85. Ted Linhart on Disney Docs.net and Preserving Disney History

Ted Linhart is a big fan of EPCOT Center's Horizons and has gathered materials on its background.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

We’ve all heard the major stories about Walt Disney, the opening of Disneyland, and the Florida Project that appear in official histories from The Disney Company. But what about the history beyond the general story line? A valuable resource to dig further into Disney’s past is DisneyDocs.net, which offers a treasure trove of materials from owner Ted Linhart. He has collected a wide range of archival pieces on Disneyland, Epcot, and more.

Linhart is my guest on the latest episode of The Tomorrow Society Podcast. We talk about the origins of his interest in Disney and collecting rare materials. I know little about how to acquire documents at auctions and through eBay, so Linhart’s information is fascinating. Our conversation includes some details on the huge “That’s From Disneyland!” auction, which drew huge bids in 2018. Linhart is an expert on the value of Disney artifacts and focused on the topics that interest him the most.

We also talk about one of my favorite topics, the original EPCOT Center. Linhart is also a serious Horizons fan and appeared on the recent episodes of the Retr o Disney World podcas t that focused on that attraction. We also discuss whether the original concept for EPCOT the city could have worked and the importance of the 1939 World’s Fair. Linhart’s site also includes materials about Disney projects that never happened, and we cover the unbuilt Mineral King, Edison Square, and Disney’s America projects. It was great to learn more about Linhart and his interest in Disney history.