Walt Disney
Early LIfe
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Elias and Flora Disney. Walt had three older brothers.
During most of Walt's childhood, his family moved around a lot because of his Dad's jobs kept changing. After many years of moving, the Disney family settled back in Chicago, Illinois. This is where Walt attended High School. It was at this time that we first learned about cartooning. He decided that he want to continue to do this as a job. Before he could get a job, Walt went to fight In World War I.
Once the War was over, Walt decided to start his own business drawing cartoons. However, he did not succeed in creating new characters. Later on his older brother, Roy convinced him to try again. This time Walt was successful and created Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie. This was the start of a very successful business.
The Beginning of Disney Movies
After many years of hard work, Walt Disney dreamed of creating a full-length cartoon movie. He decided to tell the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt drew the character of Snow White, the Prince, and the Evil Queen by watching real-life people and copying their action. The movie came out in 1937 and was a big hit. It was the only cartoon movie out at the time. Walt made more movies after this one but they were failures. Three years later, he came out with Pinocchio. Walt Disney continued to make popular cartoon fairytale movies for the rest of life.
Creating Disneyland
Disneyland is an amusement park created by Walt Disney in 1955. It was a place where people could come meet the real-life Disney characters. The park is located in Anaheim, California. People from all over the world came to see the park. Disneyland is a special place because the rides are centered around the Disney Characters. Walt Disney wanted to create a place for the child in everyone. With the success of the first park, Walt decided to open another amusement park. This one would be in Orlando, Florida and be named Disney World.