PICTURES have revealed what the inside of Walt Disney’s private jet looked like, including Mickey Mouse branded matches and cockpit dials.
The Grumman Gulfstream plane was on show at the recent D23 Disney Expo in California, before it was moved to the Palm Springs Air Museum earlier this month.
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The aircraft – affectionately known as “The Mouse” – was first acquired in 1963 and was used to fly Walt Disney around for 28 years.
During that time, it flew more than 20,000 hours and transported an estimated 83,000 passengers before it was grounded in 1992.
Since then, the plane has been sat empty outside in Florida at Disney’s Studios, before it was restored for the expo.
Walt and his wife Lillian had creative input when the interior of the plane was originally designed.
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It seated up to 15 passengers and included a galley kitchen, two toilets, two sofas and a desk.
There were glimpses of Mickey Mouse throughout, including matchbooks and stationery adorned with a silhouette of Disney’s most famous character.
It also had a customised instrument panel originally located near Walt’s favourite seat that allowed him to monitor flight conditions.
Additionally, Walt had his own telephone handset that gave him a direct line of communication to the pilot in the cockpit.
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Mickey Mouse’s initials were added to the tail number of the plane, too, as N234MM, in 1967.
The plane was repainted before the expo, with updated wing edges and windows.
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Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, told media at the D23 expo: “It’s an honour for us to introduce Walt’s Plane to all of you.
“As you can see, our friends at the Walt Disney Archives and our friends at Imagineering have restored the aircraft to its full original glory.
“After it leaves here, it’s essentially going back to its roots, and it will be celebrated, obviously, by all the folks who get a chance to see it.”
Meanwhile, this is what it’s like inside Disney’s private island that only some holidaymakers are able to visit.
And this Florida town was designed by Disney and is home to 11,000 residents.
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