While there is a small plaque in front of Gertie , most guests have no idea about her rich backstory . PHOTO BY CLIFF WANG
It was the final scene that really made jaws drop . McCay walked and disappeared from view behind the screen , then reappeared on screen in the film . He rode on Gertie ’ s back and waved goodbye .
There was no other animation of its kind at the time . Walt Disney was only 12 years old when this film was released , and he was utterly inspired . Gertie the Dinosaur is available to watch on YouTube , and any fan of Walt Disney will easily see how his genius was sparked and influenced by its creation .
FINDING THE RIGHT HOME FOR GERTIE So where do you put an homage to Windsor McCay , a person considered a pioneer of the very medium upon which The Walt Disney Company was built ? Disney ’ s Hollywood Studios represents a Hollywood that never was or ever will be and is the ultimate tribute to movie history . As such , it made perfect sense to house McCay ’ s tribute .
According to the Walt Disney Family Museum , Walt graciously acknowledged McCay ’ s work :
During production of the 1955 Disneyland television show , Winsor McCay ’ s son , Robert , came to the Studios to act as a consultant for the program . As John Canemaker would report , Walt , greeting Robert McCay in his office , “ gestured out the window toward his bustling studio complex and said , ‘ Bob , all this should be your father ’ s .’”
So in 1989 , during the development of the then MGM Studios , Imagineers constructed the oversized tribute to Gertie and made her an ice cream stand : Dinosaur Gertie ’ s Ice Cream of Extinction . But why is she in Echo Lake ? Well , in the