“My only hope is that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse” – Walt Disney
Walt Disney created an empire. It’s as simple as that. While he always stood behind his quote that it was all started by a mouse, Walt was the man behind the mouse, and the man who started it all. The company which is today one of the biggest media and entertainment corporations in the world began with a small studio, which he ran with his brother, Roy. This small animation studio was founded in October of 1923. They were always an amazing team. Sure, they argued from time to time, they were brothers, after all, but they had a great dynamic between them, which apparently turned out to be the perfect business plan for them. Walt was the dreamer, and Roy was the logical businessman. Walt said “I want to do THIS!” and Roy would talk him down when it just wasn’t possible.
Walt had originally secured a contract to produce animations with Oswald the Rabbit. Disney lost that contract though, and had to come up with a new star. Mickey Mouse (originally called Mortimer) was created on a train ride in 1928. Walt himself voiced the character until 1946. Disney said that he’d gotten the inspiration from a mouse in his first studio, which he nicknamed Mortimer. This began Disney’s animation history. Releasing their first full length animated feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” in 1937, and following up with “Pinnochio” and “Fantasia” and then the Live/Animated movie “Song of the South” Walt Disney Studios gained much fame, and of course, income.
Then in 1956, Walt Disney formed WED Enterprises to create his theme park, which would become Disneyland in California. Walt said that he was inspired to create this theme park because he wanted a place where parents could take their children, and the whole family could enjoy the experience. He found that there were few places he could take his children where they could both enjoy the experience. To generate funding, the show “Disneyland” was created, and broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The opening day came on July 17, 1955. Everything did not go smoothly. Many of the park’s water fountains were dry, due to a plumber’s strike, and the temperature was over one hundred degrees, and vendors ran out of food. Despite opening day problems though, the park became a huge success in just a few months. In its history, Disneyland has closed only three times. Once was in 1970, for the “Yippie Invasion”. The next was on September 11, 2001. The park did not open on 9/11, out of respect for the time of national mourning. The third was a scheduled closure in May of 2005 to prepare for the 50th birthday celebration.
My next blog will cover a bit more history, including Walt Disney World and other Disney parks worldwide. I would like to leave you with a final quote, from the plaque at the entrance of Disneyland:
“Here You Leave Today and Enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy”