~The Beginning~

From the beginning, the founder os Disney was Walter Elias Disney. When Walt arrived in California in the summer of 1923, he was filled with dreams and determination. He had frecuently made a film about a little girl living in a cartoon world called "Alice's Wonderland" he planned to use this film as a "pilot" to sell a series os these comedies to the distributor.

=>On October 16,1923, a New York Distributor,M.J. Winkler, contracted to release the "Alice" comedies. This date became known as the formal beginning of the Walt Disney Company.
=>The company was originally known as "The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio" Walt Disney and his brother,as equal partners, decided yo change the companies name to what was Roy's suggestion, "The Walt Disney Studio"

In 1927 Walt decided to move to an an all-cartoon series,and for its star, he created a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabit. (within a year he made 26 Oswald cartoons)



When he tried to get some additional money from Winkler for a second year of the cartoons, he found out that the distributor had gone behind his back and signed up almost all of his animators, hoping to make the Oswald cartoons in his own studio for less money without Walt. Since the distributor owned the rights to Oswald, there was nothing Walt could do. It was a painful lesson for the young cartoon producer. From then on, he thought that it was best that he owned everything that he made.

**A NEW STAR IS BORN**
Walt now had to come up with a new character. With his chief animator, Ub Iwerks, Walt designed a mouse whom Walt first wanted to name Mortimer, but his wife Lilly preferred the name Mickey.Ub animated two Mickey Mouse cartoons. From there Walt decided that his studio should make the first sound carton! Mickey Mouse was an immediate sensation around the world, and a series of Mickey Mouse cartoons followed.





.:Disney Consumer Product & Business:.
A man kept hanging around Walt's motel, waving three hundred dollars at his saying that he wanted to put the mouse (Mickey) on paper tablets for school children. Because Roy and Walt were in need of money, they took the money. that was the beginning of Disney's consumer product business. Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes, toothbrushes, radious...almost anything imaginable bore Mickey's Likeness. The first Mickey Mouse book was published in 1930.

;;Disneyland;;
After taking his two daughters to carnivals, zoos, parks, he always ended up sitting on a bench as they rode the merry-go-round and had all the fun. He felt that there should be a place where both children and parents could have a good time. After severe years of planning, and construction, the new park opened July 17,1955.
=>Disneyland served as an inspiration for every amusement park built since its opening, attracting millions of visitors from around the world.

--The End of an Era--
In 1964,the film Mary Poppins came out. This film was Walt Disney's achievement as a filmmaker combining live action animation, and animatronics to tell a clasic for the whole family.
=>Two years later, came the end of an Era. Walt Disney Passed away in December 15, 1966. It was said at the time that he was probably the best known individual in the world!

^^Honoring an Idol^^
Prior to Walt's death, Roy was to fufill what had been Walt's Dream and next project (expand Disneyland) he bought 28,000 acres of land in Florida. This would dwarf the 400 acres of Disneyland.He decided to honor his brother by naming this new ans improved resort,Walt Disney World. This Parked was inaugurated October 1, 1971. it is now one of the biggest resorts around the world.