Diane Disney has said that at first, Lilly (Walt’s wife) didn’t want children, after seeing her mother and sisters work too hard (she was the youngest of ten children) but Walt had wanted ten or so kids. Lilly wanted to enjoy life, especially as Walt grew more successful, and life became exciting. Then, when Lilly was ready, starting a family was not easy for her. Lilly suffered two miscarriages, and family members worried that they may never be able to have a child of their own. Those losses hit Walt very hard. Walt continued to work constantly, and was very hard on himself, never being happy with his products.
Walt and Lilly moved to a lovely English Tudor style home in Los Feliz Hills in 1933, with large rolling lawns and a swimming pool. On many Sundays, they invited animators and others that worked with Walt to bring their families over for fun, and games, and barbecues. (I must interject here, that I would love to have a boss like that!)
Walt got the news, in mid 1933 that Lilly was expecting again. Walt was very nervous, and wrote to his mother that Lilly was “partial to a girl…” but that he didn’t care as long as they weren’t disappointed again. On December 18, 1933, Lilly gave birth to Diane Marie Disney. Diane suffered another miscarriage and her doctor told her it would be unwise to try and have any more children. Walt and Lilly decided to adopt, and adopted a two week old baby, who would be named Sharon Mae Disney, in January 1937.
Walt decided early on not to use his daughters to help gain publicity, partly because of fear of kidnapping, as the Lindbergh kidnapping occurred just before Diane was born. Walt would never allow any publicity because of that. Later, he just felt that the girls should be allowed to live their lives away from the limelight. Walt never brought his family in on the Studio much, and there was hardly any evidence of the Mouse around the house. He had tried to set up his home as something apart. He said “I’ve kept the press away, and they grew up in a way not knowing what part I played in the darn thing.” After Diane started school, she went running up to Walt one evening, and asked him “Are you Walt Disney” and he said yes, and she said “Give me your autograph!” When Walt asked why, she said that a little girl from school asked if her daddy was Walt Disney, and she wanted her to get his autograph, not understanding then what an autograph was.
Both of Walt’s daughters remembered Walt’s role in the early years as someone who could be depended upon to provide fun, and Diane once told an interviewer “from the word go, Daddy was our playmate. He was the person you wanted. When Daddy came home at night, that was the fun time.”
He drove them to school each day, and very rarely missed any school events. They had a family dinner each night, and on weekends, Walt took the girls to local attractions. It was those outings with the girls that inspired Disneyland. Walt often came up with something special, like taking Diane and Lilly to see a blimp when it landed, and for a ride in the blimp. Walt taught his girls to swim, and to ride horses, and to drive when they were older. The girls said that Walt was very patient and understanding. Walt’s daughter, Sharon, said that they “weren’t raised with the idea that [Walt] was a great man doing things that no one else has ever done. He was Daddy.”
This is an abbreviated version of a much longer piece about Walt, the Father, which can be found at: http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/waltdad/index.html