Walt Disney Research Paper

Children growing up in America are always told they can achieve any goal they set, as long as they put their minds to it. Walt Disney is one American who showed the ability to put his mind to a goal and find a way to make it happen. Coming up from working as a newspaper cartoonist in Kansas City to becoming a household name, he created an entertainment empire in Hollywood and built the largest theme park/resort in the world. Walt Disney is one of the greatest success stories in American history.

Disney’s artistic chops started at an early age. In the small farm town of Marceline, Missouri, where his family lived several years during his childhood, Walt sold his first work of art. He drew a sketch of a town doctor’s horse and was elated

Walt would eventually change the name to Walt Disney Studios. Despite some early adversity, including some of his animators leaving his company for Universal Pictures and losing the trademark to one of his signature characters, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney would create many cartoons that are still popular today (“Walt Disney”). The origin of Disney’s extremely fast-rising star came in 1928 with his creation of Mickey Mouse. Also in the late-1920’s, Disney created some other popular characters, such as Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Walt began focusing on full-length motion pictures in the 1930’s and 1940’s and brought us films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Bambi. They were even among the first to broadcast programming using television (“Walt Disney”). Among their TV lineup were Zorro, Davy Crockett, and The Mickey Mouse

He had switched his attention to a new venture. Walt had taken his children to a small farm-themed amusement park and began to feel very nostalgic because memories arose of the farm he had lived on as a child in Missouri. Walt thought to himself that he would love to have a theme park of his own. His initial thought was to build one close to his studio in Burbank, however, there was not enough space. He ended up choosing Anaheim, a mere 35 miles south of Los Angeles, as the site for Disneyland. Walt oversaw the construction and innovation of the entire park. The park was a place where families could come and explore, ride rides, and even meet the Disney characters. Disneyland, by all accounts, was Walt’s baby, however, one major flaw began staring him in the eye. The park stretched out to the edges of the land that Walt Disney had purchased. Eventually, many restaurants, service stations, and hotels popped up near the park to cash in on the crowds that flocked in. From inside the park, patrons could see billboards and fast-food joints. With no buffer zone between the park and the outside world, Walt Disney’s image of an escape for the family from ordinary life could not be completely met. Walt wanted to build another park and didn’t want to make the same mistake