ENTP Spotlight on Walt Disney – How to Never Stop Believing in Your Dreams
Anyone who knows me very well is aware that I’m a major Disney nerd. I love watching Disney movies with my kids, singing the songs to them, or obsessing over trips to Disney theme parks. I find the magic and inspiration that Walt Disney gave the world to be monumental. Walt Disney belongs to the investigator (NT) category of personality types. A lot of people think of NT types as a group of scientists, physicists, or people whose worlds revolve around cold, hard facts. The truth is, there’s a wonder to the NT mind that seeks to explore the unknown and to think outside the box (sometimes through science or physics). Walt Disney was a jack-of-all trades; an artist, a business man, an ambulance driver, and an architect. Walt Disney perfectly demonstrates the imagination, curiosity, and vision of the NT mind, and he can inspire all of us to reach for our goals, even when it seems impossible.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
– Walt Disney
Walt Disney’s Dominant Extraverted Intuition
ENTPs have Extraverted Intuition (Ne) as their dominant function. They are always seeing possibilities and inspiration in the world around them. They are driven to innovate, imagine, and create. Isabel Briggs Myers says of Ne dominant types; “Their interest, enthusiasm, and energy pour suddenly into unforeseeable channels like a flash flood, sweeping everything along, overwhelming all obstacles, carving out a path which others will follow long after the force that made it has flowed on into other things.”
ENTPs value inspiration above everything else and follow it into numerous avenues and pathways. They love adventure, exploring, researching, inventing, and creating. ENTPs are insatiably curious and travel from one project to another with optimism, intensity, and tons of imagination.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
– Walt Disney
Walt Disney had to fight to follow his inspirations, but he believed in them without fail. He grew up in a poor family and was raised by a father who was known for being a harsh disciplinarian. He had no handouts or special advantages in his life. He had to truly believe in his dreams and his art to keep going. At the age of 7 he sold his paintings and drawings to neighbors to earn extra cash, and at the age of 10 he worked on a railroad selling newspapers and snacks. He loved being aboard trains and absorbing the feeling of adventure and freedom it gave him. This later inspired him to make his own backyard model train set, and also inspired him to create the railroads that circle both Disneyland and Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
“In one way or another, I have always loved trains.”
– Walt Disney
At the age of 16, Disney lied about his age so that he could enlist to join the military during World War I. He was turned down, but eventually he was accepted by the Red Cross where he trained to be an ambulance driver. In true Disney style he covered his ambulance stem to stern with cartoon drawings.
Walt Disney faced many obstacles in his life; from money troubles to being ripped off in bad business deals. There was no end to challenges in his life, especially when he was just getting started. When Disney had the inspiration to create a full-length, animated movie, Hollywood agents referred to it as “Disney folly”. Nobody thought it would work. He had to mortgage his first house just to make his first movie a reality. He proved his many critics wrong when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was released in 1937 and brought in $8 million. (That’s about the same as $134 million today!).
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
– Walt Disney
ENTPs trust their inspirations, their gut feelings, their visions. Walt Disney wouldn’t let anyone tell him something couldn’t be done. He was tireless in his work and incapable of giving up.
“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”
– Walt Disney
Walt Disney’s Auxiliary Introverted Thinking
Walt Disney could handle criticism and naysayers because deep inside he was always expanding and independently formulating his own logical plans. He was fine with spending exorbitant amounts of time and effort, even money, on his projects because he was always seeking to make them perfect, to make them evolve into exactly what he wanted. This patience and passion to evolve, to experiment, to continually progress is a hallmark of Introverted Thinking types. They care less about putting a completed project out into the world than to learn and expand intensely, always being willing to change directions, to modify their viewpoint, and dig deeper.
“Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.”
– Walt Disney
In true ENTP fashion, Walt Disney loved technology and was always aware of new advancements in technology. With this love of technology and innovation he imagined EPCOT, an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, a utopian city of the future.
“ EPCOT will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed but will always be introducing and testing, and demonstrating new materials and new systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world of the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise.”
– Walt Disney
Walt Disney’s Tertiary Extraverted Feeling
Walt Disney knew how to reach out and inspire people. He was aware of what motivated others, what made them happy, how to make children and adults alike feel that anything was possible. He was known for his communication skills, people skills, and ability to inspire. He was an excellent salesman, able to win people over quickly and effectively. ENTPs are known for their ability to charm, to easily navigate social situations, and alter the moods in their external environment. Their tertiary extraverted feeling function gives them an awareness of what people want to hear.
One day Walt attended a board meeting for a company that he wanted to sponsor his Autopia attraction. He easily convinced the board that it was a great investment and they wrote him large check right on the spot. After Walt shook their hands and walked away, one board member, who had been so drawn to Walt’s love and enthusiasm for the project, said, “I have a question. What did we just buy??”. If you read about Walt’s career you’ll find numerous stories just like this one.
Personality Growth says of ENTPs, “ENTPs are natural entrepreneurs and salesmen. They enjoy being able to tackle the challenges that running a business brings them every day.”
Walt Disney’s Inferior Introverted Sensing
ENTPs may have inferior introverted sensing, but it still casts a soft glow on everything they do. Introverted sensing collects facts, remembers details, cherishes the past and learns from it. You can see Walt Disney’s introverted sensing side as soon as you walk down Main Street USA. He wanted this street to resemble the Main Street of his childhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.
“For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of their grandfather’s youth.”
– Walt Disney
Walt Disney had a fondness for history and nostalgia. The cannons that are displayed in the center of the square on main street were used by the French army during the 1800s. The gas lamps that line the street create a timeless, reminiscent feel that echoes from days long past.
“To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
-Walt Disney
In Conclusion
Walt Disney has always been an inspiration to me. He makes all of us believe that magic can happen, that dreams can come true. He faced seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve his goals, and if he can do those things, why can’t any of us? This is one of the great traits of ENTP personalities and just goes to show how far they can go if they believe in their passions. If you want to find out more about Walt Disney, you can read his biography here.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Want to discover more about personality type? Get the inside scoop with Susan Storm on all things typological, along with special subscriber freebies, and discounts on new eBooks and courses! Join our newsletter today!
actually, I think Walt Disney is ENFP. He displays the sort of sensitive demeanour that the ENTP usually lacks to a degree, and he was primarily focused on adding colour and magic and richness to the world, which is also ENFP-esque.
This is one of those typings that is harder to determine. I’ve read some biographies of Walt Disney and I can see aspects of both, especially in mid-life. I do think it’s possible that that is because he was developing tertiary Fe in mid-life. I also know that David Keirsey typed him as ENTP. I can see where ENFP is a possibility, though, I think it is hard to tell when you can’t sit down with someone face to face and figure it out in person. I’m definitely open to the possibility he could be ENFP but I do see a lot of ENTP traits when I read his biographies.
I don’t know too much about Walt, but from the sound of it he started out “hustling” (figuring out how to survive and make the best of situations) before becoming this warm “people person” in mid-life as you noted; if he was ENFP, wouldn’t he struggle a bit more (caring more about how he felt) at a young age and then learn to use logic to solve problems later?
Very interesting. Fe/Fi are difficult to determine.
I feel like Walt was an ENTP, Enneagram 9. Enneagram 9 is usually the domain of diplomatic/feeling types like Keanu Reeves, for example. I’m a ENTP Enneagram 9 who has been pegged as an INFP. I could be projecting but I strongly believe Walt is an ENTP.