Disney also received four honorary Oscars, including one (handed out in 1932) for creating Mickey Mouse, another (in 1939) for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (child actress Shirley Temple presented Disney with the award, which consisted of a regular-size statuette along with seven miniature versions, as a nod to the dwarfs); and a third (in 1942) for “Fantasia” and its contribution to sound design. The rights were part of a trade between Disney and NBC/Universal: They agreed to let Disney have Oswald back, and Disney, the owner of ABC and ESPN, agreed to let NBC use sportscaster Al Michaels for Sunday Night Football. It’s always kept on to signify that Walt is always in the park. 1. It only took one year to be constructed with 2,500 laborers, and cost $17 million to build. Later, Walt constructed elaborate model train sets as a way to unwind from the stress of his job. At the time of Disney’s death, Russell was a largely unknown child actor working for the studio. Even after the voice work was officially turned over to Jimmy MacDonald in 1947, Walt continued to do Mickey’s voice for shorts on The Mickey Mouse Club. Though many people play golf to relax, Disney couldn't deal with it. His gravesite is in a public area for people who want to see it for themselves. Walt’s private apartment isn’t typically open to the public, but VIPs are occasionally offered tours. 23) Disney’s Hollywood Studios was a Real Studio In its original form, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was a real studio, not a theme park. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Mickey Mouse might be Walt Disney's most well-known character, but the animator's first creation was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Here are 21 interesting facts about the thriving business Walt Disney built: 1. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Walt’s daughter, Sharon, said that even years later, Walt found the subject nearly impossible to talk about. That same year, he moved to Hollywood and formed Disney Brothers Studio with his older sibling Roy. When Mickey spoke for the first time, in 1929’s “The Karnival Kid” (his words were “Hot dog, hot dog”), Walt was unhappy with how the character sounded and went on to lend his own voice to the mouse until 1947’s “Mickey and the Beanstalk,” when he said he was too busy to continue doing so. 2. Ever since Walt Disney World, in Florida, welcomed its first visitors in 1971, it's embedded itself in the American consciousness in ways few other institutions ever have. After all, Walt Disney did say “it all started with a mouse”. There are not very many people in the world that don't recognize the name "Walt Disney" and throughout the 20th century, this name went from being unknown to one of the most popular as well as powerful brands around the globe. His father and an uncle had spent time working on railroads, and as a teen in Kansas City Walt did a brief stint selling newspapers and snacks on trains. It is a magical place that was carefully planned and built with every detail in mind. There are many interesting things about Mickey Mouse that you may or may not know, so here are some fun facts about the loveable Mickey Mouse. His movies and theme parks are still enjoyed by millions of people each year. Born in Chicago on December 5, 1901, Walt Disney, the fourth of five children, moved with his family to a farm in Marceline, Missouri, when he was four. (Credit: Gene Lester/Archive Photos/Getty Images). He is best-known as the creator of the beloved animated character Mickey Mouse, and as the founder of … Walt originally intended to build a small amusement park near his Burbank studio; however, his plans soon grew more ambitious and in 1953 he hired a research firm to find the optimal southern California location for a large-scale theme park. 51. At age 16, during World War I, he faked his age to join the American Red Cross. Walt Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Here are 20 fun facts you probably didn’t know about The Walt Disney Company. Walt dropped out of high school at 16 (he had been an inattentive student but drew constantly) and, with the United States fighting World War I, joined the Red Cross Ambulance Corps by forging his birth certificate in order to meet the Corps’ minimum age requirement of 17. But Disney's success was no accident. It’s such a common phenomenon Disney World has cleaning protocols in place for this exact occurrence. In the late 1940s, he built himself a one-eighth scale steam locomotive, and after moving into a new home in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles in 1950 he laid half a mile of tracks around the property for his railroad. Mickey Mouse made his official debut in a 1928 short film titled “Steamboat Willie,” one of the first cartoons ever to use synchronized sound effects. One of the odder Walt Disney World facts is how many people wish to have their ashes spread at the park. Approximately 48 million people visit Walt Disney World Resort – including Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Disney Springs Area – annually. Another fun fact: Walt Disney bought 43 square miles of Central Florida swampland for Disney World for $5 million – about $185 an acre. Keep reading for more fun facts about the man behind the mouse, and feel free to start quizzing your Disney friends! The furnishings remain virtually unchanged from when Walt used to spend time there, including a lamp in the window visible from outside. However, Disney’s father had difficulty making a living in Marceline and sold the farm in 1910; the following year, the family relocated to Kansas City. Walt Disney World employs in excess of 60,000 cast members making it one of the largest single-site employer in the U.S. Walter Elias Disney was an American Businessman, animator, voice actor and producer who was a pioneer of the American Animation Industry. However, he was too young to enlist – so he forged his date of birth to join the Ambulance Corps. But it all worked out in the end—on the train ride back to California, Disney sketched a character that would eclipse Oswald in popularity: Mickey Mouse. After studying factors such as population growth, weather patterns and transportation options, the firm recommended the site that would become Disneyland’s home: a 160-acre parcel, consisting mostly of orange trees, in Anaheim. Construction began in July 1954 and Disneyland opened a year later, on July 17. It belonged to his ancestors from France. The famous cartoonist learned how to draw by copying newspaper cartoons Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney, was an avid reader of an American Midwest newspaper called Appeal to Reason. The first person to be frozen cryogenically was an American university professor in January 1967. In response, he developed a new character originally dubbed Mortimer Mouse before it was decided Mickey would be a better moniker. Here are nine fun facts you may not have known about the mouse behind the mouse. He also planned and built the amusement park Disneyland and had begun a second one, Walt Disney World, before his death. Nevertheless, Disneyland was an immediate success, and after just one month the park had hosted more than half a million visitors. Interesting Facts about Walt Disney. In 1948, his hobby grew to new heights when he constructed a 1/8 scale model in his backyard, with track spanning half a mile. In November 1966, doctors discovered that Disney, a longtime smoker, had lung cancer. It’s My First Day. The company regained control of the obscure character in 2006, almost eight decades after losing him. Walt Disney was always very interested in art even as a child, but it wasn’t until 1828 that he developed the character Mickey mouse, who was the start of Disney… Walt Disney was an American animator, film producer, voice actor and writer. The story Peter Pan surely held a special place in Walt Disney’s heart: not only was it a hit movie for him in 1953, it also took him back to his childhood. The buyer was Walt Disney, 50 years ago this month, and that's how the story of his most ambitious creation broke--"the greatest attraction in the history of Florida," as he called it. Walt was just 16 when he left school to join the Red Cross Ambulance Corps, wanting to do his part in World War I. The rodent quickly became a star, and soon there were Mickey Mouse Clubs for children as well as merchandise and a comic strip. The original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. Oswald was a huge hit, complete with robust merchandising. She was hired in 1951 and quickly became part of the family, even making sure the fridge was well-stocked with hot dogs—Walt liked to eat them cold as a snack when he got home from work. Walt always had an interest in trains, even building an elaborate model in his office, which he enjoyed running for his guests. No one has any idea what Disney was referring to with his note—not even Kurt Russell. His passion for trains is reflected at Disneyland, which has been home to its own railroad since opening in 1955. After giving up polo at his doctor's behest, Walt took up golf, getting up at 4:30 a.m. to squeeze in nine holes before work. He was raised on a … The film, which starred Donald Duck, was shown in thousands of movie theaters and even earned an Academy Award nomination. In 1917, his father sold the paper route and moved the family back to Chicago, where he was employed at a jelly and fruit juice company. After losing the character, Disney created Mickey Mouse. Goofy’s original voice actor was Pinto Colvig. One of the most iconic Americans that comes to everyone’s mind is Walt Disney, an innovator in animation and theme park design. With over 40 million annual guests and tens of thousands of acres dedicated to its four theme parks, two water parks, gigantic retail complex, athletic complex and dozens of hotels, there is much that can be measured about Walt Disney World Resort. Although Walt initially was reluctant to risk tarnishing his image as a non-political entertainer by producing blatantly propagandistic works, his team eventually turned out animated shorts such as 1943’s “Der Fuerher’s Face,” which made fun of the Nazis and again starred Donald Duck. Walt Disney was an innovator in animation, theme park design and one of the most iconic Americans of all time. Opening day didn’t go smoothly, though: People produced counterfeit tickets, leading to an over-capacity crowd of attendees; rides broke; parts of the park were unfinished and a gas leak forced Fantasyland to be closed. Walt considered it, but before he could get sucked in by a Kirbyesque scheme, he got a call from a company in New York that wanted him to make shorts for them. She left nearly $4.5 million to poor and disabled children, and roughly the same amount to her disabled son. Walt moved with his parents to Kansas City at age seven, where he spent the majority of his childhood. Walt came from humble beginnings. But because he was just shy of the minimum age requirement of 17, he forged a different date on his birth certificate. That Voice! In 1927, Universal asked Walt and his chief animator Ub Iwerks to create a cartoon character for them; the result was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He scored one best picture nomination, for 1964’s “Mary Poppins,” but lost to “My Fair Lady.” (“Mary Poppins” did, however, rack up wins in five other Oscar categories, including best leading actress, given to Julie Andrews.) Instead, he found work creating advertisements for magazines and movie theaters then became interested in animation. Once he became successful, Walt bought his parents a rather extravagant present: a new house. It was in Marceline—a small-town community Disney remembered as an adult as having been idylli—that he first received encouragement for his burgeoning interest in drawing, from both an aunt as well as a neighbor who was a retired doctor. Sheet music for the Disney Film “Der Fuehrer’s Face.” (Credit: Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images). He relied on Iwerks and other superior artists to do the drawing dirty work. Find out more about this magnificent adventure park with these 40 awesome facts! Learn more about Disney … He also spoiled them unabashedly, which historian Steve Watts believed was a reaction to Walt’s own stern upbringing. With this success under his belt, in 1928, Disney went to New York to renegotiate his contract with producer Charles Mintz. 1. The Disney studio also made training films for the American military, and created, free-of-charge, more than a thousand insignia for military units; the designs centered around established Disney characters as well as new characters. 1. He later went on to found … Eat where Walt loved to eat! Disney didn’t see much action, however. There are so many great facts and secrets about Walt Disney World. Artist, producer, entrepreneur, and all-around game-changer Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901. There are over 30,000 rooms amongst more than twenty-five resorts on the Walt Disney World Resort Property. The park struck big because of its unrelenting emphasis on its visitors and their experiences—and maybe just a tiny bit of pixie dust. Bob Nelson, the former president of the Cryonics Society of California, makes a good point: if Disney was the first cryogenically frozen man, it would have been a pretty big deal for cryonics, and they would have publicized the heck out of the Mickey Mouse-cicle. He would dress up in a train engineer’s clothing and give visitors rides on his Carolwood Pacific Railroad, named for the street he lived on. He soon returned home, where he won a s… 10. After Colvig, there were several other voice actors for Goofy. All Rights Reserved. From the business setback that spurred him to develop his most famous cartoon character to the persistent myth surrounding his death, check out seven fascinating facts about this entertainment legend. Colvig was posthumously made a Disney Legend in 1993. Disney holds the record for most individual Oscar wins (22) and nominations (59). Surprisingly, construction for the Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom took only one year. 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