.. Also, who created the statue?
Walt Disney Imagineering President Marty Sklar commissioned retired Imagineer and Disney legend Blaine Gibson to capture Walt and Mickey in a statue many years after his death. Known as "Partners," this can be found in the "hub" of the Magic Kingdom. The statue was added to the park on June 19, 1995, with a second Partners statute residing in Disneyland.
Gibson has been primarily responsible for creating the 42-member cast of U.S. Presidents in the Hall of Presidents. Although Gibson "retired" in 1983 and was named a Disney Legend just 10 years later, he comes out of his retirement each time a new U.S. President is elected in order to create his head and figure, including Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and now, George W. Bush.
An animator at the studios before joining WED Enterprises, Blaine Gibson became one of Disney’s finest sculptors. He is responsible for creating many of Walt Disney World attraction’s most famous Audio-Animatronics figures and faces, including all of the Presidents from the Hall of Presidents, characters from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean.Gibson also sculpted the Roy and Minnie sitting on a bench statue, "Sharing the Magic," located in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A.
Gibson is honored with a window on main Street , USA . The window reads: "Center Street Academy of Fine Art Painting & Sculpture: Collin Campbell, Blaine Gibson, Herbert Ryman, Mary Blair, Dorothea Redmond" and honors some of Walt Disney Imagineering’s premier artists.
