My Key Takeaways from Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park that Changed the World by Richard Snow. Part 1: Intro- Conception/Idea of Disneyland from Walt Disney.

Disney's Early Life:

• Birth & Family Background:
  • Born in 1901.
  • 4th child in the family.
  • Father: Elias Disney.
  • Mother: Flora Disney.
• Childhood & Early Years:
  • Grew up on a farm.
  • Moved to Kansas City, where he worked as a paperboy in the early mornings.
• Move to Chicago (1917):
  • Moved back to Chicago in 1917.
  • Took courses at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
• Strained Relationship with Family:
  • Eager to escape his family, particularly his father.
  • Elias Disney did not support his desire to become an artist.
  • Determined to break away from his family's expectations.
• World War I & Rejection (1918):
  • In 1918, Walt tried to enlist in the military during World War I.
  • He was rejected due to his age.
  • Ended up forging an earlier birthdate on his birth certificate and became an ambulance driver for the Red Cross
  • Spent a year in France and returned in 1919
• After the War
  • Disney works at a couple of businesses learning some advertising and animation
  • Then Walt just becomes obsessed with animation ( Read Pg 19. Noted paragraph.)
  • Disney ended up getting a contract for the Alica and Wonderland show until it lost interest in 1927
• Animation Stage
  • Walt loses his business (Read pg 20-21 right before “in the meantime…”
  • Disney’s first big success was Snow white which was the biggest hit of 1938 and ended up pulling in $6.5 million (that’s the equivalent of $145 million today…)
  • With the success of the movie Snow White, Pinocchio and Fantasia were made
• Trains and an Intro to the Amusement Industry
  • Disney takes a trip to a train fair (where there are old and authentic trains) and this gets the amusement park idea rolling after a while

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