-
Birth
Walter Elias Disney was born to Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian, and Flora Call Disney, of German-American descent, in Chicago's Hermosa community area at 2156 N. Tripp Ave. -
Disney gets Rejected
Disney dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to join the Army, but the army rejected him because he was underage. -
Laugh-O-Grams
Presented as "Newman Laugh-O Grams," Disney's cartoons became widely popular in the Kansas City area. Through the success of Laugh-O Grams, Disney was able to acquire his own studio and hire a vast number of additional animators. Unfortunately, with all his high employee salaries unable to make up for studio profits, Walt was unable to successfully manage money. As a result, the studio became loaded with debt and went bankrupt. -
First Cartoons
The first animated short with Mickey in it was titled, Plane Crazy, which was, like all of Disney's previous works, a silent film. After failing to find a distributor for Plane Crazy or its follow-up, The Gallopin' Gaucho, Disney created a Mickey cartoon with sound called Steamboat Willie. -
First Award
In 1932, Disney received a special Academy Award for the creation of "Mickey Mouse", whose series was made into color in 1935 and soon launched spin-off series for supporting characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto; Pluto and Donald would immediately get their individual cartoons in 1937, and Goofy would get solo cartoons in 1939 as well. -
Its a Girl!
Disneys' first attempt at pregnancy ended up in Lilly having a miscarriage. When Lilly Disney became pregnant again, she gave birth to a daughter, Diane Marie Disney, on December 18, 1933.. -
Grand Opening
Walt Disney giving the opening day speech July 17, 1955.Disneyland officially opened July 17, 1955. To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past...and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." -
Planning the 1st Disneyland
Aerial view August, 1963 from NW to SE. New Melodyland Theater at the top. The Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) upper left corner. DisneylandOn a business trip to Chicago in the late-1940s, Disney drew sketches of his ideas for an amusement park where he envisioned his employees spending time with their children. He got his idea for a children's theme park after visiting Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California. This plan was originally meant for a plot located south of the Studio. -
He Dies
On November 2, 1966, during pre-surgery X-rays, doctors at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center across the street from the Disney Studio discovered that Disney—for many years a chain smoker—had an enormous tumor on his left lung. -
False Legend
A long-standing but false urban legend maintains that Disney was cryogenically frozen, and his frozen corpse was stored underneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.The first known instance of cryogenic freezing of a corpse occurred a month later, in January 1967.
