Disney Magical Mindset Podcast

Disneyland Handcrafted – Part Two: No More “What If” (Creating While Moving)

• Ruben R. Rios • Episode 57

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Disneyland wasn’t built by people who had everything figured out.
It was built by people who were willing to move before they felt ready.

In Part Two of this Disneyland Handcrafted series, I unpack one of the most powerful moments from the documentary—learning that only about 10% of Disneyland was planned when construction began.

This episode is about action over hesitation:
Why waiting doesn’t create clarity
Why perfection is the enemy of progress
And how Walt Disney avoided the most dangerous question of all…“What if?”

If you’ve been overthinking, delaying, or waiting for the “right time,” this episode is a reminder that dreams don’t come to life by standing still. They’re built while moving, one imperfect step at a time.

Because you don’t regret starting too soon. You regret waiting too long.

Helping you silence the villain in your mind and become the hero of your story!

Ruben :

Hey pals, welcome back to the Disney Magical Mindset Podcast. My name is Ruben, your Disney Magic mentor, and I'm so excited to bring you part two of our series on Disneyland handcrafted, the documentary. I said I had to do this in two parts because it was just so good. Last week we talked about how Disneyland was built from dirt and how criticism isn't a stop sign. We looked at two, two important magical mindset lessons. The first was this that the more people tell you that you can't, the more you let it remind you that you can. And the second takeaway was that people are always looking for cracks. They did that when Walt was building Disneyland in that year, people were just looking for ways to silence the dream, looking for ways to stop this from being built in a year. I mean, I'm telling you, people are always going to look for those cracks. But what we learned in that year that Walt built Disneyland is that the more people tell you that you can't, it you got to use it as fuel to remind you that you can. And that was all last week. We talked about it. You got to go back if you didn't listen to it. It was so good. I was so encouraged by it. Again, there, sitting in Disneyland, watching this amazing, amazing documentary while looking up at the castle every few seconds as I'm watching the documentary on my computer. Such a moving and meaningful experience. But today, today, I want to talk about something just as important like we did last week. I want to talk about action this time. Because belief is powerful, but belief that never moves turns into regret. Yes, oh my goodness. Oh, it's gonna be good. And one detail from the Disneyland Handcrafted documentary completely changed the way I think about starting. It was so helpful again to see this in action. That's why I'm telling you, you gotta watch it because this is one of those things that you gotta you're gonna go back to again and again and again. There's so many pieces to pull out from this magical documentary. I'm just giving you a few, but there's so much more. And so today I want to talk about that specifically. I want to talk about this specifically about yes, it's powerful to believe. That's what we talked about last week, but if you never move that belief to actually doing something, then it turns into regret. So are you ready? Because here we go. Here's the moment that stopped me in my tracks when I was watching this documentary. And maybe it was one of the most powerful moments in this documentary. I kind of heard this before, but to hear it from Admiral Joe Fowler, who was in charge of overseeing the construction of Disneyland, he said something that I actually had to pause the documentary on my laptop because I needed to I needed to let it sink in. He said that we built Disneyland with probably not 10% of the plans to start with. Yeah. I I had to stay silent there. Let let let that sink in. He said we built Disneyland with probably not 10% of the plans to start with. Wow. Wow. In other words, when they started building Disneyland in 1954, and it took them one year, when they broke ground in 1954, they didn't have all the plans. They didn't have all the answers. They didn't have it perfectly mapped out. It's like they were creating magic as they went along. And I know sometimes we think, especially as we're watching this documentary and we're studying the life of Walt and we're learning more about Disneyland, that somehow they started with everything, that it was all mapped out, it was all planned. They got in a room and they knew exactly what they were gonna do and where things were gonna go and how it was gonna uh come about. And I'm just blown away because all of us sometimes I think we we we take this approach into our dreams and our goals and we want to have everything in order, we want to have it all figured out, we want to have it all mapped out. And what we see with Disneyland that's built in one year is that to start, they had 10% or even less than 10% of what they were gonna do and how it was gonna come together and the plans that they that they uh started with. 10%. Wow. And that dismantles one of the biggest lies that dreamers believe. You ready for it? Here's the biggest lie. Once I have clarity, then I'll start. Once I have it all figured out, then I'll make the first move. Once I I have everything in order, then I'm going to go for it. And every time we say those things, guess what happens? It doesn't come because we're waiting for the perfect moment. We're waiting for it to be 90% or 100% before we start. Friends, hear me when I say Disneyland broke ground in 1954 and they had 10% of the plans. They only had about 10% of how this magic kingdom was gonna look. The plans that they needed to put in place in order to make it happen. And I'm just I'm so amazed because for the most part, people are afraid to step out and do something because they think that they have to have everything figured out before they do it. And this is what holds us back, this is what keeps us staying stuck and not fulfilling our dreams and our goals because we think we have to have everything at 90% or 100% before we reach out for the thing that's there asking us, come take it, let's do this. And I'm just like, listen, if Walt can build Disneyland in a year with only 10% of the plans to start things, what can you do with what you desire to accomplish in this life? What can you do in a year from now, in in two years from now, in three years from now with 10% or less? I mean, he had something and we know that, but he didn't have everything. So let this be your wake up today to stop holding out for that hope that you gotta have your 90% or 100% or everything that has to be all figured out before you make that first move and take that first step. It's powerful, isn't it? That along the way, Walt believed it will come. And maybe that's part of why you had people who were skeptical, maybe even people in his inner circle who were like, Walt, you only got 10%, you're gonna do this? And Walt's like, yes. Because he understood that listen, he believed so much in his vision that he knew it would all materialize, that he knew it would come to fruition, that he knew he was so convinced and so, you know, deeply moved by what he saw that he's like, it's gonna happen. I don't have to have it all figured out today, but I know it's gonna happen. I'm gonna surround myself with people who are gonna make it happen. And we don't have to have it all figured out today, but we will figure it out along the way. How fun and even scary and and and like you know, anxious it must have been, but but still, I admire Walt for saying that day, let's go. We're breaking ground. There's no turning back now. And that's the thing. It's like once you write it down and you put it on paper, maybe that's what you need to do today. Write it down so that you see it every day. And now you're committed to saying, no, I'm going. We're gonna we're gonna go out there, man. We're not looking back anymore. Yes, I don't have it all figured out, but I don't care anymore because I don't want to live my life with regret. I don't want to get to the end of the road, right? If you know boys to man, and and get to that place and then like be sad that I didn't do what I set out to do. I want you to know today, clarity doesn't come from waiting. Clarity comes from moving. Things get clearer as you move, as you go along. And I think that's that's what I see. That's what I I understand better now with Walt. He he he recognized that things would get clearer as they kept building, as they kept moving. Not sitting, not staying, not getting in a room and and making sure that everything was perfect before they started. No, he understood. Clarity comes from moving. See, they weren't confident because they had the answers, they found the answers because they were confident enough to start. Oh my goodness. They knew the answers would come because they had the confidence to step into what they wanted to do, what Walt envisioned. So if you're if you're stuck over planning right now, this is your permission slip. Like if you're, you know, fit trying, if you're one of those people that want to have everything ready before you make that move, I want you to know this is your permission slip because I've been there where you just keep planning and planning and planning and hoping and having you know everything on paper and wanting to be able to see everything uh that is gonna happen. You have all your steps and and all the ways that you're gonna get there. Listen, I'm not saying that's not important. All I'm saying is you can be stuck continuing to plan every day, and you keep planning and you keep waiting for that year, you keep waiting to step out. And I'm just like, listen, today's your day that you get the permission slip. You don't need everything figured out, you just need enough courage to take the next step. That's the key. And when you do that, guess what happens? You build confidence, you build clarity, you build your vision, you start seeing things, and it starts pumping you up, and you get encouraged, and before you know it, you start seeing your castle there being built, where once it was only dirt. Now, let's take a moment to just think about waiting. And I I firmly believe that waiting often creates regret. I know it feels safer to wait, I know that's our comfort zone, but waiting creates regret. Think of Walt, think of his team, think of as they gather together, you know, with only that 10% uh of having their plans figured out. They could have waited, they could have delayed the opening of Disneyland, they could have postponed until everything was perfect. But guess what? Perfect never comes, and dreams don't survive delay. Here's the truth that hit me while I was watching this, the the the uh documentary. Waiting doesn't eliminate fear, it just deepens regret. Ouch! Woo! Yeah, I know it sometimes it feels like waiting eliminates that fear, but it doesn't take it away. What it does is it just deepens regret. Imagine for one sec, if Walt uh reached the end of his life wondering, what if I had built it? That's Disneyland, what if I had tried? In fact, I remember reading this powerful quote from Walt. He said, if I could live for 15 more years, I would surpass everything I've done over the past 40 years. Isn't that amazing? That Walt felt like if he just had more time, he he regretted not living long enough because he had so much more to do. And I thought to myself, isn't that amazing? That the only regret Walt had was he wished he had more life because he had so much more that he wanted to do. And that's what I'm I just want us to get. Life is so precious, it's such a gift. We don't know if we're here tomorrow. All we have is today, is this moment. And every time we wait, we keep putting off the very thing that we might get to that place where we don't get that opportunity. And I don't want that to be you or me. Imagine Walt reaching the end of his life, wondering, what if I had built it? What if I had tried? Disneyland exists because he refused to let what if win. And you've got to stop allowing the what ifs to win. Because I don't want to get to that place where I'm thinking, well, what if I would have done this? What if I did, what if I would have never started the podcast? Or what if I did start the podcast, right? What if I decided that I was not going to do what I wanted to do? And then you start 10 years passes, five years passes, you know, 20 years, and you're still thinking of that what if. I wonder how many dreams are still waiting. Not because they're impossible, but because someone is waiting to feel ready. And I'm here to tell you today, you don't regret starting too soon. You know what you regret? Waiting too long. It happens every single time. And so when we look at the story of Walt in Disneyland, we're amazed because it was built in a year. We're amazed because we look at that and we're like, is it possible to live in such a way where you don't regret starting too soon? Is it possible to live in a way where you actually regret waiting too long? Yes, absolutely. And so every time I walk into Disneyland, every time you know I'm able to just learn more about this fascinating story of Disneyland and Walt, I am continually amazed and inspired because I'm thinking this is what it looks like to not live with regret. This is what it looks like to not wait and keep waiting and keep waiting and keep waiting as if somehow the castle is gonna build itself. No, you start today, not tomorrow, today. All right? Today. So here's what Disneyland teaches us. It wasn't built by people who were ready. It was built by people who were willing, willing to start without clarity, willing to build while moving, willing to risk being wrong instead of living with regret. So if there's something you've been postponing, something you've been thinking about, something that you've been dreaming about that's been on your mind, maybe today is the sign. Today's the day not to wait, not to overthink, but to move. Because remember, the moving is what brings the clarity. Remember what we learned today from Admiral Joe Fowler. Again, the man in charge of overseeing the construction of Disneyland. He said, We built Disneyland with probably not even 10% of the plans to start with. Let that be your motivation that you don't need to have it all figured out before you start. Make the move, take the first step, and then the second thing we learn from this beautiful story of Disneyland is that you don't regret starting too soon. You regret waiting too long. What if Walt waited? What if you wait? What if you get to that place in 20 years from now and you're still thinking, what if I would have started that book? What if I would have begun that podcast? What if I would have started that business? What if I would have actually pursued my dream? Yeah, we're not, we're not gonna do that. We can't. Because again, you've got this one precious life to live. This is where we go out and we give it everything we got. Not waiting for perfect, but waiting to start. That's what we gotta do. All right, because magic doesn't come from standing still, it comes from action. So I want to thank you so, so much for listening today and just hanging out with me. I really appreciate you being here. I hope that this two-part series on Disneyland Handcrafted was inspiring and encouraging and motivating for you. Please, if you've not done so already, make sure to subscribe to this podcast, share it with a friend who needs some magical motivation and inspiration today. And just remember, you don't need perfect conditions to create something meaningful because you are the magic. The magic is in you, and you just need the courage to begin like Walt Disney.