Disney Comes to Atlanta…

The Georgian Terrace Hotel is a historic landmark in the City of Atlanta and has hosted many of the most famous stars and events of the past 100 years. In 1918, a then unknown dancer named Arthur Murray took a job giving dance lessons at the hotel. In the early 1920s, a local writer for The Atlanta Journal named Margaret Mitchell interviewed the popular, silent actor, Rudolph Valentino, on one of the hotel’s oversized balconies. In 1939, The Georgian Terrace was the site of the premiere party for the release of Gone with the Wind, welcoming Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Evelyn Keyes, David O. Selznick, and many more of Hollywood’s finest. Most notably for Disney fans, however, the hotel played host to Walt Disney himself on multiple occasions.

In 1939, Walt Disney was in Atlanta researching the Uncle Remus stories, which he had recently purchased the rights to from the family of Atlanta-native Joel Chandler Harris. Disney visited the Harris’ home in Atlanta to “get an authentic feeling of the Uncle Remus country,” so he could do as “faithful a job as possible” to the stories. Though he obtained the right to the work in 1939, it would be the mid-1940s before he would discover a way to tell the story he wanted.

"I always felt that Uncle Remus should be played by a living person as should also the young boy to whom he relates his vivid stories of the Briar Patch. Several tests in previous pictures, especially in The Three Caballeros, were encouraging in the way living action and animation could be dovetailed. Finally, months ago, we 'took our foot in hand,' in the words of Uncle Remus, and jumped into our most venturesome but also more pleasurable undertaking”

– Walt Disney.

After several delays, Song of the South finally made a grand entrance in 1946. Walt Disney returned to Atlanta for the film's premier at the Fabulous Fox Theater, another historic Atlanta landmark, located directly across the street from the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Walt Disney and other studio dignitaries would once again stay at the hotel for the premiere. Atlanta, a gracious host, pulled out all of the stops for Walt's visit with a parade and fanfare down Peachtree Street.

On the night of the premiere, Disney made a few brief remarks to the sold-out crowd and then retreated across the street to his room at The Georgian Terrace. He disliked watching his films with an audience and was nervous about how Song of the South would be received. The film was a financial success for Disney garnering a slim profit from its original release. It was re-released, however, several times in theaters over the next 40 years: in 1956, in 1972 for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney Productions, in 1973 as the second half of a double bill with The Aristocats, in 1980 for the 100th anniversary of Harris' classic stories, and in 1986 for the film's own 40th anniversary and in promotion of the upcoming Splash Mountain attraction at Disney's theme parks.

Since then, The Walt Disney Company has avoided making the complete version of the film directly available on home video in the United States because of its controversial frame story. However, Song of the South is still cherished by many for its beloved stories and for Atlanta’s historical link to Walt Disney.

For anyone who wishes to walk in the footsteps of Walt Disney and many of old Hollywood’s A-list, you can visit The Georgian Terrace Hotel. This “Modern Classic” hotel was renovated and expanded in 1991. You can stay at the Georgian and enjoy a show across the street at the Fabulous Fox Theater just as Disney did for the Song of the South premiere. You can book an event in the same grand ballroom that hosted the premiere party for Gone with the Wind. Or you can simply enjoy lunch or dinner at Livingston Restaurant + Bar. When the hotel was renovated, the original lobby was converted into this beautiful restaurant adding modern touches while still maintaining the historic feel of the 1940s. Whether you are a fan of Disney, Gone with the Wind, history, architecture, or just want a nice night out with dinner and a show, The Georgian Terrace is a destination to remember.