Blog Entry Two - The Beginning

“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.”

 -Walter E. Disney 

In 1955 the doors to Disneyland in Anaheim, California opened. Walt Disney envisioned making a park that families could come to and enjoy after having a dull afternoon out with his daughters. Walt realized that day that there wasn't a safe entertaining place for families to go and spend time together. The solution Walt came up with was to build a place of his own, somewhere magical. He came up with many ideas all circling back around to a park that resembled a circus, which Disney desperately wanted to avoid. Together Walt and his brother Roy created The Walt Disney Company, from cartoons to theme parks this dynamic duo did it all.

 Before becoming the empire it is today, the Walt Disney Company nearly disappeared. In 1920 the corporation filed for bankruptcy and almost went out of business. The brother’s and their employees weren’t making as much money as they needed to be to make the animated films they promised the community. It was around this time that Walt Disney lost the rights to his very first cartoon creation, Oswald the Rabbit. After this loss Walt thought there was no hope left for his dream. 

 Fortunately Walt and Roy Disney found another investor later that same year who believed in the Disney name and what it could become. In 1928 Walt Disney created his most famous character, Mickey Mouse. Though Mickey brought in more revenue than the family had seen in years, times were still hard and the company almost went bankrupt again due to not producing movies, a byproduct of Walt’s creative block. 

 In 1937, one of Disney’s most famous films was in the final sages of production. With the company nearly out of funding, not nearly enough to finish, Walt threw out a life line. Walt approached a bank and asked for one final loan to help finish one of Disney’s first Princess movies, one that launched the company into fame and fortune. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was finished with the money Walt received and in turn the Walt Disney Company would flourish. In the end the film brought 3.5 million dollars to the company, making Walt Disney a household name in the process. 

The Walt Disney Company has come so far, from working in a studio in Burbank, California to having 11 parks to over 100 resorts all over the world. You could say that the brothers never gave up and created one of the most magical places on earth. After being told that Disneyland was an idea too far out of reach and that they would fail, the Disney brothers proved to everyone that dreams really do come true. 

"We did it Disneyland, in the knowledge that most of the people I talked to thought it would be a financial disaster - closed and forgotten within a year" 

- Walt Disney