The Wonderful World Of Disney

The Wonderful World of Disney

When people think of Mickey Mouse, people visualize Minnie Mouse, Pluto, and all of his friends. They probably think about the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. Without Mickey and Disneyland, the entertainment industry would not be where it is today. The man who brought Mickey to life was Walt Disney. Many people might think of Walt as the luckiest guy in the world with the greatest life, but his story is anything but great by far. Walt worked his tail off all his life; doing anything he could to become successful. He did not let anything get to him and he did not let anything interfere with what he wanted. Walt, who was a creative, imaginative, and visual person, created a billion dollar empire and made a magical world for all ages to enjoy.

On December 5, 1901 in Chicago, a boy with many dreams that would eventually change the world was born. Elias and Flora Disney gave birth to a handsome boy named, Walter Elias Disney. He was number four out of five children. He had three older brothers, Herbert, Raymond, and Roy, and one little sister named Ruth. After he was born, the family then moved to Marceline, Missouri.

Walt's childhood was anything far from a normal childhood. Moving around as a child did not help out. This was because Walt's father never had a steady business. The boys would help their father with certain jobs, some that even started at three-thirty in the morning, but they never got paid. His father would beat the boys and his older brother Roy would comfort Walt telling him that everything would be all right. Walt would ask Roy "if the man who beat them was really his father, or just some mean old man who looked like him and wanted only to frighten and hurt him" (Eliot 7). His father would beat them daily to get the job done the best way possible. Walt could not understand why his father beat him and why his mother would not stop the beatings. Walt was only eight-years-old.

Walt did not have much playing time as a boy. He was always taught about hard work. In an interview with Roy Disney made years later he said: "As long as I can remember, Walt has been working…He worked in the daytime and he worked at night.