Walt Disney

**Walther Elias "Walt" Disney** (1901-1966) was the founder and namesake of Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions and WED Enterprises.

## History

Walt Disney was a writer animator who found success with his business partner Ub Iwerks in their 1928 short, *Steamboat Willie* due to being the first animation with synchronized sound. Through the success of Steamboat Willie, Disney and his affiliates founded Walt Disney Pictures and made lucrative success through political-lobbying to change the copyright system in their favour.

In 1937, Walt Disney headed the creation of the first full-length animated feature film in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In 1957, Disney would found what would become WED Enterprises to develop the amusement park of Disneyland.

A heavy smoker, Walt Disney died of lung-cancer on  the December 15 of 1966. He died before the opening of his planned, "Florida Project" which included Walt Disney World and his planned capitalist city-state of EPCOT.

### Fictional

#### Disney Parks

It is likely that the fictionalized Walt Disney existing in the park mythos has some connection to the supernatural and that he was born far prior to his real-life birth in 1901. It is also possible that he used alternative monikers such as "**Yensid**", "**Yen Sid**" or, "**Yesnid**" which are anagrams of the name Walt Disney.

##### 1800s-1910s

During the turn-of-the-century, Walt Disney lived in Marceline, Missouri on the street known as *Main Street, U.S.A.*. In this town he lived above a fire-house and worked as the chief operator of the Disneyland Railroad for either the *W.E.D. Locomotive Works* or *Can Do Machine Works*. This railroad connected Main Street to destinations such as New Orleans and Thunder Mesa in the Big Thunder Mountain region. Walt's father Elias Disney worked as a contractor in this neighbourhood since 1895.

Walt also was the founder of the *Disneyland Casting Agency*, a group which was established in, "'55" (presumably 1855). This group operated out of an apartment in the Main Street Cinema of Marceline and was not just involved in casting performers but also assorted jobs internationally. From around the turn of the century some notable projects which this group assisted with included finding bears to perform in Grizzly Hall, engineers for the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, flying-elephant trainers for the Storybook Circus, entertainers to work for Slue-Foot Sue in the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, and tour-guides for train tours of the Rainbow Ridge region.

In 1908, an adult Walt and his brother Roy travelled to New Guinea as guests of Lord Henry Mystic, a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. The two men spent time in Lord Henry's colony of Mystic Point and attended the official opening of his home/museum, Mystic Manor. Around 1911, Walt seemingly assisted S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls in the founding of the *Jungle Navigation Company*. Walt also seemed to work as a riverboat captain in the company at times with his boat of choice having been *The* *Congo Queen*.

##### 1920s

In 1923, Walt first first travelled to Hollywood, Los Angeles and spent his time on Buena Vista Street. On Buena Vista Street, he became affiliated with the café owners Dottie, Dolly and Ethel Bounds AKA *The Silver Lake Sisters*. The three women were performers also known as Fiddler, Fifer and Practical which inspired Walt in 1933 to use them as reference for his short *The Three Little Pigs*.

In 1925, Walt married ink-artist Lillian Disney who he had met doing animation work. In 1928 Lillian aided in co-creating Mickey Mouse by having Walt rename him from Mortimer to Mickey as the name Mortimer sounded, "Too pompous". Mickey was brought to life on the November 18 of 1928 and would make his home in, "Toon Town", a cartoon residency hidden in California.

##### 1930s

By the 1930s, Walt came to have some affiliation with the Enchanted Tiki Room in the Polynesian isles. Walt would be considered something of a patron for the Tiki Room by the sentient birds of of the island and the locale was officially referred to as, "Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room". Walt also seemingly established the DBC or Disney Broadcasting Company which would be used by the Jungle Navigation Company.

Also during the '30s, Walt did some work as a cartoonist for the newspaper *The Daily Gnus* which had his work published to several, "Adventureland" locales such as Polynesia, the Lost Delta of Cambodia, and the Congo basin of Africa. During the 1930s, Walt also was a customer and/or performer of, "AbracadaBar" on the boardwalk of Crescent Lake. At another point in time, Walt had some affiliation with the esteemed Imagination Institute which gave him an, "Inventor of the Year" award. By 1938, Walt wrote a book titled *The* *True-Life Adventures* under the pen-name of, "W.E.D".

##### 1940s-1950s

In 1941, Walt, Lillian and several friends of theirs travelled to South America for a vacation and hired Jungle Navigation Co. affiliate Trader Sam to give them tours. Sam and Walt became close and eventually, Disney became the best customer at Sam's bar, "Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar". Sam seemingly left Sam a gift in the form of the captain's hat which he wore during his days as a captain for the JNC.

Around 1954, Walt came to be in possession of the tentacle of a giant squid which in the 1860s had years earlier sunk the Nautilus submarine of one Captain Nemo. Walt once again left this tentacle in the safekeeping of Trader Sam who enchanted it in his bar's sister-location. Also around 1954, Walt aimed to build Disneyland which Mickey Mouse encouraged he build on the Anaheim orange-grove on the border of Toontown.

##### 1960s

In the 1960s, Walt began developing his, "Florida Project" which included the *Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow* or *EPCOT*. He planned to build this nearby the town of Disney Springs in Florida which his parents had some connection to. In 1964, he worked on several attractions for the New York World's Fair where he collaborated with members of several different industries, including inventor Howard Stark of Stark Industries.

#### Alternate versions

##### Once Upon a Time

In this non-canonical television series, Walt was one of several figures throughout history to serve as a magical entity known as, "**The Author**". This role was given to inhabitants of, "The Realm without Magic" to keep and write within magical texts that controlled the histories of other magical realms such as that of the Enchanted Forest. Walt was selected for this purpose by the sorcerer Merlin and his apprentice (a human representation of Mickey Mouse as portrayed in Fantasia). When Walt died in 1966, the apprentice selected one Isaac Heller to succeed him.

##### Tomorrowland

In this film, Walt was a member of a secret futurist society known as *Plus Ultra* and joined their ranks prior to the year 1939. He used the *It's a Small World* attraction at the 1964 world's fair to function as a cross-dimensional portal which would access the colony of Tomorrowland. Walt also used the land of Tomorrowland in Disneyland to function as a secret training headquarters for Plus Ultra's ranks in-addition to being a secret portal to the dimension.

## Appearances and allusions

Due to his being the namesake of the Disney Company, Walt Disney's name is frequently included within the names of organizations and locations regarding the Disney Parks. Anagrams of his name such as, "Yensid", "Yen Sid" or, "Yesnid" are also used as allusions sometimes.

### Adventure Trading Company

Walt Disney's signed, "Merry Menagerie" comics are published in the Daily Gnus newspaper with a copyright from Walt Disney Productions.

### AbracadaBar

In this bar there is a framed photograph of Walt Disney.

### Disney Springs

Walt Disney or the Disney family are seemingly the namesake of Disney Springs. In the resort's backstory, Walt's parents visited the Spring when the got marries and told Walt about it. Years later in the 1960s, he decided to build his, "Florida Project" nearby the springs. At the boathouse of the springs is a boat with the name of, "Walt's Dream". Within Goofy's Candy Co., Walt's signature is on a certificate from the University of Candy Science, certifying Goofy as a Master of Candy Science.

### Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!

Walt Disney is identified as having been a past recipient of the Imagination Institute's "Inventor of the Year Award".

### Iron Man Experience

Iron Man's father Howard Stark is shown to be affiliated with Walt Disney in the opening of this attraction where at a 1964 expo, Walt talks to Howard about his plans.

### Jungle Cruise

Walt Disney is indirectly referenced in the queue audio-loop for the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise where radio-announcer Albert Awol of AWOL Airwaves mentions his broadcast being on the DBC (Disney Broadcasting Company). Concept art shows the hat which he wore aboard the Jungle Cruise as being in the JNC's lost and found.

#### Skipper Canteen

In the Skipper Canteen there is a book titled True-Life Adventures by W.E.D.; W.E.D. having been Walt Disney's initials. The *True-Life Adventures* are an allusion to the True-Life Adventures, "Nature documentaries" made by Disney from 1948 to 1960.

#### Trader Sam's

##### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

A photograph of Walt Disney from his 1941 trip to South America is hung in this bar with a message from Sam saying he was hired to give them a tour. Another photo has Walt Disney on his own featured with a note from Sam saying that Walt became one of his best customers.
The hat which Walt wore while driving a Jungle Cruise boat in 1958 is also hung on one of the shelves.

##### Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

A photograph in this bar is from Walt Disney's show and has him holding the tentacle of the Giant Squid from *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*. Said squid's tentacle is also mounted behind the bar and is enchanted to aid in serving the Nautilus drink.

#### Jungle Cruise Adventure Game

Walt Disney's likeness is used in this game as a member of the  Temple and DeNyle families, two of the four families which assisted S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls in his founding of the Jungle Navigation Company in 1911. Walt's likeness is that of him as an old man while wearing the sailor's outfit he wore while riding the Jungle Cruise in 1958.

### Main Street, U.S.A.

Walt Disney had a personal apartment within the "Disneyland Fire Department" building on Main Street, U.S.A.. The lights in this apartment are left on as tribute to Walt. Walt is also depicted in the, "Partners" Statue near the end of Main Street where he is seen hand-in-hand with Mickey Mouse. There are also two fictitious books authored by Disney within the town hall, being titled *Lilybelle* and *Mickey Mouse*. Another book on this same shelf is titled, "Walt and You" by Sidejas & Kimbrell, a tribute to cast-members Ray Sidejas and Bruce Kimbrell.

#### Disneyland Railroad

A window in Main Street, U.S.A. identifies Walt Disney as being the chief-engineer behind the Disneyland Railroad. This is an allusion to how Disneyland was largely influenced by Walt Disney's love of trains and creation of a miniature train-yard behind his house.

### Mickey's Toon Town

A window in this area identified Walt as the directing animator of, "Laugh-O'Gram Films, Inc.".

### Mystic Manor

Walt and Roy Disney cameo in a 1908 photograph of S.E.A. member Lord Henry Mystic opening Mystic Manor to the public. The photo is anachronistic as Walt would have actually been 7 in 1908 while the photo shows him in his 20s.

### Pirates of the Caribbean

The initials, "W" and, "R" are in the grating of the Royal Street Gallery which holds Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean. These initials represent Walt and Roy Disney, respectively.

### Sunshine Tree Terrace

The Orange Bird and Sunshine Tree are affiliated with the Sunshine Tree Terrace brand which was run by W.E.D. Enterprises, Incorporated to harvest oranges for the Bay Lake Produce Company.

### Tiana's Place

Within Tiana's Place on the Disney Wonder is a poster for New Orleans Square. The poster features the W and R initials from Pirates of the Caribbean upon it.

### Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

Walt Disney is the namesake of this attraction and is mentioned in its name by the birds of the show. It is unknown if there is a fictionalized Walt Disney with any connection to the in-continuity Tiki Room or not.

## Connections

### Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Walt's father-in-law Willard P. Bounds is referenced in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as a U.S. Marshal in the town of Rainbow Ridge, involved in the operations of the Big Thunder Mining Company.

### Journey Into Imagination

The Imagination Institute is a fictional-organization most prominently featured in this attraction.

### Pleasure Island

In the fictional backstory of Pleasure Island, the Walt Disney Company was highly involved in excavating and restoring Pleasure Island in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The boat the Empress Lilly was also named for Walt's wife Lillian.

### Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom

The wizard Merlin makes his headquarters on Main Street's firehouse in this attraction where he keeps the *Crystal of the Magic Kingdom* and later the bound spirit of Hades.

### Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Walt Disney supposedly once attended a performance of the Silver Lake Sisters on Buena Vista Street and the three inspired his naming and characterization of the Three Little Pigs in 1933.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2016/07/now-casting.html
2. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/11/the-magic-of-disney-parks-storytelling-mickeys-toontown-at-disneyland-park/
3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=871455190837&set=oa.1903682069948046
4. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/2016/09/10/s6\_abracadabar/
5. ↑ https://www.worldofwalt.com/disney-springs-backstory.html
6. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/02/romance-for-your-valentine-top-10-date-ideas-at-walt-disney-world-resort/
7. ↑ https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/07/19/goofys-candy-company/
8. ↑ http://www.intercot.com/edc/Imagination/histapre2.html
9. ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2011/09/25/detailed-look-at-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar-disneyland-hotel-from-august-2011/4/
10. ↑ http://disneylanddiva.blogspot.com/2012/04/
11. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/10/1958-photo-walt-disney-and-the-jungle-cruise-at-disneyland-park/
12. ↑ https://themouselets.com/top-10-main-street-usa-secrets
13. ↑ http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/other-hidden-dl/main-street-usa/2710574
14. ↑ https://www.pixiedustfan.com/disney-windows-on-main-street-usa/
15. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2007/11/with-little-more-than-forty-dollars-and.html
16. ↑ http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/stt2.htm
17. ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/tianas-place-restaurant-review/
18. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/look-closer-big-thunder-mountain-railroad-at-disneyland-park/