From fairy tales to family values, we owe a portion of our childhood to Walt Disney and his creations. Without Disney, we will never realize the magic that our dreams hold. So whether you’re a fan of the man behind the mouse or of the timeless movies themselves, here are 160 Walt Disney quotes for you to read and enjoy.
Walt Disney Quotes
1. “Believe in your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem.” – Walt Disney
2. “If you can visualize it, if you can dream it, there’s some way to do it.” – Walt Disney
3. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
4. “The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.” – Walt Disney
5. “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney
6. “Many of the things that seem impossible now will become realities tomorrow.” – Walt Disney
7. “The difference in winning & losing is most often, not quitting.” – Walt Disney
8. “Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn how to walk.” – Walt Disney
9. “After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.” – Walt Disney
10. “The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits. It’s then about breaking our personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives.
All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me.” – Walt Disney
11. “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.” – Walt Disney
12. “Today, we are shapers of the world of tomorrow. That is plain truth. There is no way we can duck the responsibility, and there is no reason why we should.” – Walt Disney
13. “You don’t build it for yourself. You know what the people want and you build it for them.” – Walt Disney
14. “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.” – Walt Disney
15. “Think beyond your lifetime if you want to accomplish something truly worthwhile.” – Walt Disney
16. “To succeed, work hard, never give up and above all cherish a magnificent obsession.” – Walt Disney
17. “The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil…” – Walt Disney
18. “That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” – Walt Disney
19. “Never get bored or cynical. Yesterday is a thing of the past.” – Walt Disney
20. “Just make sure you never do less than your best” – Walt Disney
21. “At first the cartoon medium was just a novelty, but it never really began to hit until we had more than tricks… until we developed personalities. We had to get beyond getting a laugh. They may roll in the aisles, but that doesn’t mean you have a great picture. You have pathos in the thing.” – Walt Disney
22. “We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious,and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
23. “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.” – Walt Disney
24. “You can be happy or you can be unhappy. It’s just according to the way you look at things.” – Walt Disney
25. “I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” – Walt Disney
26. “I think it’s important to have a good hard failure when you’re young. I learned a lot out of that. Because it makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you. Because of it I’ve never had any fear in my whole life when we’ve been near collapse and all of that. I’ve never been afraid. I’ve never had the feeling I couldn’t walk out and get a job doing something.” – Walt Disney
27. “You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew.” – Walt Disney
28. “All you’ve got to do is own up to your ignorance honestly, and you’ll find people who are eager to fill your head with information.” – Walt Disney
29. “I just want to leave you with this thought, that it’s just been sort of a dress rehearsal, and we’re just getting started. So if any of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because… we are just getting started.” – Walt Disney
30. “Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.” – Walt Disney
31. “Inspiration for what we produce comes from reading, observing the world of humans around us and also the animal kingdom” – Walt Disney
32. “In this timeless land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic and make-believe are reborn and fairy tales come true.” – Walt Disney
33. “I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination.” – Walt Disney
34. “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.” – Walt Disney
35. “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” – Walt Disney
36. “Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.” – Walt Disney
37. “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.” – Walt Disney
38. “I suppose my formula might be: dream, diversify and never miss an angle.” – Walt Disney
39. “It’s no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment.” – Walt Disney
40. “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney
41. “Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.” – Walt Disney
42. “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.” – Walt Disney
43. “Dreams, ideas and plans not only are an escape, they give me purpose, a reason to hang on.” – Walt Disney
44. “In bad times and in good I’ve never lost my sense of zest for life.” – Walt Disney
45. “That’s the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney
46. “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” – Walt Disney
47. “The era we are living in today is a dream of coming true.” – Walt Disney
48. “It’s a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.” – Walt Disney
49. “First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.” – Walt Disney
50. “When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage.” – Walt Disney
51. “I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.” – Walt Disney
52. “We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public.” – Walt Disney
53. “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” – Walt Disney
54. “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney
55. “When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human; and that is the secret of his popularity.” – Walt Disney
56. “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” – Walt Disney
57. “Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood.” – Walt Disney
58. “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.” – Walt Disney
59. “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main … and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” – Walt Disney
60. “A good story can take you on a fantastic journey.” – Walt Disney
61. “When we consider a project, we really study it–not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job.” – Walt Disney
62. “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” – Walt Disney
63. “Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” – Walt Disney
64. “Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world.” – Walt Disney
65. “Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation.” – Walt Disney
66. “I try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters – to make them personalities.” – Walt Disney
67. “All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable.” – Walt Disney
68. “We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.” – Walt Disney
69. “I believe in being an innovator.” – Walt Disney
70. “You can’t just let nature run wild.” – Walt Disney
71. “To be successful you must be unique, you must be so different that if people want what you have, they must come to you to get it.” – Walt Disney
72. “While the worriers are worrying, the planners are planning and the accountants are figuring out why we can’t afford it, I’m busy getting started.” – Walt Disney
73. “Never put business before family.” – Walt Disney
74. “Life is beautiful. It’s about giving. It’s about family.” – Walt Disney
75. “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.” – Walt Disney
76. “Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.” – Walt Disney
77. “Part of the Disney success is our ability to create a believable world of dreams that appeals to all age groups. The kind of entertainment we create is meant to appeal to every member of the family.” – Walt Disney
78. “To the youngsters of today, I say “Believe in the future, the world is getting better; there still is plenty of opportunity.” Why, would you believe it, when I was a kid I thought it was already too late for me to make good at anything.” – Walt Disney
79. “If I haven’t thought about six impossible things before breakfast, I consider the day wasted.” – Walt Disney
80. “We believed in our idea – a family park where parents and children could have fun- together.” – Walt Disney
81. “Disneyland will always be building and growing and adding new things… new ways of having fun, of learning things, and sharing the many exciting adventures which may be experienced here in the company of family and friends.” – Walt Disney
82. “The inclination of my life…has been to do things & make things which will give pleasure to people in new and amazing ways.” – Walt Disney
83. “Many hands and hearts and minds generally contribute to anyone’s notable achievements.” – Walt Disney
84. “There is no magic in magic, it’s all in the details.” – Walt Disney
85. “Who says that my dreams have to just stay my dreams?” – Walt Disney
86. “Whatever we accomplish is due to the combined effort.” – Walt Disney
87. “Without such inspiration, we would rapidly deteriorate and finally perish.” – Walt Disney
88. “Always, as you travel, assimilate the sounds and sights of the world.” – Walt Disney
89. “People look at you and me to see what they are supposed to be. And, if we don’t disappoint them, maybe, just maybe, they won’t disappoint us.” – Walt Disney
90. “Art was always a means to an end with me. You get an idea, and you just can’t wait. Once you’ve started, then you’re in there with the punches flying. There’s plenty of trouble, but you can handle it. You can’t back out. It gets you down once in a while, but it’s exciting. Our whole business is exciting.” – Walt Disney
91. “Fantasy and reality often overlap.” – Walt Disney
92. “To captivate our varied and worldwide audience of all ages, the nature and treatment of the fairy tale, the legend, the myth have to be elementary, simple. Good and evil, the antagonists of all great drama in some guise, must be believably personalized. The moral ideals common to all humanity must be upheld. The victories must not be too easy. Strife to test valor is still and will always be the basic ingredient of the animated tale, as of all screen entertainments.” – Walt Disney
93. “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.” – Walt Disney
94. “Ideas come from curiosity.” – Walt Disney
95. “Fear too often spells failure.” – Walt Disney
96. “It’s silly to build a wall around your interests.” – Walt Disney
97. “My persistence is the measure of the belief I have in myself.” – Walt Disney
98. “I definitely feel that we cannot do the fantastic things based on the real, unless we first know the real.” – Walt Disney
99. “We seem to know when to ‘tap the heart.’ Others have hit the intellect. We can hit them in all emotional way. Those who appeal to the intellect only appeal to a very limited group. The real thing behind this is: we are in the motion picture business, only we are drawing them instead of photographing them.” – Walt Disney
100. “Some dream it, some do it, some do both.” – Walt Disney
101. “Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, keep it friendly.” – Walt Disney
102. “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” – Walt Disney
103. “The important thing is the 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.” – Walt Disney
104. “Togetherness, for me, means teamwork. It makes us reflect how completely dependent we are upon one another in our social and commercial life. The more diversified our labors and interests have become in the modern world, the more surely need to integrate our efforts to justify our individual selves and our civilization.” – Walt Disney
105. “It is good to have a failure while you’re young because it teaches you so much. For one thing it makes you aware that such a thing can happen to anybody, and once you’ve lived through the worst, you’re never quite as vulnerable afterward.” – Walt Disney
106. “Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.” – Tangled
107. “All it takes is faith and trust.” – Peter Pan
108. “Even miracles take a little time.” – Cinderella
109. “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” – Mulan
110. “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” – Pirates of the Caribbean
111. “Today is a good day to try.” – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
112. “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Pooh’s Most Grand Adventure
113. “Our fate lives within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it.” – Brave
114. “Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one.” – Pocahontas
115. “You must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.” – Ratatouille
116. “Go the distance.” – Hercules
117. “Always let your conscience be your guide.” – Pinocchio
118. “When life gets you down do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming!” – Finding Nemo
119. “The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.” – Dumbo
120. “Put your faith in what you most believe in.” – Tarzan
121. “Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine.” – Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
122. “Do not be followed by its commonplace appearance. Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts. – Aladdin
123. “I never look back, darling. It distracts me from the now.” – The Incredibles
124. “Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” – Lilo & Stitch
125. “To infinity and beyond!” – Toy Story
126. “And don’t spend your time looking around for something you want that can’t be found. When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinkin’ about it. I’ll tell you something true, the bare necessities of life will come to you” – The Jungle Book
127. “Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own.” – DuckTales
128. “They say if you dream a thing more than once it’s sure to come true.” – Sleeping Beauty
129. “For every to, there is a fro. For every stop there is a go, and that’s what makes the world go round.” – The Sword in the Stone
130. “To laugh yourself is to love yourself.” – Mickey Mouse
131. “Fairy tales can come true. You gotta make them happen, it all depends on you.” – Princess and the Frog
132. “Keep your chin up, someday there will be happiness again.” – Robin Hood
133. “There’s always a chance, Doctor, as long as one can think.” – The Great Mouse Detective
134. “Goodbye may seem forever, farewell is like the end. But in my heart’s a memory, and there you’ll always be.” – The Fox and the Hound
135. “I’m not giving up on you. You don’t understand this yet, but people need you.” – Big Hero 6
136. “Faith is a bluebird, we see from far. It’s for real and as sure as the first evening star, you can’t touch it, or buy it, or wrap it up tight, but it’s there just the same, making things turn out right.” – The Rescuers
137. “Life’s a little bit messy. We all make mistakes. No matter what type of animal you are, change starts with you.” – Zootopia
138. “It’s been my experience, when you hit bottom, the only place left to go is up.” – Atlantis: The Lost Empire
139. “Where one thing falls, another grows. Maybe not what was there before, but something new and wonderful all the same.” – Bambi II
140. “You’ve got your own style, now let it shine through and remember no matter what, you got to be you.” – The Little Mermaid
141. “Some things start out big, and some things start out small, very small. But sometimes the smallest thing can make the biggest changes of all.” – Dinosaur
142. “You’re mad. Bonkers. Off your head … But i’ll tell you a secret … some of the best people are.” – Alice in Wonderland
143. “The call isn’t out there at all, it’s inside me. It’s like the tide, always falling and rising.” – Moana
144. “Open different doors. You may find another there you didn’t know was yours. Anything can happen.” – Mary Poppins
145. “Together, even the smallest can achieve the greatest goal.” – A Bug’s Life
146. “You and I are a team. Nothing is more important than our friendship.” – Monsters Inc.
147. “Adventure is out there.” – Up
148. “I don’t want to survive. I want to live.” – WALL-E
149. “Success doesn’t come for free. You have to do whatever it takes to seize your moment.” – Coco
150. “The world is full of magic. Small things become big. Winter turns to spring. One thing always changes into another.” – Brother Bear
151. “Sometimes you have to be brave and believe that you can change your fate.” – Beauty and the Beast
152. “You gotta earn your mark by doing something big for something bigger than yourself.” – The Good Dinosaur
153. “Whatever choice you make, let it come from your heart” – The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
154. “Though at times it may feel like the sky is falling around you, never give up, for every day is a new day” – Chicken Little
155. “You are somebody. You must believe in yourself. I believe in you.” – The Black Cauldron
156. “You got the makings of greatness in you but you got to take the helm and chart your own course.” – Treasure Planet
157. “Keep moving forward!” – Meet the Robinsons
158. “I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be than me.” – Wreck-It Ralph
159. “Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I cannot believe it!” – The Nightmare Before Christmas
160. “Change is good.” – The Lion King
