I think there’s just about a-hundred-and-forty-million people in this country that are just as corny as I am.”
- “Adults are interested if you don’t play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don’t believe in talking down to children. I don’t believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching.”
- “I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence.”
I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty. Call the child innocence.” – Walt Disney
- “The worst of us is not without innocence, although buried deeply it might be.”
- “Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children’s approach to life. They’re people who don’t give a hang what the Jones’ do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought – sometimes it isn’t much, either.”
- “Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood.”
- “Adults are only kids grown up.”
- “Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.”
Isn’t it exciting to reconnect with your inner child?
Watching Disney films can awaken that childlike glee in us. So, as a bonus, here are quotes about love, life, and success from favorite Disney movies.
May they inspire you to live a more creative, magical life.
All-Time Favorite Walt Disney Movie Quotes
- “Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.” – Olaf in Frozen
Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.” – Olaf in Frozen
- “Because when I look at you, I can feel it. And I look at you and I’m home.”– Dory in Finding Nemo
- “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.”– Rafiki in The Lion King
- “To infinity and beyond.”– Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story
- “You control your destiny — you don’t need magic to do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to solving your problems.”– Merida in Brave
- “All it takes is faith and trust.” – Peter Pan in Peter Pan
- “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.”– Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins
- “Listen with your heart, you will understand.”– Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas
- “You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.”– Auguste Gusteau in Ratatouille
- “Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance. Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts.”– The Merchant in Aladdin
- “No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”– Cinderella in Cinderella
- “The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.” – Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo
- “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”– Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh
- “Giving up is for rookies.”– Phil in Hercules
- “Nothing’s impossible.”– The Doorknob in Alice in Wonderland
- “We didn’t set out to be superheroes. But sometimes life doesn’t go the way you planned.”– Hiro in Big Hero 6
- “Fairy tales can come true. You gotta make them happen, it all depends on you.”– Tiana in The Princess and the Frog
Final Thoughts on Walt Disney Quotes
There you have it—83 Walt Disney quotes to inspire you to live a life of magic and wonder.
Which one is your favorite? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Also, if you love any of the artwork featured here, we thank you in advance for sharing it on your social media platform of choice.
And remember, dreams do come true!
And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 81 Buddha Quotes on Happiness, Life, Love, Death, and Change
- 108 Never Give Up Quotes for When Life Gets Hard (2023)
- 82 Dream Big Quotes: Inspiration to Turn Your Dreams into Reality
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..
