A MODERN AESOP

Walt Disney
Added by: Old Friend
6/16/2002
From findagrave.com

Portrait of Walt Disney
1 January 1954
Here is a picture of Walter Disney cropped from a NASA photograph

During a 43-year Hollywood career that spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana. David Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney "the most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo."
A pioneer and innovator and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48 Academy Awards® and seven Emmys® in his lifetime. Walt Disney's personal awards included honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California, and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; France's Legion of Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations; Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross; Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

The Walt Disney Family Museum - Devoted to Walt Disney's career, featuring clips from Disney's animated and live-action films.
(Copyright © 1998-2008 Netscape)

Complete Detailed Accurate History of Mr. Walter Elias Disney
(Copyright 2001-2007 Disney Dreamer)

Sleeping Beauty Castle
Disneyland park
Author: Original uploader was AmericaSings at en.wikipedia

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. Thank you."
—Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955

Walt Disney on his trips through Disneyland
Photographs © Disney
From justdisney.com

The dedication to all Disney Parks, begins with the phrase "To all who come to this happy place welcome..." with the exception of the Magic Kingdom park in Florida. The dedication there begins, "Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney..."
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Plaque at the entrance of Disneyland
Author User:Cburnett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Theme Parks was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

Solomon, Charles. "The Golden Age of Mickey Mouse"
From disney.go.com

It All Started with a Mouse. Disney's popular cartoon movies led to huge and successful entertainment parks. Transcript of radio broadcast: 27 October 2007:
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(From voanews.com)

During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was only 16 years of age, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stern -- not with stock camouflage, but with drawings and cartoons.
After the war, Walt returned to Kansas City, where he began his career as an advertising cartoonist. Here, in 1920, he created and marketed his first original animated cartoons and later perfected a new method for combining live action and animation.
Mickey Mouse was created in 1928, and his talents were first used in a silent cartoon entitled "Plane Crazy." Before the cartoon could be released, however, sound burst upon the motion picture screen. Thus Mickey made his screen debut in "Steamboat Willie," the world's first fully synchronized sound cartoon, which premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York on November 18, 1928.
Walt's drive to perfect the art of animation was tireless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of his "Silly Symphonies." In 1932, the film "Flowers and Trees" won Walt the first of his 32 personal Academy Awards®. In 1937, he released "The Old Mill," the first short subject to utilize the multiplane camera technique.
On December 21 of that same year, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles. Produced at the unheard-of cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
© Copyright 2005, JustDisney.com
Createad and Operated by Brad Aldridge Productions, Berkeley, CA

During the next five years, Walt completed such other full-length animated classics as "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Dumbo," and "Bambi."
Walt Disney's Original

Fantasia
© Copyright 2005, JustDisney.com
Createad and Operated by Brad Aldridge Productions, Berkeley, CA

In 1940, construction was completed on Disney's Burbank studio, and the staff swelled to more than 1,000 artists, animators, story men, and technicians.

A short history of the Walt Disney Studios, in Burbank, CA.
© Copyright 2005, JustDisney.com
Createad and Operated by Brad Aldridge Productions, Berkeley, CA

During World War II, 94 percent of the Disney facilities were engaged in special government work, including the production of training and propaganda films for the armed services, as well as health films that are still shown throughout the world by the U.S. State Department. The remainder of Disney's efforts were devoted to the production of comedy short subjects, deemed essential to civilian and military morale.
Disney's 1945 feature, the musical "The Three Caballeros," combined live action with the cartoon medium, a process he used successfully in other features such as "Song of the South" and the highly acclaimed "Mary Poppins." In all, 81 features were released by the studio during his lifetime.
Walt's inquisitive mind and keen sense for education through entertainment resulted in the award-winning "True-Life Adventure" series. Through such films as "The Living Desert," "The Vanishing Prairie," "The African Lion," and "White Wilderness," Disney gave audiences fascinating insights into the world of wild animals and taught the importance of conserving our nation's outdoor heritage.
Disneyland, launched in 1955 as a fabulous $17 million Magic Kingdom, soon increased its investment tenfold and had entertained, by its third decade, more than 250 million people, including presidents, kings and queens, and royalty from all over the globe.

An aerial view of Disneyland in 1956
Photograph from the USC Regional Historical Photo Collection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A pioneer in the field of television programming, Disney began television production in 1954 and was among the first to present full-color programming with his "Wonderful World of Color" in 1961. "The Mickey Mouse Club" and "Zorro" were popular favorites in the 1950s.
But that was only the beginning. In 1965, Walt Disney turned his attention toward the problem of improving the quality of urban life in America. He personally directed the design of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT®, planned as a living showcase for the creativity of American industry.
Said Disney, "I don't believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that is more important to people everywhere than finding the solution to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? Well, we're convinced we must start with the public need. And the need is not just for curing the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a community that will become a prototype for the future."
Thus, Disney directed the purchase of 43 square miles of virgin land -- twice the size of Manhattan Island -- in the center of the state of Florida. Here he master-planned a whole Disney world of entertainment to include a new amusement theme park, a motel-hotel resort vacation center, and his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. After more than seven years of master planning and preparation, including 52 months of actual construction, Walt Disney World opened to the public as scheduled on October 1, 1971. Epcot Center opened on October 1, 1982.

Disneyland Park
View from NW to SE
Author: Robert J. Boser (EditorASC)
August, 1963

Prior to his death on December 15, 1966, Walt Disney took a deep interest in the establishment of California Institute of the Arts, a college-level professional school of all the creative and performing arts. Of Cal Arts Walt once said, "It's the principal thing I hope to leave when I move on to greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something."
California Institute of the Arts was founded in 1961 with the amalgamation of two schools, the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute. The campus is located in the city of Valencia, 32 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Walt Disney conceived the new school as a place where all the performing and creative arts would be taught under one roof in a "community of the arts" as a completely new approach to professional arts training.
Walt Disney is a legend, a folk hero of the 20th century. His worldwide popularity is based upon the ideas his name represents: imagination, optimism, and self-made success in the American tradition. Walt Disney did more to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of Americans than any other man in the past century. Through his work he brought joy, happiness, and a universal means of communication to the people of every nation. Certainly our world shall know but one Walt Disney.
(© Disney. All rights reserved)

More of the Walt Disney World:

Aerial photos
Aerial photo of Disneyland from Google Maps
Aerial photo of Disneyland from Microsoft Terraserver
Bird's Eye photo from Windows Live Local

Disneyland Photo Gallery
Disneyland
© Copyright 2005, JustDisney.com
Createad and Operated by Brad Aldridge Productions, Berkeley, CA.

The public areas occupy approximately 85 acres (0.133 sq mi/0.344 km²). When the park initially opened, it consisted of five themed areas:

1. Main Street, U.S.A., an early 20th century Midwest town

Main Street, U.S.A. w:Disneyland 1996 at night
Taken by Ellen Levy Finch (User:Elf)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2. Adventureland, featuring jungle-themed adventures

Disneyland Adventureland
Source en wikipedia
Date 13/2/2008
Author B64
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3. Frontierland, illustrating western frontier

Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, California, 2002
Source Originally from en.wikipedia
Date 2004-08-28 (original upload date)
Author Original uploader was Rabit at en.wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4. Fantasyland, bringing fantasy into a reality

Source originally posted to Flickr as It's a Small World
Date 2005-05-30
Author Thomas Hawk from San Francisco, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5. Tomorrowland, looking into the future

Tomorrowland Entrance
Photographed by "LordBleen"
March 2002
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Disneyland History:
On Sunday, July 17, 1955, invited guests arrived, and 90 million people watched via a live television broadcast. The day is still known in Disney lore as "Black Sunday," and for good reason, as a guest list of 15,000 swelled to almost 30,000 attendees.
The next day, 10,000 members of the general public got their first peek.
On the first day of its long history, Disneyland charged visitors $1.00 admission (about $6.50 in today's dollars) to get through the gate and see three free attractions in four themed lands. Individual tickets for the 18 rides cost 10 to 35 cents each. Walt and his staff addressed the problems, limiting daily attendance to 20,000 to avoid overcrowding. Within seven weeks, the one-millionth guest passed through the gates.
Landmark Dates in Disneyland History:
"Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world," Walt Disney once said. Within a year of the opening, attractions were opening, closing and changing, taking Disneyland through an evolution that still continues. A few of the more notable dates in Disneyland history include:
1959: Disneyland almost causes an international incident when U. S. officials deny Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev a visit because of security concerns.
1959: "E" ticket introduced. The most expensive ticket, it granted access to the most exciting rides and attractions such as Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
1963: The Enchanted Tiki Room opens, and the term "animatronics" (robotics combined with 3-D animation) is coined.
1964: Disneyland generates more money than Disney Films.
1966: Walt Disney dies.
1982: The Disneyland Ticket Book is retired, replaced by a "Passport" good for unlimited rides.
1985: Year-round, daily operation begins. Before this, the park closed Monday and Tuesday during off seasons.
1999: FASTPASS introduced.
2001: Downtown Disney, Disney's California Adventure and the Grand Californian Hotel open.
2004: Australian Bill Trow is the 500-millionth guest.
Materials courtesy of Disneyland Public Relations
From ©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company

Walt Disney Gravesite
From findagrave.com
Added by: A.J. Marik
7/7/2002