"I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess"
About this Quote
That’s a powerful move for a cartoonist-businessman operating in the middle of the 20th century, when mass culture was increasingly accused of being synthetic, corporate, too clean. Disney’s empire was often criticized for exactly what “formal gardens” suggest: careful choreography, curated innocence, emotional landscaping. By declaring allegiance to wilderness, he recasts control as camouflage. The parks aren’t formal gardens, the story goes; they’re nature tamed just enough to be shareable.
There’s also a deeply American romanticism humming underneath: wilderness as virtue, as moral reset, as the place where the “real” self lives. It’s the frontier myth translated into personality. And it conveniently launders ambition into destiny - not a plan, an instinct.
The intent, then, isn’t merely aesthetic. It’s reputational. Disney positions himself as a man led by wonder rather than by management, even as his legacy proves how expertly he could engineer wonder into an experience that feels spontaneous.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Disney, Walt. (2026, January 15). I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-like-formal-gardens-i-like-wild-nature-its-15039/
Chicago Style
Disney, Walt. "I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-like-formal-gardens-i-like-wild-nature-its-15039/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-like-formal-gardens-i-like-wild-nature-its-15039/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.




