Secrets Released From The Disney Vault
By
Editorial Staff in
Facts
On 4th March 2016
Since its humble beginnings in 1923, the Disney Company has gone on to rule America's media landscape and the imaginations of people across the world. And its empire of movies, cartoons, TV shows, and theme parks has only grown stronger in recent years now that it also owns Marvel and Lucasfilm.
Yet, the road to any major touchstone's success is littered with awkward false starts, detours, and secret passages and Disney is no exception. And considering how iconic and mysterious Walt Disney became after his death, it's no surprise that a lot of rumors have surfaced about his life and his company.
Some are unconfirmed and some simply aren't true, but every now and then some of these little whispers actually got it right.
And that leads us to these 15 facts lurking under Disney's massive legacy.
#1 Some of Disney's last words were Kurt Russell's name.
Russell had just signed with Disney at the time, but the actor doesn't know why Disney wrote his name down right before dying.
#2 Disney wasn't Uncle Walt's first animation company.
He started one called Laugh-O-Grams in 1921, but it closed down two years later thanks to some flaky business partners.
#3 Several guests have died in Disneyland accidents.
Most of these "Disney deaths" happened because guests tried to get around the park's safety features. Only in rare cases was it attributed to problems with the rides.
#4 People first thought Disney was crazy for making full-length animated movies.
Even though Snow White made the company $8.5-million when it was released, it was once called "Disney's folly" by critics.
#5 The Army deployed troops to guard Disney Studios during World War II.
They thought Disney's propaganda films and vehicle decals were valuable to the war effort.
#6 Walt Disney added to America's "red scare" panic during the late 40s.
When some of his workers went on strike, he publicly accused them of ties to Communism.
#7 He also gave a Nazi propaganda director a tour of his studios.
Leni Riefenstahl's tour lasted three hours and involved Disney showing her sketches for Fantasia and explaining his cartoon techniques.
#8 Disney park employees only have first names on their name tags.
That's because Disney wanted everyone to call him Walt and hated being called "Mr. Disney."
#9 Disney "cast members" have to follow a strict set of rules.
For example, when someone signs an autograph as Mickey Mouse, their signature has to be identical to every other Mickey's.
#10 Walt Disney World has an abandoned water park.
It's called River Country and had a successful opening in 1976, but closed down in 2001 due to low attendance.
#11 Sorry, but Walt Disney was not cryogenically frozen.
He was cremated in 1966 and now rests in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
#12 Disney wanted to build a massive ski resort in Sequoia National Park.
The project was tied up for years after his death. Congress struck it down in 1978.
#13 Disneyland has an incredibly exclusive club called Club 33.
Membership costs $11,000 a year. Even the waiting list is closed.
#14 Disney blamed himself for his mother's death.
Disney bought his parents a home in California with money from Snow White. But a month later, his mother, Flora, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace.
#15 Walt Disney World has a massive series of underground tunnels called Utilidors
The tunnels allow cast members and supplies to get to their spots without breaking the guests' fantasy of the park. You won't see a Tomorrowland character in Frontierland, for example.
