Walt Disney’s ‘Mickey Mouse One’ private jet restored after being left to rot for decades

Walt Disney’s forgotten plane is getting its happily ever after.

The late entertainment titan’s company aircraft — affectionately known as “Mickey Mouse One” — has been restored to its 1960s glory after spending years crumbling in the Florida heat and humidity, according to the Orange County Register.

The Palm Springs Air and Space Museum has completed work on the interior of the historic Grumman Gulfstream I, bringing the 15-passenger jet back to the way it looked when Disney himself used it to crisscross the country during one of the company’s most important eras.

The meticulous three-year interior restoration was done with help from Georgia-based Phoenix Air Group, while Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Archives spent years restoring the plane’s exterior.

The aircraft had been left neglected for decades at Walt Disney World, where it sat exposed to the brutal Florida weather after years as part of the studio backlot tour at what is now Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

By the time Disney officials turned their attention back to the plane, the seal around the windows had deteriorated, moisture had damaged the cabin and the once-proud aircraft had been gutted and wrapped in plastic in a fenced-of field behind Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Register reported.

The plane’s twin Rolls-Royce engines and cockpit equipment had also been sold off.

But the aircraft’s place in Disney history made it impossible to ignore.

Disney began looking for his own plane in 1960 after souring on commercial air travel. He first bought a Beechcraft Queen Air in 1962, but quickly needed something more capable as the company’s travel demands grew.

The Gulfstream was purchased in late 1963 and customized with a rust, orange, brown and gold interior — the peak of 1960s style — along with orange-and-black exterior colors matching the Walt Disney Productions look of the era.

Disney and his wife, Lillian, helped shape the plane’s design, including the private areas reserved for Walt.

That space was separated from the rest of the cabin by a clear divided filled with leaves and tall grasses gathered from the Disney family’s own backyard.

The plane also featured a galley kitchen, two couches, two tables, a drop-down desk and two bathrooms — including one reserved for Disney himself.

Disney, an aviation enthusiast, even had a custom instrument panel installed near his favorite seat, allowing him to keep tabs on altitude, speed and other flight details from the cabin.

A telephone handset gave him a direct line to the cockpit, while flight crews kept a Mickey Mouse matchbook by the ashtray for Disney, who was a lifelong smoker.

The plane’s tail number, N234MM, was a nod to the mouse that built the empire.

Pilots reportedly had fun with it, changing the usual air traffic calls from “Metro, Metro” to “Mickey Mouse” when approaching airports.

The aircraft was more than a luxury perk — it helped Disney build the company’s future.

From its windows, Disney surveyed the Central Florida swampland that would eventually become Walt Disney World, then operating under the secretive codename Project X.

The plane also helped shuttle Disney executives and talent during major company projects, including preparations for the 1964-65 World’s Fair, where Disney attractions including “It’s a Small World” debuted.

After Disney died in 1966, the aircraft continued to fly for the company and even appeared in two Disney films starring Kurt Russell: “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” and “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t.”

Over 28 years in service, the plane logged about 20,000 flight hours and carried roughly 83,000 passengers, including Julie Andrews and Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, according to the Register.

The Burbank-based aircraft was moved to Orlando in 1985 and retired in 1992.

After its backlot tour run ended in 2014, the plane’s future looked bleak until the Palm Springs Air Museum agreed to give Mickey Mouse One a new home.

Beginning in 2019, Disney crews cleaned the aircraft, replaced windows, sealed the fuselage, repaired wing edges and repainted the exterior in its original 1960s livery.

The plane was later disassembled and hauled cross-country on flour flatbed trucks for the 2022 D23 Expo in Anaheim, where Disney fans got a look at the restored exterior.

After the convention, it was taken apart again and trucked to Palm Springs, where the aircraft was reassembled and placed on display.

Now, the interior restored too, Mickey Mouse One had finally gone from forgotten relic to Disney time capsule.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters