This weekend America lost one of the most legendary journalists in our history. Walter Cronkite, at the age of 92, passed away in his New York home this past Friday night. Both print and media news have been covering the death and remembering the enormous contribution he made to the journalism world. Many of today’s news anchors and reporters called into shows on CNN and MSNBC over the weekend to recount how Cronkite inspired them to join the exciting, yet rocky world of journalism.

Walter Cronkite led America through the challenges the nation faced from World War 2 onward. He began his career as a young man, covering America’s participation in the war and even the Nuremburg Trials. He was there during the Vietnam War and the chaos that erupted because of it back home. He wiped away tears from underneath his thick-rimmed glasses as he announced to the country that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, and he held back child-like joy as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission 40 years ago. Because of his character and his integrity, Cronkite was nicknamed “the most trusted man in America.”

But Cronkite also lent his talents to other media outlets. Along with hosting special news reports and documentaries, “Uncle Walter” leant his image and his voice to various Walt Disney projects and a classic ride in the Disney lineup: Spaceship Earth. It makes sense that Cronkite would lend his distinct voice to the educational ride. As a man which America welcomed into their living rooms every night to inform them on the country’s on goings, Cronkite was a fitting choice to narrate the progress of communication throughout the history of civilization on EPCOT’s signature ride.

From 1986 to 1994, it was Cronkite’s voice that one would hear as they began their spiraling ascent through history and into the future on Spaceship Earth. He was the only American to narrate the ride, as he was then replaced by Brits Jeremy Irons (Lion King) and Dame Judy Dench. Cronkite continued his work at EPCOT by narrating the special Holiday Illuminations fireworks show that ran from 1994-1999.

Over at Disney Hollywood Studios, which was then known as Disney MGM Studios, he worked with Robin Williams on the video “Back to Neverland," a feature that would play to visitors of the Backlot Tour. Together, Williams and Cronkite demonstrated how Disney animators worked hard to bring classic stories to life through the animation process. He was as much a part of the Disney family as he was part of the American news world.

OrlandoFunTickets.com and Disney fans across the globe mourn the loss of this news legend and Disney contributor. As Walter Cronkite would say, “that’s the way it is.”